The Truth About Ellen: A feel-good romantic comedy

by Sarah Louise Smith

  I blushed, regretting my words instantly, but he smiled at me and swept some hair off my face.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t, you know, seduce you last night. Didn’t seem the right thing to do. You were pretty drunk.”

  “Me?” I mocked a shocked face. “Never.”

  He laughed. I laughed. I looked at him and he looked back and I nodded, hoping he could read my mind and he obviously could because then we were walking rather quickly back to the hotel.

  “Hi Martha,” he called, walking past her at the reception desk. She waved at us without looking up from her computer.

  Tom started climbing the stairs two at a time and I ran to keep up with him. As we reached the top, my room was to the right but he grabbed my hand and kept walking quickly to the left, then stopped outside a room and unlocked the door. He held it open for me and I went in.

  I was right; his room was even nicer than mine. For a start, it was a suite, with a large lounge area and a balcony overlooking the lake we’d walked around earlier.

  “Wow,” I said, taking it in.

  “Look at the view later. Come here,” he said, looking at me intently. I went over and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his face into my hair and started kissing my neck. Suddenly, the size of the room and the view didn’t matter much.

  He pushed me up against the wall and moved from my lips to my jaw, then to my neck. I groaned and started pulling his t-shirt over his head. I had to bite my lip when I saw his well-defined chest. He seemed to whip my clothes off in no time at all; and for a fleeting moment I considered the fact that the man had skills due to the vast array of women he met while he travelled around. All the groupies and gold diggers and normal girls like me who had been seduced. He wasn’t going to want a relationship; we had different lives, and lived in different worlds. This would end on Monday with me feeling disappointed.

  But as he threw my naked body onto the bed and climbed on top of me, I told my stupid sensible brain to stop considering the negatives and focus on the delicious feeling of Tom – Tom Green! – setting my whole body alight.

  Afterwards, we went and sat in the sauna for a while, then went for a swim to cool off. All the time, chatting like we were long lost friends. He continued to surprise me. He wasn’t the goofy lad in a band that I thought I knew; he was funny and charming and thoughtful. He was even more affectionate now we’d done the deed, touching me often and kissing me now and then.

  I wasn’t sure if it was the post-sex glow, or the red wine we were drinking, or the delicious food, or just the lovely man opposite me, but I couldn’t think of having enjoyed any dining experience more than the one we had that evening.

  Tom was more relaxed now; making jokes and touching me whenever he could, playing with my fingers as I rested my hand on the table, sharing his food, pouring the wine out faster than the night before. It wasn’t long before we were back in his bedroom.

  Jon, the ex-who-I-no-longer-cared-about, and I had only ever had mediocre sex, usually in the same position and with rare excitement on my side. By the time Tom had made me orgasm for the sixth time that day, I was about ready to die of happiness. Maybe it was the wine and the romantic setting, or just the rush of sex hormones, or just being with a man who was really rather perfect… but it felt like all the stars had aligned, and we were meant to be here, together, in this moment of pure heaven.

  I fell asleep in his arms in the early hours and it didn’t occur to me again to think about what’d happen on Monday when he left, and I went to this boring induction training session. Or whether he’d want to see me again. If I died right then, I’d die happy.

  But when I woke Sunday morning, it was the first thing on my mind. Tom was still asleep, so I got up quietly, pulled on a t-shirt he’d left lying on the floor near a battered old suitcase, and I went out and sat on the balcony to think about the impending broken heart he’d leave me with in 24 hours’ time.

  I didn’t care that he’d been one quarter of Four Apes, the greatest band there ever was. I didn’t care about his money or that he probably knew most of the world’s top music stars. All I knew was he was lovely. He was funny and sweet and, despite his initial air of melancholy, he was full of life. So ready to appreciate the small things in life, like listening out for bird-song or pointing out the sunlight glistening on the lake.

