What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
Page 5
" so I was wondering if you would sleep with her, and I could have a go on Alison. " this came out all in one breath that Douglas had to play back his words to understand what he's just said.
"I beg your pardon?" Douglas asked, his bladder having decided to shut up shop for the time being.
" you and Val, Me and Alison. How about it, eh? We are in the room next to you. We could get the ladies to swap rooms for the evening. Very discreet. "
When Douglas and Roger returned to the table, Douglas told Alice they had to get an early night, and tried to ignore the excited look on Roger''s face. Douglas shook the man's hand, told him it was nice to meet him and Val, and that he hoped they enjoyed the rest of their holiday.
"So what about...?" said Roger, casting a hungry look at Alice that Douglas didn't much care for.
" No fucking way, " replied Douglas. "Pardon the pun."
" what was all that about? " asked Alice once they were safely in the lift.
Douglas told her when they returned to Douglas's room for a cup of tea. Alice fell onto the bed, hooting with laughter.
"It's not funny," said Douglas. " he wanted to have his wicked way with you. "
"While you made the earth move for Val!" Alice erupted into another bout of laughing.
" that woman's so excitable I think a fart would send her into a state of ecstasy. Would you stop laughing? "
"Well, stop being funny, then,". Alice shrieked back, but made an effort to control herself. " maybe I should pay Roger a visit.I'm sure he could show me a thing or two from the it couple of centuries. "
"Hey, do you mind? I'm closer to his age than yours."
" how old are you? " Alice asked.
"How old do you think I am?" Douglas asked with a grin
" Oh, no. I'm not playing that game. That whole take five or more years off the age you think someone is. How old are you? " she asked again.
"I'm fifty-one, if you must know."
Alice nodded. "Oh right."
Douglas frowned. "How old did you think I was?"
" about fifty, fifty-five. I'm no good at guessing ages anyway. How old do you think I am? And be truthful. Don't lie to bolster my ego. "
Douglas studied her face. No wrinkles about the neck. Smooth facial skin, though there were crow's feet when she smiled. No grey hairs but that colouring could have come from a bottle.
"Mid-thirties?" He suggested.
" You get a silver medal. I'm thirty-eight this year. "
"You're wearing well," Douglas remarked, filling the kettle with water from the bathroom sink.
" Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, " she repied, and turned the TV on.
"Thirteen," said Douglas after a moment.
" Sorry? "
"There's thirteen years between you and me," he explained .
"Unlucky for some, thirteen."
" Rubbish, it's just a number. Bad PR, that's all. "
"I've never been with a man thirteen years older than me," remarked Alice.
"Hook up with old Roger and it'll be ten times that. "
“Nah, I'm not attracted to him.”
Douglas had just stuck the kettle on, and he glanced at Alice through the mirror. The way she had said that... Was she implying she was attracted to him? Or was he reading something from nothing? He looked at his own reflection for a moment. Greying hair, less svelte than he used to be, and - what was the word she’d used? - haggard.
Alice must have realised how her words had sounded. She caught his gaze and turned red, before taking great interest in switching on the television and flicking through the channels.
Interesting, thought Douglas. Interesting but awkward.
He finished making the tea and they both sat watching a sci-fi movie on the Film 4 channel. Just as the second ad break came on, there was a gentle tap at the door.
Douglas frowned. "You didn't order any room service, did you?"
"No. You?"
"No."
Douglas got off the bed and approached the door. He looked back at Alice. "You don't think it's -?" he began to ask, but a voice from the other side cut in.
"Hello? Are you in? It's Roger."
"He's persistent," noted Alice, quietly.
"I don't want to answer," confessed Douglas, looking back at the door.
"Then don't. Pretend we're out."
Roger knocked again. "Hello? Douglas? Alison? Are you there? I thought maybe you'd changed your mind about our little... nightcap."
"Alison?" Alice chuckled. "Well, I at least want to sleep with a guy who knows my name."
