Chapter 75
Important Author's Note
***Liliana's POV***
"How was your anniversary date?" Kyle asked.
"It was nice. Ash took me to a private beach last night. We went swimming and then ate fruit."
"And you fucked on the beach?"
"Actually, no. We just enjoyed each other's company. It was very innocent." I said as I walked into the kitchen.
"I know he's old, but I didn't think he was that old."
"Shut up." I laughed. "How are you feeling?"
"Great. I ate two whole meals today." he smiled proudly.
"That's great! No fever or anything?"
"Nope."
"Good." I grabbed a banana from the counter and walked back to the living room.
"Wanna smoke?" he asked.
"I start my new job tomorrow..."
"The Annie I know never turns down a good time."
I rolled my eyes and started peeling the banana.
"You don't need it anyways."
"So what are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm basically going to be an assistant to a band."
"What's their name?"
"Little Sea. I've never heard of them, but they've been around for a few years I guess. They're Australian."
"That's cool." he said.
"Yeah. I was going to look them up, but I don't want stuff on the internet to be the first impression I get of them."
"Good choice."
"Thanks."
"So what happened with Cal?"
"I still don't wanna talk about it." I blushed.
"Annie, please."
"Fine." I sighed. "But you can't tell Ashton."
"I would never."
"Okay so after we shopped, we went back to his house which is so adorable. His mom and sister decorated it. Anyways, he gave me a tour and then we stopped in a room that has a massage table. He asked me if I wanted a massage and I said no but then he offered to rub my feet, and we all know how that ends. So he was massaging my feet and we were watching TV and like I look over at him and he had a boner."
"So?"
"Not like a halfie. He had a full blown erection, and I couldn't stop staring. I didn't make a big deal about it or anything, but I can't stop thinking about it."
"Well your boyfriends best friend got a boner while rubbing your feet. It would be weird if you didn't think about it a little."
"Yeah I guess. Do you think he has a foot fetish?"
"He might, but I don't have a foot fetish and I almost always get a hard on with your feet in my hands."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I just tuck it away before I start so you can't see it."
"Tuck it where?"
"Into the waistband of my pants."
"Oh...is it there now?"
"No because I don't plan on touching your feet."
"But Ky!" I pouted. "I need your expert hands!"
"My expert hands are needed for video games."
"Video games rot your brain."
"You just wanna see me get a boner!"
"That's not true!"
"Annie, I've known Ashton long enough to know that he would not send you home with aching feet."
"He doesn't touch my feet."
"Liar."
"I'm serious! He's my back masseur."
"Why do you always have people massaging you?"
"Because I just like to be touched. Alex never lovingly caressed me. You and Ash are gentle and sweet. It makes me happy."
"You piece of shit." he sigh. He handed me his controller and put my feet in his lap.
"What do you want to watch?" I asked as I opened Netflix.
"Not Skins. I don't even know why we started watching that dumb show."
"You like it."
"I don't."
"We're on the sixth volume. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't have watched it."
He pinched my toe. "You choose, but I really don't wanna watch Skins today."
"Okay." I said and put on Family Guy.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Is it weird that I'm single?"
"Why would it be?"
"That came out wrong. I mean that I'm single, and I don't want a relationship. I don't even want to hook up with anyone."
"I was like that after we broke up."
"That's different. You're a girl."
"Okay, so there's this expectation that society puts on men. They make you think that if you don't want to have sex you're not a real man. The truth is, lots of people don't want to have sex. Nothing is wrong with not wanting to have sex. If I told you that I hadn't had sex for three months because I was never in the mood, what would you say?"
"That you're lying."
"I mean if I was single and I told you that."
"I don't know. Other than suggesting we hook up, nothing."
"Exactly, but if Trevor said the same thing, you would go out and try to find someone for him to get with. If it's okay for girls to not want to have sex, it's okay for guys, and all people, to not want to have sex.
"Thank you." he lifted my leg and kissed my ankle. "So what did you and Ash do all day?"
"He took me to breakfast at some fancy place that he reserved for the morning. Then he worked while I did our laundry-"
"Our?"
