‘Fancy a juice, Mikey?’ he said. ‘I’ve built up quite a thirst.’
‘Um, yeah, sure, if you’ve had enough,’ I spluttered, hoping I’d withheld the immense sense of gratitude from my voice. I stopped the machine, grabbed my towel from its side bar and followed him whilst drying the back of my neck.
We sat down on stools and I swivelled from side to side as I studied the drinks menu.
‘Mango and ginger, please,’ we both said to Patsy, behind the bar. We looked at each other and grinned.
‘I think that’s as far as our similarities go.’ I put down my towel. ‘I’m worn out. Your fitness level is pretty impressive.’
‘You look in great shape to me.’
Heat surged into my cheeks. It has been a while since another guy had paid me a compliment – and not just another guy, but one with the kindest face and a manner that shouted ‘putting other people first’.
Theo shrugged. ‘Anyway, not much else to do these days. Split up from my boyfriend six months ago and will do anything to avoid sitting in my pad, with just the remote control for company.’
‘Sorry to hear that. Guess I’m lucky having a flatmate.’
Theo nodded. ‘Sanjay’s told me all about Jasmine – she sounds great. So…’ He winked at Patsy as she slid a juice over to him. ‘Dave… her boyfriend… I’m to teach him salsa tomorrow night, no?’
‘Just a few moves would be great. I’ll be there of course…’ My cheeks felt hot. ‘I just wanted to tell you upfront… don’t think anything of it if he’s a little…’
I stared into Theo’s face. Kind as it was, it still went against the grain to open up to someone I didn’t know that well.
Theo’s brow furrowed.
‘Um… he’s a bit off keel at the moment, that’s all – proposed to Jazz at the weekend and it didn’t work out. So, he might be a bit… grumpy. I just didn’t want you think that he – we – were ungrateful for your help.’
‘Course not.’ Theo laughed. ‘And don’t talk to me about grumpy. I grew up with three sisters. Arming them with hot water bottles and paracetamol, at a certain time of the month, prepared me for life. I laugh in the face of grumpiness. Their hormones did me a favour.’
I grinned. ‘You sound like the perfect brother.’
His voice softened. ‘They’re the perfect sisters more like – looked out for me at high school, when the other kids teased me for my well-groomed looks and love of dancing.’
I nodded. This was nice. And a little scary. Direct communication. Talking about stuff that mattered. I took a deep breath and tentatively told him a little of what I’d gone through as a child. He was so easy to talk to… a good listener with an expression that said he was hanging on your every word.
Eventually Theo finished his drink and got up to go. ‘Right. Things to do. Great to meet you, Mikey. See you tomorrow night at my studio – seven sharp. I look forward to the lesson and will bring a hot water bottle for Dave.’
We both grinned. Wow. He had the most amazing blue eyes. They reminded me of a holiday I once took to Florida. The Keys. Shortbread sands and waters clearer than Polka Dot Diner’s windows once I’d completed one of my polishing sessions.
‘I might do twenty minutes on the rowing machine, before I go home,’ I said, not wanting to get home early and gatecrash a potential reunion between Dave and Jazz.
‘Go for it,’ said Theo and flashed his white teeth again. Clearly from the same school of touchy feeliness as me, he leant forward, slid his arm around my back and gave me a quick hug. He squeezed my shoulder as he pulled away, as if to say… I’m not sure. But it felt good; made me feel as if our meeting had a degree of significance.
Humming, I headed over to the rowing machine. At last the heavy cloud over me, due to Dave’s meanness last night, began to lift. Gym workouts clearly did beat stress. In fact I was still humming twenty minutes later, despite being a little out of breath. Although two people arguing behind me proved to be a distraction. I got off the rower, stood up and turned around, ready to break up any trouble if things got more heated.
‘Dave?’ He stood opposite Patsy. As I approached she repeated, in steely tones, that he couldn’t enter the gym area without proof of membership.
‘It’s okay, Pats, I’ll deal with this,’ I said and wiped my towel across my brow. My stomach twisted. ‘Everything all right – it’s not Jazz, is it?’
‘Ha! Everything all right? Yeah, just hunky dory since you ambushed my perfect evening with her – no wonder you were so keen to “help”.’
