‘There’s that tapas bar you liked the look of earlier.’
Ellie thought for a moment. ‘Perfect. Can we go soon? I’m starving already and I don’t think the extensive choice of Pot Noodles in your cupboards is doing it for me.’
He leapt up from his chair with a bow. ‘Your wish is my command. Let us depart immediately.’
‘Yeah, whatever. Just not too immediately, you’ll start a riot if you go out in those boxers.’
An hour later they arrived at a cosy little tapas bar, just a couple of streets from Jethro’s apartment. The exterior had a rustic look with wooden window shutters and a cobbled forecourt sheltered by potted trees strung with white fairy lights. Tables were made from the bases of huge tree trunks cut in perfect slices and polished to display the rings in all their glory, with chunky wooden chairs to accompany them. The strains of traditional Spanish music could be heard from inside.
‘We could sit outside if you like?’ Jethro asked. He nodded towards the patio heaters that skirted the forecourt. ‘If we get a table under one of those it should be quite cosy.’
‘Sounds good to me. It feels much more European to be outside, even if it is a grey February in Britain,’ Ellie replied, relieved that she had brought more appropriate clothes down this time and now wore a pair of skinny jeans and a finely knitted sweater.
Jethro laughed. ‘We can pretend, eh?’ He pulled out a chair for Ellie with a gracious flourish. ‘Not too nineteenth century for you, is it?’ he grinned as Ellie took the seat with a grateful smile.
‘I have no objection to a man showing me a bit of courtesy. Just don’t ask me to bring up babies and stay at home darning socks by candlelight.’
‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’
He passed Ellie a menu and as she scanned it, she heard another voice at the table.
‘Hey, Jethro.’
Ellie looked up to see a pretty red-headed girl in a white blouse and black skirt covered by an apron. She had a notepad and pen poised. Obviously the waitress, although not very Spanish, Ellie mused, as her broad cockney accent came through. Ellie noted also, with some surprise, that she seemed to know Jethro well enough to address him by his first name.
‘Hi Claudia. How’s it going; busy tonight?’
She flashed him a dazzling smile. ‘Not for a Saturday. I’m sure it will be later though. There’s something going on in town, so maybe that’s why.’
‘In town?’ Jethro asked.
She shrugged slightly. ‘I forget what Enrique said it was now. He wasn’t very pleased about it though. You’ll have to order extra tonight to keep him happy.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Jethro glanced at Ellie and smiled. ‘I think we can manage that. This is my friend, Ellie, by the way. She’s from the Midlands. We did the same media course at uni.’
‘Staying for the weekend?’ Claudia asked. Her smile was courteous but Ellie detected something slightly less sincere in it than the one she had given to Jethro.
‘Only tonight, then back to boring old Millrise tomorrow.’
‘That’s nice. So, what can I get for you guys?’
Jethro gave Ellie a questioning look. ‘Have you had time to decide?’
She folded the menu and handed it to him. ‘You’ve only just given me the bloody menu.’
‘Right, I’m just going to wing it then,’ Jethro grinned. Before she had time to argue, he rattled off a list of dishes to Claudia: dandelion and broad bean salad, frittata, king prawns and chorizo and other things that Ellie didn’t recognise at all. For a second she thought about arguing that she was perfectly capable of ordering her own food, but then wondered what the point was. Perhaps it was more fun this way.
As he continued to order in between chatting to Claudia, Ellie found her gaze drawn to the town around them. It was vibrant with lights and chatter, as busy in the evening as it had been in the day, so much going on. Could she imagine herself living here? Perhaps this was the answer to all her problems. But then, it felt too much like running away… it was a nice dream, but a dream was all it could be when so many people at home relied on her.
‘Are you OK?’ Jethro asked.
She smiled brightly, shaken from her thoughts as Claudia left them.
‘She fancies you.’ Ellie leaned across the table with an impish grin.
‘What… Claudia?’
Ellie nodded.
‘No way.’
‘Do you know her from somewhere else?’
‘No, just here.’
‘But she knows your name.’
‘I come here a lot.’