"Yeah. I have clothes over there. Anyways, then we played Monopoly, and I won because I- um." I coughed because I may or may not have given Ashton head so I could have Boardwalk and Park Place, but Kyle didn't need to know that. "Then we made-"
"What did you do?" Kyle asked with a smirk.
"What are you talking about?"
"You said that you won because of something that you did."
"No I didn't."
He stared at me for a long time before nodding his head. "Okay sure."
"So we made a cake, he took me to dinner at some fancy place, and then I came home. Where did you go?"
"My parents' house. Mom fed me because she actually loves me unlike my roommate that goes to her boyfriends every night and leaves me hungry."
"I'm sorry! I always try to make you something before I go!"
"It's cool. Whenever you're gone I can walk around the house in boxers."
"You do that anyways."
"Yeah, but when you aren't here, you can't yell at me."
"I don't yell at you. It's just not ideal."
"You walk around in a shirt and underwear all the time. That's not ideal."
"Then I'll stop."
"No, you don't have to as long as I don't have to."
"Good."
We watched TV for another hour before I decided that it was time for bed. Just as I got up to go to my room, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is that?" I asked.
"I don't know. The neighbor borrowed our big measuring cup earlier, and she might be bringing it back."
I walked to the front door and opened it, expecting to see our neighbor.
"Hey, Annie."
"What are you doing here?" I asked in a sharp tone.
"I came to see you."
"Who is it?" Kyle asked. I heard him walk up behind me. "Oh. Shaylin. Hi. What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Shaylin asked him.
"I live here." Kyle put his arm around me.
"Are you two together again?"
"That's none of your business." I said.
"Annie can I please just come in?"
"No."
"Ann, don't be rude." Kyle said. "Come in, Shaylin. You can go to the living room while we get the guest bedroom ready."
He opened the door and Shaylin walked passed us.
"What the hell are you doing?" I whispered.
"You and I both know that she doesn't like me. If you want to get back at her, showing her how happy we are together is the best way."
"You're an evil genius, I swear."
"Okay now come to my room so we can make it look less lived in."
We walked to his room and he closed the door.
"Okay, make the bed and spray it with Febreze." he said as he pulled a box out of the closet.
He emptied out the drawer of his bedside table and started putting clothes from the closet into the box. I made the bed as quickly as I could and then sprayed it with Febreze.
"I need you to put my hamper in your room. I have to clean out the bathroom." he opened the door. "After that, go to the living room. When I get in there, follow my lead."
I picked up his hamper and quickly carried it to my room. I took a deep breath and then walked to the living room.
"When did you two get back together?" Shaylin asked immediately.
"Does it matter?"
"What happened with Ashton?"
"Why are you interrogating me?"
"I'm just trying to figure out what the hell went wrong in the two months that I was gone."
"Nothing went wrong."
"Annie! Just talk to me!"
Kyle walked in and put his arm around me. "Let's sit down."
He walked me to a chair and pulled me onto his lap after he sat down. I shifted slightly to try and get comfortable.
"So Shaylin, what brings you here?" Kyle asked.
"I came to talk to Annie."
"About what?"
"I would prefer to talk to just Annie."
"I'll find out eventually, might as well say it now."
She looked at us for a while before sighing.
"I'm engaged." she said carefully. "Vince proposed last week."
When neither of us said anything, she continued.
"We're having the wedding in December. Annie, I want you to be my maid of honor."
"You left me." I said simply.
"I know, but-"
"You fucking left me. I needed you!"
"You had Ashton."
"I needed a friend, Shaylin. You picked Vince over me, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you."
"You're overreacting without even hearing my side of things."
"How long are you staying?" I asked.
"Just a few days. I can stay at a hotel if you don't want me here."
"You can stay here. We're going to talk tomorrow."
"Thank you so much."
"Yeah. Goodnight. Come on, Ky."
I stood up and took his hand in mine. I pulled him out of the chair and we walked to my room.
"Are you okay?" he asked when the door was closed.
"Yeah. I started thinking of Alex, and this is so wrong."
"What is?"
"Pretending that we're dating. I felt like I was cheating on Ashton."
"Annie, you and I both know that you're not cheating on anybody. That wasn't sexual, you know that. It's just acting. We're doing this for a reason, and you and I are going to tell him all about it."
"Really? But what if he breaks up with me?"