  I loved hearing him hum a tune in the shower the night before, right before he’d lain on the bed naked and pulled me close to go to sleep. I loved watching him read his book, his lovely eyes flicking from one side of the page to the other as he traced the words. I loved hearing him talk.

  Oh my god, I loved him. The realisation made me sit up straight. I loved Tom Green. I’d never have predicted this could happen. Could I really fall in love so fast, having just spent 48 hours together? Yet, what a 48 hours they’d been. We’d had more in-depth conversations in that time than I’d had in three years with Jon.

  Now, I had several problems. First of all, I hadn’t exactly been honest about the past: Four Apes were a huge part of my teen years and I knew a lot about him, and his band mates. I’d feigned ignorance and now I felt bad about it.

  Secondly, he lived in a different world to me. How could it ever work for us when we got back to reality?

  Thirdly, and most scarily, what if he didn’t love me back? I mean, we’d only met two days ago. He liked me, sure. He had fun with me, yes. But was he falling head over heels in love like I was? It seemed unlikely. Surely I was just one of many girls he’d had a fling with.

  Oh no. Of course I was. Maybe he’d even had a few others while staying here these several weeks. I got up from the wicker chair I’d been sitting in and walked over to the stone balustrade and looked out at the view. I let out a sigh.

  I’d just have to enjoy his company today, and not think about what it’d be like to have him gone from my life forever come tomorrow. I mean, it’d be just like it was before, right? And that was fine. Sure, it wasn’t going to be extraordinary bliss every day… but I’d think of him from time to time and remember what a wonderful, lovely man he was.

  But I wasn’t in love, surely. What a crazy notion! It was far too soon for that. It was just my typical, getting-carried-away, crazy brain turning a crush into something more. Something that was only a fantasy.

  “Morning beautiful,” came Tom’s voice.

  I turned to look at him. He had pulled on a pair of boxers and was standing in the doorway looking finer than ever. My heart told me I did love him. My brain told my head to shut up.

  Chapter Eight

  “Hey,” I said, smiling at him and trying to imprint that image into my mind so I’d remember how good he looked. I placed it with the memory of Jasper in the elevator and suddenly wondered what Tom would think if he knew about that night. I shuddered at the thought of him finding out, not that he ever would.

  “Last night was amazing,” he said, coming to stand behind me. I turned back towards the view and he rested his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around me. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “This weekend would’ve been rather dull if I hadn’t met you.”

  “Ditto. You’re the highlight of my stay here.”

  I leant back against his firm body and looked out at the lake.

  “Truth moment?”

  He released his arms and moved to stand beside me.

  “Yes?”

  “Be honest, because it won’t hurt my feelings, I’m just curious.”

  “Right, okay.”

  “How many women have you slept with?”

  He relaxed a little. “I don’t know. I haven’t kept count.”

  “That many, huh?”

  Stupid groupie whores.

  “Not hundreds. But a fair few. Yeah. You wanted the truth.”

  I nodded and looked back out at the water. He rested his arms on the balustrade and I could feel his eyes on me. I turned my head to look back at him.

  “How many here, in this room?” I s
aid, gesturing to the bedroom behind us with my thumb over my shoulder. I looked back out at the lake, not wanting to see his face when he told me.

  “None!” he said, sounding surprised and standing up straighter. “Is that bothering you? You think I’ve bought lots of women up here since I’ve arrived?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Listen, Ellen, I don’t want to get carried away here, I know we only met two days ago but this has been incredible for me. You’re the first woman I’ve slept with in at least six months. That’s the truth. So don’t get all jealous and silly, because I think you’re amazing.”

  The stars aligned again and I leaned into him. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. So, let’s just be honest, all right?”

  “Yes. All right.”

  “So, here’s another truth. I want to see you again, when you get home from this induction course.”

  “Really?” I turned to look at him, unable to keep the smile from my face.

  “Really.”

  Yay!

  “Truth?”

  “Of course.”

  “I am really glad you said that.”

