Part 14.
Sian bounded down the cobbles like she was on a mission. She had no idea what she was going to say when she got there, but she had to do something. Anything. This wasn't on, like. Things had just got to being good, between her and Soph and now this Maz was on the scene. Plus! Let's not forget the fact that Sian had intended on making love to her girlfriend that afternoon, and all afternoon if at all possible. This timing really wasn't good at all.
As she got there Sophie and Maz were giggling and half-heartedly hitting each other on the arm. They were grinning at each other like Cheshire Cats and Sian really wanted to push the newcomer over her bike and tell her to get lost. But somehow she managed to restrain herself. Instead the blond settled for forcefully crossing her arms over chest and delivering Sophie's ex a force ten glare. She didn't take her eyes off of Maz for what felt like an eternity, until finally, Sophie spoke.
Sophie was ten times of happy that Maz had arrived! She had even forgot that she had text her last week, after all this had kicked off with Sian. Maz knew full well how much Sophie had always wanted the blond back, and so when the brunette was all alone one night, snuggled up in bed, conflicted with what she should do, she had text her ex for some advice. All resulting in her now appearing, pretty much a week later as she was passing through on her way to Scotland. It made Sophie happy to have Maz there, she provided some kind of familiarity and made her all nostalgic. Maz had remained a great mate and they were always like school kids when they were together. She had been staring at her ex for a while as it had been ages since she had seen her, and then suddenly the brunette had become overly aware of her goofy grin, just as she became aware of someone standing beside her.
Sophie paused, kind of hoping it wasn't Sian as she was sure this looked a little like, it shouldn't. But she knew it was, even before she turned to look. Sophie retracted her arm from playing with Maz and put her hands on her hips. She looked at the cobbles before she took her eyes to the blond. She smiled, as best she could. "Sian, this is Maz". If it sounded like it was forced it was because it was.
"Yeh I guessed", Sian blurted out before thrusting her hand out to the stranger. "Hi".
Maz looked a little surprised by the apparent jealousy, or whatever it was that was pouring out of the blond. She moved her eyes from an angry Sian, to an awkward Sophie, and then back again to an angry Sian. She smiled, as she didn't know what else to do and then shook the offered hand. Maz had her best smile on, which was meant in the most sincere of ways but unfortunately translated across to Sian as some kind of 'ooo, look at me, all up in your new girlfriends space with ma' suave lesbian style and bangin' hot body'... Sian's brain really wasn't being reasonable. But she felt like she had good reason, therefore she was choosing to be mardy. She cut her eyes at the newcomer.
"It's great to finally meet you", Maz said as she retracted her hand, "I've heard so much about you".
Sian folded her arms back across her chest. "Really? Shame I can't say the same about you". And then she flashed her teeth in a very fake smile.
The comment hovered up there for a little bit, in the atmosphere. It was so tense you could cut it with a knife.
There was silence for about two minutes, which Sophie was sure was more like five hours. And then the brunette looked up from the very interesting cobble she had been staring at by her foot, and met with Maz's eyes. Sophie's arms were now also folded across her chest.
Maz felt a little like giving Sophie a slap. If it wasn't so awkward she was sure she would be laughing. Same old avoidy Soph, Maz thought as she licked her lips and looked anywhere but at either girl stood in front of her. Maz had never been one for intense situations, she was more of a happy go lucky kind of girl. Whereas Sophie liked to land herself in these hellish situations, and then not do a fat lot to make them better. She usually waited for someone else to help her out, like Rosie, for instance. As Maz thought of Sophie's older sister, her head lifted up and her eyes darted around trying to look for her. She was sure she wouldn't be too far away, as this situation seemed to be on the brink of exploding at any second and it was always Rosie who picked up the pieces.
Maz looked towards the pub and a smile formed across her face. Rosie smiled back and they held each other's gaze as a hello, before Maz's attention was caught by Sophie, who was silently pleading with her to help. Maz shook her head slightly and then flicked her eyes to Sian; she couldn't quite believe that Sophie was still exactly the same, especially when clearly she had all she wanted right in front of her. Maz then glared at Sophie as if telling her to say something, for God's sake! And when Sophie simply glared back Maz decided to be proactive.
"Right well I'm gonna say hi to your sister, and get a pint", she kicked the bike again for good measure. "This heap of crap isn't going anywhere".
"You can't leave it there", Sophie but in, not particularly ready for what Sian was surely dying to say to her.