"He won't. We aren't keeping any secrets. If anything, he'll be happy that he's getting all of the details. When do you have lunch tomorrow?"
"I don't think I have a scheduled lunch. Whenever they eat, I eat."
"Okay then...before you come home we can go over to his apartment and talk to him. Would he be okay with me being there?"
"It should be fine." I said. "Thank you, Kyle."
"No problem." He gave me a quick hug. "So are you going to make me sleep on the floor or..."
"Well if you feel brave enough, you can sleep with your head at the foot of the bed."
"Sounds good to me." he nodded. "Now I'm going to go check on Shaylin and get a blanket from the closet."
I offered him a forced smile before he left the room. As soon as the door closed, my face dropped. I really hoped that I was just overthinking everything as usual. If Ashton wasn't on board with our plan, then it definitely wasn't going to happen. No amount of revenge is worth upsetting Ashton.
@@@@@@
"Baby," Ashton said with a smile, "this is John Feldmann."
I smiled as I shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So you're the girl I've heard so much about." John smiled. "Ashton went on for hours about you. I've seen your résumé and it's quite impressive for someone so young."
"Thank you." I blushed.
"You're so beautiful. What are you doing with this guy?" he joked.
"I got lucky, that's for sure." Ashton said as he wrapped an arm around me.
"Yeah well we have to get going." John said. "Say goodbye to your lady."
Ashton looked at me. "Good luck today. Remember, this is only temporary. We'll be back together soon enough."
"Hey." I whispered. "Kyle and I need to talk to you later."
"Why?" he eyes widened.
"It's nothing bad. We just need to talk. I get off at five, and then Kyle and I are going to go to yours."
"You're gonna wait for two hours?"
"Yeah I guess so. We'll just watch a movie or something. I'll make dinner, text me what you want."
"Okay. I'll see you later." he kissed my forehead. "Do good, baby."
"Have a good day."
We just kind of looked at each other for a few minutes. When John cleared his throat, Ashton quickly kissed my cheek and walked away.
"You two are cute." he said as we walked.
"Thank you."
"So I assume that Ashton went over the major points of the job?"
"Yeah. I got most of it." I nodded. "I'll have the band's schedule, and make sure that they get to interviews and stuff."
"Yeah. Here's your company phone and card. Every number that you'll need is programmed in there. The band's social media accounts are logged in. Feel free to take pictures of them in natural situations. Um...there's a thousand dollars on the card, and it refills every three days. The guys don't ask for much, but they're incredibly unorganized. If you have any questions, just text me."
At the end of his spiel, he opened a door. I walked in after him. Four heads turned in our direction.
"Well, done, Feldy." one of the guys said.
"I thought you would like her." John smiled.
"We definitely like her."
"Their one request was someone that wasn't old and mean looking." John explained.
I looked at the four of them. "I'm Annie."
They went down the line when introducing themselves.
"Dylan."
"Oliver."
"Leighton."
"Andy."
"Great! So you guys head on out of here. I've got a meeting in ten minutes." John said as he ushered us out of the room. "Boys, show Annie to the car."
"See ya, Feldy!" Leighton said. "I love calling him that."
I allowed them to walk ahead of me.
"So what made you apply for the job?" I think it was Dylan that asked.
"Oh um, it's a long story."
"We're gonna be together for a long time. Might as well get the back stories out of the way now."
"I quit my last job."
"Why?"
"Personal reasons."
"Great. She's secretive." Oliver mumbled.
We stepped into an elevator and waited for the doors to close.
"You know," Leighton sighed and put an arm around me, "I'm the drummer."
"My boyfriend was a drummer." I said as I took his arm off of me.
"For what band?"
"5 Seconds of Summer."
"Never heard of them."
"They broke up like six or seven years ago."
"So you've been together for a while then?"
"No we weren't dating then."
"Were you like awkward friends or something?"
"No." I laughed. "He lived in Australia, and even if we did know each other we definitely wouldn't have dated."
"So you're dating him now, but before it was a hard no?" Andy asked.
"Well I would've been like thirteen, and he would've been too old for me."
"Oh. Makes sense."
The doors opened and we began walking again.
"So where's he from?" one of them asked.
"Sydney."