I glanced at his curled fists – the square stance of his shoulders. ‘Look Dave – have a juice. Let’s talk about this over a drink.’
‘I don’t want a friggin’ mocktail, thanks very much.’ He swaggered forward but I stood my ground.
‘Stop being a jerk. Quieten down. You’re making a show of yourself.’
‘Yeah, no thanks to you,’ he spat. Patsy took a step back.
‘Right. Outside. Now,’ I said and glared at him. He glared back. ‘Am I going to have to make you?’
Dave paused a second before scowling and headed towards the swing doors. I followed him down the stairwell and out into the parking lot. I squinted through the darkness at him, as he span around.
He snorted. ‘You really are a piece of work. Mr popular. Angel-face this, sweetheart that… whereas in reality you are nothing but a selfish, two-faced, promiscuous prick.’
A sheet of coldness pressed down on my chest. So, Dave really didn’t like me, I’d been coming to terms with that – but why so vitriolic all of a sudden? I took several breaths. No point both of us losing our tempers. ‘What the hell’s got into you, Dave? And me? Promiscuous? Haven’t you heard Jazz pushing me to try and find a date for the last year?’ I said, in a measured voice. ‘Celibacy is practically my middle name.’
‘Yet you haven’t hooked up with anyone. I wonder why.’ He shook his head. ‘Bravo. Your plan worked, to totally ruin my evening with Jazz. For a start…’ Dave loosened his collar. ‘The oven conveniently didn’t work. I couldn’t finish the bolognese. She said you knew what the problem with it was – you fiddled with it, didn’t you, to make me look like a fool?’
‘No!’
‘And the scented candle you suggested made her sneeze violently, like when you burned that cranberry one at Christmas.’
My ears felt hot. ‘Ah yes. I’d forgotten about that.’
‘Then the dessert – I bet you placed the jam roly poly near the hollandaise sauce in the fridge on purpose, instead of the custard.’
Oh God. Despite his insulting ranting, a chuckle tickled the back of my throat. Jam and hollandaise? Yuck.
‘Dave. Of course I didn’t – you didn’t… oh, crap – well that’s an easy enough mistake.’
‘And best of all,’ he said, brow perspiring, voice high-pitched, ‘you let me think she liked E.L. James, the author of Fifty Shades.’
‘Dave!’ I couldn’t help laughing and a couple looked at me as they walked past, towards the gym. ‘For God’s sake man – you should know she’s a sweet happy-every-after ending kind of girl. Whips and handcuffs – no!’
‘But you said…’
‘James. I meant the lauded novelist PD James, it came to me later on – PD not EL. She fancied trying some crime fiction.’
Dave’s jaw dropped.
‘So let me get this right – you’ve tracked me down tonight to moan about custard and dirty books and smelly candles?’
‘The evening was a disaster,’ he said in a tight voice and turned away. With speed, he headed towards his car. ‘You were supposed to help me woo her back,’ he shouted over his shoulder. ‘Instead you made sure she’d send me packing.’
‘You really think I’d do that?’ My throat felt scratchy and dry. ‘And please do explain,’ I continued stiffly, ‘why exactly am I promiscuous?’
We reached his Fiesta and Dave stood, hands on the windows, head bent over as if his shoulders carried the heaviest dumbbells. Event
ually he turned around again. ‘Enticing my girlfriend into your bed,’ he said sulkily.
I shook my head. ‘Then that makes her promiscuous too, no, if you really think we’ve slept together?’
His bottom lip jutted out further. ‘Just saying. I know what your intentions are. I mean, there was me, just for one second, thinking that I could trust you to help me, for Jasmine’s sake. Well, pat yourself on the back. Nothing will stop her moving to New York now and you’ve only got yourself to blame.
Dave thinks I set him up? Why oh why does he always think the worst of me? ‘Get in the car, Dave.’ I held out my hand for the keys. ‘We need to talk.’
He shrugged as if he was a balloon that had been inflated with words instead of helium, and they’d all been used up.
Minutes later we sat in the Fiesta, me in the driving seat just to prevent Dave pushing me out and driving off.
