Stuck With You

by Carla Burgess

  The branch Daniel had been sawing at came free and he dropped it down onto the grass below. Moving on to the next branch, he began to saw again, his face tense with concentration.

  ‘I expected there to be chainsaws involved and stuff.’

  ‘There are usually. But Daniel chose to use a saw to show off his muscles.’ Richie nudged me and grinned. ‘Only joking. A saw’s sufficient for this job.’

  I smiled as the last branch fell to earth. ‘That’s it, I think,’ Daniel called down. ‘Unless you want any more off?’

  ‘No, that’s great that!’ Dad called up happily. ‘You can come down for your tea.’

  I watched as Daniel made his way down the tree in his harness. Unhooking the ropes from his belt, he made his way over to us, his green eyes directly on mine. I felt my cheeks go red as I smiled at him. Would anyone mind if I launched myself at him and kissed him? Gaaah! What was happening to me? I was like a hormonal teenager again.

  Mum passed him his mug of tea and he thanked her, before returning his intense green gaze to me.

  ‘Good day?’ he asked, lifting the steaming mug to his lips.

  ‘Yeah, not bad.’ I didn’t want to admit it had been the longest day of my life, just waiting to come home so I could see him. ‘You?’

  ‘It’s just got better.’ He winked at me and I found myself beaming at him. Somehow, we’d drifted away from Mum, Dad and Richie, and were now standing alone by the hedge.

  ‘Mmm, Mum makes the best tea.’

  ‘You know what I mean.’ He’d suddenly got very intense and serious. This felt big and dangerous, as though we were on the edge of something. Goosebumps broke out across my skin and I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. There was a conifer tree to my right, and I caught the dark green fronds between my fingers, watching as they slid through, waxy and smooth. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he murmured, his eyes fixed intently on mine.

  ‘Me too,’ I whispered.

  ‘What are you doing later?’

  ‘Seeing you?’ I was lost in his gaze, mesmerised by him. I remembered feeling the same way when I was dancing with him at the prom.

  He nodded once. ‘Good answer.’

  ‘Here, Daniel, stop chatting up the clients and come and help me move all these branches,’ Richie called, a big grin on his face. ‘Do I have to do all the work around here? Jesus! Lazy little git.’

  ‘I’m still drinking my tea!’ Daniel protested.

  ‘No time for drinking. Drinks are for wimps.’

  Daniel laughed as he swigged back the rest of his tea and handed me his mug. ‘Half eight all right?’

  ‘Perfect.’

  ***

  My stomach was so full of butterflies, I could hardly eat my tea. Mum and Dad talked constantly about how wonderful Daniel and Richie were; what a thorough job they’d done and how well they’d cleaned up afterwards. I nodded in agreement about how impressive it all was, but mostly I thought about how sexy Daniel looked in that harness, and the intensity in his eyes when he was talking to me by the tree.

  ‘Are you going out after?’ Mum asked.

  ‘Yes, half eight,’ I said, taking my plate and stacking it in the dishwasher. As I turned, I caught the nod and the approving look that passed between my mum and dad.

  ‘You’ve got a good one there,’ Dad said.

  ‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ I said, quickly. ‘It’s just a drink.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  Daniel picked me up at half past eight on the dot. I’d only just decided on what to wear and my bedroom was strewn with discarded clothes. Mum answered the door and I almost fell down the stairs in my haste to get to the door before she said anything embarrassing. Daniel was cleanshaven and looking sexy in a green T-shirt and jeans.

  ‘We’re just going for a drink,’ he was saying. ‘I won’t keep her out late.’

  ‘Oh good, because I was worried last time when she didn’t come home.’

  Daniel laughed. ‘Yeah, sorry about that. She wasn’t very well so I thought it better to keep her at mine so I could keep an eye on her.’

  ‘You’re a good boy, Daniel.’ Mum stepped aside to let me pass and I kissed her on the cheek.

  ‘Bye, Mum.’

  ‘Have a lovely evening!’ she called after us.

  ‘She’s so embarrassing,’ I said, once we got in the truck.

  ‘Aw, she’s great, your mum.’