Ellie leaned back with a smug look. ‘Take it from me, she likes you.’
Jethro glanced back at the doors of the building that Claudia had just disappeared through. In the gloom, Ellie thought she could see him blush.
‘That’s crazy. Besides… I’m finished with women.’
‘Really. Who’s the lucky man then?’
Jethro sat back and grinned. ‘I’m going to be celibate.’
Ellie threw back her head and laughed. ‘I’d like to see that.’
‘I can do celibate. It’s not so hard.’ He flexed his muscles. ‘That’s what God gave us right arms for.’
‘You’re so gross.’
‘Don’t tell me you don’t love it.’
Ellie reached for a breadstick from a tall glass at the centre of the table and snapped it in half. The smile was still on her lips as she looked up at Jethro, grinning across at her. And then she knew what to do. She would tell him about Ben. Jethro would understand. He would know just the right thing to say to cheer her up. He would tell her exactly what she had to do to rid herself of the angst and heartache that still lingered no matter what she did to shake it.
His phone bleeped. He pulled it from his pocket and read the text message.
‘Kasumi. She’s having a fabulous time with her mum and dad… not.’ He turned the phone screen to Ellie to reveal the photo Kasumi had sent of the front entrance of the poshest, stuffiest looking restaurant they had ever seen.
‘I bet she’s loving it in there,’ Ellie smiled. ‘How long do you think she can last without saying bollocks or twat in front of her parents?’
‘I bet she’s failed that challenge already. And if she doesn’t Sam will do it for her.’
Ellie’s eyes widened. ‘Oh God! Is she taking Sam?’
‘Yeah. This is the first time they’ve met him.’
‘Bloody hell,’ Ellie sat back and nibbled on the end of her breadstick. ‘I think we picked the wrong night out. Is it too late to get a table at…’ She peered at the phone screen again, ‘the Royal Worcester? Preferably next to theirs. It’ll be brilliant entertainment.’
Claudia appeared at their table again before he could reply.
‘Here’s your wine,’ she said, glancing at Jethro and blushing slightly as she placed it on the table and laid out two glasses.
‘Thanks, Claudia.’ Jethro smiled up at her.
Ellie watched her walk away again. She was pretty, with a cute little wiggle when she walked. Her attention turned back to Jethro. He was watching her walk away too. Maybe he was appreciating the wiggle in her walk as well.
‘I’m telling you, she fancies you,’ Ellie whispered.
‘And I’m telling you that I’ve done with girls. It all ends in disaster.’
‘Completely?’
‘Totally.’
Twenty rowdy minutes and half a dozen teasing text messages to Kasumi later, their food arrived. They tucked in, chatting as they ate. Ellie was aware that her own hand-flapping became more and more exaggerated and her voice grew louder the more she drank, but was unable to do much about it as the wine worked its magic. Her feelings for Ben became dulled and hazy, and that suited Ellie just fine. It was easier to tell Jethro everything when the words didn’t sting quite so badly.
Some time just before midnight, they stumbled over the threshold of Jethro’s flat. He made coffee and she fiddled with his iPod to see what music he
had on there. When he returned from the kitchen, he placed their drinks on a small table and sat next to her on the sofa.
‘I’m glad we went for the old ladies’ option in the end,’ he said.
‘I wonder how Kasumi and Sam got on,’ Ellie mused.
Jethro kicked off his shoes, which tumbled into a heap in the middle of the floor, and reached for his own mug. ‘I wish we could have watched Sam squirm,’ he laughed.
‘Aren’t you glad you never dated her now?’ Ellie said as she tucked her feet under her on the sofa. ‘That could have been you.’
‘Awww, there was never any danger of Kasumi having me.’ Jethro gave her a lopsided smile. Ellie thought she detected a hint of longing in it. ‘It looks like I’m destined to be single forever.’
‘I know that feeling,’ Ellie said quietly.
He looked at her askance. ‘Surely not, Ms Newton? Aren’t the eligible men of Millrise queuing up for you?’
‘They might be, but I seem to be having a bit of trouble locating the queue. Either that or I’ve accidentally come across the less-than-eligible line.’
