𝙱𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳 ~ 𝚁𝙴𝙴𝙲𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝚂𝙷

𝙸𝙸𝙸. 𝚂𝙷𝚄𝚃 𝚄𝙿

A/N!!
Hey guys, I'm back ig🥰🥰. Idek where I went really I just became really unmotivated for a while. I wasn't getting any new ideas and I had absolutely no clue where to progress w/ the story.
Anyway, I'm really sorry and here's chapter 3 hopefully you enjoy it!!😖😖
(Also I really need you guys to comment yk or I'll quit😁)
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10TH JULY 2024
-THALIA MITCHELL-

"Sure, yeah, why not?" Thalia had been so glad to hear those words. They had played in her mind on repeat all throughout Steele's tour. She was barely able to pay attention to any of it, but she got the gist of it. She got her own team—photographers, editors, social media geeks, the lot of it—and she also got her own office. Her key card gave her manager-level clearance and a very generous discount on anything of her choosing from the café.

Grabbing the phone was the first thing she did when she was alone in her office, dialling Liv's number as fast as she could, whispering, "Pick up, pick up."

"Hello?"

"Liv?" Thalia's body sagged in utter relief, a sigh coming out with it. "Liv, I fucked up. I fucked up so bad, Liv."

"Hey. Hey, Thalia?" Liv called out but couldn't get past Thalia's stressed muttering. "Thalia, slow down; you're freaking me out. What happened?"

"Reece is here." Thalia whispered it into the phone, mortified by herself. She couldn't believe she acted like that with him, as if she wasn't looking after his child the day before.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Liv airily replied, and Thalia had never felt such betrayal. "He plays for the Broncos." Thalia was speechless. How could her own best friend let her walk in here, not knowing that?

"You didn't think to tell me that before I left?" Thalia hissed, aggressively swinging on her chair.

"Erm, I thought you knew." Liv casually told her. Thalia could practically see her shrugging her shoulders from her desk. "It's pretty common knowledge, and who doesn't do a bit of research before going into a new job?"

Thalia scoffed, partly offended. "Someone who doesn't care about the national rugby league, Olivia!"

"Then why are you working there?"

"The money, obviously! Whatever, that's not why I called." Thalia took a breath, steadying herself. "I told Reece about the cake you made."

"That's good." Liv interrupted, beaming on the other side of the phone. "What's so bad about that?"

"I'm not done, Liv." Thalia deadpanned as if that should have been obvious.

"Right, my bad."

Thalia shook her head rapidly, getting back on track. "Anyway, I told him about the cake, and then I invited him over."

"What?!" Liv squealed happily. "Thalia, that's amazing! It's been ages since you had a friend over."

"You know what I love about you, Liv?" The question was supposed to be rhetorical, but Thalia knew that if she had enough time (probably less than 30 seconds), she could list every good quality she had, so Thalia just cut her off before she could get there.

"How you let me finish my sentences." Her voice was sickeningly sweet and literally dripping with sarcasm, but it seemed to do the trick because Olivia wasn't talking.

"My stupid ass didn't just invite Reece." She sighed in disappointment. "I invited him and his friends." Thalia rolled her eyes at herself as another wave of embarrassment crashed down on her. She just didn't understand why she didn't have more composure during the conversation and was jumping around like a little rabbit to get Reece to agree. It wasn't like she had a crush on him or was attracted to him in any way, so why couldn't she just act like a normal human being?