Conor's POV

I sat in the front room, my eyes set on the clock waiting for Liam to come home. He'd left early to make his way to Leah's house for their date and since then I haven't been able to focus. The feeling in my stomach was like that of Gemma when I'd found her and Liam together. I felt uneasy. Hours had passed and they still weren't back. I clenched my hands in my lap as the key finally sounded in the door and Liam made his way into the room with the biggest grin on his face. The minute I saw it, my stomach dropped. They had a great time together.

"That was amazing." He said before I even bothered to ask how it went. I was to angry. He'd taken the only girl I was interested in to that damned spa so he could get up close and personal with her. "I see why you like her, mate, she is something else." He whistled and shook his head. I bit my lips together to stop me saying something I regretted but he really knew how to push my buttons. He always knew how to make me furious and start a fight, then I'd get in more trouble than he would. My only weakness was when I liked a girl and he knew it.

"Good. At least that's over now." I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Well..." he sighed, "With a date like that, I'll definitely be picking her for the leavers party." He smirked at me.

"Okay." I said bluntly.

"And we can carry on where we left off..." I shot up and grabbed his shirt in my fist.

"What did you do?" I spat venomously. He pushed me away from him and straightened his shirt.

"We just kissed a few times, calm down!" He huffed and I relaxed slightly. "But, damn she looked good in a bikini." He winked at me. I clenched my fists and went to swing one at Liam but stopped myself. Why do I keep going down to his level? She's got her own mind, she can decide who she wants to go to the party with.

"That's nice." I said falsely.

"Shame you haven't got that far with her, eh?" Liam desperately tried to wind me up but I kept my cool.

"Actually I have. We kissed ages ago. Not that this is a competition." I said as i left the room, leaving him alone in his thoughts. I went up to my room and grabbed my phone. I needed to calm down and there was only one person I could think of that would relax me at this moment in time. Loraini.

Conor: Hey Loraini, hope your date went well. Are you still okay to come with me tomorrow?

Loraini: Hey Conor! Yeah it went well thank you. Of course, what time do you need me there for?

I smiled as relief washed over me. At least the date didn't go so well she didn't want to know me!

Conor: That's great, if you could get to my house for 9 then I can drive us down there. Sorry I know it's early but I'll buy you breakfast 😉

Loraini: As long as there is coffee in there 😊 do you need me to bring anything?

How do I answer this? Do I try to be flirty or is it too soon? Will she think I'm trying to hard?

Conor: Just your beautiful self 😘

There was a delay as I could see the three circles flashing to say she was typing. I watched as a minute, then two went by. Did I go too far? Had she struggled to find a good response?

Loraini: Well at that time in the morning there's nothing beautiful 😂 sounds like a plan I'm actually looking forward to it. 😊 Actually, I have some stuff to talk about with you while we're on our way x

She added a kiss at the end. It must be something bad. My stomach tightened in anxiety.

Conor: oh? Hopefully nothing bad! x

Again there was a delay as she typed.

Loraini: No, it's about Liam. I don't want to say too much now cos it'll be easier to talk about face to face x

I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath in and out. What could she possibly want to say about Liam other than that she enjoyed his company more than mine? This was going to be one of those 'we should be friends' talks. Great. A feeling of depression hit me hard and for a while I just stared at the screen rereading her messages.

Conor: ok no problem x

I couldn't think of any more to say and it certainly didn't cheer me up how I had hoped after speaking with Liam. Now my mind was a mess and would be until she spoke to me. Should I make her tell me now? Should I ask Liam? Am I overthinking this again? What if she was going to tell me that she preferred me and wanted to ask advice on letting Liam down gently? I couldn't assume anything, it'd be too dangerous. I needed to be patient and wait for the facts to come from her. Maybe my last message was a little too miserable bearing in mind I didn't know what she wanted to discuss.

Conor: You've made me nervous now lol anyway I hope you have a good evening, see you tomorrow xx

It showed she read it instantly. My anxiety grew as I waited for a response. Again I was staring intently at the moving dots that showed she was typing.

Loraini: Don't be nervous lol it's just about the two of you. You know how to get information out of me 😂 I'm not up to much to be honest, just going to read a bit. You?

I hesitated on how to respond once more. Do I make myself sound busy or be honest?

Conor: Literally nothing other than texting you of course! If you're not too busy, we could meet up for a bit but that's up to you! x

Loraini: Sure, that sounds good! We could go to the park if you want? I'll get ready now, see you in 15 x

I jumped up quickly and threw on my best clothes, heading to the bathroom to clean myself up before I ran downstairs.

"Where are you off to?" Liam said as e came out of the front room.

"To see Loraini." I said bluntly. His face dropped. Before he could come up with another comment, I ducked out the door and headed for the park.