‘All men are eligible. It’s just that no one has explained the rules of eligibility properly to us yet.’
‘You sound like you should be on Oprah,’ Ellie laughed.
‘Maybe I should…’ He waved a hand through the air in front of his face as if creating a headline. ‘Men: The Insiders’ Guide.’
Ellie sighed. ‘Why do I have to want someone who doesn’t want me?’
‘Oh, Ellie. This Kelly guy must be a complete tool if he doesn’t want you.’
Ellie smiled. ‘Thanks. It’s not true, but thank you for trying to make me feel better.’ She put her coffee down and snuggled into him. She was tipsy, warmed by good food and drink and brilliant company, and his arms were a surprisingly nice place to be.
‘What’s all this?’ he asked, sounding a little taken aback at her sudden intimacy.
‘I don’t know… you just seem like a good guy to cuddle up to right now.’
He gave her shoulder a squeeze.
They stayed like that for a moment or two, and then Jethro turned to look at her. He stroked his thumb down her cheek in a simple gesture and then, before either of them really knew what was happening, he leaned in and kissed her.
On paper, it could have been perfect. But Ellie felt not a flicker of desire or love other than something pure and platonic.
‘That was just a joke… right?’ she said, unable to keep the fear from her voice.
His smile was so obviously forced. ‘Of course… It would be crazy, you and me…’
Oh God, Ellie thought. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. What am I, fifteen? I need a chaperone every time I’m left alone with a man not related to me?
‘I’m really tired,’ Ellie mumbled. Would you mind if I go to bed?’
‘Now?’
‘Sorry. I think I might have had too much to drink; I feel a bit queasy.’
‘Don’t you want to finish your coffee first?’
Ellie shook her head and hurried through to the bedroom. She shut the door behind her and let out a huge breath as she leaned back against it. How could she have been such an idiot?
When she woke, Ellie wondered at what time during the night the Edinburgh military tattoo had moved into her head. She thought she had been what her mum would have called ‘merry’ the previous evening, but couldn’t recall drinking all that much or, indeed, being that drunk. The way her head was pounding now, however, she must have done more damage than she thought.
She rolled over, for a moment disorientated as a strange bedroom came into view. Then she remembered that it was Jethro’s room and not her own in Millrise. Her eyes roved her surroundings as she tried to pull herself together enough to sit up. His bedroom décor was surprisingly unimaginative for a man who worked in the world of media. It was painted a safe magnolia, wooden Venetian blinds at the window, with the odd framed monochrome photo hanging around the walls – stylish vistas of cities and sunsets over rivers – and a black ash wardrobe, the door of which hung open to reveal a clothes rail split into work suits at one end and hoodies, t-shirts and sweaters at the other. There were some clues that gave away the real Jethro: his drum kit crammed in a corner and a draughtsboard with a half-finished drawing, a tray of pencils and pens lying on top. The only other thing of note was a chest of drawers, the dusty surface cluttered with grooming products and electrical gadgets. It was a bedroom any teenage boy would have been proud of. Ellie sniffed at the sheets. At least he had washed those for her.
She pushed herself up, clutching at her head as it protested the change in position by giving her an extra big internal thump. It felt as though her brain and her skull were having a punch-up. Her clothes were in a tangle on the floor where she had discarded them the night before. Thank God Jethro had brought her bag in before they had left for the tapas bar, she mused as she picked up the dirty stuff with a grimace. She had fallen into bed with only her knickers on, it appeared, and the prospect of having to stay in her dirty ones whilst she hunted for spares wasn’t an appealing one.
After pulling on some clean underwear, jeans and a soft, powder-blue slouchy sweatshirt, Ellie crept into the bathroom, splashed some water on her face and flicked a toothbrush around her mouth as she tried to piece together the previous night’s events. Mortifyingly, she could remember what had happened, but couldn’t quite understand her motives for any of it. What did come back to her, in startling and painful detail, was the fact that she had let Jethro kiss her. Whatever had happened, it was a bloody terrible idea. Why had she done it? The truth was in plain view but she looked away from its steely gaze. She had kissed him as a substitute for what she couldn’t have.