  I laughed. ‘I know, she is. And I’m really grateful she’s let me come back to live and stuff. But it’s like stepping back in time ten years.’

  ‘In more ways than one,’ Daniel winked. ‘I thought we’d go down to the river for a drink, if that’s okay with you?’

  ‘Yes, great.’ I didn’t say that anywhere would be good so long as I was with him. ‘So, did I tell you I saw your band in the newspaper?’

  ‘Oh, did you see that?’

  ‘Yeah, my mum saw it first actually. She was very excited that an actual real-life rock star was going to come and prune her apple tree.’

  Daniel laughed. ‘Hardly!’

  He followed the road down past the amphitheatre and turned left to go down to the river. The sun was setting and the fiery pinks and reds in the sky were reflected in the water. Daniel smiled across at me as he unbuckled his seatbelt. I climbed out and we walked to the bar.

  ‘Is it too cold to sit outside, do you think?’

  ‘No. I’ve got my jacket. It’s fine.’

  I sat at a table and watched the sunset while Daniel went inside to get the drinks. An elderly couple walked hand in hand along the edge of the river. They stopped when they got to the bandstand and sat down on a bench together, his arm wrapped around the lady’s shoulders.

  ‘Do you think that will be us one day?’ Daniel asked, reappearing with the drinks and following my line of sight. ‘We can say we met at college, and no one will ever know there was a seven-year gap where you lived with a complete twat.’

  I raised an eyebrow as he sat down beside me and placed an arm across the back of my chair. ‘You’re pretty full-on, aren’t you?’ I said, turning towards him.

  ‘There’s no point in playing it cool, is there? If I did that, I’d probably end up like bloody Zach.’

  ‘So you’re always like this, are you? When you meet someone you like?’

  He shook his head. ‘I haven’t met anyone I liked this much in a long time.’

  ‘How long is a long time?’

  ‘Ooh, about seven years.’

  I burst out laughing. ‘Daniel! Do you really expect me to believe that? I remember what you were like, you know. Rachel remembers what you were like. We had this conversation the other day. You had a different girlfriend every week.’

  Daniel shook his head. ‘I did not.’

  ‘You so did.’

  He smiled. ‘Well, I definitely don’t have a different girlfriend every week these days.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘What does hmmm mean?’

  ‘It means I don’t really believe you. Look, you’re still as gorgeous as ever. More gorgeous, in fact. You’re still in a band. You could have any girl you choose.’

  He looked away across the river and shook his head. ‘So, I choose you. What’s your problem?’

  I smiled. ‘I don’t have a problem. Listen, neither of us knows what’s going to happen, do we? We might find we don’t like each other in a few weeks.’

  ‘I doubt that.’

  I shrugged. ‘But it could happen. Just know you don’t have to give me all the for ever bullshit, because we both know that for ever’s pretty hard to find these days.’

  Raising his eyebrows, he took a sip of his lemonade. ‘Do you not think your parents are for ever?’

  ‘Yes, I think my parents are for ever.’

  ‘And I think my parents are forever. And I think Richie and his wife are pretty sorted.’ He shrugged. ‘I think for ever is attainable.’

  ‘Well,
it’s easy to fall in love.’

  ‘It is? How many times have you been in love?’ Daniel looked at me closely. I felt trapped by his question. Love? Define love?

  ‘I did love Alex,’ I said. ‘In the beginning.’

  ‘Was it enough?’

  I frowned. ‘What do you mean? Did I love him enough or was it enough to make it last?’

  Daniel shrugged. ‘I guess the answer to both of those questions is no.’

  ‘I don’t know really. Obviously, I loved him enough to move in with him.’

  ‘Moving in with someone’s easy, isn’t it? He had his own flat already, didn’t he? You didn’t even have to go to the bother of searching for somewhere together. You just moved into his life and he adjusted to accommodate you.’

  I shrugged. ‘I suppose.’

  ‘Did you ever think about getting married? Having babies?’

  ‘No, I was too young.’

  ‘Teenagers get married and have babies.’

