Three is a Crowd

‘I don’t see how that’s my problem…how bad is it…fuck…okay, I’m booking the next available flight out, you better get your act together before I get there.’

Amanda sat awkwardly on the couch while Frank was on the phone, surprised at how annoyed he was. From what she gathered the new band he was working with were having some problems with their lead singer. They were due to start recording their album next week but he was threatening to pull out of the band. It now seemed like it was up to Frank to fly out and fix their internal problems. Amanda realised with a pang that she would really miss him.

He ran a hand through his hair as he let out an annoyed sigh, his other hand tightly clenching his phone.

‘For fuck sake’ he cursed, before looking at Amanda as though he only remembered she was there.

‘I have to fly out to Detroit’ he told her, as though she couldn’t hear the conversation he had right in front of her.

‘How long will you be gone for?’

‘I’m not sure, hopefully just for a couple of days.’

‘I’ll miss you.’

He smiled at her words.

‘I’ll miss you too. I better go and pack. Stupid fucking egotistical singers’ he ranted as he left the sitting room, racing up the stairs. Gerard was out with an old friend, leaving Amanda and Frank alone. Things had just been getting hot and heavy when Frank’s phone rang, leaving Amanda achingly frustrated. She stayed where she was for as long as she could before her hormones took over and led her upstairs, quickly but quietly finding her way to the master bedroom where she saw Frank was on the phone again, buying his ticket for the flight. She spotted the black duffle bag on the bed, the zip opened and ready to be packed. His back was turned to her, his focus completely set on the person he was talking to. She walked into the en suite bathroom, gathering a few of his toiletries and his toothbrush for him and packing them neatly in his bag. She then took some clothes out of his dresser, grabbing a few jeans and t shirts, and a couple of hoodies for good measure to make sure nothing would be forgotten. She threw in some underwear and socks for him before zipping up his bag. She looked up to find he was watching her, his face lit up with amusement.

She didn’t say a word as she walked over to him, gently cupping his face before guiding his lips to her own. He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist, crushing her body against his. The kiss was hot, heavy and far from innocent until Frank gave a little groan and pulled away.

‘I don’t have time’ he whined.

‘I just saved you at least ten minutes’ she spoke with a smile, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the bed before pushing him forcefully onto the bed. She crawled on top of him, straddling his hips as she kissed him again, her hands roaming under his t-shirt to feel his soft skin. He let out another moan, grabbing her hips roughly before deciding to take control and rolling Amanda over onto her back. She gasped in surprise and annoyance when he pinned her down, looking up at his adorable face with a glare. She rarely got the opportunity to take control with either men, something she enjoyed most of the time but on the rare occasion like today it irritated her.

‘Aw, don’t look so annoyed baby’ he whispered into her ear with a grin ‘we both know who enjoys being dominated.’

He pulled his faded brown t shirt off in a flash, giving Amanda a brief glimpse of his tattooed chest and torso before he pulled her jeans and panties off in one go. His hand briefly caressed between her legs.

‘God I love it when you’re already wet’ he whispered before he removed his hand and pulled his jeans down. He entered her without warning, thrusting into her with speed and force and starting a punishing rhythm. Her anger over his taking control evaporated¸ her hands grabbed his biceps as she enjoyed his dominance. The room was filled with moans and heavy breathing as they took pleasure in each other for a few moments. Amanda came to a shuddering climax, quickly followed by Frank as he finished with a loud groan before collapsing on top of her. He stayed still for a few minutes while his regained control of his breathing, kissing Amanda softly before pulling out of her and fixing his jeans. His eyes fixed on the alarm clock beside the bed, the digits making him curse.

‘Shit, I have to go. Tell Gerard for me?’ he asked quickly as he grabbed the duffle bag while Amanda sat up and searched for her jeans.

‘Okay. Be careful.’

He gave her a quick kiss before leaving, not saying goodbye as he raced out of the house. He never said goodbye unless he had no intention of seeing the person again. He told her it felt like it was a bad omen, that by saying those words you were in fact stating that you no desire to see the person again. Instead he would give hugs, kisses or a ‘see you later’.

She hopped into the shower, washing away all the grim and sweat from her session with Frank. Her knees were still a little weak after her orgasm, the memory making her smile. One thing that definitely wasn’t lacking in her life was great sex, something she knew a lot of people couldn’t say. When she finished and got dressed she heard Gerard coming in the front door. She went down to greet him, finding him still in the hallway as he opened a few letters that were kept on top of the small table beside the door. He looked up when he heard her footsteps, his trade mark smirk gracing his face.

‘Hey’ he greeted warmly.

‘Hey, how was your coffee date?’ she teased.

‘Good, nothing special really. Where’s Frank?’ he enquired, noting how quiet the house was.

‘He’s on his way to the airport, has to sort out some problems with the band in Detroit.’

‘Did he say how long he’ll be gone?’

‘He said it should only be a couple of days.’

Gerard nodded, not appearing to be too concerned. Amanda had noticed he had become much more relaxed in the two weeks since her night with Andy. He appeared to be calmer, more in control of himself. Her confession seemed to have given him some kind of peace of mind, made him sure of himself and where he stood with her. The fact that she was had admitted her feelings made him feel more confident about her.

She hadn’t told him that she was still in contact with Andy. They texted each other most days, both equally concerned for the other. Amanda could sense his unhappiness with his girlfriend, but he remained with her for some unfathomable reason. He had a misplaced loyalty and until he had proof she was cheating he wouldn’t walk away. Amanda wanted to tell him straight up that he was being an idiot but she knew it wasn’t her place. It was something he would have to figure out on his own. She also knew by his subtle hints that he was worried about her too. She had tried telling him she was happy now, and that things were better than before but he didn’t believe her.