"I can", Maz smiled as she sided up to her ex, "jus come and get me after your argument". She winked and nudged the brunette, before jogging towards the pub.
Sophie turned and watched her go. And then turned to face Sian.
Sian had followed the brunette with her eyes and stared after her. Even after Maz and Rosie had gone into the pub. The blond gently pulled her top lip between her teeth and really had no idea what to think. She was crazy jealous. Insanely jealous. Horrible pain in her chest jealous. And she had no clue what to say. She couldn't really have a go at Sophie, they had only just got back together, hadn't they? Sian moved her eyes to girlfriends. She was her girlfriend again, wasn't she? Sian felt a little bit of panic before it dissipated into confusion. What was going on? Sian jus looked at Sophie, and waited for some kind of indication as to what had just happened.
Sophie swallowed, and took a deep breath. She saw the fire in Sian's eyes. "Don't start", she began, and looked away.
That knocked Sian a bit. Her arms remained rooted to her chest. "Don't start what?" it was said in reaction. She was sure her annoyance was written plainly across her face. She bore her eyes into Sophie who refused to look at her.
Sophie brought a hand up and rubbed it at the side of her head. She closed her eyes. She couldn't believe of all the things she could have said, that was what had come out of her mouth. She was annoyed at herself. Why couldn't she say what she was feeling? She fidgeted on the spot. "She's a friend-"
"She's your ex".
"Who's a friend!" Sophie blurted out, a little angrier than she meant. She forced her hand back down to her side and now met Sian's gaze. The blond looked upset and it caused Sophie's frustration to turn itself into an ache, right in her chest. Stop being an idiot, something told her. And then something else inside her backed down and she took in a breath.
Sian's forehead was crinkled; partly through jealousy, partly through anger, but mostly through why the hell they were arguing again. She didn't want it to be this way, and her body language spoke it in volumes. She sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me she was coming?" Her blue eyes seemed to plead with Soph's.
Sophie had long since melted but it took a few minutes for her brain to tell her feet to get her ass over to Sian. She did so and grabbed the blonds little finger and wiggled it, a bit. She sighed, too. And then raised her eyebrows, she didn't want this to sound as stupid as it did in her head. "I forgot".
It did sound stupid.
Sian rolled her eyes and went to walk off but Sophie held her in place, pulling her back close.
"Babe, I know how that sounds but I did!" Sophie hurried. She let out another breath. "I text her last week when we had all that.." she shook her head, trying to find the words. "..stuff. I duno Rosie was out and Maz has always been a brilliant friend". Sophie looked into Sian's eyes and saw she wasn't convinced. Some panic was starting to settle in so she tugged on the blonde's finger again to try and win some cute points. Sian looked sideways at her. Sophie grabbed her other hand so they were standing opposite each other, their bodies touching lightly. The brunette's voice was lowered and she shrugged. "She said she might be passing through but it went totally out of my head I swear. And when she text me just now I rushed over trying to think how to tell you.." she trailed off, feeling a little pathetic at her explanation. "Don't be mad with me". She put on her best puppy dog eyes.
Sian smiled a little, gripping Sophie's fingers back. "I'm not mad with you".
Sophie's eyebrows shot off her forehead. That, she did not believe.
Sian grinned. "Okay maybe a little".
"Mmm a little", the brunette reiterated. She was happy Sian was smiling though. She loved the blonds smile. It was amazing.
Sian hunched her shoulders. "You jus seemed really happy to see her and I really, really wanted to spend the afternoon with you". She glanced up at Sophie and pouted, and then looked back to the cobbles.
Sophie melted some, and then a little more as Sian seemed to fidget on the spot, and then gently swing their hands where they hung loosely at their side. Sophie glanced at their entwined fingers and she felt something shoot through her, from her fingertips straight to her chest and it seemed to pull her in. The brunette heaved in a breath, as that's what it felt like it would take to move the feeling that had taken hold of her.
And right then, was when it hit her.
When Sian was glancing down at the ground all nervous and pouty; her gorgeous long blonde hair falling perfectly around her shoulders and the magical touch that rippled through the brunette as Sian would slowly rub their fingers together. Sophie knew, that she was it. Forever. Yeah. Sian would be the one for her, forever. And that was all she knew.
Sian chose that moment to look up, partly because of the extended silence but mostly because she just wanted to know what Sophie was thinking. The blond raised her eyebrows a little bit; Soph had a weird expression on her face, one that she had never seen before. After a second Sian cocked her head and licked her lips, which seemed to wake her girlfriend from her daze.
