“I meant somewhere nice,” he replied with a laugh.
“The Halfway House is nice,” she said feeling a little offend for her local pub. “I like it in there.”
“The Halfway House it is, then,” he relented graciously. “I will see you there about one.” He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her firmly on the mouth. “Do you know how much I want to take you back into that bedroom right now?” he said as he slowly pulled away from her. “God, you are so addictive. You have no idea what you are doing to me.”
He reluctantly stepped back and walked towards the hall. Ally jumped down from the counter and followed him to the hallway.
“I had a jacket,” he said looking questioningly at Ally. She vaguely remembered pushing his jacket off him. She looked down and scanned the floor of the hallway and sure enough there is was kicked under her hall table. She quickly reached down and picked it up.
“I think you might need to have it pressed,” she said handing it to him.
“I think I might,” he laughed as he looked at the crumpled mess that was once his very expensive jacket. “How are you going to get to your meeting?” Ally asked as they walked to the front door.
“My driver is down stairs waiting on me” he replied like it was something most people say every day.
“Your driver?” she exclaimed sounded more surprised than she really meant to.
“Yes,” he replied and looked and her with the strangest expression on his face.
“Wow, were you so offended by my comment about your driving you went out and hired a driver?” Ally said unable to hold her laughter back.
“Are you laughing at me, Ms. Brody?” Cole said as he pulled Ally into his arms once again and kissed her hard. He held her closer to him and she could feel how much he wanted her pressed against her hip. He dipped his tongue into her mouth and caressed her tongue with his.
“I have to go,” he sighed when finally manage to pull himself away breathlessly. “See you at one.”
He pressed his lips against hers once more and he was gone. Ally closed the door and leaned her forehead against it. She was in trouble and she knew it was not a good thing.
She headed back to her bedroom and stripped off her dressing gown and headed into her bathroom. She stepped into the shower and as she showered she was sure she could still smell Cole. He was on her skin, in the air of the bathroom. He was everywhere.
She closed her eyes and she could feel his lips on her mouth and his hands on her body.
No one had ever made her feel the way he did before. She thought sex with Jason had been good but it was nothing compare to being with Cole.
She tried not to think of why he was so good but she couldn’t help it. No doubt there was a string of beauties that had their world rocked by Cole Thomas. Which begged the question, why her? He could have had anyone he wanted. Why was he so determined to have her?
Ally tried not to dwell on that particular time bomb for too long. Besides she had just got out of a smothering two year relationship she wasn’t ready to jump straight into another one and she was fairly sure Cole was just looking for some fun.
She chose to ignore the little stab of disappointment at the thought that Cole only wanted her for sex. No she was going to have some fun for a change. And if nothing else, things would probably be interesting with Cole for a while.
After her shower she pulled her dressing gown back on and she wrapped a towel around her wet hair before she made her way to the kitchen for that cup of coffee she was yet to have. She switched on the radio while she waited for some toast to do and her kitchen was filled with the cheeky sounds of Olly Murs, Troublemaker and Ally burst out laughing.
How apt! she thought, as she listened to the song. Yeah a certain Mr Thomas had all the signs of been a serious troublemaker and Ally knew she was in major trouble.
As she curled on to her sofa with her coffee and a slice of toast, her phone rang. She quickly reached for the cordless phone and pressed the answer button.
“Hey, Ally,” Caitlin said cheerfully on the other end of the line.
“Well, if it isn’t Judas herself,” Ally replied down the phone at her friend.
“I take it Cole rang you?” Caitlin replied and giggled.
“Rang me?” Ally chided. “He arrived at my door at midnight. What possessed you to tell him where I live?”
“I only gave him your number,” Caitlin grinned. “Hannah gave him your address.”
“Some friends you two are!” Ally sighed but she couldn’t be annoyed, not really. Yes she had been determined to keep her distance from Cole but maybe things would work out just fine.
“So how did things go when he dropped by?” Caitlin asked.
“Oh they went interestingly,” Ally replied and couldn’t help but smile.
“OH MY FUCKING GOD!” Caitlin screamed down the phone. “You had sex with him.”
“I did not!” Ally lied.
“Oh my god.” Caitlin cried again. “You so did. So come on tell me everything. I bet he was fucking amazing! I bet he rocked your fucking worked.”
Ally refused to give details other than agree that Cole Thomas was a very talented man and that she was meeting for lunch later that day.
When she got off the phone she returned to her room and threw open her wardrobe doors and searched through her clothes for something to wear for her lunch with Cole.
After changing her mind about a dozen times she decided on a deep purple knee length tunic dress and black leggings and her favourite knee high flat leather boots to finish off the look. She took a little extra time doing her makeup and hair then she normally would, trying hard not to read too much into the reason she cared so much how she looked for Cole.
At ten minutes to one she stepped out of the of door of her apartment and began her short journey to The Halfway House pub which was about a slow ten minute walk from her apartment.