‘Guess it’s just me and you tonight then, huh?' Gerard’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

‘I guess so.’

‘You know what that means?’

Her eyes lit up as she began to tremble with excitement.

‘Steak dinner?’

‘Damn right. Get your shoes on, we’ll go to the supermarket and buy some meat.’

‘YES!’ Amanda all but flew back up the stairs, her excitement causing her to stumble as she ran to her room. It had been so long since she had eaten meat due to Frank’s vegetarianism which he strictly enforced in the house. An hour and a half later they were finishing their meal of steak and chips, made by Gerard who was a surprisingly good cook.

‘Oh my God you should cook more’ Amanda exclaimed as she lounged on the couch, feeling too full to do anything else.

‘Tell Frank that. All he wants is take out or his own cooking.’

Amanda giggled while averting her eyes back to the screen, Soprano’s being their TV show of choice for the night. They sat in comfortable silence with Amanda cuddling up to Gerard until Amanda’s phone starting ringing. She looked at the caller ID, confused when she saw Andy’s name flash on the screen.

‘I better take this’ she muttered quickly as she got off the couch, leaving the sitting room and closing the door behind her before accepting the call.

‘Hello?’

‘Hey, short shit, what’s up?’

His slurred words gave away his drunken state. Alarm bells immediately began to go off in her mind, feeling concerned.

‘Andy, what’s wrong?’ She asked, walking up the stairs to make sure Gerard couldn’t hear her conversation.

‘I broke up with Bella…I just wondered if you’re free to be my drinking buddy tonight? I kinda need one right now.’

Amanda bit her lip, cursing Andy mentally for putting her in this situation. She either had to say no to Andy, or lie to Gerard and neither were good options. If she told Gerard who she was going to spend time with she knew he would flip, which was the last thing she wanted since things were going so well. She also knew she owed it to Andy to be there for him, he wouldn’t hesitate if the shoe was on the other foot.

‘Where are you?’

It turned out he was in a bar she had heard of before but had never been in. She hung up with a muttered ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can’. She began to think of excuses to go out without Gerard being suspicious. The closer to the truth she could get to, the better, she decided as she made her way back down the stairs, trembling slightly. The minute she opened the sitting room door he turned to look at her.

‘Is everything okay?’ he asked with vague concern.

‘That was…a friend…they just broke up with their partner, they wanted to know if I could meet them for a few cheer me up drinks…’

He smiled.

‘You don’t need my permission, don’t look so nervous.’

‘I just feel bad is all, we were having a nice night in.’

‘Tell you what, we’ll spend the day together tomorrow, do something fun to make up for it okay?’

She smiled, relieved that it had been so easy. She also did it without lying, which made her feel worse. He trusted her and she felt like she was breaking it.

‘That sounds great. I better go get ready.’

She got ready quickly, not feeling in the mood to get dolled up. She made herself presentable in skinny jeans and a long sleeve v neck top with some generic design on it that she couldn’t care to remember. She was about to wear a pair of pumps before remembering who she was going out with and putting on a pair of five inch heels instead. They might hurt like a bitch but at least she would feel less awkward about the height difference.

She said a quick goodbye to Gerard before jumping in the taxi she’d ordered while getting dressed. When she made it to the bar it had been half an hour since Andy had phoned her. She found him sitting up at the bar, drinking what looked liked whiskey judging by the colour of the liquor and the look of disgust on his face as he downed the liquid.

‘Hey shorty…well, not so shorty tonight. Did you magically grow or something?’

‘I’m wearing magical contraptions called heels. I’m now average height mother fucker.’

‘No matter how high your heels are you’ll always be a short shit’ he giggled.

‘Fuck you.’

‘You already did!’

She gasped in shock at his frankness, before giving him a shove.

‘Hey!’

He just laughed again, before calling the barman over and ordering a drink, and a couple of shots.

‘You need to catch up!’ he ordered, watching as she chugged them down.

‘So, wanna talk about it?’

‘Not really. Right now, I just want to get shit faced in good company.’

‘I don’t know about the good company part but I can certainly help with the getting drunk part.’

They clinked their drinks together, before beginning a ‘who can drink the fastest’ contest.

She should have known how the night would end. In truth, she knew the moment she agreed to meet him what would end up happening. She should have stopped him when he pulled her into the empty alley down the street from the bar when they decided to go out to another bar. Her mind was screaming at her to put an end to it when he began kissing her, his hands roaming up her top and cupping her breast roughly. It wasn’t until they were interrupted by another couple who had the same idea that Amanda finally saw sense and pulled away, her face red with shame as they other horny couple giggled at them before scampering off to find another deserted place.

‘Andy I…I can’t.’

‘I’m sorry’ he muttered quickly, regret evident in his voice ‘I’m really drunk right now and I just…fuck I’m sorry.’

‘No, don’t be it’s my fault, I just…I gotta go, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’

She stumbled out of the alley way, hailing the first taxi she saw and flinging herself inside.

‘Fuck’ she cried, wiping away a few stray tears of fury as guilt consumed her, in part for kissing Andy and in part for leaving him the way she did. Her phone buzzed in her bag. It was a simple one word text from Andy.

Sorry.

She closed her eyes, trying to regain some composure before she got home. Her prayers were answered when she saw all the lights were off, signalling Gerard was asleep in bed. Without removing her clothes or brushing her teeth she collapsed on top of her bed, wishing it would swallow her whole before she lost consciousness.

Notes

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