  “Here’s one more truth from me: I really want to get you back into that bed.”

  Well, I couldn’t argue with that. I wanted the same thing.

  Three hours later, with the rain pelting the windows outside, we were lying in bed staring at each other. His face was so familiar to me; it’d been stuck all over my bedroom walls for most of my teenage years after all, but it was different now. Not just in appearance; but now I knew the real him.

  He pushed some hair out of my eyes and rested his hand on my neck. He grinned. I reminded myself that he wanted to see me again. This wasn’t a one-weekend thing. This was something real.

  I just had to make sure he never found out about my intense fanaticism about the band he used to be in, my life-long crush on his ex-bandmate, ex-friend Jasper, or our encounter in London nearly seven years ago, and we’d be fine. Just fine. More than fine. The happiest two people in the whole world, ever.

  “It doesn’t look like the rain is going to stop anytime soon. Shall we go down to the spa?”

  We went and sat in the sauna, Tom on the top seat and me at the bottom where it was cooler. I loved the heat, but couldn’t stand it for as long as he could.

  “Tell me about your house in France,” I asked him.

  “Come up here and I’ll tell you.”

  “I’m not sure I can cope,” I said, but got up anyway. I shuffled up next to him and he leaned back, resting his hand on my thigh. I leaned back against the hot wooden panel behind us and took a deep breath.

  “So I’ve got a villa half way up a mountain in a little village not far from Monaco. It’s just a small place, three bedrooms with a pool outside. I go there and write, read, swim, soak up some sun. Monaco is nice. So is St Tropez, and Nice.”

  “Sounds beautiful.”

  “Maybe we could go there for a weekend.”

  He had his eyes closed, and his head leaning back and I looked at him and wondered how we went from a two night sex-fest in a hotel to planning mini-breaks in such a short time, worried this was going way too fast, but elated that he was thinking about such things.

  “I’d love to.”

  His hand moved up my thigh.

  “Don’t,” I warned, suppressing a giggle.

  “Why not?” His eyes flashed open and he gave me a naughty grin and raised his eyebrows.

  I got up, stifled by the heat and knowing I’d only pass out if we got frisky. We went for a swim and despite him trying to grab me and fondle me every few minutes, I managed to get some exercise in.

  The rain hadn’t stopped, so we retired to his bedroom and after another amazing romp, we lazed in bed watching films, eating room service, talking, and touching each other rather a lot. We didn’t talk about the future, or how it’d work, and I didn’t allow myself to think about it. If in the end all we had was now, then I wanted to enjoy now as much as I could.

  My alarm went off at 7am on Monday morning to tell me I had an hour and a half to get ready and drive to the next hotel to get on with my induction training. Somehow the training course and Darby, Oscar, and everything else back home, all seemed to be part of another life, another world, and I couldn’t quite picture myself getting on with my week.

  I turned my alarm off quickly and crept to the shower while Tom slept, but he was up and watching TV when I returned.

  “So you’re going down to London soon?”

  “I am,” he said, smiling sadly, “I’ll give you a call tonight, yeah?”

  “That’ll be nice,” I said, trying to be as upbeat as I could.

  “How about I take you out for dinner the night you get home?”

  “I’ll probably get home about 8 or 9pm on Friday.”

  “Great, I’ll pick you up from your house, if you like?”

  “In Milton Keynes?”

  “That is where you live, isn’t it?”

  “So you’ll just drive up from London?”

  “Maybe I could stay in a hotel for the weekend. We could go out on a date Saturday, too.”

  “You could stay with me if you like,” I said, thankful I’d finally cleaned before I came away.

  “Okay, I’d like that.” He got up and came over to kiss me on the forehead. “But only if you want me to, I don’t think we should rush this. It’s too good to risk ruining.”

  My heart did a little flip, and my concerns about saying goodbye faded somewhat. It was only four days and we’d see each other again.