When she reached the pub she paused outside for a moment checking her watch. She waited till it was exactly three minutes past one before she pulled opened the door and stepped into the warmth of the pub. She walked further inside and glanced around searching for Cole but she couldn’t see him. She casually walked around the whole pub but there was no sign of him. He was running late. Ally went to the bar and ordered a coffee and took a seat that was up a couple of steps in the centre of the pub, just across from a big open fire and waited. She pulled out her phone and checked it. There were no messages.
Half an hour later she realized she had just been stood up and she felt suddenly self-conscious that everyone in the pub was watching her, which of course they weren’t, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling.
She quickly checked her phone one more time, still no message. She stood up quickly as she pushed her phone back into her bag and grabbed her coat and slipped it back on and headed for the door. She walked back to her apartment feeling stupid and angry with herself for falling for his crap this morning and believing he really wanted to see her again. She was nothing more the conquest. He found her a challenge and once he won his challenge he was no longer interest.
Chapter 6
When she got back from the pub she stripped her clothes off and got into her fluffy pink checked pyjamas, removed her makeup and pulled her long blonde hair up into a messy ponytail on the top of her head.
Ally spent the rest of the day in her apartment with her music blaring on her stereo, curled on her sofa with the book she was currently reading.
Ally stared blankly at the page she was trying to read for the last twenty minutes. She tried hard not to think of Cole but her mind keep drifting back to him and the night before. But all she could remember his hands on her and the memory made her heart race.
Ally shook her head and pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She quickly reached down and grabbed the large bar of Cadbury’s Dairymilk chocolate, broke off two squares and popped them into her mouth. It was either chocolate or a bottle of wine she had to choose from as she
opened her fridge an hour earlier in search of happy food and as it was the middle of the day she decided on the chocolate.
Now, half a bar later she felt no better.
Why had she let him get to her so easily?
She threw her book across the room in temper. She was angrier at herself then she was with Cole.
Ally knew he was trouble. She knew that the minute she set eyes on him. Why didn’t she stand her ground and throw him out on his ass the night before.
She threw her head back on the sofa and sighed. She felt tired and miserable.
The sudden sound of her apartment phone ringing made her jump and she felt a little disorientated. She was in the dark in her living room, curled up on her sofa. She must have fallen asleep.
She reached over and switched on the lamp next to the sofa and grabbed the phone. She quickly pressed the answer button and put it to her ear.
“Hello.” she said still half asleep. She stood up and walked over to the stereo and turned down the music, Charlene Soraia, ‘Where Ever You Will Go’ was playing a little too loudly.
“Ally,” Jason said nervously from the other end of the line.
“Jason, what do you want?” Ally snapped. “Why are you calling me?”
“I need to talk to you,” he replied. “I miss you.”
“There is nothing left to say.” she replied with a sigh.
“You don’t mean that, Ally.” Ally could hear the hurt in his voice. There was a time when she would have done anything to make him happy but she just didn’t feel that way anymore. “I love you, Ally, and you love me. I can’t bear the thought of some other asshole touching you. You belong with me. And I will make you see it, too.”
“No Jason, I don’t!” she snapped back. This is exactly why she refused to talk to him for the past three weeks. “You are not who I thought you were. You broke my trust and my heart and that can’t be fixed.”
“Don’t you think I’ve regretted that every day for the past three weeks?” he exclaimed. “I can’t believe I was so stupid to hurt you like I did. Ally, please let me come by so we can talk. Please! I need to see you.”
“No!” she snapped back angrily. “There is nothing to say. You fucked up, Jason, now live with it!” She hung up.
She dropped the phone on her side board and checked her watch. It was almost eight thirty.
“Wine!” she muttered to herself and headed to the kitchen. She pulled the wine from the fridge and a glass from her cupboard and headed back to the living room. She flopped on to the sofa and picked up the remote.
Switching on the TV, she flicked on to “X Factor”. God she hated Saturday night TV.
Suddenly the buzzer on her intercom sounded and made her jump. She muted the TV for a moment.
“Oh Sod off, Jason!” she cried and flopped back against the sofa. What part of no did he not get? Typical! she thought. The guy I don’t want can’t get the message and the guy I wanted couldn’t have been bothered to turn up. Damn Cole Thomas!
She sat for a couple of minutes in silence. She looked at the lamp and considered knocking it off but she knew he would have already seen it on so there was no point. Plus he had called her on her home phone a few minute earlier so he knew she was there.
She picked up the remote control and unmuted the TV.
Once again the buzzer sounded but she just hired up the TV and tried her hardest to ignore it.
The buzzing stopped.
Ally finally relaxed and let go of the breath she was holding. She reached over and opened her bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. She picked it up to take a sip but nearly dropped it when a sudden bang on the apartment door almost made her jump out of her skin.
“Are you kidding me right now?” she cried as she jumped to her feet and stormed towards the apartment door.
“When someone doesn’t buzz you in, Jason,” she growled as she marched towards the door, “usually means they don’t want to see you”
She swung open the door and her heart nearly stopped to find Cole standing in front of her holding what smelled like a bag of Chinese food and a bottle of wine?”
