"No, no, god no. Please tell me you're joking and that you seriously haven't done this?" I cried as I started to pace around my kitchen like a crazed woman. 

I was currently on a video call with my dad, and let's just say he had revealed to me some less than pleasing news about our plans for Christmas.

"Oh, crap, did you not want me to invite Nathan around for Christmas?" my dad winced.

I snatched my phone off the kitchen counter and glared at my dad's nervous face through the camera. "Dad, I literally gave you and mum painfully specific instructions not to invite him over!"

My dad blinked twice. "Oh," he said dumbly. 

"Yeah, oh," I snapped back sarcastically. "How the hell do you even have his number, anyway?"

"Oh right, he called me when you were in the hospital, and I saved his number," he shrugged.

"I had to get myself knocked out, didn't I?" I grumbled as I kicked the kitchen chair leg in annoyance.

"Oh, come on, Sophie, it won't be that bad. He's only staying for a couple of days before Christmas, and the poor chap sounded so excited when I asked," my dad explained softly. "And besides, I thought you'd be happy he was coming. Isn't he your boyfriend?" my dad asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

I let out a sharp growl of annoyance. "No, he's not! Why does everybody think that?"

"Because most people aren't stupid," my dad said bluntly. "Anyway, Soph got to go. See you when you two of you get here. Bye-"

"No, Dad, don't you dare hang up on me, you need to uninvite him. Do you hear me? Dad? Dad?"

I groaned as I heard the dreaded dial tone. The bastard had hung up on me...

Echoing through the corridor, I heard the loud sound of a closing door followed by suitcase wheels moving against the wooden floor. Soon enough, Brandon rounded the corner. 

"Soph, are you all ready to go?"

"Yes," I muttered sulkily.

"Ooph, what's got you in such a mood?" Brandon asked as he eyed me up and down in caution.

 "My stupid dad invited Nathan home with me for a couple of days, that's what," I spat bitterly.

Brandon snorted; his eyes light with more amusement than concern. "Well, that's a little shit for you then, isn't it?"

I gave him a dry look. "Thanks, I really appreciate your sympathetic words," I muttered sarcastically. 

"Always happy to help," he winked.

As I contemplated throwing the salt shaker at him, the sound of the doorbell chimed throughout the apartment, robbing me of my malicious thoughts. 

"Hmm, I'll get it," I murmured as I lazily pushed myself off the counter. 

I swung the door open with no hesitation and froze as I found Nathan Woods standing bang smack on my doorstep.

His eyes lit up as he saw me. "Hey, Sophie, have you heard tha-"

I didn't let him finish before I swung the door back and slammed it in his face. Then dusting the imaginary dust off my hands, I made my way back to the kitchen. 

What? My mantra to life was: 'if you can't fix your problems, avoid them.' It had worked all nineteen years of my life, and I wasn't about to change my ways now.

Ignoring the frantic stream of doorbell rings and knocks that ensued, I walked further and further away from the door. 

Brandon made his way over to me in confusion. "Er..Sophie? I thought you said you were going to get the door?" he asked, sending me an odd look as he brushed his way past me.

I turned around and desperately rushed after him to stop him. "No, Brandon, wait-stop, don't answer the doo-"

The words died in my throat as Brandon swung the door open to reveal a very pissed-off-looking Nathan.

Uh oh...

"Sophie, what the fuck? Did you seriously slam a door in my face?" Nathan grumbled as he marched his way into the apartment. 

"Er...no?" I mumbled nervously.

"Woah, Soph, you slammed a door in his face?" Brandon interrupted.

Clearly not noticing his presence until now, Nathan turned Brandon's way in surprise. As soon as Nathan's eyes locked on him, his whole-body demeanor stiffened, and his jaw tightened considerably.

I swallowed nervously as I remembered that Nathan still thought Brandon was my ex.

Nathan turned to face me with narrowed eyes. "He still lives here?" he asked, a hint of tension to his tone.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Think, Sophie, think.

Brandon let his eyes wander around the room, and shuffled back and forth on his feet awkwardly as though he wished to be anywhere else but hear. 

I cleared my throat nervously. "Oh..erm..yeah. We still need two people to pay both sides of the rent, so...yeah," I explained while scratching the back of my head awkwardly.

