Lola's House (Lola Series)

by Groers, Suzie

  Twenty minutes later, dressed and still glowing, I find her sitting at the bar sipping an orange juice. I frown at her improved state and wonder if there is a large vodka lurking in the bottom of that glass. She laughs and offers it to me to taste. ‘It’s just juice, honest.’

  Grabbing my arm, she pulls me into the seat next to her, a big beaming grin on her face. ‘Guess what? I called Cal, like you said.’

  ‘Oh good. And...?’ I position myself on the stool.

  ‘And, he apologised for being so off with me. He said being alone last night had given him a wakeup call. He realised what a dick he had been and he misses me like mad. He said he can’t wait to see me.’ Her face stretches into the biggest smile I have seen for a long time.

  ‘That’s fantastic,’ I say, squeezing her hand.

  ‘I know, and guess what else?’ she says, she’s fidgeting and holding her breath, bursting to tell me.

  ‘I don’t know. There’s more?’ I laugh at her childlike enthusiasm.

  She can barely contain herself. ‘He said he wants to marry me but he’s going to propose properly when I get back home tomorrow. What do you think of that?’

  I laugh again and hug her tight. ‘That is wonderful. Congratulations, Chrissie.’

  ‘Thanks, Lola. And thanks for being a superstar through all of this.’ She is nearly jumping up and down with excitement. ‘I’m just so happy I could burst. I wish Cal was here now. Oh the things I plan on doing to him, he won’t be getting any sleep for a week.’

  ‘Oh, Chrissie, It’s so good to hear you back to your normal self.’

  Her phone rings in her handbag. ‘That’ll be Cal, I’d better take it outside.’ She jumps off her barstool and mouths at me with a wink. ‘Phone sex.’

  She walks out the bar grinning into her phone so I sit there and finish her orange juice, pleased with myself it’s beginning to fall into place for her and Cal.

  After a while I am getting bored sitting on my own at the bar. Chrissie still hasn’t come back from her phone call and the others haven’t re-appeared, so I go to the reception desk to check on their progress with their beauty treatments.

  ‘Can I help you?’ says the receptionist - I’m clearly interrupting her, probably facebook stalking her last boyfriend. My attention is immediately caught by her impossibly white, square teeth.

  ‘Yes, I was here with some of my friends earlier, from the hen party? I just wondered if any of them were still here?’ I try not to stare at her mouth, and focus on her eye makeup instead. Very heavy eyeliner, a lot of fake tan.

  She sighs and quickly clicks her mouse a few times, taps her long nails on the keyboard and peers at the monitor on her desk. ‘That party has finished their treatments, maybe they’re in the bar?’ she says, smiling, as if this is obvious.

  ‘No, I just came from there. Thanks anyway, they may have gone back to the hotel.’ I smile at her as I turn and leave the reception area.

  Outside there is no sign of Chrissie so I call her mobile. It’s engaged, no surprise there, she is most likely still busy with her phone sex. Next I try Poppy’s number which goes straight to voicemail. I don’t bother leaving a message. I tap nervously on the edge of my phone with my thumb, thinking what to do. They have obviously left without me, so I start to stroll back to the hotel, hoping one of them will call me back soon.

  Several hours later I have walked down every street that looks familiar and I am just going round in circles. I’ve phoned both Chrissie and Poppy but neither is picking up. The minibus had been down a myriad of streets when we had arrived yesterday and now I can’t remember the name of the hotel we are staying at or the street it is on. I feel lost and abandoned. Eventually, I sit on a bench facing the sea. All the calm I had felt from the massage earlier has now turned to exhaustion and desperation.

  Then my eyes light up as I remember the schedule Chrissie had given to me last week. The hotel address is on it, I’m sure. I feel myself fill with hope and delve into my handbag and root around. I pull out makeup, purse, keys, a crumpled tissue, a bulldog clip, a pen that doesn’t work and a free perfume sample. Everything but the kitchen sink, but the schedule isn’t there. I search my mind trying to think what have I done with it? Then, I roll my eyes as I remember leaving it on the kitchen table. I quickly dial home. Hopefully Robert will be there so he can take a look at the schedule. It rings several times, then goes to answer phone and I hear my own voice telling me to leave a message. Not much bloody point leaving a message for myself, so I hang up feeling irritated.