Sophie's tone was low. "I would love nothing more than to spend the afternoon with you". She said it with such meaning that Sian froze in place. The brunette's gaze was penetrating and Sian was helplessly trapped in it. "I wanna spend all my afternoons with you.." she trailed off as she gazed into her girlfriends beautiful blue eyes, and in that moment she wanted more than anything to say what she was feeling, that she wanted to spend her life with her. With no one else, ever. Just her. But it stuck on the tip of her tongue. Something stopped her. The emotion had welled up in her eyes and suddenly her neck twitched and she looked to the side. Taking a breath Sophie smiled and looked back to Sian. She was still scared, or more to the point petrified she would mess it all up. So she remembered what was happening and carried on. "But Maz won't be here for long. So how about we go get a drink and we'll pick up a bit later on?"
Sian was a little bit taken aback. She was certain she had seen something in Sophie's eyes, like something she had decided not to let her in on. Sophie had always used to do that, before, way back when, and she just wished the brunette could be open with her. Trust her completely. Sian slowly let a smile creep across her lips as she contemplated her girlfriend with a mixture of frustration and overwhelming compassion. She loved her bad. And she wanted them to work more than anything. As she looked into Soph's eyes she saw something that melted her. It was an invisible force that somehow reached out and warmed her soul. And Sian decided that she would wait. Wait for whatever it was Sophie wanted to say. And she would go inside the pub and tolerate this Maz person, just because Sophie wanted her too. And then after that, it would be perfect. She was sure of it.
She looked into her girlfriends eyes before they turned and started to walk towards the Rovers. The blonde's heart was pounding with what she felt. She closed her eyes for a few steps and tried to take a calming breath. She wanted this to work more than anything, Sophie meant just everything to her. She held the brunette's hand tighter and felt Sophie clench hers back. Sian was suddenly nervous. She had felt some insecurity from Sophie earlier when they were caught in the moment, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She silently prayed that everything would be fine, it just had to be.
They got to the doors and Soph went in first. Sian paused briefly. She hoped Maz wouldn't cause any trouble between the two of them. But that was something she couldn't think about either. She straightened up and pushed back her shoulders. And went inside the pub.
Sophie was already standing by one of the booths, kind of, sort of, leaning in. Sian's mind already jumped to the lean being in a flirtatious way, as her mind already had Maz sat in that booth, probably with a bunch of people Sophie knew, all loving the newcomer within the ten minutes she had been inside the pub. Sian instantly chided herself, and told her brain to hush the hell up, otherwise it was going to be a long afternoon. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them she saw Sophie smiling at her, and holding her hand out for her to take. Her legs carried her over and she took the offered hand.
The brunette squeezed it reassuringly and as Sian stood next to her, she wrapped her arm around her pulling the blond close. Sian was lost momentarily as she looked into her girlfriends eyes. She smiled back at Soph and then they both looked to the table. Sian was brought back to reality. The table was full of Webster's. And Maz. Sian's breath caught in her throat.
"So then what happened?" Rosie grinned as she leaned across the table, all wide eyed and seemingly engrossed in the conversation, trying to somehow get herself closer to Maz.
Sian glanced around the table, it seemed everyone was caught up in the story, even Sophie was giggling however much she was trying to contain it. Sian moved her eyes back to Maz and noted how Kevin and Sally hadn't even acknowledged her presence, as pre occupied with the newcomer they were. The blond immediately felt uncomfortable again, was she going to have to compete with one of Sophie's ex's? That was added pressure she certainly didn't need, nor did she want. Maz's personality was magnetic, as if no one could keep their eyes off of her, and her voice was as attractive as she was. Sian certainly saw what Sophie had seen in her, whenever it was they got together.
As Maz continued to speak, the table occasionally broke out in laughter, as she regaled them with a tall tale of meeting and charming some barmaid on her way up to Manchester. Inevitably the situation had backfired on her, as the barmaid's boyfriend had pulled up in the car park just as the barmaid had kissed Maz, as she leaned casually up against her motorbike.
"I felt pretty sure the dude was gunna whale on me, until she backed away and he saw what I looked like". Maz flashed a wide smile, exposing her perfectly white teeth. The smile seemed to light her up and make her impossibly, even more beautiful.
Sally almost choked on her white wine. She set the glass back down. "Maz you are terrible", she began, "I'm surprised you're not bruised or beaten taking a man's girlfriend like that".
