‘Lexi, seriously. I’m really busy. Why do we have to discuss stock in the stock room? What was wrong with the bar?’ he snapped.
‘Because I wanted to do it in private, Doug,’ she shot back. O shit, was she going to tell him now? In here?
‘Discuss stock in private?’ he sounded confused.
‘No, not stock I … I need to tell … shit.’
‘Lexi, just spit it out I have work to do,’ he sighed. I wavered, did I interrupt and excuse myself and risk scaring her off telling him? Or did I keep quiet and stay hidden behind this shelving unit and hope that they didn’t hear me?
‘You’re moving in with Sarah? You didn’t think it would be nice for me to hear that from you?’
‘I didn’t think you cared what I did anymore, Lex. You never hang out with me, you seem to always avoid meals at Gabe and Mia’s when Sarah’s there too and you’re not exactly friendly with her. You made it quite clear that we’re not friends anymore, just working colleagues. Why would I tell you? I haven’t told Jackson or any of the security team, what makes you so special?’ I cringed and looked around and saw another crate behind me and carefully lowered myself onto it. This felt kind of wrong, but it was also like a soap opera on TV, too good to miss.
‘Yeah, well she’s not exactly been very friendly to me either has she?’
‘What do you expect? She knows our history. You won’t expect Mia to put up with Gabe still seeing Chelsea, why should you be any different?’ he retorted. I nodded, he had a fair point there.
‘I thought I was different Doug, we had something, doesn’t that count for anything?’
‘Operative word being “had.” You threw it away Lex, not me. I didn’t want to break up, that was all on you. I had to put up with seeing you rub my face in it with Sam weeks after we split up, as well as all the other guys you were leaving Fazeleys with. Guess you really aren’t the settling down kind are you?’ Oooo, uncalled for Doug, that was a cheap shot, I thought as I waited for Lexi to bite back.
‘So that’s how you think of me, huh? Good time Lexi who fucks around because she enjoys it?’
‘To be honest, I really don’t think about you much at all anymore,’ he replied. Come on Lexi, fight back, tell him, he’s reacting from a place of hurt, I thought as I tried to telepathically tell her.
‘Jesus, Doug … you’re not making this easy for me are you?’ she sighed. I sat up a bit straighter. Bloody hell, she was going to tell him!
‘Making what easy for you? I still have no idea why you dragged me in here. It obviously wasn’t to do with stock and I don’t see what …’
I jumped as the bottles on the shelf next to me rattled and there was a silence, a silence except for the sound of … kissing? I quickly covered my mouth to stop a gasp escaping from my lips. O. MY. GOD. She’d thrown herself at him. The bottles kept rattling and I heard Doug making some kind of sexual grunting noise and screwed up my face. That I didn’t need to hear. Suddenly the bottle noise stopped and there was the sound of feet shuffling on the floor and panting.
‘Doug,’ Lexi uttered.
‘Lexi? What the fuck was that?’ he asked, the confusion in his voice obvious.
‘What do you think it was?’
‘You, launching yourself at my lips, unprovoked.’
‘O, so you’re going to make out like you didn’t just kiss me back and grope my arse. I felt your hard on, you enjoyed it.’
‘I’m with Sarah. I’m with bloody Sarah. What were you thinking?’
‘I’m in love with you.’ She said it so quickly I wondered if I’d heard her right.
‘You’re what?’ he gasped.
‘You heard me.’
‘You’re … in love with me?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered and I mouthed ‘Yes’ and did a fist pump in the air and had to sit on my hands to stop myself from clapping.
‘Lexi? What the fuck’s wrong with you?’ he exclaimed. ‘Nooooo,’ I mouthed with a shake of the head. Not the reaction we wanted Doug.
‘So, now I finally confess how I feel about you, all of a sudden there’s something wrong with me?’
‘You’re with Sam.’
‘I was with Sam. I ended it, because … because …’
‘Because what.’
‘I realised he wasn’t you.’
‘Fucking hell, Lex. I’m with Sarah, I’m house hunting with SARAH,’ he roared and I waited for someone to break the silence. Doug spoke again first. ‘What do you expect me to do with this information?’ he asked quietly. I bit my lip feeling suddenly nervous, and from a sudden desperate need to bloody pee again.
