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'Til There Was You

Page 8

by Jerry Cole


  Again, the money wasn’t an issue for Austin. Nor was the time it would take out of his not-so-busy schedule. The only real concern that Austin had was what exactly Finn, the life coach, would be doing. That was why he had asked about classes and tests, and that was when Finn had laughed in his face.

  “The process is different for everyone,” Finn explained as he drove Austin to... well, Austin had no idea at the time where they were headed. Finn had turned up, told Austin to get in his car and that was it. “Depending on their goals.”

  “Goals?” Austin had then pressed. “You mean like... how I want to get back with my ex,” he finished sheepishly. He was still embarrassed by how much he fawned over Freddy and for some reason he got the sense that Finn would judge him for it.

  “Not at all.” Finn drove with one hand steering, and the other resting on the open windowsill. Seriously, the guy was just cool. Like, so effortlessly cool. Austin wondered if there was anything that wasn’t perfectly aligned in Finn’s life and doubted it. He was the kind of guy that just didn’t seem to need to worry. “Let me explain...”

  Finn went on to explain that a lot of his clients were simply lacking in self-confidence and drive, and this was what Finn brought to the table. Whether a client had a big pitch meeting he had to get ready for, had a wife he wanted to connect better with, or simply wanted more people to like him, the methodology was almost always the same. Finn worked closely with clients to help build their self-esteem up to where it needed to be. Once this was achieved, the rest usually followed.

  “Of course, there’s more to it than that,” Finn continued. “But self-worth is the first step. If you manage to find this, there isn’t much you won’t be able to do.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” Austin sighed. Self-worth? What the fuck was that? Austin had never had much of it himself, and couldn’t imagine a scenario where it suddenly appeared.

  “It’s not – but I’ll get you there.”

  “Oh yeah? And how exactly are you going to do that?” They had still been driving, and Finn had still been refusing to say exactly where he was taking him.

  To this question too, Finn just grinned cheekily but kept on driving.

  Step one was self-care, which saw Finn take Austin to his personal hairdresser, Steffan. Steffan was clearly on close terms with Finn, sharing a hug and kiss when they entered. The two then conversed together for a few moments, all while looking and speaking about Austin who was too far back to hear what they were saying. And then the whole thing began. Steffan grabbed Austin, pushed him into the chair and started his work.

  “Be honest,” Finn asked Steffan as he began to shampoo Austin’s filthy mane. “Is this the most tragic case you’ve ever worked with or what?”

  “You would not be far off,” Steffan responded seriously. His nose was curled as he began to massage at Austin’s head. “Although the smell might be the worst of all time.”

  It was around this point that Austin began trying to defend himself, that Finn began taking joy in refusing to believe him, and when Steffan told them both to keep quiet and still. Austin and Finn shared a silent smile and laugh among one another, but stayed silent for the rest of the process. Although every now and then, Austin would glance back at Finn who was almost always watching. When he caught him too, Finn would wink or smirk, Austin would do the same back and then quickly look away before blushing furiously.

  “Shave the sides, leave the top,” Finn had demanded of Steffan. “But give him longer bangs – ones that he can sort of flick back when he wants.”

  “Bangs?” Austin had protested. “But I hate—”

  “I’m assuming you want the bangs blended through the top?” Steffan queried as snatched at a pair of clippers. “A sort of nineties boy-band thing?”

  “But with the shaved down sides.”

  “Naturally,” Steffan smirked to himself as he looked Austin’s head over once more, considered for a moment where to start, and then got to it.

  The haircut was a success, even more so than Austin could have imagined. Ordinarily, he just went into a hairdresser and asked for a little off here, and a little off there, maybe a shave somewhere. He had never really known how to get a proper haircut though. But one look at the new do had him wishing he’d learned a lot sooner.

  As directed, his white-blond hair was shaven down on the sides, but left longer on top like a super model might wear. The dresser then threw in a special bottle of hair paste to style it with, and showed Austin the easiest way to do so. And all the while, Finn stood right behind Austin, watching with a sparkling gleam in his eyes. The guy was mesmerized.

  As for Austin? When Austin walked out of the hair studio some two hours after walking in, he felt like the hottest guy on the planet. Honestly, he could hardly blame Finn for staring.

  “Now what?” Austin asked with a flick of his head and a little hip pop. “Do we hit the clubs so you can teach me how to pick up?”

  Finn sucked through his teeth in an exaggerated manner. “I don’t think you’re quite there yet.”

  “I was kidding,” Austin slapped at Finn.

  “I’m not.” Finn indicated to the clothes that Austin had on – a loose pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and some old joggers. “You said your parents had money, right?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Just double checking,” Finn winked. “It’ll make the next step a little easier to bear.”

  “The next step?” Austin ran his hand through his new hair, loving the way it felt. “What’s that?”

  Finn grinned his answer, looking absolutely delighted in himself. “You’ll see, stud. You’ll see.”

  The next step was clothes shopping and styling, which was again something Austin usually hated with a passion, but again wasn’t at all surprised at how much fun he had when doing it with Finn. Not only was it nice to have someone to make all the decisions for him, but the guy was just so easy to talk to.

