Chapter Sixteen:

Ria's head lolled from side to side as she awoke from the deep trance. The soreness in her body was not dissimilar to how she had felt only a couple of weeks ago. The only difference was that this time she knew the cause immediately.

She was acutely aware of a palpable pressure over her chest region. Glancing down, she was met with rich caramel lustrous waves of hair directly over her bosom. One familiar hand was tenderly grasping her breast over her lacy bra.

She felt a warm flush wash over her as she reminisced the events of the night before.

It had been three times as opposed to the wild and crazed five times when they'd been intoxicated. And after they'd gotten gratification from exploring each other's bodies, again and again, they'd talked. A lot.

They'd talked about the rapidly incoming sham wedding of Reid and Lydia. They'd discussed plans for the engagement party they'd been recruited to organise for the following week. They'd talked about Ben and his needs, and finally, they'd talked about themselves.

What were they now that Reid wasn't the only thing connecting them? They had agreed they'd crossed the fine lines of friendship and something more. And they'd decided they'd want to continue - whatever this was - no strings attached.

Ria inwardly smiled as she softly attempted to pry the older boy from her chest. He groaned in resistance, and she sighed, peaking at her phone. It was 8 a.m., and Reid and Lydia were due to land at 11 a.m.

"Blaine," she whispered calmly, nudging the boy as she spoke.

He grunted inarticulate words in response but remained situated on her chest.

"Blaine." She murmured again, her hands running through his thick head of hair, "Blaine, Reid's here." She threatened.

His eyes immediately widened as he jumped off the bed, glancing around almost frantic as though the boy would be standing in Ria's room with a knife, ready to pounce on him. He let out a loud groan of annoyance. "Not funny, Ri."

But she was giggling. "I wasn't trying to be! I had to say something. You were crushing my boobs." She massaged her breasts exaggeratedly, feigning pain as she did so

"Your pillows are too flat." He complained as he leapt back into the bed, folding the pillow in half so that it was at least doubled its size. "Your boobs were the only logical alternative."

Something had changed in the last twenty-four hours. Ria didn't feel uncomfortable at all. She didn't need to use the covers to hide her body as she had last time. They'd reached a level of understanding they didn't have with anyone else but each other. And Ria wasn't quite sure yet whether that was a good thing or not.

"You know, Blaine. I was thinking," Ria said, shifting onto her side to face the older boy, their bodies parallel in the bed.

"Oh, god. Should I be worried?" He mocked her jokingly.

"Hey, shut up." She jokily jabbed a finger into his chest, relishing his hardness, her finger pressing for a second too long. "I was thinking since you said you were struggling with rent and supporting Ben. Why don't you move in here, with Reid and me? I mean, we have the space."

"I'm not sure about staying in the room that was Rayhan and Sihem's if I'm honest. And as kind of an offer, as that is, I probably couldn't afford it." He answered honestly, his hand reaching up towards Ria's jawline, cupping her face slightly, his finger stroking the smooth skin of her cheek.

She let her eyes flutter close for a second as she savoured the feel of his touch against her cheek. The feather-light strokes were enough to emit that warmth within her that she would only ever associate with Blaine. She squeezed her thighs shut, desperately trying to ignore the increasing heat between her thighs.

"We wouldn't expect you to pay rent, but you could pay in other ways. And you can stay in my room instead."

"Oh, I see." He rubbed the stubble on his chin in thought. "Ria, if I didn't know better, I'd think you're asking me to be your whore." Ria grabbed the pillow from under the older boy and playfully hit him as he chuckled in response, quickly catching the pillow in his hand. "I'm kidding. But Reid may be a little pissed if he caught us sleeping in the same bed, don't you think?" He teased.

"I didn't mean we both sleep in my bed! You stay here, and I'd stay in mum and dad's room, idiot." She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't fight the flicker of a smile on her face. "And I meant you could help pay with the weekly shops instead of paying rent. At least think about it. It wouldn't be forever. And I know for a fact that Reid would love to have you here. I wouldn't be quite as ecstatic, but I'm sure I can tolerate you a little bit longer." She placed her index and thumb only a centimetre apart to reiterate the small amount of time she could tolerate him for.

"Hmm, okay." He agreed, beaming. "I'll talk to Reid about it."

"Okay." She replied, biting her bottom lip slightly, hiding her pleasure at knowing that Blaine may be around for a bit longer – and the things they could get up to. No strings attached, of course. "We should get up now."

