Before I could ask him though, he’d gone in his room and shut the door.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I told Jayne all about my grandmother’s visit and what had been said. I needed to get her on board with this investigating Chad thing. And I had to do it without Tristan finding out because he was lousy at subterfuge.
“Your Grandmother is freaky.”
“That’s the truth but I can’t do anything about that.”
We had to talk in class so that Chad couldn’t overhear us. He’d gotten a bit lax about hanging around the studio. I think he realised that I would not be sneaking out of class since I needed to put in so much work, so he brought his gear with him sometimes and used the college gym. Other times he just hung out in the cafe doing Chad stuff. That was kind of handy because it meant I had a table saved for me when I had my break.
Jayne and I still didn’t have a plan when we went for coffee. I had made some great progress on my paintings though.
We walked to the cafe together.
“Are you okay?” Jayne asked. “You still have a bit of a limp.”
“I’m fine. It just hurts a little when I have to stand too long and doing this, you are always standing too long.” I didn’t add that I had a long shift at the store after work and that would only make things worse but I didn’t want her fussing over me. I couldn’t not go to work, because I needed the money.
“There’s one thing about Chad…” I had a sudden idea. “Even if he goes to gym here, he still heads out when I’m working or if he has some time off from watching over me. He takes his gym bag. I mean, he’s a buff guy but going to the gym twice in one day, either he has an exercise addiction problem or there is something else going on.”
Jayne nodded.
“That’s it. We can track him when he goes out.”
“But he only goes out when I’m working. It defeats the purpose.”
She gave a little skip.
“I can follow him. You’ll be at the store and he’ll suspect nothing. You could even get him to drive you to work.”
She hugged herself with her own brilliance. I had to admit, it was a clever idea. We could find out if he had a lover stashed away somewhere. The thought of that made my stomach churn. Or he could have a child. Again my stomach churned. He seemed like a bit of a loner anyway so it had to be something like a bad debt. Maybe involving loan sharks.
“If there is any danger, you get out of there though,” I told Jayne. “I don’t want you messing with loan sharks or other dodgy characters.”
Maybe it was something else altogether. Maybe he wanted to go to Italy himself or somewhere to study. Maybe Chad had dreams of his own.
Tristan was with him when we got to the cafe. The two of them had been hanging out together like old buds. The way it was going, Chad would be enrolled in art school soon. I wasn’t sure I liked him getting so integrated into my life.
***
“I thought you didn’t want me driving you around anymore,” Chad said.
“I didn’t but my ankle is feeling a bit sore so I don’t want to put too much pressure on it. You are going out anyway.”
“If it’s that sore, maybe you should take the night off work,” he said out of concern and not just as a lame excuse not to drive me.
“I need the money, and anyway I will be sitting down behind the counter most of the night.” Unless I had to help out a customer in the change room or rehang stock or find something specific for people. But Chad didn’t know that. He knew nothing about retail.
“Okay then, let’s go.” He swung his car keys from his finger.
I grabbed my bag and followed him to the car. Jayne would be waiting in her car on the shopping strip. Chad knew her car but we figured he wouldn’t be expecting her to follow. Jayne had told me she was an expert on tailing people from watching crime shows on TV, anyway.
I hoped the store wouldn’t be too busy. I needed to be able to check my texts from Jayne. I had a buzzing feeling about this whole operation and I wasn’t sure if it was a good buzz or a bad buzz. I had to find things out one way or the other though.
When I got into the store, it was empty of customers. Michelle, the owner, looked happy to see me.
“I’ve been hanging out for you to get here. I really need some food. It’s been so dead all day but I hate leaving the store even for a few minutes.”
See, I’d happily hang out the “back in 5 minutes” sign but then, I wasn’t the owner. She hugged me then took off. I stared at my phone wondering how long it would take Chad to get to where he needed to go. There really was nothing to do in the store. Michelle must’ve been bored indeed. Every routine little job that needed doing had been done. All the new stock had been tagged and hung. The floor was immaculate. Even the pens on the counter had been lined up in a very neat line.
Before I heard from Jayne, some customers came into the store. Two bored schoolgirls. They wanted to try everything on and kept getting me to bring them more things. I knew they wouldn’t buy anything. They were just bored and maybe potential shoplifters with the way they kept trying to distract me. I could hear my phone beep with messages but I didn’t dare leave those girls alone. With such a small boutique, a few losses could mean a big deal and a lot of the stuff was on commission for local designers. Michelle sure as hell didn’t want to have to tell them their stuff had been nicked.
“Are you sure you don’t have this in blue?” one of the girls asked.
“I’m positive. It’s a one-off. If you want a full range of colours, I suggest you go to Target or somewhere like that.” I was getting a bit snappy with them but I just wanted them gone. “Are you going to take that?” I said to the other girl, who had a few things in her hand.
The girls looked at each other then decided it was time to leave.
Finally.
When the door closed behind them, I got out my phone.
I had three messages from Jayne. One saying she was on his tail, the next saying he’d gone into a convenience store and the final one saying she’d lost him.
Shit. She’d lost him. What a waste.