  “Top three films – go!” Finn demanded of Austin through the change room door.

  “Genre specific?” Austin specified. He was balanced on one leg as he tried to shuffle into a pair of skinny jeans that Finn had insisted he try on. It was one of about a dozen articles of clothing in the change room with him. None of which he would have ever even though if picking without Finn.

  “What do you think?” Finn shot back through the changing room door.

  “Right, stupid question,” Austin agreed as his right leg slipped into the right jean’s leg... now he just had to do the other. “My fave of all time is Pretty Princess.”

  “Naturally.”

  “Number two and three though...” Austin finished pulling the jeans up and zipped the front. “To the Future and Two to Tango.”

  “No Into the Galaxy?”

  “That can be number four.” Austin looked over one of the five shirts Finn had picked out. They were short sleeve button downs with silly patterns on them. He called them “summer shirts.” Austin thought they looked like his grandmother’s drapes.

  “And five?” Finn pressed.

  “You know I always struggle with number five.” Finn went for a white button down with little pink flamingo’s printed over it. He slipped it on and started buttoning it up.

  “I’m not letting you out until you give me something.”

  “Terminal Justice...” Austin sucked through his teeth. “Or Hardcore.”

  “Both great options – I would have also accepted Alien Planet.”

  “How generous – say with this shirt, what shoes do I wear?” There were three pairs of sneakers in the change room and one pair of boots. Austin had no idea what he was doing with any.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Finn responded coolly. “They’ll go with anything – what shirt are you wearing?”

  “The white one with the flamingos.”

  “Go the white Nike’s -- the retro ones. They’ll look good. Trust me.”

  Austin did trust Finn, more than he could believe. He’d only met the
man a few times, but had an undeniable belief in him and everything he said. If Finn had told Austin to shave his head, or to start walking backwards, or to give all his money away to the next person he saw, he might have considered it. That was how safe he felt in everything Finn demanded of him.

  “All right,” Austin called out. “Just give me a minute.” He sat himself down on the changeroom floor and started putting the shoes on.

  “Perfect,” Finn’s deep voice carried into the change room. “FYI, you’re buying everything in there – but that’s step two done and dusted. And it’s only the first day. Look at you go, stud.”

  “Oh yeah.” Austin slipped the shoes on, tied them up and got to his feet. “And what’s step three?”

  “Goals.”

  Austin pushed the door open, strode on out and blushed furiously at the look that Finn gave him. It was a look of desire, of hunger, of want... or at least that was how Austin read it. The man bit into his lip, his eyes widened, and his smirked just so as he looked Austin up and down. He clearly liked what he saw, and even if Austin was technically paying for his services, he still liked to imagine the reaction was genuine.

  “Damn,” Finn whistled. “You look... to be honest, you look fucking great. Heck, if I saw you in a bar, I might even buy you a drink.”

  “Just a drink?” Austin challenged cheekily.

  “Well just the one. But I’m sure that I’d be making you one back at my place later on,” he winked and smirked.

  “Oh?” Austin blushed furiously. “That’s... like really, ah – presumptuous. Yeah, presumptuous of you, thinking you can get me back to yours's.” Austin tried to play it cool, but was failing miserably. He indicated back into the changeroom at the clothing, desperate to change the conversation. “So, I’m getting all of it?”

  “Every single piece.”

  “And then step three?”

  “Step three? Did I not mention it already?” Finn pretended to act confused.

  “I can’t wait to hear all about the elusive step three,” Austin chided as he stepped back into the change room. “The most important step, you called it.”

  “And I stand by that – now hurry up. We need to get this stuff sorted already. We’re losing daylight.”

  The day had started at ten o’clock sharp, and it was already well into the afternoon. Strange too that Austin felt as if it had only been an hour, maybe two tops? No way it had been an entire day. For a man that hated shopping like he did, he sure was upset to find the day coming to an end.

  Thirty minutes later and the day was truly done. The sun hung low in the sky as Austin and Finn exited the department store and crossed the open parking lot toward Finn’s car. It was then that the life coach finally began to explain what step three was, and why it was so darn important.

  “Step three is really what this whole thing is all about.” He held his arms wide, indicating the world in general. “Everyone has a goal in life, even if they don’t know it. For some it’s their career. For others it’s their love life. And for a few more, it’s something simple like being a better husband or cook or friend. We all have these goals that drive us... but getting to them is something else.”

  “Right,” Austin nodded, thinking that he understood. Truth be told he was currently having a hard time concentrating; his arms already ached from carrying the dozen or so bags of clothes. “So, for me, it’s about getting Freddy back—”

  “Wrong!” Finn took a hurried step forward then turned on Austin, forcing him to stop in his tracks. “Freddy isn’t the goal –not by a long shot.”

  Austin frowned, but used the pause to put the bags down. The relief was instant. “But Freddy is the reason that I went to your seminar in the first place. I told you, he’s the reason that—”

  “And I’m telling you, Freddy is not the answer.” Finn was looking serious now, perhaps the most he had all day. “Look, you might get Freddy back when this is all said and done, but if you do, it won’t be because I showed you some moves to trick your ex into bed. It’ll be because Freddy will see the new you and want to come back. Fuck, he’ll probably beg... if you even want him back by then.”