"Yeah." But he didn't remove himself from the bed; instead, he inched himself towards her. He drew her in with his eyes first before pressing his lips against hers ever-so-softly, their foreheads dancing against each other with the movement. He didn't care that they hadn't brushed their teeth yet because it was Ria in her most natural state. Ria's hands encircled his neck, trying to sliver her tongue past his lips. A soft whimper left her mouth, desperate to refamiliarise herself with the taste of his tongue.

He hauled himself away before she could explore his mouth, and Ria gazed at him, starstruck as though he'd taken a piece of candy from her. "Now, we should get up." He whispered, a smirk etched on his face.

They spent the first half of the morning cleaning the house. He'd washed the dishes whilst she'd dried and put them away. She'd hoovered the place whilst he put the trash out.

The realisation hit that they knowingly removed all traces of the last three weeks. The jumper Blaine had drunkenly left behind was gone, the cups of tea accumulated over the previous week cleaned and restored to their drawers. The memories of their budding relationship were packed away, only now existing in the depths of their minds.

And finally, it was time.

Blaine had asked Reid if he'd wanted him to collect them from the airport, but Reid had advised against it. Lydia was in a foul mood because the airport staff hadn't allowed her to bring an extra handbag. Consequently, she'd given Reid the silent treatment for most of the flight back.

Ria peered outside the window, hearing the unmistakable sound of an engine revving outside the house. "Blaine, he's here!" She squealed as they both dashed for the door.

Lydia rushed in first, holding two small boxes in her small dainty hands. Her straight-as-a-pin, naturally bleach blonde hair was longer than Ria remembered it. The sun in Bali must have worked miracles because now it sat almost at waist level. Her ocean blue eyes were clear as day, so clear that Ria always felt she could see her reflection in them.

"Oh gosh, you wouldn't believe the day I've had!" Lydia squealed as she sauntered into the house.

"Oh? I'd love to hear – oh." Ria was interrupted as the older girl plopped the boxes directly into her arms and continued strolling into the lounge, appearing to have only been talking to Blaine. Ria sighed, sharing a knowing look with Blaine as he removed the boxes from her and followed Lydia into the room.

Reid was more than a few steps behind his fiancé, carrying all three suitcases rather awkwardly. He'd lost weight, Ria thought. Not masses, but at least one or two kilograms. He appeared tired, the area beneath his eyes more hollowed and pigmented than usual. It looked as though he'd barely slept the entirety of the three weeks away.

He usually shared Ria's naturally tanned skin inherited from their Turkish parents, but today he was several shades darker. Ria swore she'd reminded him to pack sun protection, but the boy had clearly not been using it.

Ria raced out, aiding her brother with the suitcases. "Reid? Are you okay?" She was more than just shocked at her brother's appearance, for they'd FaceTimed a couple of times weekly, and he'd always appeared upbeat during their brief conversations.

His left arm swung around his sisters' shoulders, still lugging the suitcases behind him. "I've missed you, Ria." He said quietly, not quite answering Ria's question.

As they wheeled the luggage into the house, joining Lydia and Blaine, they were met with the familiar high-pitched squawking. The topic of the conversation was how tiresome and long the plane journey was and how the airline had failed to meet Lydia's expectations with the lack of organic food choices available.

"Oh, Ria! Oh my goodness, I must have missed you when I came in," Lydia exclaimed, spotting the girl at the doorway. She leaned towards her and placed air kisses on either cheek. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Although I'm not sure how I could miss you. You've beefed up a bit, haven't you?" She leaned back, speaking normally now. "You're looking well."

Ria plastered on a fake smile, but she could feel the saliva in her mouth running dry. She didn't have a witty response this time. Ria and Lydia had always been at each others' throats. With only one year between the girls, at twenty-one and twenty-two respectively, and little to nothing in common, it was almost expected that the two girls would struggle to get along.

But the taunts were usually relatively light-hearted. At least they had been until seven months ago when Lydia began dating Reid. Ria always felt like the older girl was competing for her brother's attention.

Lydia turned on her heel, running her hands over the banners and balloons they'd placed up in a rush. "Aw, this is cute. Blaine, you really let Ria go wild in PoundLand, huh?" Lydia joked, but her words had an unmistakable hint of truth.

Blaine rolled his eyes at the girl, turning over to his best mate, who was still standing at the door, looking as though it was taking a great deal of strength to keep his eyes open. "Mate, you look...exhausted. You been keeping him up at night, huh, Lydia?" Blaine joked. He was trying to lighten the mood, Ria could tell.

"Hardly." Lydia interrupted, "It's literally like two minutes these days. I'm like, did we even start, and it's already over, you know?"

Reid let out an audible groan in response to the comment as he flung himself down onto the sofa whilst Blaine attempted to poorly suppress his laughter, his hand flying to his face to muffle the sound.

