|28| Stelline-1

|28| - "Anything Pedro-related makes me feel awkward. " - "Now I know it's Valentine's Day and we're spending it in Paris, but I am not going to propose. Okay, Bella?" I rolled my eyes as we shuffled along in the queue for Border Control. "If you keep making jokes like that, then I might not say yes when you finally do pop the question." Nathan chuckled to himself before subtly stepping in front of a man who'd been trying to jump the queue. When he wrapped his arm around my waist, we created a very effective barrier-but I liked to think my boyfriend's intentions were purely romantic. "You feeling apprehensive about the Jess and Jack thing?" Nathan asked. "Not about them as a couple, no. I just don't want tonight to be weird and them both to be tip-toeing around me or feeling like they can't act naturally when I'm in the room." "I'm sure it'll be fine. Once everyone has had a few drinks..." He didn't need to finish that sentence. Neither of us would be able to forget what we'd nearly witnessed while hidden in Jess' bathroom. Not that we'd been behaving any better at the time... We caught a taxi straight to the Airbnb place we'd booked. Jack had offered us a spot on his apartment floor, but Nathan had turned that down. Our accommodation was only a couple of streets away from Jack's, so an easy walk back. I don't think Nathan had been particularly keen on spending the night on a hard surface, and he tactfully explained that us staying elsewhere would leave more space for Shaun or the old school friends who would also be joining. "So do I need to entertain myself this afternoon?" Nathan asked as we unpacked. I glanced across at him. "What do you mean?" "Are you going to be spending the next six hours getting ready?" I scoffed. "Got to look my best for when you propose, haven't I?" ❤ Jack wanted to throw a party that everyone would be talking about for years to come. He'd therefore decided that the best way to ensure we all had a good time was to ply us with free-flowing alcohol. What better way of guaranteeing a memorable night than guaranteeing nobody can remember it? "So are either of your handsome friends over there single?" Louisa asked Jack as we huddled by the makeshift bar. She'd clocked Charlie and Lewis as soon as she'd walked in the room. And it was nothing to do with them being the only two boys at the party she hadn't yet met, she'd assured us. "Both of them," Jack said. "And are they properly single, or are they talking to any girls?" Jack frowned. "You can still be single and talk to girls, Lou." She shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't want to tread on any toes if they've already got something going on with someone else." "Why don't you go and ask them yourself, then?" Jack suggested before taking a swig of his beer. His eyes had begun to roam the room, losing interest in Louisa as he surveyed his guests like a King presiding over his subjects. "Because you can't always trust boys to tell the truth, especially on international ground where they think basic morals no longer apply." That captured Jack's attention again, and even Nathan and I stiffened at her blatant reference to Pedro. She barely spoke about him and we'd learnt not to ask too many questions. If Louisa wanted to talk about something, she would never need prompting. "My boys are decent," Jack said, lowering his voice. "I wouldn't be mates with them if they weren't." The words sounded soft, as if trying to placate Louisa, but the tiniest hint of offence was present. Louisa must have noticed it, too, because she made a swift attempt to justify her reservations. "I'm only doing my own due diligence, Jack. I've been the other girl once before. I am not doing it again." "Then maybe don't take the risk, Louisa, and leave them both alone." He pushed himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against and swept past us, making a beeline for Charlie and Jess who were stood chatting on the other side of the room. He did seem offended, but when his arm wound around Jess' waist, touching her for what appeared to be the first time that evening, I couldn't help but wonder if Louisa had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. "I think he's just feeling protective," I said. "Pedro shocked us all with his behaviour. Jack probably doesn't want his friends being painted with the same brush." Typically for her, she didn't seem put out by Jack's obvious irritation with her. She shrugged it off and topped up her prosecco glass. "Whatever. Like he said, not worth the risk." "You'll have to take that risk someday," I said, just as Nathan excused himself from the conversation. I couldn't help feeling at least partly responsible for the Pedro situation. I'd introduced him to our friendship group during our first year at uni, ironically as a way to force the dust to settle after he'd come onto me. Looking back, that should have rung alarm bells. Instead, I'd genuinely believed he regretted the attempted kiss and had felt almost relieved when he took an interest in Louisa. It had certainly made things less awkward for Nathan and me; not only had he reassured Nathan that he had no intentions of hitting on me again, he'd also turned his attention onto a different girl. We'd never know the full story of Louisa and Pedro. Fiercely proud, Louisa hated to show weakness-no matter what dramas were unfolding in the wings. What we did know, however, was that at some point during the summer between first year and second year of uni, Pedro had reunited with an ex-girlfriend in Spain. And he hadn't told Louisa. For months, he dated both of them-Louisa in the U.K. and Marina in Spain. Neither of them knew about it. But nothing stays secret with social media. "Someday I will," Louisa said, shrugging in agreement. "Maybe when I stop feeling sick every time I think about what I've put his poor girlfriend through."