He pulled away from our kiss and grunted, “Shit -”

We were interrupted by my phone but J quickly rolled so that he was almost on top of me and attempted to block me from answering it.  “Leave it.  It’s too fucking early for people to be ringing,” he grumbled.

I pushed my palms against his chest in an effort to move him off me.  “It might be important, J.”

“Not fucking likely.  It’s probably just someone ringing to wish you a Merry Christmas, and that can wait,” he said, as he resisted my efforts and tried to catch me in another kiss.  I could feel his cock against my body and it almost distracted me from the ringing phone.  Almost.

I gave him another forceful shove which succeeded in moving him enough so that I could slip underneath him and roll off the bed towards my phone.  He recovered quickly and reached out to try and pull me back but it was futile as I’d already grabbed my phone and was about to answer it.

“Fucking cockblocker,” he muttered as he got up and headed into the bathroom.

I ignored him and answered the phone call; it was Serena.  “Hey, honey.  Merry Christmas!” I said, excited to be hearing from her.

“Merry Christmas, chica!”

A huge grin was now plastered across my face.  “I miss you,” I said, and it was the absolute truth.  Serena and I hadn’t seen each other for a couple of months and I was having serious withdrawals.

“Well, put the kettle on and open the bloody door and let me in.”

“What?” I screamed, “You’re here?”  I ran to the front door and threw it open.  I was greeted with the sight of Serena and Blake.

Blake stepped forward and caught me in a hug.  As he pulled away, he murmured, “It’s been too long, baby girl.”

I smiled at him and nodded.  “It really has.”  We hadn’t seen each other since August, just before J returned from the road trip my father had banished him on.  I’d spent some time in Coffs Harbour while J was away but we hadn’t made the time to catch up since then.

“You’re looking well.  Much better than the last time I saw you,” he said, approvingly.  “I hate to admit it but J must be good for you.”

I sighed.  Blake and J hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know each other yet and Blake still held reservations about my relationship.  “Yes, honey, J is good for me.  You’ll see.”

Serena pushed Blake out of the way and threw herself at me.  “I’ve fucking missed you!  Why can’t you and biker boy move to Coffs?”

I laughed.  “You could move to Brisbane.”

She let me go but held onto my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.  “You’ll never move back will you?” she asked, with a more serious tone.

I shook my head.  “I don’t think so.  We’re pretty settled here.”

“And once he gets that ring on your finger, that’ll be it I guess,” she mused.

“She’s got a ring on her finger,” J said, as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.  His lips brushed my cheek in a kiss.

Serena winked at me before saying to him, “That’s not the ring I’m talking about, J.  Engagement rings are pretty and all, but you need to hurry up and get that wedding ring on there.”

He grunted, and said, “I’m not the one holding the fucking process up, sweetheart.”  His frustration was clear for the world to see.  “You need to talk to your girl here; talk some sense into her.”

“It’s happening.  We’re just having some trouble booking the venue that we want.  Aren’t we, baby?”  I turned and looked at J for him to verify what I’d said.

He shook his head.  “No, we’re not.  I’d marry you in our backyard.  Today.”

I sighed.  “I know, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re as good as married.  But you know I’ve always wanted my wedding reception to be on the river so we just have to wait for the date they have free.”

“When is that?” Blake chimed in.

“Not until February next year,” J muttered, and turned to head into the kitchen.  “That’s enough wedding talk.  Who wants coffee?”

Serena arched an eyebrow at me.  “All’s not well with you two?” she asked softly.

I linked my arm through hers and smiled.  “Actually, all is pretty bloody good with us.  He’s just sulking because he can’t get his way on this and you know how bossy he can be.  It’ll do him good to compromise for once.”

“Absolutely,” she agreed.

We followed J into the kitchen with Blake close behind.  As we were walking I could see her taking in the house; checking everything out.  Neither of them had ever visited us here and I knew they were keen to see where I lived now and to make sure I was doing okay living with J.

“Nice place,” Serena finally commented.

“Different to what you thought?” I asked, noting her surprise.

“Very.  Have you changed it a lot since you moved in?”

