Resist (London) by Danielle Breeze Page A

are you thinking about over there?” I asked.
    She let out at almost wistful sigh before speaking.
    “I don’t know. I’m confused Mason. Why did you come back? Why did you even come in the first place? I’d have told me to fuck off, after the way I was with you the other day.”
    Well I didn’t expect that, but I already knew the answer.
    “It’s not confusing Harper. I like you, and I think you already got that. But I’m a good guy. You want or need something, and if I’m in a position to give it you, I’ll do it. It’s that simple. I don’t know why you’re so against it. It’s not free though, I wanna get to know you better, you let me in, then we’re even.”
    “I can’t, no, I won’t get into a relationship with you Mason. I don’t do that.” She declared. It was fierce, no room for negotiation, but there’s a reason that I organise everything at Blaze, I can be persuasive without the other person even knowing it.
    With this in mind, I replied.
    “Who said anything about a relationship? I hardly know you! I wanna get to know you, it’s always good to have a new friend. I’m a good friend to have!”
    She looked stunned.
    “You...you’re okay with just being my friend ?” She said friend like it was a foreign concept she’d never heard. But I was playing this my way.
    “Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    She didn’t reply. I smiled to myself. Poor girl didn’t have a clue.

Chapter Five
    Harper
     
    He wasn’t lying.
    He really did seem ok with just being my friend.
    ... If being my friend meant turning up outside of my apartment every morning when I was due to go to university, just to give me ride, as well as being there when I was finished for the day. Or for the same reason he would randomly be in my home with Jase, even when I wasn’t there, cooking at my place, sleeping on my sofa. He was invading my entire life.
    Including e very single one of my thoughts, my dreams…everything.
    Then yeah, he was a great friend.
    The damn man just took over! He brought his own food over to keep in my fridge, he left a spare uniform in my wardrobe, he made dinner, he bought a new coffee machine because ‘ours wasn’t good enough’...well of course it wasn’t good enough, we were students! Students are poor!
    Did he ask my permission for any of this? Nope!
    He just did it.
    It was annoying, to say the least, he really did think he owned everything, the floor he walked on, the people he walked past, the sunshine, the rain, the wind, literally everything. His sense of entitlement was unrivalled.
    I’d never known anything like it . Worming his way into my world, in less than a month! Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t exactly mind him being around. He was great, he was funny, he cleaned up after himself...and me...and Jase. He cooked dinners for everyone, he obviously had upgraded our coffee machine and he saved me from having to walk to and from university when I had to go. But I just wanted him to ask once in a while .
    Damn frustrating man!
    But I finally found myself with a few hours of free-time, time by myself, no Taylor, no Jase...and definitely no Mason. I liked my own company. I enjoyed the silence. I loved just doing...nothing!
    I lay in the bath planning things in my head. Taylor’s birthday was only two and a half months away and I needed to start organising. Now I know what you’re thinking, two and a half months is a long time just for planning a birthday day...but with Taylor? Not the case.
    I’m sure she’d be happy to just have a few drinks or something, but her birthday is one of the days in the year that she thought about her parents and got truly upset. I had never, not since the first birthday when they were gone, let her spend a single minute of her birthday alone. I always made a huge deal out of it.
    I’m sure she probably knew that was the reason, but she never argued about it anyway. Everyone loves to feel like the centre of attention, even if it is just for