When Phoebe arrived at her family's house, she was pulled into the kitchen by her grandmother. After a little talk with her, she headed to Katie's office half an hour later with a cup of tea that her grandmother had made for her.
She was nervous. In itself, she didn't expect Katie to be really angry, yet she might get a few reproachful words hurled at her. She took one last deep breath before knocking on the door.
"come in, Phoebe" her aunt's voice rang out. Immediately Phoebe opened the door and stepped inside. A cold shiver ran down her spine. The last time she had been here with Katie in her office to talk, she had almost accidentally blurted out the whole thing with Joe and then lied to her aunt that nothing was going on between them.
What an irony that she was here again today and now had to confess everything....
"Sit down. your grandma seems to have set you up with something to drink already, huh?" grinning, Katie nodded at the cup in Phoebe's hand, while Phoebe nodded with only a slight smile and dropped into the chair. Katie seemed to be in a good mood. So the conversation wasn't going to go too badly.
"So, let's get right to the point. I have to say I was very surprised by your call this morning, but I have a lot of respect for the fact that you came forward right away to straighten everything out, Phoebe" Katie leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"I think by your desire to talk to me about it right away, I can assume that the photos are real and there's no Photoshop involved, right? The scene, Joe and you, that really happened?" Katie asked.
Phoebe nodded. "It's real. It really happened" she confirmed. There was no point in denying it anyway. Eventually the truth would come out anyway, and Phoebe wasn't going to keep it a secret from her family any longer.
"When was this photo taken?" Katie asked further. "Two weeks ago. At a party we went to together" Phoebe explained. "Do you know who took it? How it might have gotten out to the public?" Katie asked as she scribbled a few things on a piece of paper. Somehow that made Phoebe even more nervous, yet she shook her head with a sigh.
"So far I haven't been able to figure it out, but I'll keep trying" she clarified. "Okay, you want to explain to me how that kiss happened?" Katie looked up and eyed Phoebe briefly, who was shifting uneasily in her chair.
"It's...actually quite silly. Harry was at the party..." Phoebe began, but Katie interrupted her. "Harry? Your ex-boyfriend?" she asked, puzzled. Phoebe nodded. "He was a little douchey to me first, and then when I left, apparently he was still trying to badmouth me in front of Joe, so Joe was trying to make him a little jealous" Phoebe shrugged as she lowered her gaze.
"So it was more of a friendly act?" Katie raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You could put it that way" Phoebe mumbled. "So it was the first time Joe and you got a little closer?" Katie checked.
"No" Phoebe kneaded her hands nervously while still keeping her gaze lowered. She didn't dare look Katie in the face. She was afraid of the reaction she would see there.
"No?" Katie seemed surprised. "Can you elaborate?" she asked. "Uh..." Phoebe stammered. Her mind went blank. How do you explain to your aunt that you regularly hook up with the shooting star of the family organization?
"Phoebe, sweetheart, I know this can't be easy to talk to me about. Especially since I'm kind of playing the double role of acting vice president and your aunt today" Katie sighed.
"If you want, we can go get Liz. I know you've always been more comfortable talking to her about boy stuff. If it would make you feel more comfortable" she suggested, but Phoebe shook her head.
"That...it's okay, Katie. I trust you just the same. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to explain it to you" Phoebe conceded, raising her head. A loving smile was on her aunt's lips as she leaned on the desk and looked at Phoebe.
"Just straight out, Phoebe. Don't think so much" she grinned. Phoebe nodded. "Okay" she took a deep breath. "Joe and I have slept with each other several times" it blurted out of her.
"O-Okay" Katie blinked a few times overwhelmed. "I...was counting on the fact that you might have slept together. Heaven knows, I was sure it was going to happen ever since you came here to my office a few months ago and told me you guys had been fighting" she took a deep breath.
"I didn't expect it to happen multiple times. Which, looking back, is actually pretty obvious. From what I gather, you spend a lot of your free time with the players, don't you? With Sam? Surely Joe's always around there too?" Katie pondered aloud. "Also, Paige has told me several times that Joe has been to the office or looking for you. How...long has it been going on with you guys?"
Phoebe sighed. If she put all her cards on the table now, there would be no turning back. She took another breath. "The first time it happened was two weeks before training camp started and since then... now and then" she admitted.
"Before training camp?" Katie stared at her open-mouthed. "Meaning...the last time you sat here and we talked about your fight, it...had already happened? Is that what you guys were fighting about?"
Phoebe nodded. "I was pretty unfair and mean to him at first, so it took time for us to stop attacking each other." she explained. "When was that?" Katie asked. "When we got back from the wedding in New York" Phoebe mumbled.
"Okay" sighing Katie leaned back in her chair. "That's quite a bit of information all at once" she exhaled loudly. "Anything else I should know?" Phoebe shook her head.
"Are you...mad at me?" she asked softly when Katie remained silent. "What, no, of course not, Phoebe" Katie shook her head. "Would I have liked you to say it on your own and we didn't have to find out because of a picture, of course. But I can understand you" she smiled at her niece.
"But the important thing is, I trust you, Phoebe. We trust you. You're a smart girl with a sharp mind. You would never do anything to hurt the family or the organization. And honestly, I don't blame you. Like I told you last time, Joe is a decent young man" Katie grinned.
"Thank you, Katie. You don't know how relieved it is to finally be rid of it" Phoebe exhaled deeply. Katie laughed out loud. "I can imagine. We just have to figure out how to break the whole thing gently to your grandpa. But you don't have to worry about that" she assured her.
"Promise me one thing though, Phoebe. The next time something like this happens, be honest with us. We're your family. We don't judge you. We want you to be okay, no matter what, okay?" Katie looked at her questioningly. Phoebe nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Katie."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. I do have one more question though. Just out of interest" Katie gave Phoebe a curious grin. "What's the next step? What do you say to the press? And is there any chance that it might become more than just sleeping with each other soon?"
Phoebe had to laugh at her aunt's curiosity, while at the same time the uncomfortable feeling from this morning spread through her. "as long as it doesn't create a big commotion and we're forced to react to the situation, we'll ignore it for now. So for now, no comment to the press in case they pick up on it. As for the other...." she chewed on her lower lip.
Honestly, she didn't know exactly how to answer that question herself. The last few weeks, especially last night, Phoebe had often asked herself, but as of this morning, the answer was different than before.
"No chance of anything more than sleeping with each other between Joe and me" she tried to laugh. "None at all? Not even a very small one?" Katie almost looked disappointed. Phoebe shook her head. "I'm pretty sure there isn't one" she mumbled.
It hurt to say it out loud, but as of this morning it seemed somehow to be the confirmed truth. Joe had taken back his confession and denied being serious.
So where was there any chance in sight?
ITS GAME DEEEEY, so excited for the first play off game of the Bengals. Bit concerned about the left side of the O-Line, Cappa missing after Collins is already out is baaaad but im sure the new players will step up and do their job like everyone else did this season!!
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no strings attached - j.b
Fanfiction"I don't want this to get weird in any way, so let's make a deal, okay? We will hook up tonight and after tomorrow we wont see each other ever again. No names, no real stories of us, no exchange of number or social media. I don't want to know anythi...