  I laughed and pushed his arm gently. ‘I thought about getting married and having babies with you. I used to practise my signature: Elena Moore.’ As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. My cheeks flushed red. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse than The Box, I had to tell him that.

  Daniel didn’t seem to mind though. ‘Ah, you see. That’s because we had chemistry.’

  ‘We didn’t have chemistry together, we had English.’

  ‘You are deliberately misunderstanding me.’

  ‘That’s right. I’m deliberately misunderstanding your bullshit, Daniel Moore. You barely noticed me in college. I thought I was in love with you but it was just teenage angst and hormones channelled into you. Other girls worshipped Robbie Williams; I worshipped you.’

  Daniel threw his head back and laughed and I smacked his arm. ‘I know you find it hilarious. But it was really painful loving you like that.’

  He pointed. ‘Ha, you said “loving” then.’

  ‘Well, you know, I use the term loosely to describe the particular type of madness I was afflicted with.’

  ‘Ah, is that when you made your box?’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘You know, no normal girl with normal thought processes would go around collecting hair and fingernail samples.’

  Daniel looked revolted. ‘Hair and fingernail samples? Jesus. What were you trying to do? Clone me?’

  ‘Well, I’m exaggerating, obviously,’ I said, trying to backtrack.

  ‘I really need to see this box.’

  ‘No, you really don’t.’

  Daniel shook his head and laughed. ‘Look, whatever, my original point was that it’s not that easy to find true love. And even if you do find it, if you don’t look after it, it slips away. I’m making no judgements about you and Alex. I’m just saying that for ever is possible if you’re both willing to work at it. My parents have had their ups and downs. They argue and stuff, but they’re still happy. It’s not eye-gazing, heart-pounding stuff any more, but it’s something more lasting and meaningful.’

  ‘Stability and security, you mean?’ I sniffed. ‘I thought that’s what I had with Alex. Turns out it was just boredom.’

  ‘So, when did it all go wrong with you and Alex?’

  I shrugged. ‘I suppose we never really had the eye-gazing, heart-pounding stuff to begin with.’

  ‘I thought you said you were in love with him?’

  ‘I was, but we never really did all that stuff.’

  ‘Sex?’

  I shrugged. ‘We were never a very sexual couple.’

  ‘Oh, come on!’

  ‘He was never much interested. I just don’t think I’m very sexy.’ I shrugged. Best get that out there. Make sure he’s not disappointed later on.

  Daniel stared at me, appalled. ‘He’s not interested, so you blame yourself?’

  ‘Well, look at me? I’m not beautifully curvaceous like Rachel. I’m pretty much straight up and down.’

  ‘I am looking at you and you’re gorgeous. Are you sure he wasn’t gay?’

  ‘Gay? It’s 2017, Daniel. I’m pretty sure he’d have come out by now if he was gay.’

  Daniel grunted. ‘Whatever, you might have loved Alex on an intellectual level or whatever, but you obviously weren’t setting the sheets on fire. And I think you need some kind of sexual connection to make it into the for ever club.’

  ‘So it’s a club now, is it?’

  ‘Yes, I’m making it one.’

  ‘Are you now? Is it your club?’

  ‘Yes. Do you want to join?’ He raised his eyebrows and looked at me.

  ‘Tell me about you first. How many times have you been in love?’

  ‘Once?’

  ‘Who with?’

  ‘Ah, now that would be telling.’

  ‘Hey, that’s not fair. You know all about Alex, but I don’t know anything about your past lovers.’

  He shook his head. ‘I really haven’t had that many girlfriends since college. I suppose it did look like I had a lot of girlfriends back then, but they were little more than friendships really. I don’t remember any I particularly liked. Then, after college, I went travelling, hooked up with a few girls. Had one girlfriend who lasted a few months but that didn’t go anywhere. Came home. Had another girlfriend who was a nightmare.’

  ‘What do you mean, a nightmare?’

  ‘She was just so jealous. She used to drink loads and go crazy, hitting me and throwing things. Honestly, it was awful.’ He shuddered. ‘I couldn’t finish that quickly enough. Then I saw someone else briefly but she went back to her ex-boyfriend.’ He shrugged.