  Austin had to resist the urge to laugh. Not want Freddy back? He couldn’t imagine a scenario where that would be the case.

  Finn took note of the disbelief on Austin’s face and continued, “You’re a writer, yes?”

  “Technically.”

  “And how is the book going? You told me you’ve been working on the same one since you graduate two who years ago, correct? Twenty-seven months.”

  “It’s... it’s going...” Austin dismissed. “Kind of...”

  The book was not going at all. Of late, he had done so little work on the book that he actually felt like he’d regressed somehow. But it wasn’t Austin’s fault! Truly, it wasn’t.

  Austin actually loved to write and always had. This was the reason he was so convinced that one day he would become a famous writer. He’d known it since he was a kid. And this wasn’t some flyby fantasy either. You wouldn’t know it to look at him now, but when he was younger, he actually put a lot of work into achieving this dream.

  When he graduated high school, Austin studied creative writing at university for four years. During this time, he wrote dozens of short stories for his teachers, all of which were praised. And he also spent a lot of time coming up with and then out ling his first novel. And it was ready to go too! The outline anyway. All Austin had to do was write the damn thing.

  It was a good idea. The novel was a genre that he had got to calling Historical-Fantasy. This was a sub-genre of fantasy that was set in a particular world, over a period of time, rather than following one character and his journey as was usual in fantasy novels. His novel was set over about fifty years and tracked the events that led to the rise of a new system of government within the world he had created through the eyes of a handful of characters. It took elements from Japanese-feudal history and Roman history, combining the two into what would one day be a true epic... when it was finished, of course.

  “Kind of?” Finn raised an accusatory eyebrow at Austin. “That sounds like an excuse to me.”

  “It’s not!” Austin protested. “But I’ve been busy and... and things get missed and... and... and...”

  “Do you want to throw a few more ‘ands’ in there?” Finn derided. “Just in case you missed a couple.” Austin looked down at his shoes and Finn reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze, which sent a jolt through Austin. “It’s fine, Austin. That’s why I’m here.”

  “What? You’re going to help me write my book?” Austin was very aware of Finn’s hand squeezing his shoulder. He tried to ignore it.

  “God no,” Finn laughed. “But I am going to motivate you. Next session, we’re going to sit down and come up with a writing timetable – one you will actually follow. One that will see you finish this book long before you’re done with me.”

  “What happens when I finish?”

  “Dinner is on me!” Finn declared and put his hands on his hips like Superman. “But you have to get there first.”

  “Free dinner with you? That’s motivation enough,” Austin winked.

  Finn rolled his eyes and then indicated back to his car, about another fifty meters across the lot. “Come on, let’s get going – Oh, on the way home you can tell me you’re top three action films. I’ve already got mine ready.”

  “Home?” As Austin scooped up the bags and followed Finn to his car, he tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. He had known the day was coming to an end, but he didn’t want it too. He was having too good a time.

  “Unfortunately so.” For a moment too, it actually sounded like Finn meant it.

  It might have been the new haircut. It might have been the new clothes. Or it might have just been the fact that for the first time in as long as he could remember, Austin was having a good time. He and Finn were vibing hard and he didn’t want it to end. A week ago, the idea of having fun a guy that was
n’t Freddy was unbelievable. Now it seemed like fate.

  “Well... what’s plans for now?” Austin tried to look casual as he waltzed around the car and popped the door open. “Anything on?”

  “Na,” Finn shook his head and opened his door. “Might just go home and drink myself to sleep. Tuesdays,” he shrugged and laughed.

  “Do you want to grab a drink?” Austin blurted before he could stop himself. He then saw the look of surprise on Finn’s face and tried to backtrack. “I mean, like if you have nothing else on. I just know I don’t and... and thought you might want... it’s been a long day and... and...”

  “And?” Finn teased. He then beamed right at Austin. “Sure, one drink – but only one,” he warned. “I am driving.”

  “Awesome!” Austin yelped. He then coughed and smirked. “If you try and order a second, I’ll slap it out of your hand.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” Finn slide into the car. “Come on, I know a place.”

  Austin didn’t hesitate. It had already been the best day he’d had in weeks and it was about to get a whole lot better. When Austin had first booked in Finn as his life coach, he’d had some doubts. Those doubts were now well and truly gone. One day in and Austin was already feeling like a new man. Fuck, who was Freddy again?

  Chapter Ten

  “... but how does it end?” Finn was leaning back in the booth, arms spread and resting across the top of the backrest, doing his best to look casual and relaxed... although why he was trying so hard to look this way was beyond him.

  “How does it – I’m not telling you that!” Austin scoffed at the question and took a sip of his drink. It was a gin and diet-tonic, his fourth since the two had arrived an hour earlier.

  “I don’t mean the actual ending,” Finn laughed. He lifted his arm up, reached forward and scooped up his own drink, a vodka lime and soda. This was only his third, but one large gulp saw the end of it. He then indicated to the bartender for another. “I mean – most stories follow a single character or characters, right? Or like a goal or something?”

 

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