Chapter 26 :) enjoy! x

YOU HAVE A VISITOR

"I've been waiting here for an hour. Where've you been?"

The last person Mike expected to see waiting for him in his office that morning was Eve. His best friend's girlfriend was sat in the chair at his desk, her arms folded impatiently across her chest with a scowl on her face. Not much was new there then.

"You can't show up without warning and then yell at me for not being here if I didn't know you were coming. That's not how it works, Torres."

Ignoring his comment, the brunette got to her feet. "Well, I can't stay, I have to go to work–"

"Wait, you're going? You waited here for an hour to talk to me but when I show up, you leave? It must've been important if you hung around that long."

It seemed that whatever Eve had to say had now given her cold feet but he resisted saying this aloud. Since the night of the double date, the pair had not spoken two words to each other. Alex had been spending a lot of time at Eve's apartment instead of his place and Mike did see Eve, she seemed to go out of her way to avoid him.

He was hardly surprised; she essentially admitted that Mike bringing Kaitlyn out made her jealous, but he had no idea what that meant. The way she treated him implied she despised him and although he always joked that she secretly had feelings for him, he never actually believed it. And how did he feel about her? He wasn't entirely sure. He was attracted to her, as any red blooded male would be, but on a deeper level, his feelings were much more of a grey area.

"I just wanted to tell you that the other night when we were out with Alex and Kaitlyn, I'd had a lot to drink–"

"You're telling me."

"–if you're not going to take this seriously, I'm just going to leave because if there's one person I refuse to be laughed at by, it's you."

He removed the smirk from his face. "Go on then."

"As I was saying, I drank way too much and honestly, I can't remember a lot of what I said. Or did." She paused, as if letting him take in what she just said. "My main concern is that I embarrassed but at the same time, I hope I didn't embarrass you. If I did, then I guess I should apologise but like I say, much of that evening is a blur to me."

Mike wasn't quite sure of what to say. Initially, he wondered if she was feigning ignorance because she was worried she had said too much. But then again, he had spent a lot of time around inebriated women and knew they weren't the most coherent type. Maybe it was possible that she drank so much she began talking complete crap.

"So you don't remember us having a conversation in my kitchen?"

"We had a conversation in the kitchen? Like I said, after the restaurant, it's all a bit of a blur. I just remember waking up in Alex's bed with a pounding headache." She was completely cool about the whole thing; beautiful, hard and untouchable. "Did I say something embarrassing?"

He looked Eve dead in the eyes and she matched his stare, unflinching. "No, nothing important." What was the point of telling the truth?"

"Okay. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to work."

She sidled past him and left the office, closing the door behind her. Once out of his sight, she felt her face flush and her palms begin to sweat; she needed to get out of the hotel as soon as possible. Kaitlyn was at the front desk but was too busy gossiping with one of the other receptionists to notice Eve sneak out the doors and into the nearest cab.

That whole speech had been a complete lie. Okay, there were some parts of the night which were incredibly hazy but the first thing she remembered the morning that followed, as she sat on the bathroom floor with her head in the toilet bowl, was telling Mike she was jealous. And what made it worse was that it hadn't been a lie. Seeing him and Kaitlyn together made her incredibly jealous and she couldn't understand why.

She was in a great relationship with a guy who was perfect for her. Alex was her 'type' through and through and you couldn't have found someone more suited to her in the whole city. Yet somehow, she was hung up about Mike. Avoiding him at all costs hadn't worked – the more she stayed away from him, the more he weighed on her mind. That was why she decided confrontation, followed by complete denial was her best tactic.

And now her plan had been executed, she could hopefully clear Mike from her head. It was nearly her birthday and Alex said he had a big surprise for her. She had no idea what it was, but it had to be good, didn't it?

The silence in the living room could have been cut with a knife. Maryse was back in her own house yet she felt like a complete stranger, sat rigidly in one of the armchairs. She wondered whether coming here was a good idea after all, not that she could leave now.

Ted came out from the kitchen and handed her a cup of coffee. She couldn't remember the last time she had a regular cup of coffee; in her world, it was all lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and fraps. "Thank you," she smiled at her husband, taking a sip and placing the hot cup down on the coffee table.