“You have standards. That’s good,” joked Douglas.
They heard Roger speak, in a low murmur to someone. Probably Val. Then they heard the door to the couple’s room open and then close.
“Close shave,” said Douglas. “Another cuppa?”
“I’m fine.”
The ads on the screen ended and the next part of the movie came on. Douglas returned to sit on the bed, next to Alice. For the next ten minutes or so, all thoughts of Roger and Val were exorcised from their minds as they became focussed on the movie, which had turned out to be very good, despite having no famous faces in it.
Halfway through an intense scene featuring what Douglas assumed was an alien and the hero, Alice swiped the remote control from the bottom of the bed and turned down the volume.
“Too loud?” He asked.
She shook her head. “Can you not hear that?”
“Hear what?”
She pressed the Mute button. Oh yes, Douglas could definitely hear it now.
“Oh god,” he said wearily. “Do we have to put up with this all night?” He looked across at Alice who was giggling behind her hand. It was an endearingly innocent gesture.
“All night?” She'd managed to control herself by now. “You think old Roger has the stamina?”
“Probably not,” replied Douglas, trying to ignore the grunting and squealing duet coming from beyond the wall. “It's how he'd want to go. Out with a bang. Really, Alice, do you laugh at everything?” He asked as Alice collapsed onto her side with laughter, yet the edges of his mouth twitched into a smile. He liked that he could make her laugh.
“Sorry,” she chuckled, “but it's the way you said ‘out with a bang’. Like you were jealous.”
“Not jealous, exactly,” began Douglas, then stopped. She didn't need to know the jealousy he was harbouring was the fact that he hadn't been intimate with Eve in months now. She had been busy and stressed with work. They had kissed but whenever Douglas had tried anything more, Eve would tell him she was tired, she had work in the morning. Of course, this lack of sexual interest in her husband could be used in evidence in the case of the affair.
“Are you okay?” Alice asked, with a look of concern. “You look like you're somewhere else.”
She had been surprisingly honest about her and Ben, but Douglas wasn't in a sharing mood about himself and Eve's recent intimacy levels.
“Do you think I should hit the wall?” He asked instead. “Get them to stop?”
“No! They might think we're letting them know we're in, and up for it.”
The movie was all but ignored as both Douglas and Alice couldn't help but listen. When Douglas noticed the credits on the screen, he exhaled sharply.
"Maybe we shouldn't be listening to them," said Alice, beginning to flick through the channels again.
"We can't do anything but," said Douglas, with an exasperated shake of his head. "I mean, that must be put on. Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" He mimicked the very vocal Roger, only a second later so that it sounded like both he and Roger were taking turns to groan.
"Oh my god!" Alice squealed, grabbing one of the pillows and shoving it against her face.
Douglas stopped and looked at her, wide-eyed, wondering what had happened, until he noticed her shoulders were shaking.
"Really, do you ever stop laughing?" he half-heartedly complained, though a smile crept along his face.
She took
a moment before she could look up from the pillow, her wet eyes crinkled. "Stop making me laugh, then!"
Throughout this, Roger and Val continued their vocal exercises.
Then she began mimicking Val, although slightly higher-pitched than the pensioner. And louder than Douglas had been. Alice laid back on the bed and carried on squealing, moving her arms like a conductor in time to Val.
"God, they can hear you!" cried Douglas, striding across to the bed. "Sssh! Do you want them to knock on the door again?"
Alice just smiled and continued squealing, but quieter this time. Still, this wasn't enough for Douglas. He sat on the edge of the bed and clamped his hand over Alice's mouth just as the noise from next door ceased.
"They'll know you're faking it," Douglas muttered. Underneath him, Alice just shrugged. They remained there, like statues. Next door, Roger and Val continued their energetic love-making. Douglas frowned and looked down at Alice.
"Are you... kissing my palm?" He could feel the smile and watched her nod.