"Thank you, Lydia, for that vivid...image of my brother." Ria curtly responded, emphasising the word brother.

"Right, sorry," Lydia said, the large photograph of Rayhan now the centre of her attention. "I really wish you would take this picture down. It's not exactly aesthetic."

"It doesn't have to be. That's our dad you're talking about. Your soon-to-be father-in-law." Ria replied through pursed lips.

"You talk about him like he's still alive."

"He is. To me, at least. He'll always be alive to me."

Nobody spoke for at least a minute. The tension hung heavily in the air as though nobody knew what to do or say. Until the soft whistling snores of Reid were heard. Ria glanced over her shoulder, noticing Reid slumped on the sofa, his arm covering half his face. His chest rose and fell peacefully in that way it only did when someone was dozing.

"I've never seen him look so exhausted," Blaine murmured. He was staring at Lydia, almost accusingly.

"He's fine." Lydia waved off the statement quickly. "How about some lunch? We could wait for Reid, but he will probably be sleeping the whole day knowing him."

Ria blew out a breath of air as she nodded hesitantly. She grabbed a blanket and placed it over her brother before the three of them entered the kitchen.

It was awkward between them all. Nobody quite knew when Lydia would fire another one of her lines. Ria could hardly believe that the girl would move in with her and Reid in under five months. The thought of moving out was increasingly becoming an appealing option.

"So, Blaine, anyone special in your life? If Reid and I are getting married now, you're probably next." Lydia giggled.

Ria was taking her time unwrapping the pre-made sandwiches that she and Blaine had prepped for the couple. She was glad she was facing away from the two so she couldn't see the expression on Blaine's face - and that he couldn't see the one on hers.

"Well, I'm only twenty-four, so I'm keen to avoid a child marriage for as long as possible." He joked in return.

Lydia blinked up at the boy, "A child marriage? I don't understand why marrying young is so frowned upon these days. I think it's beautiful to decide to be with someone you want early on in life so you can grow together and do life together."

"And then realise you're not right for each other and get divorced at thirty?"

"Blaine!" Lydia interjected, "why would you even say that?"

Ria felt a smile playing on her lips, glad she wasn't an active part of the conversation but also pleased that Blaine was calling the girl out.

"I'm not saying that's going to happen to you and Reid. But, the statistics don't lie." He shrugged. He allowed his hand to snake around Ria's waist as he grabbed the stray pack of salt and vinegar crisps lying on the counter. He felt Ria's breath hitch as he did so.

He was taking risks. His body pressed behind hers for a moment too long, his arm too close to Ria's waist. Ria was praying that Lydia hadn't noticed.

"Ria?" Lydia called out, "come join us. Why are you standing over there for? Come and sit with your favourite sister-in-law." The girl taunted.

"Right." Ria sighed, finally joining them, bringing over the sandwiches. "So, what was the surprise you and Reid were talking about?"

Lydia peered over her shoulder into the lounge room. "I mean, I should wait for Reid before I tell you guys. But, since you're so insistent, I'll tell you." She had a soft glimmer in her eyes.

"Wait. Surprise? What surprise?" Blaine asked, his eyes widening. "Oh god, please don't tell us you're pregnant?"

Ria felt her heart marching in her chest at the mere thought. A Lydia-Reid baby sounded like an utter disaster. She'd always wanted a niece or nephew, but that had been when Reid had been dating Indiya. Ria let out an awkward laugh. "Stop it, Blaine. Of course, she's not pregnant. Right? You're not pregnant, are you?" The question came out as a plea, almost.

"Don't be silly, of course not. I'm a classy woman. I do things the right way. Marriage and then babies." She stated, almost offended by the suggestion. "The surprise was that we were thinking of having a joined stag and hen do."

"Okay, but I'm not quite seeing the surprise in that," Blaine replied.

"Let me finish!" Lydia hushed the boy. "We were thinking of getting everyone together and having a week-long celebration in Ayia Napa. You know, one last fling before the ring and all that." She explained; the excitement was barely containable in her rushed words.

"In Ayia Napa? A week-long? With you and Reid?" Ria repeated the words. She couldn't think of anything worse.

"Yep. Actually, we were going to ask you first. But we were just so excited, we've actually already booked it. It's the week after next week, so we can have the engagement party first." She almost squealed, "We're going to Ayia Napa, bitches!"

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Authors' Note: So we finally meet Lydia! What do y'all think of her?
And how long will Blaine and Ria continue their "no strings attached" relationship without anyone noticing? 👀
For non-British readers - stag and hen is like a party/night out usually a month or so before the wedding. It's like a bachelor/bachelorette party!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please do vote and comment x