‘Dave… once and for all, tell me why you don’t like me – you’ve made that obvious enough over recent months. I mean talk about distant – what did I ever do to put you off? Or are you just not keen on… on…’
‘Oh please – don’t accuse me of being prejudiced,’ he muttered. ‘Anyway – you aren’t the easiest guy to get to know. You’ve been distant too.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Although I shouldn’t have called you promiscuous…’
‘Is that your way of saying sorry?’
His bottom lip quivered and I sighed.
‘The only reason I’ve kept my distance, Dave,’ I said softly, ‘is because I picked up your vibe about never wanting to spend even one second in my company, without Jazz. So spill. Put me out of my misery. Am I simply a revolting human being, or is there another reason?’ I squirmed in my seat. It felt dangerous, talking about intimate things, but there was no way around this now. Dave and I needed to thrash it out, once and for all.
Silence.
‘Dave?’
He fiddled with a cufflink. ‘Okay. If you must know. I’m jealous. There. I’ve said it.’
‘Huh?’
Dave turned to face me. ‘You. Jasmine. Your friendship. I’ve always felt like a third wheel. Marvellous Mikey.’ He shook his head. ‘How did I ever think I was going to compete? With your six-pack and trendy clothes, your love of cocktails and catchy music… yet you are just macho enough to make Jasmine feel protected and secure.’ His lip curled. ‘You’re the perfect combination of a lover and a good mate…’ Suddenly his voice wobbled. ‘But shouldn’t I be her best friend? The one she turns to when upset? Who she confides to about a new job or the one whose arms she wants to lie in during the night?’ His eyes shone. ‘Yet you fulfil all those roles.’
‘Whoa – Dave… hold up. You know women – think back to school. Unlike men, most like – need – to have a particular best friend. That’s all I am to Jazz. It’s you she fancies – it’s you who gives her that romantic glow.
‘Who knows just how she likes her eggs cooked? Who thinks to do her ironing when she’s feeling down or paints her nails if she’s got a big meeting at work?’
Oh Dave. Poor lad. I exhaled. Yet, wow. So he didn’t… he didn’t hate me for myself. I managed to suppress a big smile.
‘Dave. Do you think she’d find you half as hot, if you helped her choose a varnish colour or suggested doing face packs to de-stress after a hard day in the office? No! You’re the person she wants to kiss her senseless when the real world is too little fun. And I’m just there for the smaller stuff – who did she run to first, last year, when her aunt was rushed to hospital?’
Dave didn’t speak.
‘And remember when she fainted on the underground? Yes, I was there to take her to casualty but who did she keep asking for?’
Still no reply.
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘She wanted your strong arms around her – yeah, she and I have sleepovers, but half the time I annoy her by snoring and it’s just for the companionship – to make the night a little less scary, if we’ve got worries on our minds. Was that why you lost it at the diner on Monday? After Sanjay mentioned that Jazz and I had spent the night together?’
Dave nodded. ‘The thought of her with another bloke… it’s like a spear through my heart.’
‘I think we can both agree I’m not your typical man.’ I sighed. ‘You should have mentioned to Jazz that her and me… sharing the same bed… it makes you feel uncomfortable.’
‘She mentioned it. You know Jasmine. Caring and considerate. We’d only been going out a couple of months and you two planned a Mamma Mia night – baklava, the DVD…’
‘I remember. It’s one of the few movies we both adore. I’d had a long day at work, with staff off sick, and Jazz had just got over a bad cold. You were spending the night at your mum’s because she’d just got out of hospital.’ I shrugged. ‘So why didn’t you tell Jazz you weren’t happy?’
‘I didn’t want her to think me clingy – we’d not been going out long. Plus most of my focus was on Mum. And because I didn’t make a fuss, after that it was hard to say anything when it happened again.’ He bit his lip. ‘She even told you about New York before me.’
‘Yeah, but I don’t think she’d thought about the job offer seriously until…’ My cheeks flushed.
‘Until my disastrous proposal…’ He sighed. ‘How can she even compare me to her father? Did you know he used to beat her mum? Jasmine would sit on the stairs listening to them argue.’
‘Jazz doesn’t talk to me much about it – all I really know is that he had a drink problem.’ I raised my eyebrows. ‘Which kind of proves my point – you’re the one she confides in about the really deep stuff, not me.’