Since the shop was empty, I called Jayne back to get the dirt.
“What happened? How did you lose him?”
“I think he knew I was following him. He took a whole bunch of back streets and I had to hang back so he couldn’t see me then he sped up and went over a rail crossing as the boom gates were going down. That’s where I lost him.”
“Man, we can’t even follow him again now, if he knows we’re onto him. We’re never going to find out the history of Chad. He’s going to be an enigma forever.”
I really couldn’t think of any way to find out what his story was, not unless he wanted to talk. I’d tried stalking him on the internet but I couldn’t even find a Facebook page for him.
“Let’s just get him drunk and then pump him for information.” That was Jayne’s only suggestion before she had to go.
I hung up but kept thinking about Chad’s motivation.
He obviously wanted the money from my grandmother pretty bad. He’d been really upset when Grandmother said she wanted him off the case. He didn’t show it but I knew enough to read Chad by now. And he obviously needed the money enough to reject me. From what I’d seen of him, he didn’t actually care that much about material things. His clothes were all functional and he never wanted to go out for dinner because it cost too much.
That got back to him having huge debts he had to pay.
Of course, not many people would say no to a big wad of cash but how many people would take 100 days out of their life to trail around behind someone else, even someone as fascinating as me.
I didn’t even know if Chad was his real name. That could be a fake name to stop me from googling him and finding out his dirty secrets.
When Chad picked me up from work, he seemed a bit strange. He didn’t talk so I didn’t talk either.
We got back home and still Chad hadn’t said anything.
/> I slumped on the couch, brain dead from my day, when Chad come out of his room.
“We should talk about this,” he said. He looked serious.
“About what?”
“About you having your friends trail me. It’s not on, Lucy.”
I sat up.
“Well, how is it different to you following me around? Not so much fun when the shoe’s on the other foot, huh. The follower becomes the followee.”
“It’s not a joke. I need to have some time to myself. If you want to know what I do, just ask me. You don’t need to sneak around.”
“So, okay, tell me. Where were you going tonight?”
Ha, I had him. He’d have to tell me now.
“I was at the hospital.”
“Huh?” I wasn’t expecting that.
“I had to visit my mother. She’s sick. That’s why I’m doing this job. So she can get treatment. If I get some serious cash, she can get this experimental medicine. It costs a fortune but it might cure her. She has cancer.”
What? No way.
I sat bolt upright and stared at him.
He’d just thrown that out from nowhere. Then I remembered the way he’d sucked me into his stupid stories before. I’d not be sucked in so easily this time. This wouldn’t be like his “my cousin lived next door to Harry Potter” story.
He said it so flippantly. He didn’t even look upset. He was definitely trying to bullshit me with the whole “my mother has cancer” thing. That was not cool.
“Right, your mother has cancer. Good one, Chad. Am I supposed to cry for you? Maybe I should make you a bowl of soup and we’ll sit around looking glum about your sick mother.”
I rolled my eyes. He could’ve been more original. He sat there trying to look all sad-eyed and serious but I could tell he would start laughing as soon as I left the room. And I planned to leave the room very shortly, to message Jayne.
As I walked passed him, I punched him on the arm.
“Sorry, Chad, try a bit harder next time.”
For a moment, I paused. The look on his face made me think he might be telling the truth, all twisted up in grief. My heart lurched and I was about to apologise then Chad’s face broke out into a grin. He’d nearly got me there. Of course he’d been kidding. He really should know better than to joke about something like cancer.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
There were no more cosy nights at home playing board games or watching TV. No more Chad making me dinner or fetching me coffee. It seemed like Chad had started taking his job seriously.
Maybe it was because my ankle was back to normal and I didn’t need him anymore.
He went into full mode of trying to get me to break my deal with my grandmother. I was trying to get some sketches done for my assessment when someone dropped by.
The guy knocked on the door and I answered.
“Is Chad here?”
Whoa, that was some hot Chad friend. I stood in the doorway for a moment with my mouth open. The guy on the doorstep was tall and blond and dripping with dreaminess. He had a surfie vibe to him with his long, lean frame.
Strangely enough, Chad had just popped out.
“Come in,” I said.
I’d never seen Chad have a friend before. I’d never even thought about him having friends.
I wanted to get back to my assignment but that’d be rude to Peter, the friend. He’d draped himself over the sofa and I offered to make a coffee. We’d finished the coffee and Chad still hadn’t returned. Since he rarely left me alone, I found that strange.
Every time Peter said something to me, he’d stroke my arm in a totally charming way. The man overflowed with charisma. He had my temperature rising by about 22 degrees, at least.
I couldn’t deal with that, so I grabbed our empty cups and took them to the sink. Only, Peter followed me into our tiny kitchen. The space was so small, our bodies almost touched. I got even hotter. Peter was exactly the thing to ease the crazy need in my loins. It’d been so long since I’d had a man between my legs that cobwebs would be growing there.
“Let me help,” he said and reached across me for a tea towel. His arm brushed against mine and I shivered. We could have sex quickly, before Chad got back. Chad would never know.
Except this guy was Chad’s friend. He’d set me up. The coffee cup clanged into the sink.
