Haven (Paul Lahote Fanfiction)

Regret

I woke up with Paul's strong arms around me. His body was perfectly underneath me and i buried my face deeper in his chest. His arms tightened around me as he gently stroked my exposed back and i inhaled his scent. Not his scent. I realised. Not his scent.

I opened my eyes to see Will, naked, in my bed. My eyes darted swiftly all over him before i shifted my gaze to myself, I, was also naked. Memories of last night kicked in and my head swam. I got up, scrambling off him, and lay on my side next to him, pulling the blanket closer.

Will was a little slower. "Wha-" He stopped mid-sentence, reality of last night kicking him too. He lifted the blanket up, checking if we had..."Oh." He breathed when his eyes fully opened and he looked at the scene. His eyes traversed the length of my unclothed skin. My eyes were fixed on the ceiling, my mind blank. Will looked at me once more, then lay back himself, his eyes, having nowhere to go, landed on the ceiling as well.

Complete silence, now that we were both conscience.

"This is a lovely room, love the colour." I turned my head to face him. He looked back at me, turning onto his side, the sheet sliding below his chest. "Are you kidding?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Not at all." He smiled. I tried to glare at him and ignore his body at the same time, but my face betrayed me. His smile widened and i turned away, letting my back face him. My face was heated and my stomach tingled. "Hey." His fingers grazed my back and i shifted so our gaze met. "I'm sorry." He said, his voice husky. All humour melted away, his tone dipped in concern. I shook my head. "I hardly ever do this." I mumbled, embarrassed. The last time i did this was about a year ago! "Yeah, me too." He paused. "I'm sorry." He said again. "Don't be." I said, our gazes meeting again. "I am not. I had a nice time." No matter how much i wish it had not happened, i still enjoyed it. "I was afraid to admit earlier, but i had an amazing time." He said and this time i could not hold back my laughter; the truth was that i did not want to.

"So you don't regret it." He asked, a smile still playing on his lips. "I do wish that it hadn't happened and i do wish that we were not working together, but i don't regret it. Like I said, i had a nice time." I gave him one last look and leaped out of bed, rushing back to the room in which i slept every night. I quickly put some clothes on and went back to check on Will. A few of his clothes were scattered on the hallway floor so i collected them in my arms. I knocked on the door and waited for him to respond. "Yeah?" He called instantly. I stepped inside. Will was still in bed looking at the ceiling. The sheets were gathered at his waist, the more tempting parts of him hidden. "You're still in bed?" I asked. "Sorry." He laughed. I lifted his pants from the floor and tossed them to him. I left when his legs touched the tiles.

I was cooking food, when Will came downstairs, buckling his belt. The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his graven chest more than i would like. "Will your parents be wondering where you are, or why you didn't come home last night?" I asked. My parents freaked out if they did not know where I was. "No, I live at my own house." He said. Of course. "Right, yes." I agreed. "Do you want something to eat?" I asked. "No, thank you, Alexandra. But you..." He paused as he finished with his belt. "...You should eat up. I hope I did not leave you too tired." A smile spread across my face. "I am going to leave." He said as he grabbed his coat from the couch. I walked from the kitchen to escort him out.

"Do you regret it?" I asked him. He had unlocked the door and was looking at me, eyes smouldering. The cool gust of wind blew in, but I was warm under his gaze. I wanted to reach out and kiss him again. William was so kind and gentle. Funny without ever being rude. His cheeks were slightly flushed, contrasting with his moonlight skin. His sharp features were set in an intense expression. "Absolutely not. If I could and if you'd permit, I'd simply like us to be more than friends." I looked down then back up. I did really like him, but I did not like him enough, It was as if my heart already belonged to someone else. "William." I started. "I don't know if that is a good idea." His eyes flashed in minor hurt but then regained their earthy cool. "Of course."

