The Truce (London Suits 1)

“Nothing.”

“Right,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “I’m getting another beer. Want one?”

“Yeah.”

He wandered off into the kitchen, and I heard him talking in a low voice with someone before he sauntered back in, drinks in hand. I distantly heard a high-pitched giggle, followed by the sound of a door slamming.

“Who were you talking to just then?”

He handed me a fresh beer. “Damian. He’s got a girl over, so you won’t be seeing him tonight.”

Alex shared a house with two other rugby players, Damian and Liam. It was a total bachelor pad—massive TV, games consoles, no soft furnishings to speak of. The three of them were all single, and being good-looking Premiership rugby players meant they were surrounded by women on an almost daily basis. Liam was pretty quiet and kept to himself most of the time, but Alex and Damian seemed to be working their way through the female population of London.

I took a large gulp of my beer. “Another game?” Anything to keep my mind off Olivia.

Liv. A sudden pain hit my chest, and I rubbed it hard, trying to stop the ache.

Alex scrutinised me, an unhappy frown on his face. “Yeah, go on, then,” he said finally, sighing.

My phone dug into my leg, and I pulled it out of my pocket, remembering as I did so that I’d smashed the screen. I flung it down next to me, growling in frustration.

“What happened to your phone?” Alex gingerly tapped a finger on the broken glass.

“It met a wall.”

“Oookay then.” He cleared his throat. “Trip to the repair shop tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I muttered.

We played in silence for a while, then I somehow found myself opening my mouth.

“I ended it with Liv.”

“What?” Alex’s shocked exclamation echoed around the room. He turned to me, ignoring our half-finished game. “Why?”

“Too many reasons. Things were moving too fast—we were only meant to be friends with benefits. She left a toothbrush at my flat this morning—”

“A toothbrush?”

“—and it made me realise I can’t do this. I ended it before the lines became even more blurred.”

?

?What the fuck? Mate, are you serious?” Alex’s mouth hung open, and he stared at me like I’d grown an extra head.

“Yes, I’m fucking serious,” I snapped.

He shook his head in disbelief, opening and closing his mouth a few times before slumping back on the sofa. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“Don’t say anything.” My voice was hard. “Now you know, and we’re not gonna mention it again.”

“Right. Suppose we’ll carry on with this game, then.” Alex shrugged helplessly. I heard him mutter something under his breath that sounded like “fucking idiot” and “toothbrush,” but I chose to ignore him. As soon as we’d finished the game, he grabbed his phone, heading out of the room. I stared numbly into space, zoning out.

“By the way, mate, Ethan knows what happened. I told him not to contact you since it’s clear you’re not in the mood to talk. You’re welcome.” Alex flopped back on the chair next to me, phone in hand.

“Thanks. Not that he could, anyway, thanks to my piece-of-shit broken phone.” I laughed humourlessly, feeling Alex’s gaze boring into the side of my face. “Now what?”

“You do realise that the only one who thought you were fuck buddies was you, right?”