"I didn't take her anywhere", Maz shrugged, "she followed me-"
"Wanted to see the bike I bet?" Kevin jumped in.
"Too right Mr. W", Maz grinned, "works every time" she winked.
Sally playfully scoffed trying to communicate to the table, and more importantly to her daughters how she didn't approve of such antics. However she was intrigued and was always very fond of Maz and her stories, however inappropriate they might be. In actual fact Maz had taught her to loosen up a little bit although she would never admit it. The brunette had a wonderful way of making any situation light hearted and always managed to come out of every scenario unscathed. Truth be told she was never worried when Sophie was out with Maz, as she knew Maz had the charm and wherefore to talk her way out of anything. Always handy to have around, in her humble opinion.
Sally looked at Kevin and nudged him, "and you always encourage her!" Her eyes went back to Maz, "so didn't the boyfriend do anything?"
Maz tilted her head to the side and looked towards the ceiling, "well he might've wanted to", she smiled, and her eyes found out Soph who regarded her with wonder. "But he kind of looked me up and down and stopped in his tracks". The table started giggling, as did she. "I think on the inside he was in awe of the hot chick his girlfriend had pulled-"
"Swell head!" Sophie interjected.
"Oh you know it sweetie", Maz replied. "So I switched it on and threw him the experimenting bi-curious line his girlfriend was trying he offered to buy me a drink!"
The table all seemed to blow out a breath of disbelief mixed in with laughter and Rosie slapped her on the arm. "You are such a smooth talker!" Rosie giggled. "Same old Maz!" she lowered her voice, "it's nice to see".
Maz winked at Rosie and then held her gaze before grinning widely, again showing off her magnificent smile. She put her elbows on the table and leaned towards Rosie. "And it's nice for you to see me".
The older Webster sister seemed charmed at the interaction and the smile threatened to literally fall off her face, that's how wide it was.
Sian shifted on the spot a little as she felt Sophie move at her side. The brunette's tone was humorous however the blond couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it.
"Ey!" Sophie spoke up, "not so cosy there at the back". She had a smile on her face and she didn't mean anything by it, however she couldn't help the kneejerk reaction of keeping the flirting between her ex and her sister at bay. Maz held her hands up in submission. Rosie simply laughed.
Sian eyed Sophie with a sort of, half raised eyebrow expression. She didn't know what to make of that. Soph had her hand on Sian's shoulder and she pulled her close again and on catching the blonde's look, she leaned in and kissed her forehead. Sophie's voice was low, "shall we grab a drink and sit down?"
The offer was innocent enough and Sian figured Sophie hadn't picked up on what she was feeling from her last comment. Probably because there was nothing in it, she thought to herself. C'mon Sian, stop being jealous... The blonde smiled and held onto Sophie's hand at her shoulder. The pause was long enough for Sophie to raise an eyebrow and look more intently at her girlfriend. Sian shook her head, took a step back and opened her mouth to speak.
"Errr, are you working or what?"
Steve had appeared at the bar. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows almost off his head. His hands were grasping two of the pumps. "Cuz you haven't been for the last twenty minutes".
"Alright Stevie", Becky cut in as she moved past him. "Girl's entitled to a break".
Steve snapped to his wife, he was just about fed up that she never supported him when it came to Sian. Just like when she worked for them before. "Becky!" he forced out in a whisper. She looked at him. His expression poured out a plea of support but she regarded him unimpressed. And she went to collect glasses. Steve rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air. He didn't know what he had expected. Becky loved that girl and he would never win. He went for a smoke.
"I should get back-" Sian had stepped out of Sophie's grip and held onto her index finger as their arms had dropped to their sides.
"Ahh a barmaid eh.." Maz spoke up as she leaned forward. "Good call Soph they're always the hot ones". That grin was there again.
Sian wasn't sure if that was a compliment. Or if Maz was maybe flirting with her ? That confused her. Maybe she really did flirt with everyone. Sian didn't know what to say.
"Sian was mine before she was a barmaid, actually", Sophie began, in a kind of smart-arse tone. "And she's always been this hot". Soph smiled and pulled Sian towards her and kissed her briefly on the lips.
Maz raised her eyebrows but the grin remained. "Yeah I can see what you saw in her". It was a genuine compliment.
Sian really was perplexed at that. All she could manage was a shy smile and she looked away. "Right well I'll get back to work". She looked at everyone in turn around the table and then at Soph.
"See you later", Sophie said. And Sian walked away.