Why wouldn’t her stupid brain accept that any chance of a life with Ben was over? If it didn’t see sense soon, she’d take over from her skull and beat it up herself. And why was accepting that Ben was out of her life a green light for ill-advised trysts with best friends?
Creeping into the living room, she heard the gentle breaths that signalled Jethro was still asleep on the sofa before she saw him, buried under his duvet, only the top of his head poking out. Ellie heaved a sigh of relief. She needed to wake up properly before she faced explanations. Leaving him, she padded into a kitchen the size of one of her cupboards at home to see if she could locate some coffee and aspirin.
As she searched, Jethro’s voice made her jump. ‘Morning.’
‘God, you startled me!’
He mussed his hair and gave her a sleepy smile. ‘Sorry. I heard you knocking around and wondered if you were OK.’
‘You were fast asleep a minute ago.’
‘Yeah. Let’s just say you’d make a crap burglar.’
‘Sorry. I was looking for some aspirin.’
‘That, I can do.’ He went to a drawer, produced a tiny white bottle and rattled it at her. ‘I think I may need to join you.’
‘I didn’t think we’d had that much to drink.’
‘Almost two bottles of wine, if I remember correctly,’ he replied, handing her two tablets and a glass of water. ‘Enough to make you feel like throwing up.’ He narrowed his eyes as he swallowed his own. ‘Were you ill after I’d gone to sleep?’
‘Don’t worry, I didn’t chuck up over your sheets,’ Ellie said.
‘That’s good, because being a bloke I don’t have any others.’
They stood, staring at each other for a split second. Then both looked away at the same time, as if looking at each other somehow hurt. Both turned back again and tried to speak, awkward stuttering beginnings of clumsy excuses.
‘You first,’ Jethro said.
‘No… what did you want to say?’
He shrugged. ‘It wasn’t that important.’
‘Neither was mine.’
A heartbeat. And then they both began again. ‘About last night –’
They both smiled awkwardly, explanations called to a halt.
‘I
know,’ Jethro said. ‘And it’s really OK. This Ben guy has got to you and I’m a bloke…’ He gave a shrug and a sideways grin. ‘One sniff of a snog and we’re there. I should be apologising, not you. We had too much to drink. But we never tell Kasumi about this… Agreed? She’d have a field day.’
Ellie nodded stiffly. But still she couldn’t shake the fear that it was just another thing she had managed to screw up in a long list of things she was not supposed to be screwing up. It seemed that talking about it now might just make things worse, though. Instead, Ellie filled the kettle and switched it on. ‘I’ll make coffee, shall I?’ she said with forced brightness.
Jethro went over and clicked the kettle off again. ‘Do you know what always works for hangovers?’
‘Raw eggs?’
‘No,’ he laughed, ‘MacDonald’s breakfasts. How about it?’
Ellie looked down at herself. ‘I don’t think you want to take me out in public like this.’
‘OK, so I’ll go get some and bring it back. It’s not far.’
‘Sounds amazing.’ Ellie smiled weakly as the guilt worm began to nibble at her insides again.
Ten minutes later she was on the sofa, snuggled under Jethro’s duvet with the TV remote. She heard the sound of the front door slam as Jethro went out on his quest for breakfast. With only the vaguest attention, she scrolled through the channels and stopped at a Sunday magazine programme that she liked for the chef who was a regular of the show. He was on right now, demonstrating a recipe for beef stroganoff. Ellie let the remote control fall onto the duvet and watched him handing out his food to a long table of guests. The camera panned along the row.
Then Ellie bolted up, her heart beating madly as it settled on two very familiar faces.
‘What the hell…’ Ellie grabbed the remote and turned the sound up.
‘You like it?’ the chef asked Ben with an inane grin. ‘Would that be worth waiting on a street corner for?’
Ben gave a very forced smile. Ellie had never seen him look so uncomfortable. ‘It’s lovely,’ he mumbled through a mouthful of rice. ‘Although I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t actually try the –’
Worth Waiting For: A heart-warming and feel-good romantic comedy Page 18