Hooked on You

by Jenn Matthews

  Ollie let her go and fumbled in her pocket for her flat keys. “See you next week then.” She smiled at Anna over her shoulder, then turned back to her door.

  Anna smiled back, then realised Ollie wasn’t looking at her anymore. “Don’t forget the pattern,” she said to get her attention back.

  “I won’t.” Ollie glanced back at her but then pushed her door open with her body, before quickly closing it behind her.

  For a moment, Anna stood staring at Ollie’s door, but wasn’t sure why. She gathered her coat around herself, pulled her cloth bag and handbag onto her shoulder more firmly, and made for the taxis.

  Chapter 3

  Treble Crochet (tr)

  With a bounce in her stride and a smile on her face, Anna arrived at work on Friday right on time. She sauntered into the staff room, flicking the newly-sewn-together scarf over her shoulder.

  Tally smiled up at her.

  A whistle sounded from the far end of the staff room, where Jack was making a coffee. Warmth blossomed in Anna’s stomach as she sat. “Well, what do you think?”

  “Monsoon?” Tally asked.

  “No. Guess again,” Anna replied.

  “Looks posh,” Tally gestured with a pile of papers. “I give up.”

  “You give up far too easily, Tally.” Anna laughed. “Okay. I’ll make a confession. This scarf is part of a new hobby I’ve begun. Although I’m pleased to know you think it was professionally made.”

  Jack moved closer, putting his coffee down. “You actually made that yourself?”

  “Don’t seem so flabbergasted, young Jack.” Anna leaned back in her chair cheerfully. “I’m reasonably good with my hands, you know.”

  “It’s gorgeous.” Tally touched the scarf with careful fingers. She pressed the end of it against her face and gave a little giggle.

  Anna snuggled her cheek into the part around her neck. “I am rather pleased with myself.”

  Tally’s fellow teaching assistant approached with a cup of tea and spent time fingering the scarf as well. “Aw, Ms Rose. Where did you learn to knit?”

  “It’s not knitted actually, lovely Rachael. It is very much crocheted.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “One hook versus two needles, I believe.” Anna relished in the attention as Rachael nodded. “I’ve started crochet lessons.”

  They all complimented her work, and Anna felt like a teenager getting praise from a teacher for an essay. “I’m sure I’ll learn more stitches on Thursday.” She grimaced at the slip of her tongue. Damn. Too much information. They’d ask her about it the minute she got into work on Friday morning. Not that she was embarrassed about it. It was just something she would like to keep to herself for the moment.

  She went into her classroom and then draped her coat on the back of her chair, the scarf joining it. Jack followed her, shutting the door behind him. He looked at her for a moment.

  The smile fell from her. “You’re making me paranoid, Mr Holmes. Why the scrutiny?”

  “I’m curious.” He perched on the edge of her desk. “I get that the crocheting is fun. I get that you’re probably meeting new folk and enjoying yourself. But I haven’t seen you quite so…”

  “Yes?” Anna asked, voice lower. Don’t patronise me. I’m two decades older than you.

  “Jovial?” He grimaced apologetically.

  She put one hand on her hip.

  “Giggly?”

  Her jaw dropped. “Giggly?”

  “Sorry.” He shrugged. “Just something I’ve noticed.”

  “I am perfectly at liberty to be excited about a new hobby and a new friend…group of friends.”

  He pounced on that. “Friend, eh?”

  “There are other people at the group. They come and go each week, from what I can see.” Anna closed her eyes for a moment. Did she really have to explain herself to Jack? “And they all seem very nice.”

  “But you have your eye set on one ‘friend’, hmm?”

  She sighed. “Jack.”

  “Come on,” he teased. “Give me something.”

  “We’re just friends. Absolutely just friends.”

  “What’s his name?”

  She paused and then swallowed. “Ollie?” She tried to gauge his reaction.

  “Modern name,” he said, pressing his lips forward and nodding. “Bet he’s younger than you. I’m told having a toy boy is in these days.”

  She laughed. “Ollie and I are the same age. I think.”