I surveyed the room.  When I’d moved in, his house had been just that; a house.  He hadn’t decorated it at all.  I’d slowly started adding my own touch to it.  J hadn’t minded, although he’d drawn the line at adding a cream couch and multi-coloured cushions to the living room.  He’d told me that he didn’t want a fucking rainbow in there, so we’d agreed on a black leather sofa that looked great with the white and grey walls.  After we’d finished with the living room, J decided that he quite liked the added colour so we’d painted some feature walls throughout.  We had a red and black colour scheme in our bedroom, charcoal grey and black in the bathroom and turquoise in the kitchen.  He wasn’t so fussed on the turquoise but it was my favourite colour so he’d relented and agreed to whatever I wanted for that space.  The running joke in the club revolved around J’s decorating skills; the boys were constantly giving him shit about how stylish our home was.

“Yeah, we’ve painted the whole house and I’ve added rugs and paintings, stuff like that.  And I think I’ve finally convinced J to do some work on the yard, maybe add a pool,” I replied.

“Well, I love what you guys have done,” Serena said, “And I’m in love with that huge ass TV you’ve got.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Bloody men and their toys!  It takes up so much room but J insisted he have it.  Oh, and he also had to have an X-box.  He and Scott love that fucking thing.”

Serena laughed and Blake muttered from behind us, “Looks like he has some redeeming qualities.”  I ignored him and wondered how long it would take for him and J to get over their issues with each other.

We entered the kitchen to find J working the Nespresso machine; another of my home improvements.  I took a minute to enjoy the view of my man working in the kitchen wearing only a pair of jeans.  It was a view I would never get tired of.  J was over six foot of solid muscle; his back, chest and arms inked with numerous tattoos including the club tattoo on his back that was in full view at the moment.  Watching his muscles flex while he reached for mugs shot heat through my body and I stood transfixed, admiring him.

Serena slapped me on the arm.  “Earth to Maddy.  You want me to pick your tongue up off the floor, chica?”

She was grinning at me and I laughed.  “Yeah, I might need it for later,” I joked, winking at J as he caught my eye.

He nodded and smirked, “That tongue is multi-fucking-talented.  We’ll definitely need it for later on.”

J and his dirty mouth.  Serena broke out in laughter.  “I’d forgotten that you had a way with words, J,” she said.

“I have a way with other things too, sweetheart.  Just ask Madison.”

“Okay, enough, you two,” I said, noting Blake’s reaction to this conversation.  He didn’t look like he was enjoying it and the last thing I wanted was for him to be uncomfortable in my home.

I sat next to him at the kitchen table.  “I’m so happy to see you,” I said softly to him as Serena and J made coffee together and continued on with their banter.

His smile reached his eyes.  “Me too.  And it’s good to see where you’re living now.”

I read between the lines.  “He’s good for me, Blake.  I haven’t felt this happy and at peace for a long time.”

He nodded slowly, like he didn’t quite believe me.  Blake wasn’t the kind of person to make quick judgments; he would need to observe for himself and make up his own mind over time.  “You certainly do seem happier and less angry.  But I’m not entirely convinced, baby girl.  I don’t want you to get hurt again so just let me see for myself okay.  I need to know you’re going to be alright because you were fucking broken the last time he hurt you.”

It was a good thing we were a little way away from where J was because if he heard what Blake had just said he wouldn’t take too kindly to it.  I reached out and squeezed Blake’s hand.  “I get it.  And you will see, I promise.”  We sat in silence for a moment as we both processed what the other had said.  Our friendship was deep and I knew that he was only doing what a good friend would do.  His concern touched my heart; I felt blessed to have a friend that cared that much.

“How long are you and Serena staying for?”  I finally asked.

“It’s just a flying visit this time.  I need to get back to the restaurant for tomorrow night so we’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning.”  His disappointment was evident.

“We really need to make more of an effort next year, don’t we?”  I reflected.  Since I’d moved back to Brisbane time had gotten away from me and I knew that Blake was really busy with his business too.  But friends and family had to come first and I needed the reminder.

He nodded in agreement.  “Yeah, we do.”

We were interrupted by Serena who placed coffees in front of us.  “I made yours with the strongest pod, Blake.  Figured you’d need it after the small amount of sleep you’ve had,” she said.