Wasted Opportunities

Chapter 37

Ashton's POV

“Babe,” I moaned as Maddy left a trail of kisses down from my mouth to my shoulder, sucking on my neck. “We can't do this now.”

“Yes we can,” she mumbled, pushing me down onto the sofa and landing on top of me. She pressed her lips hard on mine before I could protest any more. “I can't wait any longer. I've been thinking about this all morning, but there were always people around.” We had a few days between shows, and were using them to rehearse at the venue of the upcoming show. I wrapped my arms around her waist, smiling.

“I love you,” I said, burying my face in her hair.

“Love you too,” she whispered, her lips resting against mine. “Come on, you know you want to...”

“Alright then,” I said, running my hands up and down her body as she moaned and pulled on my hair.

“Um, guys... This is a public place, c'mon!” said Emily, walking in with a bottle of water. Maddy sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Again?” said Luke, who had also just come in. “Can't you save it at least until tonight?” Maddy climbed off me reluctantly, and we stuck to holding hands and cuddling instead, although it took a while for my heart to stop beating and the dirty thoughts in my mind to be forgotten. Emily sat at her keyboard stool and twirled around aimlessly.

“Sorry, can I get my phone?” said Luke, reaching over her shoulder.

“Oh yeah, sure,” said Emily, a blush rising on her face as he brushed against her.

“I can't quite reach it, sorry,” he said, trying desperately to grab it from the floor quickly before things got any more awkward. Emily spun the seat round, trying to reach it herself. She ended up handing it to him, their faces only a few centimetres apart.

“Here you go,” she breathed quietly.

“Th – thanks,” he said, their eyes locked together for a moment before they both moved away awkwardly.

“They can't go on pretending they don't like each other,” Maddy whispered to me. “It's obvious to everyone else except them.”

“I know,” I whispered back as Emily watched Luke sit down and check his phone. “If they just talked about it, I'm sure they'd end up dating in like five minutes.”

“But what about Michael? Think how upset he'd be,” she said, her face full of concern.

“I don't know, I think he'd get over it,” I mused. “I mean, if Emily and Luke really were happy. But do you think Emily would really be happy with Luke, knowing that she could have had Michael?”

“I don't know,” she frowned. “Oh well, I'm sure it'll all work out.”

“We could... help it along a bit,” I said, a wicked look coming into my eyes when she turned her face to mine.

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

“We need to put them in a situation where they can't help talking to each other. Did you see that cupboard in the corridor? By the vending machine... if we shut them in there together somehow, for like an hour, they'd have to talk to each other,” I said, the plan forming in my mind as I spoke.

“How do we get them in there?” she wondered.

“If we get Emily in there first somehow, and then tell Luke she's in trouble, he'll go in there to help her. He may pretend not to like her, but in reality he'd still do anything for her.”

“How do we get Emily in there?” Maddy said.

“I think you need to do that. She's much more likely to listen to you.”

“Okay,” she said, thinking. “When shall we do it?”

“Hey, guys! I think we've worked pretty hard today, so let's have a long lunch break, yeah?” suggested Michael.

“Is it mean to do it during lunch?” I asked, slipping my hand into Maddy's.

“We've got a long break, they can eat afterwards.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Okay, I'll get Luke, you get Emily,” I said, getting up from the sofa. “Go go go!” Maddy rushed over to Emily and put her arm round her shoulders, guiding her towards the door. I walked over to Luke.

“Hey, dude,” I said, trying desperately to plan this out in my mind. How was I supposed to know Emily was in trouble when I had been with him the whole time?

“Hi,” he smiled. “Where are you thinking of going for lunch?”

“Might just go and get a sandwich or something, nothing special I don't think,” I said as I deliberately led him down the corridor with the cupboard.

“Oh, can I get some crisps?” I suddenly stopped by the vending machine, aware of the fact that Maddy might need a little longer to get Emily in the cupboard. My heart beating as I picked up the packet of Skips, I walked further along the corridor and stopped in front of the cupboard door, a confused expression on my face as if I could hear a noise.

“Can you hear something coming from that cupboard?” I asked.

“Uh... no,” said Luke after a pause.

“Could you have a look? What if there's someone stuck in there?” I asked.

“Fine,” he said, stepping inside as it was quite a big cupboard, storing lots of stuff needed for the venue. I slammed the door shut and turned the key to lock it, slipping the key into my pocket. Maddy rounded the corner, showing me the text she had just sent to Emily and Luke's phones. It said: 'sorry, but you guys need to talk. We'll let you out in an hour, if we're satisfied. mashton xx'. She winked at me and dragged me along the corridor.

“We don't need lunch, do we?” she smiled as we left the venue.

“Definitely not. Come on, let's go and have some fun.” She rolled her eyes, but sped up her walking as we came closer to the hotel.

A/N

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