"You're welcome." He slumped down on the opposite couch, no drink of his own. Since she last saw him, his five o clock shadow was darker and his clothes were un-ironed but despite his dishevelled appearance, she was still amazed at how handsome he looked. "So what's been going on with you?"

"Not a lot. Mostly work, staying at Jack's. What about you?"

"Me too. Not the Jack part though, that would be weird."

She smiled. "And the other day, Rosa from work got engaged."

"Which one's Rosa?"

"Attractive, dyes her hair a lot, now engaged to Alberto Del Rio."

"Oh yeah, the rich Mexican guy that's always on Forbes list. She must be happy, considering he's two about skyrise apartments from owning Tribeca."

"She's thrilled. And they're having an engagement party, this weekend actually, and Rosa's invited us. Both of us."

Ted laughed, scratching at his stubbly chin, which Maryse was strangely attracted to, considering how she used to moan at her husband for not shaving. "How did you get out of that one?"

This was going to be the difficult part, Maryse thought. "Actually..."

"You told her we'd go, didn't you?"

"I had no choice–"

"Maryse! Of course you had a choice!"

He had been a part of his wife's world for long enough to know how it worked; it was all about putting on a good show and keeping up appearances, even when things were rough. He had attended countless social events because of Maryse's work and he could spot an unhappy marriage a mile off; it was the couple whose smiles were wider than everyone else's but when they thought they were alone, they were hissing in corners. In the past, Ted always felt relieved that his marriage was much more real and happy than theirs but now?

"I told her you were busy with work but she wouldn't take no for an answer. Then she kept talking about how the evening would be an incredible business opportunity for you because everyone wants architects–"

"I don't care about work – I don't need Alberto's rich friends to pay my bills – I care more about going out wearing a tux and a fake smile, pretending everything's okay when we both know it isn't. That might be okay for some people but it's not for me."

"I know, Ted, I know. But don't you think that a night out would be a good thing? To go out as a couple and not have to worry, to be happy?"

"Will we really be happy, or will be just be pretending to be happy?"

"If I'm with you, then I know I'll be happy. I miss you, Ted."

He looked across the coffee table at his wife. He was a complete mess and yet she was as immaculate as ever; perfect nails, perfect hair, perfect makeup; she was angelic and he adored her, despite his frustrations.

"I know how much you hate these social events and you probably hate them even more considering I want you to come even though we're not..." She didn't know what the end of that sentence was, so she let it trail away. "But it would mean the world to me if you agreed to come."

"Let me think about it."

At this point, that was the best Maryse was going to get. She sipped her coffee in satisfied silence.

"…he usually keeps a spare key under the welcome mat so I should be able to get in." When Mickie lifted up the mat, a small silver key sat on the ground, waiting to be used. "Bingo."

"Got it?" Maria asked from the other end of the cell phone.

"Got it. You're sure this isn't breaking in?"

"Live dangerously, sweetie. Besides, he's your boyfriend and he knows that you know where the spare key is, right? It's not as if you're climbing through a window. Cody's not going to call the cops on you."

"Okay, I'm in."

"And you've got everything?"

"I think so. By the way, I stopped off at Victoria's Secret on the way here."

"Good plan. Nothing a guy can resist more than great linger-argh, I've gotta get back to my shift. Text me if you need anything and I'll call you on my next break, okay?"

"Thanks Maria."

"No problem. Knock him dead."

Hanging up the phone, the brunette sighed.

It seemed that lately, she had been seeing a lot less of her boyfriend and her boyfriend had been seeing a lot more of Kelly. She wasn't the jealous type but naturally, she felt threatened by the beautiful blonde's presence. What normal girlfriend wouldn't? She needed to regain Cody's attention and remind him why they were so good together. That was when she and Maria came up with the idea of a surprise romantic night in. Cody had mentioned he was getting away from the office a little earlier that evening, which was why she was invading his house in preparation.

She poked her head around the house and it seemed like the house hadn't been tidied up after breakfast; there were empty plates in the kitchen and living room, the bathroom was steamed up from his morning shower and his bed was unmade. Deciding to spruce things up, she threw the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and made up Cody's bed before running a vacuum around the rooms.