  ‘Was she the one you were in love with?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘The one you met travelling?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘The nightmare?’

  ‘Absolutely not. No.’

  ‘Who then?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter who. My point is that you said it’s easy to fall in love, and I’m saying it isn’t actually. Okay, you can settle for Alex Limpdick, but is that going to be enough for the rest of your life? Obviously not, because you’re not together with Alex Limpdick any more. You’re here with me, Danny Big Bollocks.’

  I threw my head back and laughed. ‘Danny full of bollocks, maybe. You are so full of shit, it’s unbelievable.’ I picked up my drink and took a sip.

  ‘Elena Green. I am deeply hurt that you should think that.’

  ‘Are you now?’ Far from looking hurt, Daniel’s eyes danced with amusement. I took another sip of my drink, and smiled at him. ‘You’re cute though.’

  ‘Cute?’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘Well, that’s a start. Can I kiss you?’

  I paused for a beat. Should I let him after this very bizarre and confusing conversation? I suppose what it really boiled down to was, did I want him to? And the answer was a resounding yes. Despite my cynical tongue and refusal to accept his bullshit, it was like he was a magnet and every cell in my body was straining towards him. ‘Yes, you can kiss me,’ I said, as casually as possible.

  Leaning towards me, he pressed his lips to mine. Opening my mouth slightly, I sucked in his bottom lip. He let me kiss him for a little while, gently teasing his lips, grazing them gently with my teeth, and then he drew me closer, his tongue teasing mine, hot breath and goosebumps, spinning, spinning, spinning.

  ‘How does it feel when I kiss you?’ he murmured against my mouth.

  I pulled away slightly. ‘What?’

  ‘I want to know how it feels when I kiss you?’ He kissed me again.

  My whole body was tingling. ‘Like magic.’

  ‘Magic?’ He laughed against my mouth and his hot breath tickled my lips. ‘Does it feel the same as it did when we were young? At the prom?’

  ‘Well, yeah.’ I pulled away and looked at him warily. Magic was possibly the corniest answer I could have given. ‘Why? What does it feel like when I kiss you?�
�

  If he said ‘nothing’ I would surely wither up and die.

  ‘It feels the same.’ He smoothed a tendril of my hair behind my ear and looked at me, his eyes soft.

  ‘Same as?’

  ‘It did back then.’

  ‘Is that good?’

  ‘It’s more than good. It’s like spinning out of control with stars exploding all around me. It’s like magic.’

  I blinked at him. I couldn’t quite believe this was happening. ‘And you felt like that back then? At the prom?’

  He nodded. ‘I’ve kissed a lot of girls, and none of them has ever felt like that. I was in love with you back then, Elena. And seven years on I don’t feel any different.’

  I could hardly breathe as I stared at him, shocked. ‘But you can’t have been.’ I looked at him, incredulous. ‘That’s ridiculous. I never heard from you again. You went off travelling. You never called or came looking for me.’

  ‘You were going to uni, I was going travelling. It wasn’t the right time back then. Besides, you never gave me your number.’

  ‘I didn’t? Are you sure?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘All those nights, waiting for you to call…’ I sighed, mock wistfully, and Daniel laughed.

  ‘Don’t say that.’ He stroked my face gently. ‘I hate to think of you sad.’

  A bell from inside announced last orders, and Daniel glanced at his watch. ‘Blimey, I didn’t realise the time.’

  ‘Come on then, let’s go.’

  The stars shone brightly in the dark sky and a pale moon was reflected in the dappled surface of the river. We held hands as we walked to his truck, and my heart was singing. But even as my heart sang, my head was saying no, this was too good to be true. All that time spent yearning for him, and he wanted me too? I couldn’t believe it. Why would he want me? I was so ordinary. But here he was, holding my hand, opening the door of his truck for me, helping me inside. It just didn’t seem possible.

  ‘I’ve got another band rehearsal tomorrow night.’ Daniel pulled up outside my parent’s house and cut the engine. His eyes were luminous in the darkness. ‘Last one before the big night so I can’t get out of it, unfortunately.’