‘That’s all the more reason for you to have a time out and get away from everything.’ Muriel dunks and narrowly misses losing half of her biscuit, before skilfully manoeuvring it to her mouth. It comes from years of practice. ‘Have you spoken to James yet?’
‘I’m seeing him later, but I’m really not sure how he will take it when I tell him I don’t want to get married,’ I say, biting the inside of my lip.
‘If he loves you, like he says he does, I’m sure he’ll wait.’ She gives me one of her earnest looks.
‘Well, I will find out soon enough. Better keep your fingers crossed for me.’
Having spent a surprisingly short amount of time purchasing a new laptop, I then do a quick dash round a few other shops before arriving home. As I pull up on the drive, I am greeted by pandemonium. Kev, Robert and Barry the electrician are standing round together in a circle, concentrating on something on the ground, whilst Ned is flapping around them like a chicken with its head cut off. Harley is running round in circles, chasing his tail and yapping excitedly.
Bemused, I get out of the car and walk over to them to hear Kev screaming, Robert is examining something on the ground. I look down and recoil in horror. A six inch nail is protruding from the top of Kev’s boot and sticky dark red blood is oozing over the laces, and I notice he is standing on one of my oak floorboards.
‘What on earth is going on?’ I ask anyone in particular. Ned is beside himself and looks as if he might pass out any second and Barry ignores me, too busy with his phone, grinning to himself as he takes photos of the injured foot.
‘He had a little accident with the nail gun,’ Robert says, as he tries to survey the damage.
My hand flies to my mouth. ‘Oh my God, is that floorboard nailed to his boot?’
Robert nods. ‘Yes, it’s gone all the way through.’
I grab hold of Ned and try to calm him down. ‘How did this happen, Ned?’
Ned wipes the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. ‘We had finished the wiring in the spare bedroom, and Kev was nailing the floorboards back down. He was listening to Kerrang radio on his headphones as he likes a bit of music while he works.’
‘Okay,’ I say, nodding my head.
‘Well Black Sabbath came on, and he’s always loved them you see. Me and Betty took him to see them in concert when he was little and he couldn’t get enough of them, head banging away all the time, like a little nodding dog he was.’
I nod my head in a similar fashion, impatiently waiting for him to get to the point.
‘Well he was using the nail gun to play air guitar, really getting into the music, but it sort of went off in his hand,’ Ned gulps, another cry of despair coming from his mouth. ‘And now look at him.’
I roll my eyes and shake my head. ‘Oh, Ned, that is so dangerous.’
‘I know, missus, but he can’t help himself, he’s got music in his soul.’
‘Yes well, he also has a very large nail in his foot too.’ I look down at it feeling my stomach go queasy.
‘What am I going to do missus?’ Ned is rubbing the back of his neck as if the answer lies there.
‘You have to take him to accident and emergency, immediately, so they can get the nail out,’ I say, trying to hold onto him to stop him taking off again in panic.
‘I’m not sure I can drive, missus, I’m shaking so much. Look at me hands.’ They tremble as he holds them out in front of him.
‘I’ll run you down there, Ned,’ Robert pipes up, ‘just calm yourself down.’
‘I’ll have to leave the truck here, missus.’ He jangles the keys nervously in his hands.
‘That’s fine - you can sort it out later. You need to get Kev seen to, and quickly. I just hope his foot will be okay,’ I say, as I watch them pile into Robert’s car. ‘Oh and don’t forget to bring my floorboard back.’
Before I know it, it’s six-thirty and James will be here any minute. Robert had come back earlier and grabbed an overnight bag and gone off with Harley, where to I didn’t ask. He said Kev and Ned were still at the hospital, so Barry had taken Ned’s truck to pick them up.
I have spent so long messing around with the new laptop, getting it set up, and putting on the antivirus software, and then having a quick shower and getting dressed, I have completely lost track of time. It’s surprising what can be achieved in ten minutes, considering the amount of time I have spent in the past getting ready for dates.
