For StephanieWithAnA, one of my most supportive readers and friends ❤

Aiden had been avoiding me all morning, and I felt like shit. At lunchtime, I decided to look for him and apologize for the way I behaved the previous day.

Luckily, I spotted Aiden in the restaurant where we usually had lunch, sitting at a table, and eating with a frown on his face.

"Aiden." I pulled out a chair and sat opposite him.

He nodded and went on chewing.

"Look, man, I'm sorry. I fucked up, " I said.

"That you did."

I raked my fingers through my hair. "I feel like shit for how I reacted. It's just that dude, you're eighteen. She's seventeen. It sort of feels rushed. You have all your life ahead of you."

I sucked at apologies. Throwing Aiden's age into the mix wouldn't make him forgive me faster.

"And I want to spend it with her. Got a fucking problem with that?" He looked me in the eye.

"I don't. I guess I'm just a bitter jerk who can't believe in happily ever after and all that shit."

"You're my friend. Friends are supposed to be happy for each other, and if you're not, you should've pretended, man. I'd rather take that than the fucking silence. For me, it isn't rushed. What Ellie and I have is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Do you think it was easy to ask her? Do you think I wasn't afraid she'd say no? But guess what, she wants it with me just like I do, so excuse me if I want to spend my life with the person I love."

He was right. Of course, he was right. Yet, I found myself saying, "It's not that I have anything against it. I know your story, that's not the point. Being so attached to someone is dangerous, Aiden. When something happens to that person, it wrecks people's lives. I'd hate to see that happen to you."

Aiden shrugged. "Shit happens all the time. I'd rather it did with Ellie by my side to face it together."

"Okay." I sighed. "I'm sorry. Can we forget what I did and move on?"

"Yeah." Aiden nodded, taking a sip of his water.

"So, here it goes. Congratulations, man. I'm really happy you've found your special someone. I'm serious. It must be nice to love somebody this way."

"Congratulations and apologies accepted."

I paid for Aiden's lunch, and we went back to the office.

A surprise awaited us there. Mathis came up to Aiden's desk as soon as we were back. "Aiden, the boss wants to see you and Liam in five."

Aiden looked over at me. I shrugged, unable to tell what Victor wanted from the two of us and hoping it was something good. I couldn't afford to lose my job.

"Take a seat, gentlemen." Victor pointed at the two vacant chairs once we entered the meeting room. Being greeted by the faces of all our colleagues was intimidating. If everyone was there, the news was bound to be important.

"So," Victor said, "there will be some changes in the company, and they concern you."

My face paled. If they wanted to restructure the company or reduce the staff, I was the one they would ask to leave. Of all my colleagues, I was the only guy without a degree. I tried not to let it bother me, but now and then, the feeling of being less than the rest of the guys manifested itself, making me insecure.

"We've got too much work," said Darren. "Ollie and I are in charge of way too many things. Although we delegate some routine tasks to you, it's not enough anymore. We need to focus on the giant - the business center. The thing is, we got two more projects last week."

Victor spoke afterward. "We're creating two positions of junior project managers. It's an independent position without strict supervision. We're here to help, but all the day-to-day running will be your responsibility. You'll update us regularly, but we expect everything to run smoothly. You did a great job with the beach resort, Aiden, and Liam seems to know what he's doing as well, so the positions are yours. Will you be able to work together, or will we have another Darren and Ollie dynamics?"

"Ain't no other like Guacamollie and me, boss," Darren said, making Victor laugh before he added, "Darren, it's your turn to say what you had in mind."

Darren nodded. "Right. So, we think you're going to distribute the tasks the way you see fit, but our strong suggestion is to put you, Aiden, in charge of the finance. All the financial parts of the projects will be your responsibility from now on. You're great at it, and we'll be calm knowing you manage the cost and expenses, as well as the financial negotiation."

It was fair. Aiden was brilliant at figures. I would be happy to let him be in charge of that part of the projects.

However, my friend's face paled, and he muttered he'd work from home before grabbing his things and rushing out of the room. I would go after him, but I knew Aiden well enough to give him space.

"Liam, do you accept the position?" asked Dar.

"Yes, of course," I said. "Thank you for the offer."

"You deserve it, boy. Both of you do," said Victor, giving me a reassuring smile. "Get ready to sign everything first thing in the morning tomorrow."

***

The following day, it became clear that my boss didn't lie. Claire gave me all the documents I needed to become a junior project manager officially, and I plastered my signature across the pages, not wasting any time.