‘I hoped that you still felt the same about me and wanted to give it another go,’ she said quietly. I pulled a face as she put her heart out there, knowing how hard that was for her.
‘It’s been two years Lex, two bloody years,’ he sighed. ‘Why now? Why tell me now?’
‘Because I sort of only just realised and when I heard you were moving in with her I figured it was my last chance.’
‘You had your chance, you’re the first girl I ever fell in love with Lex, and you broke my fucking heart. I’ve moved on, I’m with Sarah now,’ he shot back and I covered my face with my hands. Shit, that wasn’t the reaction I’d expected and I’d encouraged her to stick herself out there.
‘Do you love her? Like you loved me?
‘Lexi, this conversation’s over. I need to go. I need to get out of here.’
‘Please Doug, just answer the question, I need to know,’ she begged. I wiped my tears on my sleeve and tried not to sniff.
‘What the hell do you want from me, Lexi? To break up with her and come running back to you and pick up where we left off?’
‘I want you to be honest with me, if you really love her and don’t have any feelings for me anymore I’ll deal with that and move on. But if there’s the slightest doubt in your mind about you and her, if you have any feelings left for me, I don’t want to pick up where we left off, I want to start again. I’ve changed, Doug.’
‘Yeah, well maybe I have too.’
‘Doug, please. Tell me,’ she pleaded. I looked up at the ceiling desperately trying not to burst into uncontrollable tears, this was vulnerable Lexi talking and I knew what it took for her to show that side of herself. I also had to clamp my knees together and squeeze my PC muscles, my bladder control at the moment was pitiful.
‘What do you want to hear?’ he yelled. ‘How much I’ve missed you? How every time I have a laugh or have fun with Sarah I think how it doesn’t feel as good as it felt with you? How whenever I tell her I love her I know deep in my heart I don’t love her as much as I do you? I still fucking care Lexi, I still fucking love you. Is that what you wanted to hear? You want me to choose? To risk a stable relationship of two years with a sweet adorable girl to try again with you, then have you run out on me again when it gets too intense for you?’
‘This was a mistake, I need to go,’ she sobbed.
‘Lex, shit, I’m sorry. Don’t cry, you know I can’t deal with crying.’
‘Doug please, let me go.’
‘Don’t go,’ he sighed. ‘I miss you too. I just can’t believe you’re telling me this now. Shit Lex, of course I still love you,’ he groaned. My shoulders raised along with my smile as I tried to blow my nose quietly. I giggled as I heard them kissing and then looked at the shelf wide eyed as it started to shake, the bottles rattling violently. When I heard the sound of a zip going down that was my limit, along with my bladders. I quickly got up and grabbed my bottle of drink and hurried around the corner and heard a gasp.
‘Sorry, don’t mind me, carry on. Came to find this bottle of J2O,’ I waved it in their general direction, ‘Someone needs to talk to management, this room is bloody huge. I took a wrong turn and ended up in bloody Narnia. It’s taken me forever to find my way back out and I need to pee, soooo bad, we’re talking Niagara falls times … four,’ I uttered. ‘See you later, I’ll be in my office if anyone needs to ta
lk, calmly, I’m no Jerry Springer.’ I pulled the door to behind me, then quickly closed my eyes and opened it and stuck my head back in. ‘O don’t worry, we’ll ignore the employee fraternization clause for one night only. As you were, Soldiers.’
I quickly hurried up to the toilets. As you were Soldiers? Where the bloody hell did that come from? I thought as I sighed with relief, nothing beat having a good pee when you’d been holding it forever. Except maybe sex with Gabe, or chocolate, or ice cream, or pizza. Pizza! I wondered if the delivery place around corner was open yet, I was feeling peckish again. I rubbed my stomach as I looked down. ‘See Junior, Daddy’s going to tell you that I’m stubborn, I’m going to tell you that he’s stubborn, but the real stubborn ones in the family are Auntie Lexi and Uncle Doug. If you find someone you love, you don’t wait two years to tell them, do you hear me? Now let’s go get us some food.’ I managed to finish the entire pizza before my office door opened and Lexi came in pushing something along the floor with her feet, before closing the door behind her.