The readymade food I had bought from Marks and Spencer’s is still sitting in the fridge, I haven’t even got round to popping it into the oven. I had planned to pass it off as my own creation, but I haven’t got time for that now.
I stop to check my appearance in the mirror – I’m wearing a black wrap dress that ties at the waist and hugs my figure, the skirt pleasingly swirling around my knees in silky folds. I have added some black suede peep toe stilettos which really set the outfit off, and diamond earrings and bracelet James had bought me when we were going out together the first time. All in all I feel quite confident with my hair straightened and just the right amount of make-up.
Satisfied I am looking presentable, I close the bedroom door behind me as I hear the doorbell ring out. I take a deep breath to compose myself and make my way downstairs. I will have to stay focused and make sure James doesn’t try and talk me round, I know from past experience he can have me agreeing to anything without even realising what I’m doing, he can be very charming and persuasive when he wants to be. So, I plan to sit him down over dinner and talk seriously without any distractions, and keep my resolve. I bite my lip nervously – I’m not looking forward to this at all.
I open the door and James immediately breaks into a grin. ‘Wow, you’re looking fantastic.’
He steps over the threshold and wraps his arms around me, pressing me up against the doorframe. I have a sudden flashback to the previous week when Robert had done a similar thing and I start to fidget nervously, already on the back foot.
‘God I’ve missed you.’ James says, as his lips come down on mine and his hands travel down my body. He quickly slips both hands under the skirt of my dress and runs them up my bare thighs. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this all week, imaging what I’m going to do with you. What do you say we skip dinner and go straight to dessert?’
I feel a little caught off guard - this hadn’t been part of my immediate plan. ‘But I was going to cook dinner.’ I don’t mention Marks and Spencer have done most of the hard work already.
‘Bollocks to that, we can get a takeaway later,’ he says, kicking the front door shut and leading me up to the bedroom. Admittedly, I don’t exactly have to be dragged upstairs. My plan has fallen apart already.
So, that’s how I end up, two hours later, lying naked in my brass bed. My dress is lying in a crumpled silky puddle on the floor, and there is one stiletto shoe on the bed, and the other I will have to find later. James is lying next to me, snoring softly. I watch as his eyelashes flutter on his cheeks, his lips parting slightly as he exhales. He looks as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, and I start to feel annoyed at myself for being such a pushover.
I’m sure on some level James knew I was going to turn down his proposal, so he planned this whole seduction as a diversionary tactic to avoid the conversation. He knows I’m weak and likely to chicken out given the first opportunity. But now, I can feel it burning away inside of me still, and I mentally kick myself for feeling too horny to resist his advances, although I must admit it had been a pretty damn good diversion.
Instinctively, I give him a little kick under the duvet and he springs awake with a start. ‘What, what’s the matter?’
‘I need to talk to you, James,’ I say, sitting myself upright.
He pulls me back down beside him, and snuggles into my side. ‘Let’s sleep now and talk later.’
I pull away from him again and sit up. ‘No, James, I have to say it now, I can’t leave it hanging.’
He exhales loudly and rolls onto h
is back staring at the ceiling. ‘What’s so urgent it can’t wait until morning?’ A light comes on in his eyes, and then he turns and grins lasciviously, running his hand down my body and between my legs. ‘Are you ready to go again?’
‘God no, James.’ I pull his hand away. ‘I need to talk to you, about us getting married.’
‘Oh yeah, Mrs McCormack. How do you like the sound of that?’ He grins to himself.
‘That’s the thing, James, I don’t.’
He looks confused for a moment. ‘You don’t like my name?’
‘No, your name is fine. What I mean is I’m not ready to get married. It’s just too fast for me.’
He looks crestfallen for a second but then seems to quickly recover. ‘I know, how about we get married later in the year, you know, a Christmas wedding. How do you fancy that, Mrs McCormack?’