  “Want me to take on some of the book clubs?” Jack’s face softened, and she relaxed too. He’d stop teasing now. “Doing five a week is a lot, you know. I only do one.”

  “I know. But you have a department to run.”

  Jack shrugged. “I know how hard you work.” Something akin to concern shone from his eyes.

  “I’m fine.” She patted his arm. “I enjoy doing them. The kids love them, and I’d miss it.”

  “Even though I’ve seen you rush your lunch on at least ten occasions. You’ll do some damage to your stomach, you know. Lunchtime is supposed to be for relaxation.” He touched her hand where it now lay on his shoulder. His hand was warm, his face lined.

  Do I look tired? Is that why he’s so concerned? “What can I say? I’m a stickler for work.”

  Jack scrutinised her for a beat or two and then sighed. “Well, the offer remains. You need to relinquish some extracurricular, I’m here, and I have time. I don’t have a family to run. Just an English department.”

  They exchanged another smile.

  “So, this Ollie, hmm?” Jack’s teasing grin had returned. “Your delightful new friend.”

  “What about Ollie?”

  “What happened to Liam?”

  She took a breath. “Liam’s still in the picture. What? I’m not allowed to have other friends?”

  “Hope this Ollie is something to look at.” He headed towards the door, the bell for the beginning of registration ringing above his head.

  “I suppose so,” Anna said to herself.

  Actually, Ollie is rather beautiful. She pressed her lips together and tried to smile as he left the classroom and her form began to filter in, pushing at each other in that way they had at the end of term.

  “Okay, guys, come on. Usual drill.”

  Everyone smiled at her, even the difficult pupils. She smiled right back, and everyone settled. She called the register, and, despite some of the form joking around with it, they got through it quickly.

  “Couple of notices. The quad is being repaired, so please be careful at break and lunch. Don’t go into the cordoned-off areas.” She looked up from the piece of paper from which she was reading and caught one teenager’s eye. “Yes, Dave, that means you. It means everyone. I doubt the school nurse would appreciate a load of my form arriving at her office with feet coated in concrete because they couldn’t follow simple instructions.”

  “What about that fit building guy, though, Miss?” one of the girls piped up. Her eyes twinkled with something between innocent reverie and naughty sexuality.

  Anna pulled a stern look onto her face “You keep your hands off the workmen, Charlotte. They don’t need your advances while they’re working.”

  Charlotte smiled and nodded. “Okay, Miss.”

  “He is well fit, though,” her friend interjected.

  “How ‘well fit’ one of our workmen is, is absolutely nothing to do with you.” Anna pointed a finger at the table where both girls sat. “Sexual harassment is illegal, especially when someone’s at work.” She regarded the whole class. “Come on, guys, you know this.”

  Murmurs of agreement came from the whole room. Anna felt pleased. Her form was good, on the whole. One last look around settled her worries, and she continued with the monotony of announcements on the paper in front of her.

&n
bsp; Ollie turned the television to something easy, a nature documentary. A glass of wine sat in her free hand as she leant back into her sofa cushions. It had been a busy Monday in the shop: All the kids on October half-term had been eager to spend their pocket money, hankering after a cute and awesome key ring. She’d completely sold out of the hedgehogs, and the unicorns too. And then there was her swim class of hyperactive ten-year-olds. Her brain was half thinking up other animals to make for tomorrow, half watching the meerkats on the screen jumping all over each other.

  Takeaway packets stacked by the sink awaited a spark of renewed energy tomorrow morning. Her belly was full, and her body was tired after a whole day of selling and interacting with children and their parents. She didn’t mind the holidays so much; at least she turned a good profit.

  Her eyes closed, tiredness taking over her mind until she had very little control over where her thoughts led her. She thought about a pair of green eyes, followed by freckled cheekbones, short red hair, and careful hands cupping a mug of hot tea. Full lips smiled at her and then laughed.

  Ollie put her wine glass on the coffee table and relaxed back into her sofa, stretching her legs out. The sound of Anna’s voice filled her mind, and she sighed, her hands stationary on her stomach.