The twinkling light of a text on my phone called my attention close to lunchtime. Unlocking the screen, I saw a message from Sky.

Sky: I'm in front of your office building. We need to talk.

Me: Give me five minutes.

Sky knew where I worked, but going to this part of the city would take her ages. I wondered what happened as I shrugged on my suit jacket and rushed to the elevators.

I spotted the girl to the side of the entrance, pacing the length of the sidewalk. Sky was wearing a dress with a leather jacket over it. She looked beautiful, and I selfishly wished she had dressed up thinking about me.

"Hey." I approached her. "What's going on?"

"Hey. I'm sorry for coming here; it's just that I have a problem."

"Okay. Come with me."

I placed my hand on the small of Sky's back and led her toward a cafe in the business center opposite ours.

Having ordered our drinks, we sat at a table in the back.

"You're making me nervous. What happened?"

Sky smiled. "Don't be. It's not bad; it's about Gia, my ex-roommate."

"What about her?"

Sky sighed. "She's here in Paris with her boyfriend, and she asked me if they could crash at our place tonight. As I knew that Tim had a sleepover at Antoine's, I said yes."

I shrugged, taking a sip of my pitch-black coffee. "I'm cool with that."

"That's not the problem," muttered Sky.

"Then what is?"

She was fidgeting way too much, which could only mean that whatever it was, it would make me angry, uncomfortable, or both.

"So, Paul ran his mouth telling Gia and her boyfriend that he dumped me when I came to Paris, and now I was living alone in a huge apartment, begging him to come back to me."

I clenched my fists. "Did your friend tell you that?"

Sky nodded. "I know what he says doesn't matter, but it makes me mad that he's making me look like a loser and a doormat in my friends' eyes."

Rolling my eyes, I downed the rest of my coffee. "It's not elementary school, Sky. Let them talk. You know it's not true, you don't need to prove anything to anyone."

Sky bit her lip. "Well, the thing is, I kind of told Gia I lived with my boyfriend, so I came here to ask you to be my fake boyfriend for a day. Pretty please?"

She pouted in the cutest of ways, but the whole thing was ridiculous. "It's childish, Sky, and it's too much."

Sky deflated. "So, you won't help me. I kinda knew it. You've been an ass to me ever since that night in your room. Don't worry. I'll figure something out."

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Sky got up from the chair and got ready to leave.

I placed my hand on her wrist. "Don't be upset. I don't see the point, but okay, I'll do it. What do I have to do?"

"Stuff boyfriends do, Liam. It's only today and tomorrow morning; then you can go back to ignoring me. Ah, and we have to sleep in the same bed. I was thinking about my room."

"Okay." I breathed out. "I'll see you at home."

"Thanks for agreeing to help. Gia will be there soon, so I need to rush to get everything ready."

I went back to the office, and Sky went home. I hoped the idea Sky had wouldn't turn out to be a major disaster.

***

I heard loud voices even before I exited the elevator on our floor. In the apartment, I was greeted by the sight of a couple on the living room couch- a dark-haired girl sitting on the lap of a bulky guy.

"Guys, he's my Liam." Sky rushed to me and pecked my cheek before dragging me further into the living room. "Liam, they are Dennis and Gia, my friends from Marseille."

"Hey," I greeted the guy, shaking his hand and doing the same with the girl who gave me a once-over.

"Well, you seem real enough to me," said Gia. "Paul told us Sky was living alone. He was wrong. I might as well text him and tell him that."

Sky frowned. "Since when do you talk to him like that?"

Gia shrugged. "Come on; he's a great guy. You should've made more effort, Sky. It's time we stopped blaming guys for everything, right, Denni babe?"

A great guy? I fought the urge to snort. Sky wasn't lucky in the friends' department, either. Ten minutes in the company of the chick were enough to decide that I didn't like her.

Sky paled. "I should've made more effort, huh? What are you talking about?"

Gia giggled. "Come on, Sky, I can't tell you that in front of your boyfriend. Paul told us about the problem you have. He even said he looked for a therapist for you."

The rage I felt was so intense I fought the urge to kick that pair of losers out of my apartment. Why the hell would Sky put up with those crappy people?

I hoped Sky wouldn't break down in front of the chick who didn't deserve to be called her friend. She'd had enough to go through another humiliation. I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Sweetheart, what therapist are they talking about?" I asked, giving Sky a discreet wink and hoping she would play along.