‘No, James, stop calling me that. You’re not listening to me. As it stands I don’t want to get married. I’m happy as I am. We’ve been back together for just a couple of weeks. I was enjoying getting to know you again, but now I just feel pressurised.’ I grab hold of his hand on the duvet. ‘I’m not saying I don’t want to be with you, and I’m not saying I never want to marry you, I’m just saying it’s all too quick for me. Let’s just see how it goes between us and maybe I’ll feel differently in a few years.’
‘Years?’ he says, looking totally crushed. A part of me feels like caving in so I remind myself to stay strong and stop myself from being rollercoastered into doing something I may regret. ‘Oh, I’m not sure what to say, Lola. I thought you felt the same as I do, happy to be back together?’
‘I am happy to be back together, James, I just need to take it at my own pace.’
He thinks about it for a minute and seems to rally himself considerably. ‘Well you know best, Lola. I’m happy to wait if that’s what you want, although I’m sure marriage is inevitable in the end.’ He smiles and pulls me towards him, pressing his mouth onto my neck and kissing a trail down towards my chest. ‘As long as I don’t lose you again I’m happy.’
I sigh, I’m not totally convinced he has got my point.
He carries on kissing his way down my body, and adds, ‘now I really am ready to go again.’
With that he silences me once again by appealing to my horny gene, as his tongue travels south down my body, past my navel.
Chapter Fourteen
I step down from the minibus into the Brighton sunshine, a blessing from the rain we have left behind in Lichfield. ‘Am I glad to get off that bus?’ I say, stretching my aching muscles out.
‘Yeah, thank God. Now I can have a drink.’ Chrissie grabs her bag from the back of the bus and strides off into the hotel.
I stand and watch her disappear while I wait for my bag to be passed down from the bus. Poppy looks at me questioningly. ‘What’s up with Chrissie? She’s been really quiet all the way here, I sort of expected her to be more of a hell raiser.’
Chrissie obviously hasn’t told Poppy and the others about her problems with Cal, and I certainly don’t want to break a confidence so I say, ‘oh she’s been working really hard, she’s probably just tired. No doubt she’ll perk up when she’s had a rest.’
I grab my bag and follow on into the hotel to avoid any further questioning and leave the others standing round at the back of the bus. I can’t see Chrissie anywhere in the lobby so I check us in and get our room key. Poppy appears in the lobby with her two sisters and some friends from work who I’ve never met before today.
‘Meet us back down here at seven-thirty, we have a meal booked at the Greek place tonight,’ she says.
‘And get ready for some serious drinking,’ laughs Kelly.
‘Don’t forget the belly dancing,’ Anna whoops, as she wriggles her very skinny midriff suggestively.
I smile in return, whilst grimacing on the inside and go off in search of Chrissie. I find her sitting on a tall stool propping up the bar, an empty glass in front of her. She motions to the barman. ‘Give me another please, and keep them coming.’
I sit beside her. ‘We’ve got all weekend, Chrissie. There’s no rush to get drunk.’
‘I need it to numb the pain,’ she says, her head in her hands.
‘Are things no better with you and Cal?’
‘No, worse if anything. He’s being an arsehole and has hardly spoken to me all week. I just don’t know what to do anymore.’ She blinks rapidly.
‘I thought you were going to have a talk?’ I shake my head at the barman to motion I don’t want anything to drink.
‘We did. It ended in a big row and he slept on the sofa. He said he’s going to start looking for a new flat over the weekend,’ she says, tears springing into her eyes. ‘He could be gone when I get back.’
I put my arm around her shoulders, she feels skinnier, like she hasn’t been eating properly. ‘I just can’t understand it, Chrissie. You two were just so into each other.’
She wipes at her eyes. ‘I know, but I guess he’s not into me anymore.’
‘Come on.’ I grab her hand. ‘Let’s go up to the room. It’s better than crying at the bar and you can let it all out.’ She takes my arm and lets me lead her away like a child, all of her usual feistiness gone.
By seven-thirty after many tears, Chrissie has had a shower and pulled herself together. We meet the others in the lobby and head off to the restaurant. Once seated Chrissie orders a bottle of wine and sinks the first glass within seconds. I know if she keeps hitting the booze at this rate I will end up carrying her back to the hotel, so I keep my drinking to a minimum to maintain a clear head.