  She hadn’t allowed herself the pleasure or freedom to think about anyone this deeply for a few years. Since Zoe, really. Actually, she hadn’t thought about a man since way before that. She hadn’t thought about anyone, male or female. Had she ever fancied a man? Had she even fancied her ex-husband, with whom she had spent twenty years?

  The kids needed some sense of normality with me away so much.

  She must have fancied him at one point. She married him, didn’t she? But it was so long ago, she couldn’t remember the feeling anymore. She was only attracted to women these days.

  Mostly passing fancies, though: her first physiotherapist, the nurse who had changed her IV once when she got an infection in the wound in her knee. She’d considered them briefly, but her fantasies never went beyond a quick visualisation, something to get things going before blankness invaded her thoughts. Her hand was all she needed to find that type of release—until the niggling stab of guilt afterwards. How many months of psychological therapy had it taken for her to finally believe that she could fantasise about whomever she liked?

  But she could, so she lay back and thought about Anna—although her hands stayed put—and she drifted off on her comfortable and reliable sofa with Anna’s voice and those soft eyes playing like a movie in her thoughts.

  When she awoke several hours later, the television was replaying BBC 2 trailers. She rolled off the sofa and went off to potter through her bedtime routine. In bed, she lay in her underwear, her exposed skin a little tingly against her cotton sheets.

  She decided against any form of relief. She couldn’t think about Anna while she did that, and if she touched herself, her brain would inevitably stray in that direction. She hoped they were becoming friends, especially after their little trip to the greasy-spoon café and the warm look in Anna’s eyes when she stayed so close outside Ollie’s front door.

  No. Friends didn’t do that while they thought about each other. Definitely not.

  She fell asleep a little achy and frustrated.

  Dinner was in the oven, and Bethany sat expectantly at the kitchen table, waiting for the timer to ping.

  Anna sat across from her, nursing a lovely hot cup of tea. “Timothy will be home in about twenty minutes,” she explained, her fingertip tracing idly along the handle of her mug. “He knows I’m going out, so there shouldn’t be much hassle.”

  “Okay.” Bethany lifted her own cup to her lips. “I love lasagne.”

  An affectionate chuckle rumbled through Anna. “Well, I thought I’d get you something nice, considering I’m abandoning you tonight.”

  Beth waited for a moment before reacting, as though she had to think about how she should do so. “That’s okay. You go out, have fun.” Her gaze flicked towards the front door.

  Something similar to lead collected in Anna’s stomach, and she looked more closely at her daughter. “I’m hoping Liam takes me somewhere romantic. Somewhere with candles, maybe. Nice music.”

  “That’d be awesome.”

  The doorbell rang, and Anna stood slowly, draining her mug. “My date has arrived,” she announced in a whisper.

  Bethany grinned and shook her head.

  The way Liam shifted from foot to foot in his smart suit and tie was unusual for him. “Anna. So nice to see you.” He leant in to kiss her cheek.

  A flush tingled through Anna’s body, but she eyed him cautiously. “Why the eager demeanour? What have you done?”

  Liam’s gaze bounced from side to side. It settled through the door and into Anna’s house. With a flick up of his eyebrows, he indicated he wanted to come in.

  She stepped back and closed the door behind him. He doesn’t usually come in. “What is it?”

  A long mane of brown hair swished across Anna’s field of vision as Bethany stepped into the hallway. She seemed to be pretending to have some kind of task to do. She rifled through the pockets of her own hung-up coat. Anna knew better—she was eavesdropping.

  The neat creases in Liam’s suit skewed as he shifted his feet. “Well…unfortunately my mother has had to come along tonight.”

  Anna stepped back. “You’ve brought your mother on our date?”

  A snort from Bethany.

  “She…she wasn’t feeling well. She has a touch of vertigo and is worried about staying home alone. Especially since Dad died, she…” His large eyes were wet.