Sky rolled her eyes. "Must be the one Paul needed- a specialist in small dicks. There was this experimental therapy to lengthen it, but Mother Nature is wise. Not every guy is like you, baby. My God in bed."

I hugged Sky and pecked her cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart. Speaking of beds, I'm a bit tired. Join me in the bedroom when you can."

It was barely after eight, but I couldn't stand sharing the room with that chick any longer. Giving Sky's ass a light slap, I turned around and went to her bedroom. I would rather wait for her there.

I heard Sky tell Gia where her room was. The carpet muffled the sound of her footsteps, but I didn't miss the moment when she approached the bedroom and stepped inside, locking the door softly.

"What the fuck, Sky?" I whisper-yelled. "Why would you let her stay here after what she said?"

Sky was chewing on her bottom lip, standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Do you think I knew she talked to him? She was my friend, never his, and now they are laughing at me behind my back. I hate her, Liam. Bitch."

"Come here." I was going to pull Sky onto my lap, but she didn't let me do it, moving away from me.

"You don't have to fake things behind closed doors," Sky said.

Stunned, I watched her unzip her dress and take it off as if I wasn't there. Sky stood in front of me in a red bra and matching panties, completely unfazed while I gasped for air like a fish out of water.

"Cat got your tongue, roomie? Because that's who we are - roommates. You're not attracted to me, and you made it clear, saying that you shouldn't have kissed me and being cold to me all week."

"Sky, it's not-"

A loud moan sounded in my bedroom, followed by one more belonging to a guy.

"Ah." Sky giggled. "I forgot to tell you. Those two like it loud."

"Are you telling me those two are screwing in my damn bed?"

Shrugging, Sky grabbed a T-shirt from a chair and pulled it on before sliding under the comforter. "Absolutely. Now he's going to say, 'you feel so good, babe.'"

'You feel so good, babe' echoed through the apartment, making me want to crawl into a dark hole.

I undressed and made myself comfortable beside Sky, who started to skim through a photography magazine as if she didn't have two amateur pornstars going at it in the room close to hers.

"How are we supposed to sleep?" I asked.

"I haven't figured out how to shut them up, Liam. We won't get much sleep tonight."

"We'll see about that."

I cleared my throat and moaned loud enough to be heard. "Sky...Fuck, baby, you're a goddess. I want you so much. Don't stop."

Sky stared at me, blushing as she whispered, "Liam, what the hell?"

To add some action, I moved on the bed, making the headboard hit the wall. "Just like that, baby, don't you dare stop," I yelled, amping up the banging.

"Spank me, daddy!" Sky moaned loud enough to wake up half of our damn building. "I've been such a bad girl, come on, punish me. Liam, daddy, you're so big!"

"I'm huge!"

"Massive!"

"Ginormous."

"Thick!"

Tears poured out of our eyes as we shuddered with silent laughter. However, I wasn't giving up just yet. Taking a lungful of air, I yelled, "Are you gonna come, naughty girl?"

"I'm coming, oh my God, daddy," yelled Sky. I made sure to give the poor wall a couple of bangs with the headboard before Sky, and I collapsed on the bed face down, making sure the mattress drowned out the sound of our laughter.

Other than us, nobody was making any kind of noise. My eyes widened. How the hell would I look Aiden in the eye tomorrow?

"So, daddy, huh?" I whispered, running my fingertips across Sky's soft cheek.

She giggled. "You behave like my dad; I'd rather you did it like a daddy."

"What, right now?"

"No, beast. I'm sore from so much banging."

Laughing again, I inched toward Sky and wrapped her in my arms under the comforter. "I didn't mean it," I whispered. "I wanted to kiss you, and I loved every damn second of it. I just got mad because you ran away instead of talking to me, and then I got scared."

Slowly, Sky lifted her hand and placed it on my jaw, making my breath catch in my throat. "Scared of what?"

"Of this," I whispered, touching her lips with mine. It lasted barely a second, but I felt the aftershocks as if I was hit by electric current.

"I shouldn't have run away," said Sky, making herself comfortable in my arms. "But I was also scared. I wasn't ready for more, Liam."

I kissed her cheek and caressed the side of her face. "Will you tell me when you are? Ready for more, I mean."

Sky smiled. "I will. And Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"I felt things. I feel things every time I'm with you."

A/N
Sorry...😂