The late November night was freezing cold and the rain was driving down in sheets. Fiona had forgotten the time during the night and it had slipped her mind that the normal tubes and buses had finished. She fished about in her coat pocket for cash for a cab. She had just about enough for the night bus home. She chided herself for not bothering with a waterproof coat and drew her thin coat around her.

Fiona looked for the night bus stop and braced herself against the cold and rain. She passed lots of couples winding their way home. She observed the happily intertwined people and sighed inwardly to herself, recalling that it would have been six months to her original wedding date with Paul.

She shocked herself that it was her first thought if Paul in weeks. She laughed to herself. She would have given her left arm a few months ago to stop thinking about him. Instead, here she was six months later living in London carrying a torch for a guy who was out of reach, totally pathetic. She chided herself, first thing in the morning she was going to go back to looking into becoming a nun again. She was nearly at Piccadilly Circus when she heard her name being called.

"Fiona wait up! Fiona!" David called running up the hill behind her."Fiona, please wait!" He shouted louder until he was sure she could hear him.

Fiona stopped and turned to face David. She was soaked through to her skin. He hailed a cab and took his waterproof coat off and wrapped it around her after they took their seats. Against her will and from nowhere she could put her finger on, Fiona began to cry quietly, tears running down her face.

"Oh, Ninj it's not so bad. ...." ~David hugged Fiona to his chest, her body cold and trembling, he wanted to kiss her, soothe her, tell her everything was going to be ok, he fought his urges with all his might.

"I have lost my best friend in London David," she sniffed "you shouldn't be here, should you? If Suzie finds out she will go mental." She pushed him gently away from her and returned his coat, rubbing her arms to generate heat.

"Oh man. I am sorry Ninj, how do you know?" He returned his coat around her shoulders, placing her hands in his and rubbing them to get some warmth into her. "I will tell her it's too much and that I want to stay your friend."

"Well her mates made it clear in the loo at The Sports Cafe, and it's no mystery she hates me." she sniffed the taxi dropped them at Grove Road. David paid and stopped at the doorstep. "I am staying in my room Suzie knows and she is fine with it." He called after Fiona as she tore off into the house.

"Okay, I am getting dry and going to bed." She called downstairs. She didn't want him near her. She wanted to put as much distance and temptation as she possibly could.

Fiona went to the bathroom she washed her face and towel dried her hair took off her makeup and got ready for bed. She met him on the landing where he had changed out of his wet clothes into a t-shirt and jeans.

"I can't go to bed with things between us like this, we need to talk." he sighed. He really hated seeing her cry. He had to make her feel better.

"All ears Boston, you have my full attention." she said defeatedly slumping against her door like a sulky teenager.

"Can I come into your room?" he asked, revealing a hot water bottle from behind his back and offering it to her. She took it from him and motioned for them both to enter the room.

"Yes you can but let's be clear Boston, no funny business. I don't like Suzie or her mates but I know what it is like to be cheated on. So nothing is going on in here tonight." He nodded his agreement. She climbed under the covers with the hot water bottle and motioned for him to sit next to her.

He cleared his throat. "After tonight," he started, looking down at his hands," If I want to continue to see Suzie, I can't see you anymore, I mean ever..." his voice trailed off. "I don't know why that upsets me it just does.." he shrugged and looked away from her, trying to hide the emotion in his voice. It really did bother him. He was as mystified by it as anyone but there it was in all of its glory he wanted to stay her friend.

Fiona took a deep breath. "Boston I am going to say this and please don't interrupt me. This is perhaps not what you want to hear or indeed what I want. You can't have me as a friend and her as a girlfriend, she has made her intentions clear. Whilst I have no issue with you and me as friends, Suzie does and whilst she is your girlfriend, partner, lover, David I am not sure if I were you that you should compromise. She could be the one for you. Whilst that is a possibility I think you need to see that through without any interference from me or anyone else." Fiona felt like her speech had been given by someone else. It was like an out of body experience.

He looked at her and made to touch her, she caught his hand and squeezed it kissing his palm, his heart leapt at her touch, aching for more.

Fiona wanted him to stay. She really, from the pit of her stomach and essence of her being wanted him to stay. "No Boston, no parting shot....just go...I don't have that much will power.." they stared at each other for what seemed like hours but it was only seconds. Unsaid words hung in the air.

Then the house was suddenly alive with revellers as everyone came back from the venue. Born in the USA blasted out from the stereo in the front room from the Thanksgiving Mix Tape Fiona made earlier. They could hear the sound of footsteps running up the stairs and Reece running into the next room. David moved silently to her door, he looked at her smiled and then slipped through the door.

The party raved on for about another hour. With all sorts of American Music. Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and Aerosmith. Fiona stayed in her room listening to the tooing and froings within the house. She heard Jilly join the fray and some of the Irish neighbours from down the street. She grabbed her John Grisham book, put Aztec Camera's Stray in her Walkman and read through as much as she could.

"You don't have to tell me what you are still looking for two arms to hold you and a voice to say It's alright You can spend the night Come around...."

The sobs would not stay in her throat and she let them out quietly into her duvet. If she could recover from Paul she told herself then David would be a walk in the park. He was just a crush nothing more. She chided herself for being so scared, so emotional.

She knew if she allowed it, she could have David. Her worry was for how long, how long before he had another woman. If she could not keep Paul away from other women what chance would she have with David? She heard the party wind down she snuggled down into her covers. She heard her room door open and footsteps towards her bed.

"Boston for goodness sake!" The last bit of resolve left her lips.

"Sorry." Reece laughed. "I thought you might want some company."

"Oh sorry Reece," she sat up "not that kind of company tonight please.". Inwardly she thought about having herself checked for a Psychiatric evaluation.

"Sure," he said, "I just thought, well I thought if Boston thought I was in here he might think twice about moving in with that Shrew."

"Doubt it mate!" she laughed, "He is going tomorrow and that is that!"

"No chance of a quick one then, just for friends' sake?" Reece took a step inside her room

"As lovely as that may be Reece, thanks but no thanks." Fiona was sure that there was a bed in a Psychiatric unit being prepared for her at that very moment.

"You will regret it!" he laughed moving towards the door.

"Already am!", she laughed Reece walked out of her room straight into David. He had his eyebrows raised.

"I think I have just had my first rejection in about a decade!" Reece laughed.

"Reece mate, we have all had a crack and nothing whatsoever happened!" David made to soften the blow. He admired Fiona even more for chucking Reece out. Many a woman would have had wild revenge sex with Reece.

"Is she a Lesbian?" Reece was at a loss. Why didn't Fiona want mad revenge sex with him? Show David exactly what he could have.

"Nope mate, she isn't," he said back to Reece. He walked to his room and added quietly. "God no she isn't."

David could hear her gentle sobs from his room and he ached to go and comfort her. It would be making a bad situation worse. Why the hell was their timing so bad? Why had she been so in pieces when they met.

He eventually succumbed to sleep and dreamt of being on Blind Date with Cilla Black interviewing his PRN, Fiona and Suzie for him to choose his date. No matter how he tried to control the dream, he only ever got Suzie. David took that as a sign from the Gods that he should at least give his relationship with Suzie a hundred percent.

David moved out that weekend in November, his room was now the guest room at least until January when the new tenant would move in. However Jilly had no intentions of letting anyone else move in, she asked Fiona to decorate the room so that the spare room was just that, a room in case anyone needed it. Jilly secretly hoped that David would come to his senses and leave Suzie.

Authors note

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