Nathan's eyebrows furrowed, and he took a step closer to me. "Why didn't you say anything? You could have asked me for money? Or better yet, there's a spare room at my place, you can move in with me," he frowned.

I shook my head frantically. "No, no, trust me, that is definitely not necessary," I said with a nervous laugh.

The last thing I wanted was for Nathan to spend more money on me, so I felt like an even bigger piece-of-shit. And let's not even talk about the sharing an apartment idea. That had terrible idea written all over it.

When I saw he was about to open his mouth to argue something else, I quickly held up a hand to cut him off. "Look, Nathan. Brandon and I are cool. I mean, yeah, we had a little bit of an awkward breakup, but we're fine. We're back to being friends, right, Brandon?" I said as I turned his way, my eyes clawing into him to silently ask him for help.

Brandon nodded his head eagerly along. "Yes, I one hundred percent agree. It was almost as though we were never dating at all," he said, shooting me a mischievous look. 

Nathan seemed to take the look the wrong way as his eyes narrowed in on Brandon as though he was imagining driving bullets through his head.

As though suddenly remembering why he was here, Nathan turned my way. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I came over here to ask if you want a lift to your place," he smiled. I stared at him blankly, my heart thumping away as full panic set in. 

His smile faltered. "You know, I'm coming right?" he asked cautiously.

I cleared my throat to build back my confidence. "Yeah, my dad told me that he invited you, but don't worry about giving me a lift, Brandon and I were going to take the train anyway," I explained quickly.

Nathan's frown deepened. "No, that's stupid. Why take a train when I can give you a ride for free?"

"He has a point...," Brandon piped in. 

Even though he was supporting him, Nathan glared at Brandon, seeming to hate anything that came out of his mouth.

 I racked my brain for another excuse. "But..but you can't because your car doesn't have a lot of trunk space, so you'll have to put all the suitcases in the back seat. The two of us can't both ride with you," I fired back.

"Who said anything about him?" Nathan snapped back rudely. 

"Ouch," Brandon muttered with an awkward chuckle.

"Nathan, that's so rude," I scolded. "Brandon may not be my boyfriend anymore, but he's still both my old neighbour, roommate and my friend. You either give both of us a lift or none of us," I fired back.

Nathan and I proceeded to have a five-second-long staring match before he reluctantly rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, I guess I can find a way to stuff you both in," he sighed as he nodded his head for us to follow him.

---------------------

"Nathan, are you sure, there's enough room for all three of us?" I asked cautiously as I watched him shove our two suitcases into the back of his car. It didn't go unnoticed by me how aggressively he seemed to chuck Brandon's in, and how carefully he placed mine.

"Yeah, of course, there is," Nathan said firmly in a tone that left no room for argument.

Once he had all of our luggage in place, he slammed the door closed and turned around to face us with a smile. 

"So, I was thinking maybe Brandon could ride on top of the car," Nathan said as he patted the roof. "You can sit back and hold on to this bar, right over there, and you'll be fine, man," Nathan said casually with a small little smirk on his face.

"Nathan! What the fuck?"

Brandon cleared his throat. "Erm, Nathan, as lovely as that idea sounds, I have this small insignificant fear of dying so-" Brandon mumbled nervously.

I pressed my lips together tightly. "You know what, Nathan, forget it, if you're going to be rude, we're quite happy to take the train," I hissed as I made my way over to the back seats where our luggage was.

"Hold on, wait," Nathan said, quickly catching onto my wrist to stop me. "It was only a joke. I can get you both in the car," he muttered.

"Thank fuck for that," Brandon said, letting out a shaky sigh of relief. "I thought you wanted to murder me or something," he laughed.

Nathan looked over at him coldly and didn't say anything to either deny or confirm this fact.

 I cleared my throat awkwardly. "So..er, should we get in?"

Nathan nodded his head, and the two of us followed him to the car doors. I opened the passenger side door, but then when I saw the tiny width of the seat, I paused, realizing there was no way you could physically squeeze two people side-by-side on the seat.

 I backed away to make room for Brandon. "Wait, you go in first, Brandon, so I can sit on your lap a little," I said, gesturing for him to go ahead of me.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, no! Fuck-to the no," Nathan interrupted almost immediately. 

I eyed him up and down in confusion from where he stood on the opposite side of the car. "What do you mean no? That's the only way we're going to get in?" I scoffed.