‘I am interrupting?’
‘Of course not. Shit, I’m so sorry, Lex. You kind of barged in the store room and blurted to Doug and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.’
‘Bloody Narnia? If you swung a cat in there you’d knock it out on each wall. So you basically heard everything?’
‘Sorry,’ I shrugged. ‘At least I left before you got “jiggy wit it,” Smith style. You did get jiggy with it, right? You got Douged again?’
‘Yeah,’ she grinned with a pink hue to her face. ‘Twice. Sex that is, not the orgasms, I had more than two. God, with only having that one amazing time with him in the past I’d forgotten how good it could be.’
‘Better than Sam?’
‘Yeah,’ she giggled all school girl like. I clapped my hands.
‘So what now?’
‘I said I’d cover his shift tonight so he can go and talk to Sarah and tell her that it’s over and he’s coming over to mine later,’ she beamed. I screamed and jumped up and did a happy stomp of my feet before running to her and crushing her in my arms.
‘I’ve never felt so happy,’ I exclaimed. She laughed and stroked my hair.
‘That’s your hormone’s talking. I’m sure you’ve been happier than this with Gabe over the years.’
‘Yeah, well he doesn’t count. Not today. Today is a special day. Today is … Dexi Day.’
‘Dexi?’
‘Well, it sounds better than Lexug. What’s that on the floor?’
‘Your remaining box of J2O, figured you may want to celebrate.’
‘It’s not on the prescribed list,’ I reminded her.
‘Fuck the list,’ she laughed and I broke out into another happy smile.
I woke up to hear crying, I quickly checked my face wondering if I’d had a nightmare, but it wasn’t me.
‘Gabe? Are you ok?’
‘It’s me.’
‘Lexi? Where are you?’
‘Here,’ she sniffed and took my hand. I tried to focus my sleepy eyes and could just make her out, lying on top of the bed facing me.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Mia,’ she sobbed.
‘What? What is it? I squeezed her hand and reached over to stroke her forehead.
‘He … he didn’t come … he just … he rang me. He’s staying with … her,’ she howled.
‘Noooo,’ I gasped and pulled her into my arms.
‘What’s going on?’ came Gabe’s half asleep voice.
‘We have company. Please don’t make a fuss, she needs me. He’s changed his mind.’
‘Ok baby, I’ll go and sleep on the sofa and give you some space.’ He kissed the back of my neck.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered, as Lexi continued to sob in my arms.
‘Shit. I really didn’t see this coming,’ he sighed. I’d filled him in when I’d got home earlier and even he was happy that they’d finally admitted how they felt about each other.
‘No, me neither,’ I sighed as I gently rocked her.
‘You can’t ignore Doug forever, Mia,’ Gabe sighed as he pulled up at the hospital for my scan.
‘Why not? What he did was inexcusable.’
‘I agree, but in fairness Lexi did kind of spring it on him, he was all confused and made a bad decision.’
‘Lexi’s right for him,’ I muttered stubbornly.
‘I agree, but he’s scared of leaving Sarah just to have Lexi dump him again, and then he’s lost both of them.’
‘Well, he obviously doesn’t love Sarah, not if he’s still in love with Lexi.’
‘Mia, it’s not our place to interfere. You told me once I had to respect Lexi’s decision to dump Doug, now you have to respect his not to go back to her. Besides, you’re running a business, you can’t ignore one of your key employees.’
‘Then you manage Doug and I’ll manage Lexi. I’m too angry to deal with him at the moment.’
‘Fine,’ he sighed. ‘But you need to deal with this soon. I’m starting with Dad at the beginning of July so you only have four and a bit months to sort this out.’
‘I may need four and a half years.’
‘You’re supposed to be avoiding stress, baby.’
‘Sorry, I’m just really upset about it all.’
‘I know. Come on, we don’t want to be late.’ He took my hand and we walked into the waiting room and took a seat. He leaned over, kissed my cheek and rubbed my stomach. ‘How’s Junior doing?’