Dave shot me an intense stare. ‘And you don’t mind?’
I thought for a moment. ‘Nope. We’re just friends. Yes, I’m a listening ear if she wants, but…’ I shrugged. ‘It is what it is. There are lots of different kinds of “close”.’
Dave nodded.
‘So, you and me… are we okay? Talk to Jasmine about our sleepovers. And they aren’t all good – I spent last night sleeping on a bed of popcorn crumbs.’ I raised an eyebrow, hoping for some sort of smile in return. Guess that was asking for a lot.
‘Guess we’re okay,’ said Dave eventually, in a monotone voice.
‘Uh uh – that isn’t going to cut it. Come on. Throw it all at me. I can tell there is something else.’
‘Nope.’
‘Dave.’ I put on the safety belt. ‘I’m not leaving your car until you fess up.’
Dave dropped his head into his hands for a moment and then looked up. ‘Fine. This unrequited love of yours… you say that from your point of view the sleepovers are innocent, but are they really? Is the secret object of your affection Jazz? Have you become… or were you always… bisexual?’ he blurted out.
Well, hats off to Dave. Never, in my life, has anyone left me at such a loss for words. I stared at him, overcome with a sudden desire to laugh. But the pain in his eyes held me back.
‘What makes you think that?’ I said gently. ‘I thought we’d just been through all this. Jazz and me are just friends.’
‘But she’s asked you time and time again about your crush and you won’t give her the slightest detail. Yet when I first started going out with Jazz, I remember you telling her that you fancied Michael Fassbender, so you’ve confided in her before about this kind of stuff – why not now?’
‘That was a celebrity crush!’ I stared at those chestnut eyes. ‘And there you have it, Dave – more proof that Jazz and I are nothing but mates. You might whisper your darkest and dirtiest secrets to a lover, in the passion of the moment, but the really gut-wrenching private stuff that would slice through your heart to talk about – no. I think most of us keep that to ourselves.’
‘So, it’s definitely not her?’
I reached across the car and squeezed his arm. For once he didn’t flinch. ‘Curves, breasts, child-bearing hips… none of those things do it for me – never have. Whereas solid chests, long limbs, short sexy haircuts�
��’
‘Okay. I get the picture,’ mumbled Dave.
For the first time ever, I removed my hand from his arm, without it being shaken off.
He glanced sideway at me. ‘Perhaps I owe you an apology.’
My heart squeezed. ‘The third wheel thing – I can see how that might upset you. But honestly, Dave – just think of me as one of her girlfriends.’ I cleared my throat. ‘Are we still on for dancing tomorrow night?’
He nodded.
‘Theo reckoned he could teach you some basic moves in a couple of sessions – are you free Friday night as well? That way you could take Jazz dancing Saturday night.’
‘Yep. Sounds like a plan.’
‘And to make up for the mistake about the scented candle…. for everything else, here’s a tip. You know the market in the street next to where Jazz works?’
‘Bladen Place? Sure, she goes there every Thursday.’
‘Yeah. In other words tomorrow. She’s taking a long lunch to pick up some bits for her trip.’
‘But she asked me to keep my distance,’ he said.
‘Dave. Normally Jazz’s word is law but she leaves for New York exactly one week today.’
‘You’re right. What’s the worst that can happen? Nothing. The worst already has.’ He held out his hand. I slipped mine into his and squeezed.
‘Actually, that was my way of asking for my keys,’ he said gruffly. But his eyes twinkled at this early stage of… perhaps a new friendship.
I climbed out the car with renewed energy at the turn of events. Dave and me had just shared our first ever meaningful conversation. And even though I didn’t know Theo well, for some extraordinary reason he was the person I wanted to ring up and tell.
Chapter Six – Jasmine
‘So who’s Theo?’ I said to Mikey, over scrambled eggs, just the way I liked them (milky with a pinch of nutmeg. Blame my fine-dining aunt who was the one stable relative from my childhood). We sat at the breakfast bar. Just before, I’d pulled the blinds, to let sun stream in, lighting up the flat. Friends of mine always said how manly it looked, as if they expected it to be strewn with fluorescent leg warmers and feather boas because I lived with a gay guy.
How to Get Hitched in Ten Days Page 5