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Brian must have taken his bastard pills this morning, Niall thought as the line manager bulled his way around the place dishing out the orders. He was in one of those moods where he wanted everyone to know he was in charge and that nobody was allowed to slack. That was particularly frustrating for Niall as he knew there was a message waiting for him on his mobile phone; a picture message from Fiona no less.

They had been seeing one another for just over a couple of weeks now and Niall was in hog heaven. They’d seen each other on various occasions and each one resulted in mind-blowing sex. He was seeing her again tonight and he didn’t see it being any exception to the norm, especially if the photos he’d received were what he was expecting.

“Niall,” Brian bellowed. Niall winced; knowing he’d been caught daydreaming. “Are you taking the fucking piss?”

Niall gritted his teeth and tried his best not to stare daggers at Brian as he stormed over; stopping mere inches away from Niall. His expression suggested he was expecting an answer and Niall knew that remaining silent wouldn’t pay dividends with this particular brand of arsehole so said the first thing that came to mind.

“I don’t appreciate your language, Brian”.

I should have said nothing, Niall immediately thought.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Brian asked rhetorically with an ironic laugh. Niall’s workmates knew the shit was about to hit the fan and stopped what they were doing to witness it. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”
“Somebody who needs to learn how to talk to his staff,” Niall responded coolly. He was already deep in trouble so figured he might as well go down holding his own. “Your man management skills are atrocious”.

Brian’s face turned a shade of purple and Niall worried for a second that his head might literally explode.

“Up to the office now!”
“With pleasure,” Niall said defiantly.

They marched towards the office; Niall a few steps behind Brian and the sombre looks from the other members of staff might have filled him with misgivings if he weren’t so fuelled up and ready to put the manager in his place. He’d had quite enough of his tyranny and was ready to take it up to the top level management if he needed to. They went into the office; Brian failing to hold the door open for Niall in typically ignorant fashion. Brian took a seat behind the desk while Niall stood behind the adjacent chair.

“Sit down, O’Shaughnessy”.
“I’d rather stand,” Niall responded assertively; cringing at Brian’s use of his surname.
“Suit yourself. Where do you get off speaking to me like a piece of shit?”
“I don’t know, Brian. It might have rubbed off from you”.
“Don’t get smart with me, lad,” Brian said indignantly.
“I’m not getting smart with you. The way you speak to us is disgusting. We bust our balls to get the work done, but it’s never enough for you. You always expect ten percent more regardless of how much we give and your way of motivating us is by calling us lazy and swearing every other word”.
“Maybe you don’t understand how it works. It’s my arse that gets the kicking if the work isn’t done. I’m not prepared to take a bollocking because you lot don’t work hard enough”.
“When was the last time you got a bollocking for us not working hard enough? We’ve exceeded our quota every day for the past two months”.
“Maybe my approach is the reason why”.
“I highly doubt it, Brian. All your approach does is piss people off. Rob has a laugh with us and we still get all the work done. Nobody likes working when you’re on shift”.
“Rob might be here to make friends, but I’m here to be a manager. If you soft bastards can’t handle the tough approach then maybe you’re better off working elsewhere”.
“Funny you should say that because I was gonna suggest the same to you,” Niall said seriously.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to, Niall?”
“A bitter old man who’s probably getting none off his wife and with a bunch of kids who don’t visit because they think you’re a dick too”.
“Get your shit and get out of here. You’re fucking suspended!”
“No, Brian. I’m going nowhere. I’m going over your head and talking to Roger about your management style because it reeks,” Niall threatened; referring to the company’s owner. “I’ve got enough lads in there to back me up and you won’t have a leg to stand on. You’re a bully and I’m putting you in your place. In fact, I think I’ll give head office a bell right now”.
“Don’t,” Brian said loudly. His breathing was heavy and he was sweating. He held out a hand with his palm facing Niall. “Don’t call Roger. You’re right. Maybe I am being a bit of an arsehole. I’m just under a lot of pressure”.
“We all are, Brian, and you don’t make it any easier”.
“Listen…we’ll forget all this. I’ll try and be a bit less bullish from now on,” Brian reasoned.
“Fair enough. So if I stop to take a breather or have a quick look to see if I’ve had a text, you’ll do what?”
“I’ll walk on by,” Brian said grudgingly.
“I’m glad we had this conversation,” Niall retorted with a beaming grin. “Well, I’m about five minutes down now so I’d better get back out there and keep your arse from getting kicked”.

Brian said no more. He shot Niall a stare that said “I’ll get you for this”. Niall reacted by firing one back that said “no you won’t”. As he headed back through the workshop, Niall checked his phone and the picture message. He nearly collapsed when he saw what one of the images displayed. Needless to say that it was enough to see him spend the rest of the shift indelibly horny!

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When the workday ended, Niall raced to his car. He checked his phone while the car warmed up and windows demisted, responding to whatever message Fiona had sent him before anything else. He noticed he also had a message on C-MAC. He was going to ignore it, but curiosity got the better of him and he opened up the message. It was from a girl whose profile name was Chantasy and he recalled he’d tried messaging her several weeks ago but without response. She confirmed her real name was Chantelle and apologised for the delay. She hadn’t had internet access for a while so it had been the first chance she had to see his message. He checked her profile to refresh his memory and the pictures confirmed she was a very attractive girl. He thought about messaging her back, but decided against at that moment in time. All he cared about was seeing Fiona.

