Truth or Dare?

Never a dull moment

I just stare at the situation in front of me and then roll my eyes at Roman's outburst. I've honestly had enough drama for one day. I actually think I might just scream in a minute.

"I do treat her like royalty and I respect her more than anyone I've ever dated. Rome you know this. I've talked to you about her." I can see the pleading in his eyes but I can't help but wonder why he's letting Roman pin him there. We all know Marcus could kick my brothers ass.

"Yeah and then you slept with her the first chance you got!" Roman isn't shouting anymore which you'd think was a bonus but the way he says it makes my skin crawl. I've had enough!

"Stop talking about me like I'm not in the bloody room." I grab Romans ear and drag him away from Marcus. When I feel there's enough distance between the two, I let go and point my finger at him in warning. "Not that it's any of your business Roman but yes we have slept together and actually, technically, no it wasn't the first chance he had. He's had others but respected my wishes. You need to remember that my 'relationship' with Marcus will be different. We're already friends and because of that, we might skip certain phases. You just need to let us do what we're doing at the pace we've both discussed. It's not your place to get involved no matter your relation to either of us. Do you understand?" I raise my voice at the end and realise I've released my 'teacher voice' on my own brother.

Roman looks at Alice in slight shock and I too take a quick look at her face. She's smirking like mad and shrugs her shoulders at Roman before winking at me.

"I'm your brother Fliss. I'm allowed to react like this. Even if the guy is my best friend. If anything, it makes it worse. I'm trying to be as understanding as possible but it's hard. It's ingrained in me to protect you but I also know how much you both like each other. He's been talking crap about how much he likes you for years. I guess I'm just taken back with everything Jackson was shouting and your lovely comments about your sex life with Marcus here!" He smirks a little and I think it's because of the look that's probably plastered on my face.

I gulp audibly and try to quickly order my scrambled thoughts to be able to produce some form of response but I keep coming up blank. What do I say back to that? He's absolutely right. I did just enlighten not only Jackson but also my brother and best friend. Not to mention Marcus. Some of the things I've said were said possibly too soon in my relationship with Marcus. After all, we're not actually in a relationship yet. We're still dating!

"You're right. I'm sorry for you having to hear what was said but I still needed to say it to him. Jackson was out of line and I guess I just wanted to upset him." I look down, not wanting to see anyone's eyes and the pity laced in them. It's been a very eventful day today and I'm shot!

"Hey, you did a brilliant job and I'm so proud of you. I've been telling you for years he was a waste of space and I'm just so glad you finally realised it today." Alice stokes my cheek and I meet my eyes with hers. "Fliss, you look exhausted. Go and have a lie down and I'll bring you some tea in an hour to wake you up." I look at the two men in the room and the tension still between them. She seems to get the gist of what I'm saying with my eyes and raises an eyebrow at me. "Don't worry about these idiots. I can deal with them. Go and lie down. I promise you'll feel better afterwards."

I don't look at the guys but focus on my journey to my room instead. I hear them talking but a small part of me registers that it's exactly that. Talking. They're not shouting. I trust Alice and I know she'll try her best to control the situation. She might be small but she can be a feisty little bugger when she wants to be.

When I get through my door I dive onto my bed and curl up, too exhausted to even pull back the duvet. I don't even have a chance to think things through before the darkness surfaces and I'm out.