"Yeah, well, I'd sooner die than let you sit on his fucking lap," Nathan grumbled, his eyes flared up with rage. 

"It's literally our only fucking choice," I bit back in frustration.

Nathan stared at me silently for a couple of seconds as though he was contemplating his options. "Fine, I've got an idea," he said as he briskly walked over to our side of the car. 

"You can drive," he said as he slammed his keys into Brandon's chest. "And Sophie and I are going to ride in the passenger," he explained as he came to a stop beside me.

Brandon's eyebrows shot up, and disbelief and an excited smile crossed over his face. "Seriously? You're letting me drive this?" he said as he looked back and forth between the car and Nathan in disbelief.

"Yes, and don't make me regret it. You can drive, right?" He asked slowly.

Brandon nodded his head eagerly, his smile not leaving his face. '

"Good, then do it," Nathan snapped as he pointed at Brandon to get in the car. As Brandon eagerly settled himself into the driver's seat, Nathan swung open the passenger side door and flopped down into the seat with a sigh.

My brain took a little time to process, and I stared at him stupidly.

Nathan turned to face me and looked up at me with expectant eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for? Take a seat then," he said as he gave his lap a double pat.

I felt my whole body go completely rigid as realization set in. This was bad. This was very, very bad. I was going to have to sit on Nathan Wood's lap for two whole hours while somehow managing to reel in my hormones. I mean, was that even possible?

I took in a shaky deep breath, in and out to prepare me for the inevitable. This was okay, I could do this. I had control. You have control, Sophie.

While chanting those words of encouragement to myself over and over, I made my way slowly closer to the car door.

I didn't dare look Nathan in the eye, but from my peripheral, I could see those piercing eyes of his were following my every move. And if I wasn't mistaken, it looked as though he was fighting back a smile as though he was taking pleasure from this.

With a deep breath, I shyly bent down and lowered myself into the end of his lap. Instantly, I felt the heat of his body trickle all the way up from the very tops of my thighs to my toes. It was ridiculous; I was barely even touching him.

I cleared my throat to settle my nerves, and then slowly closed the car door behind me.

You can do this, Sophie. Just keep a straight back for the entire two-hour journey home, and you'll be fine.

Suddenly, I felt his weight shift underneath me, and then warm air brushed against the nape of my neck. "You're not seriously going to sit like that the whole time, right?" Nathan chuckled into my ear.

I spared him a look over my shoulder, and instantly regretted it when I found his eyes mere inches from mine. Those stupid sexy eyes.

"Yes, it's good for my posture. Got a problem with that?" I threw back, working hard to keep my voice level and calm.

"Actually, yeah, I do," he whispered. I let out a squeal in surprise as he suddenly hooked his hands around my waist and pulled me deeper into his lap.

If I thought the heat of his body was affecting me before then, right now, it must have been killing me. I could feel the warmth of his long, lean chest pressing right into my back, and God, did it feel good. 

"I feel more comfortable with you like this," Nathan muttered lowly, his breath tickling against my ear. "Got a problem with that?" he teased, echoing my own words back at me.

"Yes, Nathan, funnily enough, I do, so let me go," I complained as I slapped a little at his hands.

 Nathan ignored me and pressed me into him even further. "No," he mumbled stubbornly.

After a few more futile attempts to escape his grasp, I gave up and relaxed back against him. "Have I ever mentioned you're a dick?" I whispered defeatedly. 

He let out a light laugh, the sound beautiful against my ears. "A couple times," he chuckled.

I was so caught up in the moment that it startled me when Brandon cleared his throat. Crap, I had totally forgotten he was in the car!

"So...erm..should I get going?" Brandon muttered awkwardly. "Hold on, let me do up our seatbelt," Nathan said. 

Smoothly, he reached around me and grabbed the seatbelt, causing my breath to hitch a little. I watched silently as he passed it securely over the two of us before clicking it into place. So, in other words, I was literally tied to him. 

"There, all done, we can go," Nathan said as he returned his arm back around my waist.

 "This..er..doesn't seem safe," I said bluntly. 

"Shh, yes it does; I'm literally holding you," Nathan mumbled stubbornly.

As Brandon started up the engine, I felt Nathan squeeze his arms even tighter around me, causing a volt of what felt like electricity to run and up and down my spine.

This was going to be a long ride...

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Author's note:

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

 Next Update: Friday (6-8PM - UK time)