  I got ready as quickly as I could, went back to my room and gathered up my things, checked out, and met him in the grounds. He was standing near my car and smiling as I walked towards him.

  “I just want to say,” I started before he could talk, “that if Friday has to get postponed, or you change your mind, or whatever, then I just want you to know that I loved spending time with you this weekend.”

  “I loved spending time with you too, and Friday is definitely going to happen,” he said, looking down at me. He bit his lip.

  “What?”

  “Just seems a shame to say goodbye.”

  “I know.”

  “Well, enjoy your course. And I’ll see you Friday, yeah?”

  “Yeah. I hope your meeting goes well.”

  “Thanks. I’d better get going too, I guess.”

  “Okay then.”

  For the first time, I felt awkward. Like too much was unsaid. He leant down and kissed me and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Four days. Only four days.

  But then what? What about after that weekend? Would he go back to his place in the south of France? Would he tire of me? What about these Four Apes reunion rumours? He hadn’t mentioned that, so I could only presume they weren’t true, which was good and bad at the same time.

  I pushed all the questions from my mind and turned to go.

  “So, see you Friday,” I said, holding his hand for one last moment.

  “Ellen?”

  “Yes?”

  “Truth?”

  “Yes?”

  “I want you to always be honest, and I’ll always be honest with you in return. About everything. So, if something’s worrying you then just say it.”

  How could he read my mind so well already? Was I that easy to read?

  “I’m just over-thinking, that’s all.”

  “Well stop. And honestly, if I didn’t want to see you Friday, I’d just tell you. Okay? How many times do I have to tell you, I want to see you again?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’s quite flattering that you’re concerned at the thought I might not show up. But I will.”

  “Okay.”

  “Friday. And I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay.”

  One last kiss, and then he turned and walked swiftly away from me, without looking back. I got into my car, set up my sat nav, and headed out to find the induction cour
se.

  I’ll see him Friday, I told myself.

  That was, if I didn’t die of boredom first.

  Chapter Nine

  I was pretty surprised when I saw the big company logo looming up ahead and realised I’d made it to the Carlisle office without getting lost. I usually had a tendency to ignore my sat nav and just keep on going straight, then realise I was meant to turn off when it was way too late. But this time I’d obviously been concentrating harder than usual. I was booked into a chain hotel next door so I checked in and dropped my bags off. The room was, of course, far less impressive than what I was used to; a bit of a reality check.

  It was time to begin what Darby had promised to be the most boring week of my life.

  I’d decided on the drive here that if and when I saw Tom again, I’d just tell him about my previous life as a huge Four Apes fan. I mean, what harm could it do, really? It’d make no difference. He liked me, I liked him. It was a minor detail about my past. I was sure he had plenty of embarrassing or awkward moments in his past that would come back to bite us one day, like horrible ex-girlfriends we’d bump into, or something. Assuming we lasted beyond next weekend. Reality was already very different.

  The receptionist directed me to a conference room where some rectangular tables were laid out in a horseshoe and a few people were taking their seats.

  “Hello everyone,” I said as cheerily as I could. Surely making friends here would help see me through the week without too much pain.

  “Welcome!” said a tall blonde woman standing at the front. “Name?”

  “Ellen Falcon,” I told her. “From the Milton Keynes head office.”

  “Ah, yes HR. Just like me. I’m Cathy. I think we’ve spoken on the phone a few times?”

  “Of course, hi Cathy.”

  Cathy and I had indeed spoken on the phone and, as always, she looked nothing like I expected her to. She was younger than she sounded, skinny as a rake and had long, curly blonde hair.

  “I’m running the session so take a seat anywhere you like and when the others get here, we’ll begin.”

  In total, there were ten of us being inducted and by the first break pretty much everyone looked as bored as I felt. I’d also managed to spill coffee down my new white top and eaten far too many jelly beans, which had been left on each table. I glanced around the room and noticed I was the only one to have finished my bowl.