I reached out and buttoned the rest of his buttons. I regretted it as soon as my hands met his skin. I shouldn't have touched him like that just after turning his kind offer down. He put his own hand on top of mine as his other hand made its way to lift my chin. He kissed my feverishly, pulling back for a fraction of a second only to meet me again. This time our lips parted and i could taste him better. His hand went from my chin to cup my cheek as he drew me closer and closer... I pulled back, letting my hand on Will's chest slide all the way down and then returning it to my side, where it rightfully belonged. "That was the last time." I whispered. My knees were weak. "I know." he whispered too.

"Get the fuck off her." It took me a while to realise that that voice was not mine, nor Will's, but it was directed at us. The voice was Paul's. Oh no. In a short moment Paul's hand was on my shoulder, pressing into my skin with an almost unbearable force when he pushed Will as away from me as possible with his other hand. I shook out of his stone grip and placed my self hurriedly between the two men. "Will, don't you hit him." I yelled. Will's hand was in the air, his fingers tightened into a strong fist. "You're so lucky." He spoke aggressively, looking Paul in the eye with a murderous look. "Also, who the fuck are you?" Will asked. "I'm the boyfriend." He declared angrily. Not true. Before anything worse could occur, I put my hands on Will's chest and slowly pushed him to his car. That seemed to do it. Will's killer gaze left Paul and immediately softened when it touched me. "I'm sorry. He is not the boyfriend. He is my ex." I informed him. He still had the perfect bed hair that blew in the crisp wind. "Oh. For a second i thought..." He shook the thought out. "I'll see you day after tomorrow." His gaze shifted to my shoulder. "I hurt you." He said. I looked at my shoulder to see a bruise next to the spaghetti strap of my. "Oh, no. That wasn't you." I confirmed. As soon as Will knew it was Paul he almost lunged at him. I held him back. "Will. Please go home." I opened his car door and ushered him inside, looking back at Paul only once. He was standing in the doorway, shaking. William got in and backed out of my drive way. He stopped, pulled his window down and yelled. "Thank you for the lovely evening, Miss Hemsworth." I had to admit he looked a bit smug. I simply waved in return.

I turned to face Paul. It was unavoidable. He was standing on the porch, his eyes filled with anger. If I had to go inside my house, I would ultimately have to pass him. Seeing Paul again had lit a fire inside of me. I felt all warm again. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and pull his chest to mine. I wanted to melt in his embrace. "Paul." I said as i stood in front of him. "Moved on already, huh?" He asked, bitterly. I could not answer him. I acted out of loneliness when i had invited Will over. I was lonely cause Paul wasn't there. Paul was not there because I had pushed him away.

"Who was that?" He asked. I tried to move past him but he blocked my way, grabbing my wrist firmly, though it was not painful. "Just tell me who he was?" His voice dropped as he pleaded. "That was William James." He took a step back, shaking again. What was with him and shaking? Who shakes? He is not Taylor swift. "Your friend? Your 'Just a colleague'? Just a 'business partner.' Seriously?" He asked, his voice venomous. "Why do you care?" I snapped. "What does it matter?" I asked, tears were about to spill. God, I loved Paul so much.

He took a step toward me. "Al, you are my..." He cut of abruptly. "You smell different." He announced. "You smell like expensive fancy cologne." He added. "Expensive fancy cologne?" I repeated unable to get what was going on. "You smell like... him. Like that son of a bitch." Paul spat the words out like they were fire in his throat. "Why was he here?" he asked, angry again. "Why are you here?" I diverted the conversation back to him. I could not answer his questions. "I came to.." He stopped again. God, he was frustrating! "He wasn't kidding, was he?" He accused. "What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly getting defensive. "He had a lovely evening." I fell silent. "Did you sleep with him?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper now. I kept my hard gaze on him as i tried to slip past him back into my house, attempting to dodge that query. "So you did. You slept with that motherfucking bastard." I switched into defensive mode. "Yes. Yes I did sleep with Will."