"How did you meet?"
"We worked together at Irwin Incorporated."
"Hey there's one of those back home." Leighton said.
"Yeah. He worked there before, but they transferred him to LA. Well kind of, but that's also a long story."
"Well, I like to stalk my new friends on their social media, so if you would please make a list of your accounts and send them to me, that would be great."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
When we got in the car, I opened a text with Leighton on my work phone and sent him what he wanted.
"Hey, Annie." he said after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Which one is your boyfriend?"
"What?" I asked as I turned around.
"There are three guys that you're with a lot."
"Kyle is my roommate. Michael is my friend. Ashton is my boyfriend."
"Ah. The boyfriend. Let's do some snooping."
"You're being weird." Dylan said.
"She's dating Ashton Irwin."
"Wait isn't that-"
"Yeah. Wow. Holy shit. I thought he looked familiar."
"What?" I asked.
"He owned the bar where we played our first gig." Oliver smiled. "He's a great guy."
"Yeah. He is." I agreed.
"That's so cool. I didn't know he was a drummer. We should jam sometime."
"I'll talk to him about it." I said. "The rest of his band lives here too. Maybe they could join."
"Yeah. That'd be cool."
"I've never actually heard him play. I haven't heard any of them play. Ash sings to me sometimes, but that's it."
"That's sweet." Oliver said softly.
"Cheer up, mate. You're so much better than her. She's a cheater, and we don't need cheaters in our lives." Dylan said in a low voice.
"I know, but I miss her."
"She was a bitch-"
"Don't talk about her like that!" Oliver snapped.
"It's true! You fucking know that it is!" Andy said.
"Stop the car!" Oliver yelled. "Samuel fucking pull over!"
"Oliver-" Leighton started.
"No! Fuck you guys! You always do this!"
Samuel pulled the car over and Oliver got out. Almost instinctively, I opened my door and followed him.
"Oliver! Wait!" I shouted, but he only walked faster. "Please don't make me run in heels!"
When he still didn't slow down, I yelled, "I know how you feel!"
He stopped at that. He turned around and looked at me. Once I was close enough, he spoke. "No you don't."
"My last boyfriend cheated on me." I told him.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"His name was Alex. I dated him for seven months. I found out about him cheating when I overheard them on the phone. We broke up for a lot of reasons, but his infidelity triggered the actual break up."
"Do you ever... do you ever miss him?"
"I used to." I said honestly.
"Do you ever check his social media to see what he's doing?"
"He um, doesn't use anything."
"Well then did you ever text him?"
"He doesn't really have a phone."
"But you said-"
"That's not the point."
"You're lying to me! I fucking knew it!"
"I'm not! I promise I'm not!"
"Then tell me how you overheard them on the phone but now he doesn't even have a phone."
"It's complicated." I sighed.
"We've got time and I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me."
I sighed heavily. "I don't want to talk about it."
When he started to turn around, I stopped him.
"If I tell you, promise me you won't tell the others." I said.
"We don't like to keep secrets."
"Promise. Me."
"Alright. I promise."
"He's in prison."
"For what?"
"Not part of the deal."
"Annie please just-"
"No. Now, we're leaving with or without you. It's your decision." I started walking back to the car. I wasn't sure if Oliver was following me, but I honestly didn't care.
I already revealed far more than I wanted to.
"I'm sorry." Oliver said beside me. "I'm not normally like this. I promise."
"It's okay. You're an artist, so just turn your sadness and anger into art."
"I've tried, but I don't want to upset her."
"Oliver, she cheated on you. She wasn't worried about your feelings, so why should you be worried about hers?"
"You're right." he grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Thank you."
@@@@@
"I'm not gonna lie. I expected more." Kyle said.
"Calum, Luke, and Michael used to live here too. Luke and Michael moved out when their relationship got serious."
"What about Cal?"
"Katie made him move out."
"I saw her at her parents house the other day. She was with some guy. When can we eat?"
"Ash should be home any minute now."
"Thank fuck. I'm starving."
"Do you wanna see something?" I asked him.
"What?"
"Come with me."
I grabbed Kyle's hand and pulled him up from the couch. I walked him to Ashton's office.
"Oh wow. Nice chair. So cool." Kyle said.
