Her Substitute Groom

Connor Hughes

“You are not even going to look at me?” Liana’s voice pierced through my ears, but I ignored her and stared out through the window.

“Am I your driver? How could you sit in the back seat and ask me to drive you? You are so mean,” She muttered the last part, obviously seeking my attention, but I wasn’t in the mood for that now. All I could think of was Janice. Is she going to really hang out with that bastard? I asked myself.

“Was I too mean?” I asked subconsciously, and Liana glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Of course, you were. How could you allow a lady to drive all alone in the driver’s seat?” She whined, and scoffed. She must’ve thought that I was talking about her. What do I care about how she feels?

“Where exactly are we going?” She asked me.

“To my apartment. Take the right route at the junction ahead,” I replied to her, and she scoffed.

“Are you kidding me?” She huffed as she pulled over at the side of the road, turning to face me with an unbelievable expression on her face.

“No, I’m not,” I replied to her bluntly, and she scoffed.

“You said we could hang out together,”

“I changed my mind,” I replied to her flatly.

“You can’t be serious, Connor. The only reason I agreed to drive you was because you said you were going to go out with me. For goodness sake, my car is at the studio. I left it there because of you,” She retorted, enraged.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“I didn’t force you to drive me. You could’ve said so if you didn’t feel like it…”

“Are you for real?”

“If you are not going to drive me home, then you need to take me back to the studio so my assistant can drive me from there. I already have a lot on my mind, so fucking stop disturbing me with more,” I tried to sound as calm as I could even though I wasn’t in the mood for shit.

“You are so mean,” She huffed and finally started the car, and the journey to my apartment began.

I didn’t want to think about her, but it seemed like it had become something natural for me. I think about her all the time even when I don’t want to. Am I really in love with her? I asked myself the question I’ve been trying to find an answer to for the past few weeks and just like every other day, I couldn’t come up with anything.

I picked up my phone and scrolled through it, ready to dial her number, but I changed my mind and dropped the phone again. Why the fuck should I call her?

“Are you sure we shouldn’t go out together?” Liana spoke again, but I didn’t bother to look at her because I wasn’t in the mood for it.

After what seemed like forever, she finally drove into my apartment and pulled over at the parking lot.

“Let me have your phone,” I demanded when I stepped out of the car, and she gladly handed it to me. I typed in my phone number and gave it back to her.

“Send your account details to that number. I’ll compensate you for this. Bye,” I said to her and took my keys from her, and she huffed.

“Are you for real? A ‘thank you’ would’ve been good of you,” I heard her snap behind me as I proceeded toward the entrance door but I didn’t stop to look at her. I already had a lot going on in my mind and wasn’t ready for another round of trouble.

Arriving at the living room, I sank into the couch and ran my fingers through my hair, groaning silently.

“Where the hell are they?” I muttered, and just then, the sound of the footsteps descending the staircase pulled my attention, followed by the familiar perfume scent that greeted my nostrils. I snapped my head up to find Janice walking down the stairs. Wait! She’s home?

I felt so thrilled to know that she didn’t go out with Ace. I was going crazy thinking that they were together.

As expected, she walked past me and headed to the kitchen, and I followed her inside.

“I thought you were hanging out with that Tinder guy. How come you are home before me?” I asked her as I leaned against the counter and watched her pour milk into a glass cup, but she ignored me like I wasn’t even here.

“I’m talking to you, Janice,” Again, she ignored me and I scoffed.

“I’m talking to you,” I held her hand and pulled her back when she intended to leave the kitchen, but she yanked my hand off and glared hard at me.

“Uhm… I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t know you came by… Besides, it was your fault… You got me pissed. How could you say that Tinder guy is better than me?” I stuttered, but she stared back at me blankly like I was pulling up some drama and even I knew that I was being crazy right now. Wait! Did I just apologize to her? Ugh! I must’ve lost it for a second.

“You are standing in my way,” She said bluntly, and I scoffed.

“I’m apologizing now instead of you. Let’s stop fighting, okay?” I gently pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her waist, and as our bodies pressed hard against each other, I felt a spark flash through my body, causing my heart to flutter. I couldn’t deny this feeling anymore that this was love.

“Let go of me,” She tried to push me away, but I held her firmly.

“That Tinder guy… I don’t want you to see him anymore… I don’t want to see you together,” I pleaded with her, staring into her eyes, and she blinked those sexy eyes, It felt like I was suddenly under her spell.

“Wh… why should I stay away from him because you are asking me to?” She scoffed, her tone was a bit low and although she tried to hide it, I couldn’t help but notice the nervousness in her voice. I felt her heart beating so rapidly, she wouldn’t stop swallowing whatever was in her throat. And for a moment, I asked myself… Is this feeling mutual? Is she feeling the same way I was feeling? Is she crazy about me the way I’ve become crazy about her?

“Isn’t it enough reason that I don’t want you two to see each other?” I whispered, leaning forward until our faces were just inches apart.

“If you need to speak with anybody, you can do it with me… If you want to hang out with anyone, I’m here for you,” I whispered again, and just when I was about to claim her lips, I felt a sharp pain down there that made me let go of her immediately. She fucking kicked my groin.

“You can fucking flirt with your flings, but not me. I won’t ever fall for that, and I won’t stay away from Ace, so stay the hell away from me,” She snapped at me and stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind her, while I groaned in pain. Fuck! Did she have to hit me so hard? It hurts…