  Damn, Damn. I try his mobile, but no answer. Everyone I know is having so much fun they can’t be bothered to answer their phones, which is rather inconsiderate I think. I am contemplating throwing my phone into the sea in frustration when it rings in my hand, making me jump.

  ‘Hey, Lola,’ Robert says.

  ‘Oh, thank God. Robert, could you check in the kitchen please? I left a schedule on the kitchen table, and I’m on this hen weekend and now I can’t find my way back to the hotel and the address is on it, I’m sure.’

  ‘Sorry, Lola. No can do, I’m not at home.’

  ‘Damn, Damn, Damn.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Sorry, Robert. You were my last hope. I’ve sort of lost everyone and now I’m lost too. No one is answering their phones and I don’t know what else to do.’ My voice wavers as tears of desperation start to prick my eyes. ‘I’ve been sitting on a bench for the last hour considering throwing myself in the sea.’

  ‘Sit tight, I’ll come and find you,’ he says, decisively.

  ‘You can’t, I’m in Brighton.’ The sense of desperation is intensifying.

  ‘That’s okay, I’m in London for the weekend so it won’t take me long to get there.’

  ‘Oh god no, Robert, I can’t ask you to spoil your weekend to come and rescue me.’

  ‘Firstly, you didn’t ask. Secondly, you wouldn’t be spoiling it, so shut up and sit tight, I’ll be there in an hour.’ With that the line goes dead.

  I sit and watch the sea coming in and going out as the sun goes down. There are plenty of people walking past, which I give the odd smile to, while trying not to look like a vagrant or Billy no mates. I sigh as they trundle past me happily, couples holding hands and groups of rowdy men out for a good night. Even a hen party, but not the one I’m on unfortunately. I smile weakly as they go past, laughing and screeching, obviously already full of booze. I bet their friends would answer their phones if they were needed urgently.

  After what seems like an age, I see Robert walking up the promenade with Harley on his lead. Although I feel guilty about dragging Robert away from his weekend, I have never been so happy to see someone I know. Harley jumps up onto the bench beside me wagging his tail and snuffling his nose into my ear. Robert sits on the other side of him.

  ‘So, how long have you been lost for?’ he says, a tiny smile tugging at the side of his mouth.

  ‘About five hours.’ I say, sheepishly.

  He just grins from ear to ear.

  ‘Oh don’t rub it in, I feel like a right knob head as it is,’ I say, a blush creeping up my face.

  He nudges Harley off the bench and slides over to me. ‘Don’t beat yourself up, Lola.’ He puts his arm around my shoulders in a friendly hug. ‘It could happen to anyone.’

  ‘Yes, anyone who’s a knob head. Have I messed up your weekend?’ In my mind he has been eating strawberries and sipping champagne with a leggy brunette, while they take it in turns to remove items of clothing. She has her breasts out ready to rub all over him.

  ‘No, not at all. I was with a few old Uni mates. They’re all accountants now and duller than a matt finish,’ he laughs. ‘If anything, you saved me from death by tedium.’

  I laugh with him. ‘So, what do you do, Robert, you never did tell me?’

  He holds up his hands. ‘Guilty as charged. I’m also an accountant. That’s why I never told you. Didn’t want you to categorise me as dull before I got chance to prove otherwis
e.’

  ‘You could never be classed as dull,’ I smile up at him.

  He goes pink in the cheeks and momentarily stuck for words, then coughs and changes the subject. ‘So, what are we going to do about you?’ He rubs the bristle on his chin thoughtfully. ‘Have you called all of your mates?’

  ‘Yes, repeatedly but now my battery has gone dead.’ I hold up my lifeless phone.

  ‘And you don’t know the name of the hotel?’

  ‘No, we got dropped off there last night and I never took much notice.’ I shrug my shoulders.

  He looks out to sea thoughtfully. ‘Okay, are you hungry?’

  ‘God yes, I’m starved, I haven’t eaten since breakfast.’ I have been ignoring the increasingly desperate sounds coming from my stomach.

  He passes Harley’s lead to me. ‘I’ll be back in a tick.’

  Ten minutes later he appears with two boxes full of steaming hot fish and chips, liberally covered in salt and vinegar. He passes one box to me as he sits back down and produces two wooden forks from his shirt pocket and two cans of pop from under his arm.