‘I don’t know,’ I laughed. ‘They don’t do much at that age other than make me pee, eat, sleep, cry and get heartburn.’
‘The heartburn’s from all the food you’ve been shovelled. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you sneaking out in the night for the peanut butter in the pantry, and I discovered the empty jar under the bed.’
‘Are you revolted by me?’ I asked as I put out my bottom lip.
‘No, I think it’s adorable. I’ve always loved that you have an appetite from time to time.’
‘This isn’t from time to time. It’s all the time.’
‘If you’re happy that’s all that matters,’ he smiled. I dropped my head on his shoulder and clutched my side and blew out a deep breath. ‘You’re telling Dr. Walker about these pains, Mia. I’m not happy that you’ve tried hiding them from me.’
‘You’d have worried, we discussed this in the car, please don’t make a fuss.’
‘Mr. and Mrs. Austin?’ Dr. Walker smiled as she held the door open for us and I took a deep breath as I sat down. ‘You’re nervous again, Mia?’
‘Yes.’
‘Understandable, but let’s do our blood tests again and send you down for a scan then you can come and have a chat with me. How have you been feeling?’
‘She’s been in pain and hasn’t told me.’ Gabe added before I had a chance to say anything.
‘What sort of pain?’
‘I think it’s my endometriosis. It feels like it, burning in my back and stomach and stabbing pains in my right side.’
‘Continual?’
‘The stabbing no, it comes from nowhere and cripples me for a few minutes and I’m still getting spot bleeding.’
‘Well, let’s get the tests done first and we can talk from there, ok?’ she smiled.
I lay on the examination table as Gabe held my hand tightly, the excitement all over his face. I wouldn’t be happy until it was done and I knew that everything was ok.
‘Hey, in a few minutes it will all be over and you can stop stressing,’ he whispered as he kissed my forehead, reading my mind.
‘Ok Mia, this will feel a bit cold,’ smiled the Jayne, the lady doing our ultrasound scan. I nodded, I’d had a few of these done with my condition and the pre IVF health checks. I breathed gently as she rolled the tracker across my stomach and scrunched up my face.
‘Does it hurt?’ Gabe asked as he stroked my hair with his free hand.
‘No, I just had to drink lots of water and I really need to pee.’
‘Sorry,’ smiled Jayne and turned back to the screen. I looked up at Gabe’s face as we heard the heartbeat echoing through the monitor. He looked so happy, it cheered me up a bit. I gripped his hand tighter and mattress under me too.
‘Is it going to be much longer? I don’t know how long I can hold it,’ I whimpered. We seemed to have been in here for ages, how long did it take?
‘I’m sorry. I just need Dr. Walker to come and check the scan. I won’t be a moment.’
‘Is something wrong?’ I asked.
‘I’ll be back in a moment.’
‘O God, something’s wrong, isn’t it? Please tell me.’
‘Mia, I’m sure everything’s fine,’ Gabe soothed as she headed out. ‘They’re just being thorough that’s all.’ I looked up at him, but could see he was just as concerned as I was.
‘I feel sick.’
‘Feel sick, or going to be sick?’
‘Going to be sick,’ I nodded as my mouth started to salivate. He looked around quickly and grabbed a cardboard urine collection bowl, helped me lift my head and I retched into it.
‘O God, Mia,’ he sighed and grabbed some of the blue rough paper towel off the scan trolley to wipe my mouth. We looked up as Jayne returned with Dr. Walker. ‘Sorry, Mia’s just been sick and I couldn’t find anything else,’ he advised Jayne, as Dr. Walker came to pick up the tracker.
‘Don’t worry, it happens.’
‘Dr. Walker, what’s wrong? Please tell me,’ I begged. I kept my eyes on her face.
‘I’m just double checking the results, we always do that if it’s not as clear as it should be,’ she smiled, but I could see something was wrong in her face. I closed my eyes as she started the scan again and focussed on not peeing, focussed on anything but looking at everyone’s worried faces and what it might mean.
Infinite Love (The Austin Series) Page 32