“Who’s Jason?” he asked giving Ally a confused look.
“He is none of your God damn business,” she snapped back at him, her heart suddenly hammering rapidly in her chest and she quickly tried to shut the door. But before she could, Cole jammed his foot into the door stopping her from closing it.
“Ally, what’s the matter?” he asked looking at her with surprise written clearly across his face.
“You are kidding me, right?” she said holding the door firmly stopping him from coming inside. “Get your foot out of my door or I will break it.”
“This is ridiculous.” he sighed and with his wide, strong shoulder he pushed the door open and Ally, at only 5, 3” was no match for his six foot plus frame and was easily pushed back out of the way.
He kicked the door shut with his foot, just like he done the night before and he quickly deposited the bag of food and the wine on the hall table and turned to Ally, taking a step towards her. She immediately stepped back but her back was quickly up against the wall.
“I want you to get out, now!” she said firmly but unable to look him in the eyes.
“I am going nowhere,” he replied. He was now standing directly in front of her. “Not until you tell what the fuck has happened.”
To Ally’s horror she could feel the tears pool in her eyes. She pinched her eyes shut and swallowed hard.
I am not going to cry, I am not going to cry. She repeated in her mind to herself again and again.
“Ally, look at me.” His voice was calm but commanding. She shook her head. He took her chin in his hand and tipped her face up to his but still she didn’t open her eyes.
“Look at me,” he whispered. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and looked at him.
“What happened?” he asked again but this time he voice was softer and it just made her feel worse.
“Nothing!” she snapped. “That’s just it. Nothing happened.” Suddenly she felt angry and her anger pushed her on.
“And now nothing is ever going to happen again,” she continued and poked her finger into his chest repeatedly as she spoke. “Because, Mr Sex God, I am not some booty call that you can just show up and expect to fuck whenever the humour takes you. Now get the hell out.”
“Booty call? he said raising his eyebrows and trying his hardest not to laugh. “Ally, I don’t know why you are so upset. If anyone should be upset it should be me.”
“You?” she exclaimed in sheer disbelief.
“Yes me,” he said with a half-smile. “I have just had my foot jammed in a door by a crazy woman, the same crazy woman who has just tried to poke a hole in my chest, the same crazy woman that has ignored me all day.”
“What?” she asked confused by what he just said.
“I called you and called you today,” he replied. “I must have sent you at least a dozen text messages but you responded to none of them.”
“I got no text from you,” she replied angrily. “Not even one to tell me you weren’t coming to lunch. Instead I was left sitting there like some pathetic loser waiting for you to show up and you never did.”
“Ally, I called you again and again. The meeting ran over much later than I expected,” he explained calmly and he moved closer to her. “Then I waited for your call but it never came.”
“I didn’t get any message,” she repeated but this time the fight was gone from her voice.
He pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and pressed redial and returned his gaze to her.
“It’s ringing,” he said.
Ally looked over at her phone on the hall table which was where she threw it after she check it one last time when she arrived home from the pub.
“It’s not,” she replied and he turned to follow her gaze. He looked at the phone which was lying there quietly.
“I don’t understand. Your friend Caitlin gave me your number
,” he said looking confused.
“Can I see?” she asked and he handed her his phone and she read the number he was calling and smiled.
“What?” he asked her.
“She gave you my old phone number,” Ally replied. “I lost my phone a couple of weeks ago so I have a new number. Caitlin must have forgotten to delete this one and after a few drinks she didn’t realise she gave you the wrong one. Weird that it’s still ringing though. Should be flat by now where ever it is.”
“Well that explains a lot,” he replied and he looked visibly relieved. “I was a little worried you were regretting last night. I mean after this morning you seemed…”
Ally looked down at her hands.
“You’re not regretting it, are you?” he asked taking her gently into his arms and instantly his touch made her heart race. Slowly she let her eyes reach his and he leaned in and kissed her softly.
“No… I don’t regret it,” she whispered breathlessly as they slowly broke apart.
“I am very pleased to hear it,” he whispered as he traced soft kisses down her neck. “I like your fluffy PJs”. Ally could feel him smile against her neck and couldn’t help but smile back.
“They are my favourite,” she giggled.
“Are you hungry?” he asked as he pressed his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes.
“A little,” she replied and smile.
“I brought some Chinese food,” he replied and kissed her lips gently.
“Smells good,” Ally replied. She was actually starving. She hadn't eaten lunch after she thought she'd been stood up, all she's eaten was chocolate.
They sat on the sofa eating Chinese takeout and drinking wine.
“So, who’s Jason?” Cole said as he reached over and placed his empty plate on the coffee table.
“Jason is my ex,” Ally replied as she nervously picked at the remains of her dinner.
“Oh,” he replied his eyes never leaving her face. But for some reason Ally couldn’t meet his gaze.
“We broke up a few weeks ago,” she explained as she put her plate on the table next to Cole’s. “I caught him shagging his assistant.”
No Second Chances Page 6