  ‘You are a genius,’ I laugh, my stomach now going into hyper rumbles.

  We both concentrate as we dig into the boxes, taking it in turns to feed chips to Harley. While we eat, I tell Robert about the events of the weekend, how Chrissie had been having a mini meltdown and the turnaround earlier today and how happy she is now. He nods all the way though, listening intently. Then, I don’t know why, but I tell him about James and the proposal I had turned down.

  ‘I thought you guys had only just got back together?’ he says, piercing a chip with his fork.

  ‘We have.’ I nod, swallowing a mouthful of fish and crispy batter.

  He thinks about this as he takes a sip from his can. ‘Isn’t it a little bit soon, if you don’t mind me saying?’

  ‘Yes, that’s what I told James, but I’m not sure he gets it. I’m sure he still thinks we will be getting married at some point soon.’

  He’s silent as he looks out to sea, now inky black with the moon a bright orb in the sky, lighting a strip of water in the reflection. ‘I think I need to explain something to you, Lola. About the other night, you know when I kissed you?’

  ‘You don’t need to explain, Robert, its okay, all forgotten now.’ I place the now empty chip box onto the bench beside me, ready to bin.

  ‘No, I do. You had been asking me questions about my fiancé. Or should I say, ex fiancé.’ He rubs his hands through his hair. ‘Anyway, when you asked me I cut you off quite abruptly.’

  ‘It’s okay. I was being nosey. You don’t have to tell me.’ I touch his arm to reassure him.

  ‘I want to tell you. You see the thing is, when you asked me, it was all still fresh in my mind and a bit raw. Samantha and I had been together for years, we did the normal things couples do like getting engaged and I believed we would get married.’ He bends down and rubs Harley’s ears and the dog nuzzles its head into his hand.

  ‘She was a partner in the accountancy firm we ran together. Her mother had been ill for a while and she wanted to move back down to the midlands to be nearer her parents, so we decided between us to move the office. Initially we couldn’t find a house we wanted to buy so decided to rent in the meantime and found a great little house and put down the deposit. We packed everything up, put the flat in Edinburgh on the market, and then on the day we were due to move she told me she couldn’t go with me.’ I can see the pain on his face as he looks out to sea. He takes a deep breath before carrying on.

  ‘I was stunned to say the least, it had been her idea to move in the first place and there hadn’t been any clues something was up. I spent hours talking to her and trying to find out what was wrong but she wouldn’t say and she was determined to stay. I just couldn’t understand it, it didn’t make any sense. Then eventually she broke down crying and told me everything. She said she was pregnant. I hadn’t any clue, we hadn’t planned to have kids but I didn’t see why that should stop us moving. Then she told me the baby wasn’t mine. To say I hadn’t seen it coming is an understatement.’

  ‘While I had been busy closing the business down and making arrangements for the new house, she had been having it off with one of the junior accountants. He was only twenty-three, at least ten years her junior but she wanted to make a go of it with him for the sake of the baby.’ He laughs to himself. ‘The worse thing was I couldn’t even fire him at that point as we had already closed down the office.’

  He was leaning forward, his head in his hands, so I put my arm around his shoulders. ‘I’m so sorry, Robert, it must have been awful for you.’

  ‘It was pretty rough - I’m not sure how you’re supposed to move on from something like that. I just knew I had to put distance between us, so I went ahead with the move, I cancelled the lease on the new house, I couldn’t face moving in there after what had happened, so that’s how I eventually landed on your doorstep.’ He sits back up again and turns towards me.

  ‘That night at the pub, it just felt so good having fun with someone again and not thinking about what had happened with Samantha. Coming home with you just felt right, and you looked so adorable when we got back in the rain. I just couldn’t help myself, I know I shouldn’t have done it.’

  ‘It’s okay, Robert. I was as much to blame as you. I could have put a stop to it, but I didn’t.’ I look into his eyes and he holds my gaze. I see something there, deep in his eyes, something that pulls me in, and I just want to keep it with me forever.

  Harley yaps. I come back to reality with a jolt. We both smile at each other, the spell broken, and stare back out to sea awkwardly.