Douglas didn't know what to do. Well, he knew what he should do. Take his hand off her mouth and... Well, do nothing. But he found himself studying her eyes. Noticing the golden flecks in amongst the blue irises for the first time. And then he realized she had gently taken his arm.
Douglas slowly removed his hand, fighting against the urge to kiss her. God, he knew it was wrong. Knew he'd be a hypocrite, but -
Alice was still making kissing motions with her mouth, now kissing the air. The spell was broken.
"You look like a fish," Douglas remarked, and chuckled. He lay back on the bed and chuckled some more. Alice turned her head to look at him, grinning.
"You're quite mad, you know," he said, fondly.
She winked and got up from the bed, stretching her arms. "All those sexy noises are getting me hot and bothered. I'm going to have a shower to cool down."
Douglas watched her go. Well, thanks for leaving me with that image.
The morning after, when Douglas and Alice are ready to leave the hotel, they encounter Roger in the foyer and it's revealed that he and his wife are heading up to Scotland next. Dismayed, Douglas asks whereabouts. Thinking Douglas and Alice have changed their minds, he tells them Glasgow. Douglas is visibly relieved. As they are getting back into the car, Alice teases Douglas about Roger and his lifestyle.
● Douglas tells Alice that he has decided to try again with Eve. Alice is appalled. He tells her that he wasn't totally innocent in all this, as Eve mustn't have been happy with how the marriage was going. He asks if Alice and he can still be friends. Alice reminds him about the cheating with her husband and says “I think not. “ Douglas says he is sorry to hear that, which infuriates Alice who has a go at him.
● Around the time Douglas decides to make a go of it with Eve, Ben tries to make amends with Alice.
● Douglas bumps into a shocked Eve who is just coming out of a room. She asks what he is doing there. He lies and says he wanted to surprise her. He wonders if Ben is hiding in the room as Eve is eager to leave. He tells her he needs the loo, and takes the key from her. Before she can protest, he sweeps into the room. No sign of Ben, but lots of shopping bags. Eve says she didn't want him to know she'd been buying things. Feeling awful for suspecting his wife, he heads to the loo. He hears someone come into the room. It's Ben and Douglas is under no illusion that the pair are having an affair (he runs a tap and whistles as if not hearing them, but he stands with his ear to the door). He storms out but not before intending to punch Ben in the face. He stops himself and tells him - and Eve - that they aren't worth it.
Alice watched Ben closely. `Why?` she asked. `Why do you always go for attached women? Why do you insist on hurting someone else as well as me?`
He shrugged, avoiding her eyes. `If I knew that, don`t you think I would have tried to do something about it?`
`What, like make sure the woman you`re shagging isn`t married first?`
* Near the end of the story, Douglas visits Alice with a bunch of flowers. She asks him why isn't he with Eve, after all he went through to get her back. Douglas says that he had forgotten something. That she had so kindly said nice things about him. Now it was his turn to compliment her. Alice shrugs and asks if it's okay while she continues tidying up while he speaks. As she tidies, Douglas watches her and says that he struggled on the way over what to say. Alice cynically thanks him. Douglas says that he thought he could compliment her on
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Did you love What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?? Then you should read Highland Fling by Izzy Hunter!
For fans of Outlander, Sophie Kinsella and Jenny Colgan.
Carla Kingston has no time for love. Not when her job involves faking romances for roleplaying packaged holiday company, Highland Fling.
Jack Jefferson has come to the Scottish highlands to escape the rat race in London, and take stock of his life. He's in a job he hates and is in need of a career change.
When Carla and Jack meet, sparks - and clothes - soon start to fly. A one night stand is enough for the both of them.
But after Jack begins working alongside Carla as a Highland Heartthrob, they can't ignore one another, nor the spark that's threatening to become an inferno.
Someone has a secret to keep. Except things don't stay hidden forever...
Also by Izzy Hunter
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Highland Fling
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (Coming Soon)