Conviction(62)

She pulls back and meets my gaze. Her lids look heavy like she’s struggling to keep them open. I’m not sure if it’s tiredness or lust that’s causing this, but judging by the way her cheeks are so beautifully flushed, I’ll go with the latter.

“I don’t know you. I know Conner, but I don’t know Reed.”

I kiss her gently on the mouth, just because I can, and because I need to.

“Reed’s gone. Reed stopped existing the second my lips touched yours.”

“You’re full of shit,” she almost moans as I drag my teeth over her earlobe again and bite down on the curve between her neck and her shoulder. She shudders and I swear to God, I’ve just shot a load off in my boxers.

I pull away so I can look into her eyes as I speak, “No bullshit, Meebs, not with you, not ever.” I push her blonde hair back from her face and run my thumb along her tattoo on the back of her neck.

“We made a baby together. You had my baby in your belly and my heart in your hands. I don’t know what happened, Meebs. I can’t even begin to get my head around what could’ve gone on. How we ended up apart that night.” I rest my forehead against hers. “One kiss, my lips brushing against yours and it’s all there, and I don’t think it’s a case of it all coming rushing back. What we had, it never went away. It’s always been there. It’s stayed with both of us. We’ve carried it around all this time and all it would’ve taken was for one of us to reach out. One of us to make contact.” When I look down, I can see tears hanging from her lashes.

“It’s so unfair, Con. All these years, we could’ve been making a life together. We should’ve been together, not apart, miserable and lonely.”

I kiss the tears from each of her eyes. “Please don’t cry. I hate seeing you cry.”

“I know, I’m sorry, but I’m so f*cking angry, Con. Like, raging angry. To the point where I want to cause somebody harm.”

I smile at that thought. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as gentle as Meebs.

“Don’t look at me like that. I go to boxercise now, have done for years. I can throw a blinding right hook,” she says in all seriousness. I try not to laugh.

“I’d like to see that some time.”

The buzzer sounds for the intercom at the gate.

“That must be Josh and Sophie,” I tell her.

“Perhaps you’ll get to see my right hook sooner than you think,” she comments while following me into the house.





I press the button that activates the electronic gates and then go and open the front door, leaning against the frame while watching a black cab wind its way up my drive. The wheels haven’t even stopped turning before Sophie jumps out.

“What’s going on, Reed? Where the f*ck’s Nina? I’ve been ringing and ringing her phone. If you’ve hurt or upset her, you f*cker.” Sophie’s long-legged stride bounds up the steps to my front door.

“She’s in the family room.” I gesture with my head, in the general direction.

After paying the cabbie, Josh turns to face me. He and Sophie must’ve gone home to change at some stage as they’re both wearing T’s and jogging bottoms.

“This better be f*cking good, Reed,” he says as he reaches my front door.

I don’t reply and remain silent all the way back to where Meebs is standing in my kitchen. The kettle is on and the coffee machine is pushing water through a pod and into a glass coffee cup. Sophie is sitting on a stool at the worktop, watching her.

“Tea?” I ask Josh. Assuming that Meebs already has Sophie’s drink in hand.

“I’ll have a coffee please,” Josh replies.

There’s an awkward silence while the drinks are made and all that seems to go through my mind on a loop, is that Meebs is in my kitchen.

She’s here.

Right here.

Right now.

In my kitchen.

When everyone has a drink, I lean back against the granite worktop next to Meebs. Just as I’m about to speak, Amoeba beats me to it.

“What did you do with the letter I gave you to give to Conner, when he was locked up?” she directs the question at Josh, who looks from her to me.

“What?” he asks her.

“What’s this all about?” Sophie joins in. Meebs gives her a death stare, which instantly shuts Sophie up and makes me think of the Shakespeare quote, ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’ and I instantly feel my dick twitch. Not because I have a thing for The Bard, but because watching Meebs stick up for herself is as sexy as f*ck. Actually, whatever she does, she’s as sexy as f*ck.

“When Conner was locked up, I gave you a letter to take to him. It was one envelope, but there were two letters inside. I asked you to take them to Conner next time you were going to see him. I told you…” She stops and covers her mouth with her hand for a few seconds and looks at me, before looking back at Josh. She’s struggling not to cry and as much as it hurts my heart to watch her, I let her get the question out there. I let her feel that she’s got control here. I think she needs it. “I told you that if he still didn’t want to see me after he’d read them that I didn’t want to know, for you to just not tell me anything,” Josh is nodding as she speaks.

“Yeah, yeah, I remember. I tried to convince you to go and see him for yourself, but you wouldn’t.”