“Sorry, I’ve got a lot of work to do for my assignment,” I told him. “You should wait in Chad’s room until he gets back.
I wasn’t so easily fooled. Even if Peter tempted me, it was all just hormones and desperation. Hell, even Jayne was looking good to me at the moment.
A little while later, Chad came home and looked very surprised to see me still fully clothed and engrossed in study. It was kind of insulting to think he’d think I’d fall for that.
***
On Friday night, Chad wanted me to go out. I was onto his game. I’d go out, have a few drinks then he’d parade another one of his beefcake buddies in front of me. I’d have a weakened resistance and he’d get me. I would’ve said no but Jayne got in on the nagging too, telling me I’d been getting boring.
“When is the last time we went out dancing,” she said. “We go to drinks at Willigars and that’s it. It’s hardly partying. It’s just going drinking. It’s the last weekend we can go out and get smashed before we have to seriously settle down to get shit done for assessments. That means you have to go. You are technically obligated to go out with me.”
So, that was settled. Jayne and Tristan and Chad and I would put on our party shoes and go out dancing. I really couldn’t imagine Chad at a nightclub. He was more your “doing stuff” kind of guy. Like, he’d rather be at home putting up a shelf or restumping a house or something like that. But that didn’t mean the chicks wouldn’t flock to him like bitches on heat though. He was that type. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
I put on my favourite boho outfit and brushed my hair out loose. When Chad saw me, he screwed up his face.
“Is that what you’re wearing?”
“What’s wrong with it? This is fashion, mate.”
“It’s a little bit frumpy, Lucy. You can do better than that.”
He went into my room and came back with a black mini dress. That dress needed a helluva lot of confidence to pull off and even more of that magic tape to hold it on without flashing my fun bags to the world.
“I can’t wear that. I’d look like a $2 hooker in it.”
“You wore it when you went out with me,” Chad replied.
Well, that was the truth but I’d had an aim back then. Still, I sighed and went back into my room. The boho outfit was a bit drab for clubbing and who can dance in a maxi skirt? I didn’t put on the black number though. I went for sparkles with all the sexy bits covered. Well, mostly. I’m not a nun, you know, even if my grandmother wanted me to act like one. Then, I slipped on a pair of boots and some dangly earrings. I was ready for dancing.
I’d told Tristan and Jayne I’d pick them up and I grabbed my keys.
“That’s okay,” said Chad. “I’m driving.”
“No way. I said I’d drive.” I smiled. There was no way he’d get me drunk so I’d not be totally in control. I wanted to get him drunk and pump him for info.
“But they’re your friends. You want to have a good time with them.” He smiled back at me just as sweetly.
“I don’t really like drinking that much. I can have a good time without it.” I turned the sweetness on my smile up to maximum strength. Then I grabbed my keys and ran for my car, forcing him to follow or be left behind.
Once I’d collected Tristan, we headed to Jayne’s but she wasn’t quite ready and Tristan wanted to have warm up drinks.
“Are your parents home?” Tristan asked.
“Nope. They’ve gone out for the night.”
“Well, why is there no music on?”
Jayne put on some music and Tristan decided to dance around the lounge room while pouring drinks.
�
��Where are we going anyway?” he asked. “Not Joe’s again. That place is a dive.”
“The Lounge. That’s where everyone goes nowadays,” Jayne called from the bedroom.
“No way. More like it’s where no one goes except losers like you. The losers that didn’t get the ‘no one goes to The Lounge’ memo.”
Jayne popped her head out of the bedroom with fake lashes on one eye only.
“You, sir, are the loser, on account of no one has sent a memo since 1989.” Then she laughed. “Can you help me with these lashes?”
Tristan sighed and got up.
“Why are you even wearing them? You know you’re blind as a bat after two drinks when you have those lashes on.”
“Because they are hot.”
Chad rolled his eyes. If he didn’t like it, he could go home. Or off to wherever Chads went on a Friday night.
He sat a glass heavily-laced with vodka in front of me.
“Sorry,” I smiled. “I’m driving.”
“I can drive,” he said.
“No, you can’t. My car has a peculiar thing with the accelerator ever since it broke down. You have to know the knack to it.”
That sounded so believable and technical that I almost clapped my hands with delight. I was a genius. I’d have to remember that one for other occasions.
I poured myself an orange juice and glared at Chad while Jayne and Tristan squealed at each other in the bedroom. I could’ve run off to help Jayne but I’d feel like I was letting Chad win if I walked out of the room.
I sat in one armchair, twisting the strap of my handbag around my fingers and Chad sat in the other armchair with his hands folded in his lap. Neither of us spoke. I didn’t really have anything to say to him.
It made me realise how much I wanted to have a stiff drink then get out there and flirt my butt off with cute guys. Then head home for night of hot, steamy sex. All the normal things people my age do, not this sitting around being all celibate.
“You guys ready yet?” I yelled.
“Just a minute.”
I mentally count offed the days until this deal was over. I could do it. I had to. Anyway, Chad had been such a jerk lately, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of winning.
Hands Off! The 100 Day Agreement Page 10