  The moment gone, he slaps his hands on his legs decisively. ‘Okay, so let’s sort out your sleeping arrangements for tonight, come on.’ He holds out his hand to me and leads me back down the promenade, with Harley trotting at his side.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Three hotels later, I am sitting in the lobby of the latest one with Harley at my feet watching Robert talk to the concierge. He turns and walks over to me, a smile on his face. ‘There’s good news, bad news and some more good news.’

  ‘Okay.’ I say, cautiously.

  ‘Good news is you have somewhere to sleep tonight. Bad news is they only have one room free so we’ll have to share, but, don’t worry I’ll be a complete gentleman and sleep on the floor.’

  My heart stops. I study his face looking for any sign that he realises I can’t share a room with him. My mouth opens to speak but I can’t find the words.

  Realisation dawns on his face. ‘Oh god, I’m sorry, Lola. I never thought. You take the room and I’ll get my head down in the car.’

  ‘No, I can’t let you sleep in the car, it wouldn’t be fair.’ What else can I do? We’re both grownups and I’m not going to cheat on James. I’m perfectly capable of controlling myself, besides what other choice do I have?

  ‘If you’re sure, I don’t want to put you in a difficult situation.’ He looks so earnest, I feel bad for doubting him.

  ‘Well I’m so tired I’ll probably be asleep within seconds,’ I say, making light of it.

  ‘Okay, but if you feel uncomfortable just give me the nod and I’ll take off.’ He waits for me to respond but I am so busy with my internal struggles I’m struck dumb.

  ‘The other good news is they have a phone charger,’ he says, dangling it from his hand, grinning. ‘If you feel the need to escape, at least you’ll be able to call your friends now.’

  I know he is trying to diffuse the tension, but I’m not sure this is a good idea. In fact, every nerve in my body is screaming at me that it isn’t a good idea. But I shouldn’t doubt him after he has come all this way to rescue me, and I have no other option.

  But it’s taking all of my strength just to keep my hands off him. I have felt the spark between us every time our skin comes into contact and yes, I do feel really bad having those feelings. It is just so wrong being here with Robert when James is probably sitting at
home thinking I am out on a hen night with the girls. It’s deceitful, but at the same time, it feels really good too and I can’t stop myself. God, what am I thinking?

  My head is spinning and I’m not thinking straight, that’s probably why I take one look at the bed and decide to divide it in half. So while Robert has a shower, I lay pillows down the middle. He can sleep on his half and me on mine. It’s a big bed, no reason why we should meet in the middle. I know this isn’t an ideal solution but I can’t let him sleep on the floor either and I don’t see any harm in us sharing a bed that has been divided with pillows, it will be like two separate beds, I tell myself.

  When he comes out of the bathroom I am making a bed on the floor for Harley out of a spare blanket I have found in the wardrobe. ‘Is that for me?’ He asks, rubbing his hair with a towel.

  ‘No, it’s for Harley,’ I laugh and motion towards the bed. ‘There’s plenty of room for us both to sleep separately. Otherwise, I’ll sleep on the floor myself.’

  He doesn’t argue, he just gets into the bed while I disappear into the bathroom. When I emerge he is already deep in sleep, so I get into my half of the bed and turn out the lights. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, I lie there for a long time just listening to the sound of his breathing and wondering to myself how different things may have turned out if James hadn’t come back into my life when he did. It’s as if the universe sent Robert to my door as a test of my feelings for James, and so far I don’t know whether I would pass or not. My emotions are so mixed up, I just can’t think straight.

  The short buzz of my phone vibrating on the bedside table stirs me from my sleep. The sun is streaming in through a gap in the curtains and bouncing off a spot on the pillow just above my head. I feel an expanse of warm citrus scented skin right in front of my face. I breathe it in and snuggle closer. My arm is thrown over the top and I run my hand down the warm body and make lazy circles in the downy hair around the navel, which is strange I think, I don’t remember James having hair like that. The thought drifts away and I smile to myself, pulling my body in closer to his back and resting my cheek against his skin. Then my phone buzzes again and I awake properly with a start. I sit bolt upright and look down to where I have been lying. I smack myself on the forehead with the heel of my hand realising I have been cuddling Robert in my sleep. I start to move gingerly across the bed hoping I haven’t woken him.