The meal is surprisingly good, especially the baklava of which I eat two portions, but I convince myself it’s okay as I’m not drinking. Then the dancing begins. A beautiful young Greek girl comes out wearing a little pink bra top with silver coins hanging from the bottom and a floaty pink skirt with a silver scarf, complete with hanging silver coins, wrapped around her slinky little hips, which she bounces from side to side with practised skill.
‘Jeez, I wish my stomach looked like that,’ says Amanda, as she stands up and tries to copy the belly dancer.
Poppy and Anna join in and the belly dancer approaches our table and leads the girls over to the stage. I turn to Chrissie to comment and find her seat empty. I look back to the stage and see her standing with the others, bouncing her hips from side to side and shrieking with laughter, barely able to keep herself upright. I groan to myself, this will probably turn out to be a very long night.
At one forty-five in the morning, I manhandle Chrissie back into our room. She had been singing her head off in the lift on the way up, and I guess we will be told off by the hotel management in the morning. Poppy and the others have gone off to the local hospital as Amanda managed to fall off the stage whilst belly dancing and now has a suspected broken ankle.
I prop Chrissie up by the bed while simultaneously trying to dump my handbag on the floor. She falls face down on the covers completely out for the count. There is no way I am going to try and get her undressed, so I pull off her shoes and put her into the recovery position, then go off into the bathroom to take off my make-up.
I am exhausted. Chrissie’s emotional breakdown has completely worn me down, so I snap off the lights and get myself into bed. I am out for the count within seconds.
Next morning I awake to the sound of seagulls shrieking outside the open window. I look over to Chrissie’s bed and find it empty. I jump up.
‘Hey, sleepy head. I thought you were going to be there all day.’ Chrissie stands over me with a cup in her hand looking as fresh as a daisy. She hands the cup to me. ‘I made you some coffee to perk you up.’
I take it gratefully. ‘How are you even alive, never mind awake, after what you drank last night?’ I ask her, squinting in the morning light.
She laughs. ‘You know me, I’ve got the constitution of an ox. I’ve been for a run and now I feel great.’
I look at her through my sleepy ey
es. Yes, she looks good, but there are still worry lines etched on her face.
She sits on the edge of my bed and acknowledges my look. ‘Okay, I’m not back to normal yet but I’m working on it. I miss Cal like mad, and I’m frantic he won’t be there when I get back. But I can’t force him to stay against his will, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to the idea of being single again.’
‘Oh, Chrissie,’ I say, grabbing hold of her hand. ‘I wish I could make it better for you.’
She leans forward and hugs me. ‘I know you do, Lola, you’ve always been a good friend.’
‘Seriously though, Chrissie, promise me you’ll try and speak to Cal at least one more time.’
‘I doubt it will do me any good,’ she says, looking forlorn, as if the whole world has come to rest on her shoulders.
‘Well just try, you’ve got nothing to lose.’
‘Okay I’ll try.’ She smiles at me. ‘Now get your lazy ass out of that bed. We’re going to the spa.’
I’m lying face down on the bed, with my face poking through the hole at the end. Two hands knead and pummel my back, easing out the tension and melting away all of the stress I have felt over the last week. A feeling of calm envelopes me and I relax into it, floating away and letting myself go. The smell of oils fills the air and I can feel my eyes fluttering to a close as I drift into sleep. Then a thud as the door swings open and her voice breaks my reverie. ‘Hey, Lola, meet me in the bar when you’re done, I’ve got good news.’ Chrissie pulls the door closed again as she leaves and I feel the air waft over me.
‘We’re all done here anyway,’ the masseuse says, as she pulls the towel up over my back. ‘Just relax for a few minutes and get up when you’re ready.’
I sigh, and melt into the bed. At least Chrissie seems much brighter, which is an improvement on yesterday. Now all I have to do is find out what has made her so chirpy.
Lola's House (Lola Series) Page 11