He didn’t spare the horses in getting home, showering and changing. He thought of how good it felt to be excited about a woman again and it not be a false dawn like it had been with Kelly. The rush of the intense sexual attraction was intoxicating and something he hadn’t felt since the early days of his relationship with Vikki.

Once ready, Niall headed out of the door; completely forgoing his dinner. He drove round to Fiona’s flat in record time and pressed the buzzer. Her flatmate answered and let him in. The climb up four flights of stairs was arduous, but nothing compared to the impending workout that was on its way, Niall thought with excitement. He knocked upon the door when he reached it and it was answered by Fiona who was in a dressing gown.

“You took your time”.
“I’d have been quicker had I ran over that pensioner, but my conscience forced me to brake before I did,” Niall joked.
“Damn that pensioner and your conscience”.

Niall wasted no more time talking. He took Fiona in his arms and began kissing her with fervour whilst they blindly made their way to her room; Niall kicking the door of the flat closed along the way. When they made it to her room, Fiona broke out of the kiss and created some space between her and Niall. He wondered what was going on, but quickly figured out when she turned to face away from him, untied her dressing gown and allowed it to slowly drop to the floor. She revealed a blood red bra and G-string set along with matching stockings and suspenders. Niall’s mouth dropped open and Fiona turned her head to drink in the effect she’d had on him.

“Well? What do you think?”
“It…it’s just my colour,” Niall stammered.

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A little later, the pair lay in Fiona’s bed almost completely depleted of energy. Neither had held back in their passionate cravings. It was rare either of them did. It amazed Niall to think that he wasn’t that attracted to her on first sight because he was completely captivated by her now.

Fiona rested her head on Niall’s chest; her naked leg hooked around his. She frequently hummed contentedly. Niall was comfortable. He was happy. He felt happier in this moment than he’d felt in a long time. Nothing about this situation was negative. The way Fiona made him feel was everything he’d been looking for since he and Vikki had broken up. There was no mention of feelings to add awkwardness. The feelings were felt, but not spoken. Niall cared a great deal for Fiona and he knew she cared for him too. It didn’t need to be said. He had thought of asking how she felt about making their thing official, but always decided against as not to risk rocking the boat and diving in too quickly.

They were disturbed slightly by the sound of the door buzzer going and Fiona stirred.

“Who the hell is that at this time,” she asked rhetorically.

Then she heard her flatmate calling her name and she suddenly sat up. Her expression read of immediate discomfort and Niall suspiciously noted it. She looked back at Niall and smiled uncertainly.

“I’ll be back in a minute”.

Fiona got out of bed and put on her dressing gown before slipping out of the door. Niall could hear her talking with her flatmate, but couldn’t tell what was being said. Judging by the timbre of their voices it was nothing good. He heard Fiona say “now isn’t a good time” and then an electronic sounding voice over the intercom in response. Niall had the feeling he’d need to get dressed and quickly pulled on his clothes.

A minute or so later, Fiona stepped back inside the room and gave Niall a nervous smile. Niall looked back at her with an expectant expression.

“Did you hear any of that,” she asked.
“Only bits. Not enough to know what’s happening”.
“You’re going to have to go I’m afraid. I’ve got a visitor. I persuaded them to go to the shop to give you time to leave”.
“Who is it? A family member or something?”
“Uhm, no. Look, I promise I’ll explain everything tomorrow. I’ll give you a ring”.
“I’m in work tomorrow, Fee. I’m not waiting all day to find out why you’re chucking me out when I was supposed to be staying the night”.
“Alright, alright,” Fiona said; sounding a little flustered. “The truth is…it’s my boyfriend”.

Niall didn’t respond. He physically couldn’t. What could he say in response to that? He froze to the point where he couldn’t actually see anything before him. He didn’t know if he was angry, upset or any and all stops in between. Fiona’s voice sounded as though it was coming from the other end of a hall and echoed in his head.

“I can explain everything and I promise I will, but it’ll have to be tomorrow. Right now you have to go. I’m sorry, Niall. I’m so gutted about this. I really am”.
“Okay,” Niall said quietly.

He said nothing more and headed out of her bedroom to the door of the flat. He didn’t stop there and opened the door; walking through and ignoring Fiona’s desperate calling of his name. He could have walked past her boyfriend on the way to his car; he really didn’t know because he wasn’t paying attention to anything. He was numb both physically and mentally.

The half an hour that followed was a blur; including the drive home. He only seemed to snap back to a semblance of reality when he was at home and heard his phone go off. It was a message from Fiona that read “I’m so sorry, Niall. I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Try not to hate me too much. I miss you already xx”. Out of the numbness came a pain. It was a pain enough to cause Niall to punch the wall with a frustrated holler before he collapsed into bed.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Title image from Shine Aloud.