Sophie took a seat next to her mum and she couldn't help but let her eyes fall on Maz. She had missed her. She had forgotten how electric she actually was. Just looking at her made Soph smile.
"So how long are you in town for Maz?" Sally enquired. It was a question everybody wanted to know the answer to.
"Just till I've sorted my bike, seems like our kid over there has things sorted with her Mrs now so". The familiar grin was back.
"Aww why don't you stay a bit longer", Rosie began, slapping Maz on the knee. Rosie had manoeuvred herself to an inch away from the brunette. "Some of us still enjoy your company even if my crazy sister doesn't". It got a laugh from the table.
"Oi I never said that!" Sophie defended. She caught Maz's eye. "It is great to see you again".
"Yeah well don't let her over there hear that", she gestured towards the bar where Sian was pulling a pint an engaging in conversation with some regular. "Or you might regret it".
"Nahh Sian's fine", Sophie said as she settled into her seat. There was an exchange of glances around the table. "What?" she enquired, "she is! We're more than good".
Rosie let out a pffffffffft and was about to go into detail as to how the pair got back together when Kevin decided it was time for him to leave.
"Well I best get back to work", he got up from the table. "Maz bring your bike in whenever and I'll look at it for you-"
"Aw thanks Mr. W!" Maz enthused. "It's on the cobbles just outside the garage.." and she flashed him an all other league of smile.
Kev just grinned. "I asked for that didn't I? Right well I'll have a look later".
"I best get off too. It's not getting any earlier and I've things to do". Sally moved past Sophie who shifted her legs for her parents to pass. "Maz you'll have your tea later with us? It's not optional".
"In that case I'd love to Mrs. W. Wouldn't miss it".
Rosie leaned in closer to her sister's ex. "Alone at last.."
"Urrrm I am sitting here you know!" Sophie's eyes were wide. Her sister really did have no shame. Maz started chuckling to herself. "What would Jason say if he saw you drooling over my ex like that?" And she emphasised the 'ex' as much as she could, however it was lost on Rosie.
"You're not still with that bricky?" Maz shot out as she looked at Rosie. She always thought she could've done better. Way better.
"She is", Sophie spoke up.
Rosie flicked her hair. "Well, who knows, he's annoying me at the moment".
Sophie rolled her eyes. "That's nothing new".
Rosie huffed out a breath and slammed her hand down on the table, right next to her phone. She looked at her little sister with wide eyes and a pissed off expression. "No, I mean it this time, he's really starting to do my head in. You know what he said to me last night? After I threw him out..." she dramatically moved her head to the side and then flicked her hair back over her shoulder. She looked back at her sister, "he told me that I spent too much time in other people's lives". The brunette franticly started to nod her head. "Can you believe that? I mean how selfish! I told him my little sister wasn't people, and if he couldn't deal with it, he should do one". Rosie had picked up her phone and started to mess with it, flicking the top screen up and then pushing it back down with her thumb. Sophie let out a quiet breath, her sister really did amaze her sometimes. Rosie looked at Maz, "I'm right, right? I mean you'd do that, too?"
Maz grinned. "Totally". And she looked at Sophie. "Bros before hoes, man".
Sophie giggled and Rosie looked a little confused, before her phone rang. She looked at it. "Oh it's him, I better get it". She got up as she answered it and pushed her way, rather closely, past Maz in the process. "What now?" she demanded as she stormed off round the bar.
Maz and Sophie were left laughing at just how.. Rosie, Rosie was being. Maz's grin was still present, in fact it rarely left her face. "She's not changed huh?" she spoke softly as she regarded her ex.
Sophie brought her gaze back from following her sister and rested it on Maz. "Not a bit", Sophie smiled. "But she really is brilliant".
Maz sat forwards and leaned her elbows on the table. "So you think your girl can handle us being alone like this?" She was concerned that she would cause problems between the two, when all she had come for was to help out her ex which seemed pretty redundant now. "I mean I can just, take off. It wouldn't be a problem".
"Oh like that's gunna happen now my mom knows you're here", Soph smiled, "she'd kill me if you went without at least having dinner first".
Maz wasn't convinced. She could see the uncertain looks Sian was throwing them now everyone had left the table. Maz had raised her one eyebrow and moved her attention from Sian to Sophie. "Mmmm well, if you're sure". And she sat back in her seat.
"I'm sure!" Sophie said confidently. "Sian and me are aaall good".
Maz had picked up her beer and swigged from the bottle. "Right well, get the beers in then!"
Sophie laughed and got up from the table.