"I've never seen you so stressed in your life" Sydney said as she sat on my bed whilst I put my make up on.
"I have every right to be stressed" I told her.
"I'm not saying you don't" She said and I rolled my eyes. "So, I thought Luke was a one time thing"
"So did I until he stayed at mine with Lola that weekend"
"What changed?"
"I realised what he's actually like and how different he is to what everyone makes him out to be" I finished my make up and went into the walk in wardrobe to change, continuing my conversation with Sydney.
"You like him"
"I don't"
"Then why did you kiss him?"
"He kissed me"
"You kissed back"
"So what if I do like him? Unless Kylie agrees to a divorce, nothing will ever happen between Luke and I"
"Do you want something to happen?"
"I don't know, Syd, it's just stressing me out right now. The fact that Alex found out is stressful in itself without the fact that I'm helping Luke cheat on our best friend"
"Listen, Mads. Luke's not going to leave you alone in this. He's not going to drag you into it too much either. He may act like a dick sometimes, but he cares about you and you care about him whether you want to believe it or not"
"Thanks. Anyway, how do I look?" I asked, walking back out into the main part of the room.
"Like a boss bitch" She told me. I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Seriously, you look good. Luke won't be able to keep his eyes off of you"
"Oh shut up, let's go" I put my leather jacket on and grabbed my bag before following Sydney down to the car. Luke had text me telling us to meet them at the restaurant instead of in the lobby.
***
"You look nervous" Sydney said as we went into the restaurant.
"I am. I have no idea what Kylie knows anymore" I told her.
"I'm sure Luke's feeling the same. Hell, I'm feeling the same"
"Sorry you got dragged into this"
"Don't worry about it. I've always been on your side with Kylie and I'm not going to change now"
"Thank you" She smiled at me and we made our way over to the table where Rocsi was sat by herself.
"I'm glad you guys are here, I've been sat alone for 10 minutes" We sat down with her and ordered some drinks. "Mads, Alex told me about you and Luke"
"You think I'm a horrible person, don't you?"
"I mean it's pretty shitty going behind your best friend's back and hooking up with her husband but I know the whole story, Alex doesn't"
"Wait, how much do you know?"
"Calum told me all about Luke's relationship"
"You're still hanging out with him?"
"Yeah. And he's still friends with Luke. They work together too. Calum knows everything about Luke's relationship except for you unless he just didn't want to tell me that part" She said. "What I'm saying is, as much as Luke's cheating with you, she's doing a lot worse. Especially since she's not looking after her kid. Luke and Kylie are barely even together anymore, it's barely cheating"
"Thanks for understanding. By no means am I proud of what I've done. Luke and I have barely done anything, just so you know. It's more of a supportive friendship"
"I get it. Listen, Alex and Kylie have always been close. Al's bound to side with Kylie. She doesn't know half of the story, just the lies Kylie's been telling her. Don't stress yourself out over this. They'll be divorced before Kylie finds anything out" I nodded and smiled at her before seeing Alex, Kylie and Luke coming over. They sat down around us, Luke opposite me. This was going to be a long night.
***
"So, Kylie, how's Lola? Is she at school yet?"
"She starts this September. She's growing up so quick, isn't she Luke?"
"Yeah, she's almost as tall as me" I smiled at Luke's attempt of a joke.
"What about you guys? Anyone seeing anyone?" Kylie asked. I gulped and glanced around the table.
"No, work's taking over my life. My boss can be such a bitch" Rocsi said.
"Hey, I'm nice to you!" I said and we laughed.
"But seriously, work comes first. For all of us" Rocsi said.
"A little birdie told me that someone likes you, Rocsi" Luke told her.
"And would they happen to be Calum Hood?"
"Maybe. But I can't give away everything" I was thankful for Luke trying to change the topic. However, nothing lasts forever.
"Maddie, I feel like you're the type of person that will become a workaholic and will never get a boyfriend. Are you seeing anyone?" Kylie smirked at me once the words left her mouth. She knew how to get under my skin.
"Actually, I am seeing someone. Well, we went to lunch one time"
"Oh, what's his name?"
"That, my friend, is my business only"
"Are you going out again?"
"Not sure. We've been texting and I bumped into him the other day, he said he wanted to go to dinner so maybe we will" I saw Luke smile slightly out the corner of my eye.
"How'd you two meet?"
"Business" She nodded before starting to quiz Alex and Sydney. I glanced over at Luke to see him on his phone. He nudged me with his leg and I took that as a hint to get mine out. I did and turned it into silent.
From: Luke
Nicely handled.
From: me
Why thank you 💁🏻
From: Luke
The hair flip emoji? Seriously? And I thought you were a serious business woman.
From: me
Whatever, Lucas
From: Luke
Mature. Anyway, I need to talk to you later. Kylie and I are staying in different rooms, I'll come to yours once everyone's settled.
He looked up at me and I nodded subtly. We both joined back in with the conversation, giving each other a reassuring glance from time to time.