Returning to the bags she dropped in the hallway on her way in, she found a bottle of wine, which she placed in the fridge to chill, and grabbed a couple of candles she had found lying around her place – she wasn't exactly the romantic type so all this was fairly new to her. And wasn't it the guy that was supposed to be the romancer?

Once the whole place looked a little more presentable, Mickie headed for the shower – she had come straight from the hospital and wanted to freshen up. Once under the hot running water, her thoughts drifted to her relationship. Getting Cody into a monogamous commitment had been like pulling teeth and she certainly didn't think that once they were in that relationship, she would have to fight for him like she was now. It had unintentionally become her versus Kelly, but she wasn't sure if the blonde knew it.

Whatever. She cleared Kelly from her head and tried to think of the night ahead and if there was anything else she needed to do. She had to put the pre-prepared lasagne in the oven. She also needed to check there was appropriate music in the stereo and not one of Cody's Foreigner CDs; for someone who seemed so cool, he had ridiculous taste in music–

"I'm telling you, that kid on the subway was a brat! Every time you and his mom weren't looking, he was giving me the finger!"

The bathroom window was open and on the street below, Mickie could hear her boyfriend's voice. She turned off the shower and cursed; he wasn't supposed to be back this early.

"I find that hard to believe, Cody." And Kelly was with him? What the hell was going on? "He was wearing a Lightning McQueen t-shirt, for God's sake."

"New York kids are tough. They may seem all Pixar and lollipops but they're badass."

Mickie reached for a towel, doing her best to dry off as quickly as possible. Still damp, she found a bathrobe over the back of the door and slung it on at the sound of the key turning in the front door lock.

"Okay, well I'll–" There was a pause. "Did you clean up in here?"

"No, I didn't. That's weird–"

At the top of the staircase, Mickie appeared, feeling more embarrassed than she had in years. The eyes of Cody and Kelly scanned over her in both shock and confusion. Embarrassed didn't cover it, she felt mortified. "Hey."

"Forgive me for being a little confused but what's going on?" Her boyfriend asked.

"I let myself in, sorry. You said you were getting off work early so I thought I'd sur–"

"Shit, I did, didn't I?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I totally forgot. It's just that Kelly has two tickets for tonight's Rangers game. Courtside seats."

"They're great seats." Kelly agreed, but when she looked up the stairs and met Mickie's gaze, her expression changed to one of guilt. "But if you guys have something planned, I can find someone else, no problem. I don't want to impose."

"Well, you don't mind, do you, Micks?" Was he asking her permission? In about two seconds, Mickie had gone from feeling like Cody's girlfriend to feeling like his mother.

Whilst Kelly looked full of remorse and aware of the imposition she had caused, Cody seemed completely oblivious. The brunette didn't want to be the girlfriend that told her partner what he could and couldn't do but it seemed her relaxed attitude was turning her into the doormat Cody kept his key under. There were two things she wanted in that moment; number one, to be wearing actual clothes and not a bathrobe, and two, to punch Cody's clueless little face in. It took everything in her power to take a deep breath and calmly reply, "Sure, go ahead."

"You're amazing." He jogged up the stairs and kissed her briefly on the lips before turning back to Kelly. "I'm just gonna change and then we can head out again?"

When he disappeared into the bedroom, silence formed between the two women, with Mickie frostily looking down on the blonde whilst Kelly rocked back and forth uncomfortably on her heels. She must have been relieved when her cell phone rang and she had the opportunity to escape to the kitchen to receive the call.

The turnaround took a couple of minutes and no sooner was Cody through the door, he and Kelly were gone again. Once the door was shut, the brunette decided she needed a drink, burrowing in the fridge for the wine she had put in there earlier.

As she sat down at the kitchen table with her glass, she noticed that Kelly's cell phone was on the surface. The blonde had obviously left it behind after her earlier call.

Mickie knew it was wrong to go through someone else's phone but it was like she was drawn to it. Mainly, she just scrolled through the messages to and from Cody but there was nothing incriminating; although there were lots of messages, they were all purely platonic.

But then, it a moment of madness, Mickie delved into Kelly's phonebook and found herself calling Justin.

Please review! xx

NEXT TIME – Ted and Maryse's night out doesn't go quite to plan and Tiffany looks for answers.