I opened the closet. "This is where I keep all of the expensive clothes that Ashton gets me."
"What is YSL?"
"Yves Saint Laurent."
"What the fuck did you just call me?"
"It's the designer, dipshit."
"Yeah whatever. Why does he buy you so much shit?"
"I don't know. He really likes to. If I asked him to buy me a car, he would."
"You know you've only been together for two months."
"I know, but this feels so...real. I can see myself marrying him."
"Yeah." Kyle said quietly. "Where's the bathroom?"
I closed the closet door and showed Kyle to the bathroom. When I walked back to the living room, the front door opened. I smiled as I walked to greet Ashton.
"Hey." I said.
"Hey baby." he smiled. "Smells good in here."
"Meatballs just like you asked for. I bought some Italian bread in case you wanted to make a sandwich instead of just eating meatballs."
"You're the best."
Ashton held my hand as we walked to the kitchen.
"How was work?" I asked him.
"Stressful. Definitely stressful. Nicole asked about you."
"Really?" I leaned against the counter.
"Yeah. She thought that we broke up."
"Oh. Was she putting on the moves?"
"She was yelling at me. She said, and I quote, 'If you don't apologize to her right now, I'm going to fire you.'"
I laughed at him.
"She's so sweet."
"Yeah."
Kyle walked in the kitchen. "Hey."
"Hi." Ashton said. "Good to see you again."
"Have you told him?"
"No." I sighed.
"Told me what?" Ashton asked with a frown.
"Let's eat. You guys sit." I told them. "Ash do you want a sandwich or just meatballs?"
"I can make my own plate, Lily."
"Just go sit. Kyle?"
"Sandwich please."
I grabbed the bread and started making Kyle's plate.
"Baby," Ashton spoke softly, "you aren't acting like yourself."
I turned around and looked at Kyle. He was sitting at the table. I looked up at Ashton.
"Just let me do it. You had a long day. Go change your clothes."
"Sorry Kyle." Ashton said.
"For what?" He asked.
Ashton put his hand on my cheek and kissed me. I put my hand on his chest to push him away, but I found myself grabbing his tie and pulling him closer.
"I'm sorry." I whispered when he pulled away. "I'm so fucking sorry. Shaylin came back last night. She hates Kyle and she was so mad that he moved in and we lied to her. We told her that we got back together, and she's staying with us while she's here. I sat on his lap for like a minute, and I swear it wasn't anything. Not like when I sit on your lap. I'm so sorry I feel terrible and you can break up with me for real now if you want."
"I'm not going to break up with you." Ashton giggled. "If you tried to hide this from me, it would be a totally different story. How long is she staying?"
"A couple of days."
"Alright, so we'll lay low for a couple of days. We can go to lunch together." He hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear. "Or we can just fuck in my office."
"Mhm." I agreed.
"Do what you have to do, baby, but if you could, keep it super PG."
"Of course. Always." I kissed him. "Always always always."
He put his hands on my cheeks and looked at me.
"You are so fucking beautiful." he said softly.
Kyle cleared his throat. "I can eat in the car if you guys want to be alone."
"No it's fine." Ashton said. He kissed my forehead and took a step back. "I'm going to change."
I smiled as he walked away.
"Isn't he amazing?" I asked.
Kyle laughed and looked at me with a wide smile.
"He's alright, I guess."
_________________________
IN HONOR OF GETTING 1 FUCKING MILLON READS I HAVE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL!
PART 1: Since y'all know that I'm the queen of plot twists and drama, I'm going to let three of you wonderful individuals choose one thing that happens in the story. SEND ME YOUR IDEAS IN A MESSAGE!! DON'T COMMENT OR IT WILL RUIN THE SURPRISE!!
PART 2: My lovely readers, we've gone through so much together that I think we're basically best friends. What do best friends do? They tell each other secrets!!! The first two people to guess one of my favorite animals will get to ask me a question about anything even remotely related to this story. ((You can comment this one.))
Both "contests(?)" are open until the next chapter is posted.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
I genuinely love you and appreciate you. I know that updates are coming slower than slow, but I have a little more free time on my hands now. If nothing else, let's shoot for updates every other week.
Stay crocs.