  Emotions prickled through Anna, but she put them aside and settled on compassion. She stepped towards him and rubbed his arm. “Well, I suppose the romance will have to be put on hold for tonight, then. Your mother and I get on, don’t we?” She patted him. “Stop looking so terribly forlorn.”

  He relaxed and nodded. “All right. Good.”

  When Anna turned to glance at Bethany, she found her stock-still, eyes like saucers, and with one eyebrow raised. “Really?” Bethany said, the word drawn out. “You’re asking if your mum can be there on your date?”

  “It’s exceptional circumstances.” His shoulders had hardened again.

  Bethany scoffed. “Ace. Have a great time.” Sarcasm dripped from her.

  Anna collected her things and they headed out. Liam’s hand planted itself at the small of her back. Anna’s insides quivered, but not in a good way. What a pain. I thought our evening would be just the two of us.

  “What a twat.” Bethany’s voice drifted through the closing door. Anna admitted she was thinking the same thing.

  But, no. Liam hadn’t caused his mother’s health issues, and it was nice he cared enough to put her needs before his own. It would be nice for him to put Anna’s needs before his own, sometimes, however.

  Margaret was in the back of the car, looking significantly uncomfortable.

  Anna turned in her seat once they’d pulled away from the kerb. “I’m so sorry you’re feeling poorly.”

  “And I’m sorry I’m about to spoil your dinner.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Mum. Anna’s happy you’re here.”

  Anna’s stomach twisted again, and she had to close her eyes and turn back to the front to stop her true feelings from spilling into the car. “Of course I am.” She let out a slow breath and nodded.

  It was a shame they were accompanied. The restaurant was all sweet smells and soft music, a perfect place to take a romantic partner. Not so great a place to take your mother, unless she needed cheering up. Liam’s mother really did seem to need cheering up, however. The way her eyes softened in the quiet, comfortable atmosphere of the restaurant made Anna feel bad about wishing they were alone. When Margaret wobbled a bit sitting down in her chair, Anna steadied her with a hand to her shoulder
.

  She allowed Liam to focus the conversation. He knew his mother much better, and she trusted him to guide the talk into areas where Margaret could contribute. Anna found she wanted Margaret to have a good time, and to see her as someone her son should be with. She found she cared what Margaret thought when it came to their relationship.

  I suppose everyone feels that about their in-laws. Not that Liam and I are married…or really that serious. Perhaps I hope Margaret thinks we’re serious.

  Why is that? She considered her predicament. They weren’t serious; they were just dating, weren’t they? What if Margaret thinks I’m stringing him along? I don’t want her thinking that. She tried not to slink down in her chair under the occasional glances from the older woman.

  The conversation mostly consisted of Liam complaining about work, as usual. “I don’t understand why people can’t just follow policy. It’s written out in black and white. I’ve made it as simple as it could ever be.”

  Margaret hummed sympathetically and took a sip of water. “Oh dear. It does sound like a quandary for you, Lee-lee.”

  Anna bit back a giggle. She’d never heard Liam’s mother call him that. “I suppose people just don’t have the time to read policies. Not that I can speak for anyone, really. I, of course, have read everything in the folder you have ever written.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him and he smiled back. It was true: as his girlfriend, she’d felt obliged to set a good example and read the folder from cover to cover. It hadn’t exactly got her heart beating, not like a good mystery novel, but she’d felt all the better for it. The look on his face afterwards had been glorious, as had the two orgasms he’d managed to give her the evening after.

  The space between her legs fluttered just a tad. She felt her cheeks turning red. She was eternally grateful Margaret was not a mind reader.

  “It’s the most important thing they can do,” Liam continued. “Really. Honestly. Nothing is more important than following the set of rules that depicts exactly how things should be done. All other things should follow on after.” He swirled the ice in his glass round thoughtfully. “I might bring it up, you know, at the next staff meeting. I’ve been thinking about it for a while: getting the new members of staff to start off with an induction week. They’d read the folder, then answer questions on it.” He grinned and chuckled. “I reckon it’d be a fun beginning to their teaching career.”