Second Girl (Reece Bibby)

Chapter Seven

When I woke up I half expected Reece to be laid beside me. But he wasn’t. I was alone, in the guestroom. I heard the clattering of pans from somewhere in the apartment and wondered what time it was if the lads were voluntarily awake. I got out of the bed I’d slept in before changing out of Reece’s clothes he’d given me to sleep in. Unfortunately, the only clothes I had were the ones I’d worn to the studios yesterday so I changed into those.

Once I’d made my face and hair more presentable, I left the guest bedroom. It was Charlie who was in the kitchen. He was emptying the dishwasher. “Good morning,” I spoke with a smile on my face. Charlie looked up from what he was doing and returned the smile. “Hello,” he replied before lifting some mugs out of the dishwasher. “Do you want a cup of tea?” he asked me.

“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks. Sorry about my face, by the way. I don’t have any makeup with me,” I told Charlie. He raised his eyebrows before smirking. “What?” I questioned, wondering if there was something in my hair. “It doesn’t matter,” Charlie replied and filled up the kettle with water. “Is there something in my hair?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair. “No, it’s just…Charlotte, you look beautiful all the time. I’m surprised you’re not a model,” Charlie told me. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as I looked down at my hands. I wasn’t great at taking compliments.

“Good morning,” James sang as he came into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of jogging bottoms which hung loosely from his hips. My eyes travelled up his slightly toned torso and landed on his face. He was smirking at me meaning he’d seen me checking him out. James ran a hand through his messy hair before he leant against the counter beside me. “We have a day off today. Will you be spending it with us?” he asked.

“Uh…I need to go back to my flat and get changed but I guess I could spend the afternoon with you,” I told James. “Milk and sugar?” Charlie piped up and I nodded. “Two sugars please.” James smirked before saying, “You’re already sweet enough.” I couldn’t help but smile at his cheesy pickup line. “Listen, one of us lot will drive you back to your flat so you can get what you need. Then we can go shopping or something,” James suggested. “Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly allow you to drive all the way to my flat. I live in Surrey,” I pointed out.

“It’s no trouble,” James replied and before I could argue any more, Reece appeared. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a carton of orange juice out of the fridge without saying a word. “James, Charlie, come and look at this,” I heard Chris shout from the doorway that joined the two apartments together. James and Charlie left the kitchen, leaving me alone with Reece. I see what he did there.

“What are your plans for today?” Reece asked me as he leant on the counter in front of me. “Uh…James said one of the lads will drive me back to my flat to get changed before going shopping,” I explained and he nodded. “Great, I’ll join you. Claire’s working today,” he told me before glancing behind me then kissing my lips.

When we’d all had some breakfast and the lads were dressed, James, Reece, Chris and I left the apartments. Reece and I were in the back of the car as Chris was driving and James had called shotgun. Reece held my hand for the whole journey which made me feel safe and happy. I really did love him.

The hour-long journey to my flat went by quicker than I’d expected. When we arrived, the four of us went inside the building and into the elevator. Reece pushed the button for the floor my flat was on just as the doors shut. The doors made a ping sound as they opened on the right floor. Reece walked towards the door of my flat and waited patiently for me to unlock it. “Reece?” James piped up. “Yeah,” Reece answered as I unlocked the door. “How did you know the floor and the number of Charlotte’s flat?” he asked. I pushed the door of my flat open before turning to look at Reece and seeing the colour drain from his face. “I-I-I…” he trailed off.

I glanced at Chris who looked to be as fresh out of ideas as I was. “James, come inside the flat so I can explain,” I piped up, knowing that there was no way out of this one. James would have to find out about my relationship with Reece. I grabbed each of the lads a drink from the fridge before we all sat down in the living room of the flat I lived in with my father, who was yet again working all day. “James…Reece and I...”