The look on Lilly's face was one of pure confusion as she gazed at an angry Daniel. Judging by the look on his face, she knew it wasn't good. Her heart fluttered.

      "What the hell is going on?" she demanded eagerly.

      "You wanna know what's going on?" he asked rhetorically. "What's going on is, Faith and Jason has been hooking up for God knows how long and it might just come back to bite us in the asses!"

Lilly's eyes grew wide. "What the hell do you mean?"

     Daniel raked a hand through his thick mass of strawberry blonde hair. "I— I found them in an intimate position less than an hour ago," he informed calmly.

Lilly swallowed. "What did they say?"

     "Jason left and Faith was a mess. She couldn't deny it!" he exclaimed hysterically.

Lilly instantly began to pace the room, leaving Daniel nervous. "You had one thing to do and you couldn't even do it properly," she sneered.

     "How am I to blame?" he asked disbelievingly.

      "All you had to do was make her love you—"

     "And I was doing just fine until Jason came into the picture," Daniel defended heatedly.

     Lilly scoffed. "Jason was always in the picture. You screwed up!"

Daniel wanted to further defend himself but he decided to keep his mouth shut. "What do we do now?"

Lilly laughed dryly. "We? We aren't going to do anything. You are going to waltz your worthless ass back in that house and you're gonna comfort her, apologize even and you're gonna show her how much you care because if you think all this is going to come to a halting crash, you better think again," she quipped bitterly.

Daniel nodded like the obedient little puppy he was. "Fine."

   Lilly smiled wryly. "Good. Now, how did the interview with Mayhew go?"

      "He ah— he said he'd give me a call," he managed a smile. "If I get the job Faith will at least be convinced that I'm trying and judging by how the whole meeting went, Matthew too."

Feeling like he had accomplished something great, Daniel smiled proudly but Lilly on the other hand, was not the least bit enthused.

     "Don't smile at your problems you fool!"

     "How is this a problem?" Daniel asked, befuddled by her argument.

     "Don't go thinking Matthew Mayhew likes you. He'll go babbling off his mouth as soon as he reaches home. That bitch of a wife he has doesn't like you so don't be surprised if you don't get that job," she exclaimed gravely.

Daniel hissed, nibbling on a finger as he paced the room. "Wh— what if all this doesn't work?"

Lilly laughed dryly, folding her arms while she visibly clenched her jaw. "Now you're gonna make it work, no doubt Danny boy."

   Daniel's chin wrinkled as his lips tightened. "Why do you always have to behave like this with me? Talk to me like a child. We are in this together whether you like it or not so treat me with some damn respect."

She rose a brow. "You done?" she drily asked, moving towards Daniel where she paused to look directly in his eyes. "I might be carrying our baby inside me right now, the less you act like a pussy, the more beneficial this will be for us so get your head out your ass and waltz back into that pretty girl's home. You're gonna love her and you're gonna convince her that what both of you have is real. Make her love you again," she said jabbing her fingers against his chest with every word of her last sentence.

Daniel only obediently nodded. Lilly smiled satisfyingly.

___________

Kaylyn paced the circumference of the living room, arms folded while she anxiously awaited Matthew's arrival. She couldn't find it within herself to approach Jason just yet and so her husband seemed like the only available source in which she could talk to. She was happy the kids were at Matthew's parents, giving her the chance to have an uninterrupted discussion with her husband.
       She was concerned for Faith and the circumstances and she silently prayed that her friend would see the life size mistake she was  making. Daniel. She understand her need for a child — she wasn't getting any younger — but Kaylyn hoped that need wouldn't stand in the way of her friend's true happiness.

Minutes into her pacing, Matthew entered, the look on his face evidently puzzling as she glanced at his wife. "Hey, are you OK?" he immediately asked as he moved towards her.

   After a brief hug, Kaylyn pulled apart to have her discussion. "I need to talk to you..." She didn't get further with her words when surprisingly, Jason entered.

     "Jason!" Kaylyn immediately exclaimed, sounding almost breathless with shock.

     He regarded her bitterly. "I just came to collect something. Matt, why don't you help me out so I can be on my way," he said.

Matthew's brows knitted in confusion, seeing the tension between his wife and his best friend. He glanced from one to the other.

     "Anyone gonna tell me what's going on here?" he asked.

Kaylyn sighed and so did Jason. "I've gottta lot of paperwork to go do man," he said as an indication to Matthew's haste or rather, lack of it.

     Kaylyn's mouth fell in disbelief. "Why are you angry with me? I did nothing wrong!"

Jason huffed out a breath. "Oh, save it."

     "What's this about?" Matthew further enquired but once again he was ignored.

     "I said what I had to say and I bet if things hadn't went sideways you would be thanking me right now but you and Faith are so angry with me when really you guys should be angry at each other. I stared you straight and you lost track so don't blame me for being the concerned friend!" she snapped for what seemed like the umpteenth time since the day started.

Silence gave speech to the words left unsaid as Jason and Kaylyn partook in a heated battle of glaring while Matthew on the other hand was as Dora. Clueless.

     "OK, that's it, somebody better talk," Matthew demanded.

Kaylyn tore her gaze from Jason while beginning to inform Matthew of what had happened. Jason stood wordlessly as she spoke, the conviction in her voice grating on his conscience. Perhaps he was indeed angry at the wrong person.

    Out of everything Kaylyn said, only one thing immediately resonated with Matthew. "You kissed Faith?!" he exclaimed in amusement.

Kaylyn face palmed, Jason's mouth fell open and Matthew was left a cheerful man.

      "Matt, that's not the —" Kaylyn tried to say but Matthew was attending to Jason to hear more about what he thought to be 'juicy gossip.'

       "How did it go?" Matthew asked, nudging Jason on the shoulder.

     Jason looked at his friend with wide eyes, momentarily speechless as he tried to produce words.

     "I — you mean before or after?"

     "During!" Matthew clarified.

     "Matt!" Kaylyn scolded.

      "Great!"

    Matthew laughed, turning to Kaylyn before returning his gaze to Jason. "Then there you have it," he announced proudly, pulling at the hem of his jacket. "A kiss between friends can't be great unless there's a lot more feelings involved. Did Faith go running off demanding for her tongue to be cleansed?"

   Without awaiting an answer, Matthew had already come to a conclusion. "If you love her and she seems to feel the same, then don't let anything get in the way."

     "Even the fact that she's carrying a baby for another man...via surrogacy?" Jason asked as he rose a daring brow.

     "Look on the bright side, it might not take this time around," he mused, turning to Kaylyn. "And I think, honey you're right. Daniel is a sketchy figure."

Kaylyn's face brightened. "Why the sudden change?"

      "He came to the office this morning looking for a job. His answers seemed on point but seemed somewhat rehearsed and he hardly made eye contact..."

     "What did you tell him?" Kaylyn asked, not quite believing that Daniel actually sought work at Matthew's.

      "That I'd give him a call but I'm not sure if I will. Not now anyway."

     "Yeah, you have to. Keep an eye on him. I don't know what this guy's up to but I have a feeling it isn't good."

     "So what now?" Jason asked.

Kaylyn and Matthew both turned to look at him and smiled, which seemed a bit creepy from Jason's perspective.

      "You're gonna win Faith's heart."

__________________

Author's note:

Dun dun duuuunnnn!!!

Thoughts? Share em. I reeeeeaallly want to hear from you guys this time more than ever.

Until next time...
Soak up some sun and enjoy your summer ;)
— juju