when the wives are away

Chapter 3 - Get Together Gone Wrong

Every Sunday evening is BBQ night, where both the Styles and the Tomlinsons gather together for a night of games, drinks and genuine laughter. This has taken place religiously for the last 5 years since the neighbours had first met.

Both couples eagerly look forward to it every week. The women are usually wrapped up in their own little world, sat together at the small round cement table under the veranda. With their Martinis in hand, they love listening to each other's latest gossip and fashion trends and quite often exchange hair and beauty tips seeing the night through.

For the lads let's just say, Sundays meant both men thoroughly enjoyed that tiny bit of an escape from their demanding and uncontrollable wives as they generally sat around the grill with beers in tow.

Tonight, however, did not reflect this normality at all.

Harry wouldn't engage with Lexi in the slightest, Elly wouldn't look at Louis, and Louis was avoiding Harry at all costs. For the first time in history, everyone was wishing BBQ night would just hurry up and end already. There was inevitable tension everywhere you turned.

Harry was concerned about Louis. Normally if something was bothering him Harry was the first one to know about it but as Harry watched Louis tiptoe around him and recognised the lack of interest in any sort of conversation, he decides to just give him some space, even if the nagging feeling that he has done something wrong lingers in his thoughts.

When the food is finally served Louis can't take the silence any longer. Everyone around the table is slightly shocked when Louis addresses Lexi.

"How's it going at the firm Lex? Harry mentioned the other day you have been swamped with work."

As close as Lexi and Elly were, similar to that of Harry and Louis, Lexi and Louis just never really clicked. Of course, they were friendly with each other, how could they not be when their retrospective spouses were their best friends. Even still it was no secret that the pair just had a mutual dislike for one another.

Louis didn't appreciate Lexi's attitude and "snobbishness" as he liked to call it. He always thought she somehow found a way to make Louis feel beneath her. Upon first meeting Lexi she had made a moderately rude remark regarding Louis's profession.

A comment was made one evening about how being a writer wasn't a ' real ' employment choice and from that moment on, there was always friction between the two. Harry had made Lexi apologise non the less but it was too late. Louis no doubtabley despised her.

Although Lexi knew Louis had pulled in a few good checks for his award-winning novels, she still saw him as Lazy. Anyone could see from the outside looking in that she was clearly just jealous of Louis and his freedom to spend time at home with his wife while she herself, was held up in office meetings majority of the time.

Louis was home, he got to spend some time with Elly, and he was never stressed out consistently like she was. Louis's job was nowhere near as demanding as hers and Louis seemed to always appear happy especially with his marriage. Lexi wished for all that he had, and that subconsciously made her green with envy. Yet there was one other issue Lexi had with Louis and that was his close nit relationship with her husband, the close bond that she desired and wholeheartedly wished she had instead.

" Fucking tiring, always busy, unlike some, I don't get the luxury of ever having a break... you know? "

Harry glared at Lexi. Now to most people, the remark seemed casual and friendly but the bitchiness behind her words didn't go unnoticed by those in the room and her smirk that followed certainly wasn't missed either.

Harry pushes his plate into the middle of the table in a huff as he raises to his feet.

" You never can contain that pretty little mouth of yours can you darling! You just don't care about anyone's feelings but your own!!!"