Until We Collide

by Charlotte Fallowfield

  ‘Are you flirting with me, Miss Taylor?’ His lips stretched into a smile, and I felt my cheeks colour up even more. He had nice teeth. I liked a man with nice teeth. He really was pretty hot.

  ‘If she was, would you ask her out on a date?’ Poppie asked before I had a chance to reply.

  ‘Miss Taylor, can I take you out to dinner tonight?’

  ‘If I’m allowed back in my apartment to put some clothes on, yes,’ I replied. Poppie was right, I needed to get over Alec. I found Spence attractive, he was funny, and I liked the banter with him. Why not?

  ‘Hallelujah!’ cried Poppie.

  ‘Sorry, there’s no way you’ll be sleeping there tonight. It looks like the fire started in the boiler room and spread to the stairs. Until they’ve been made safe, no one’s going home.’

  ‘Let’s ring Jean-Claude,’ Poppie suggested. ‘We can book in at The Domville until we’re allowed back, and he can provide you with clothes, and underwear,’ she giggled.

  ‘Great idea, but I don’t have a phone, or any money.’

  ‘They know you, Paige, they’ll put the hotel bill on account. Look, there’s Bill and Nora from next door, we can use their mobile.’

  ‘It looks like we have a date then,’ I advised Spence.

  ‘I’ll be in the Champagne Bar of The Domville at eight tonight then. You can bring my jacket back with you.’

  ‘Thanks. Will our belongings be safe? Your friend Chunky did knock our door down.’

  ‘We’ll secure it before we leave. Ring your insurance firm to get a replacement sorted.’

  ‘Why’s your friend called Chunky?’ Poppie asked, as she linked arms with mine.

  ‘Weird looking balls,’ he chuckled. ‘I haven’t been able to eat pineapple chunks since I saw them.’

  ‘Ewwww,’ I groaned with a giggle.

  ‘See you later, Paige,’ he winked.

  ‘See you later, Spence.’

  ‘O my God,’ Poppie exclaimed as we gingerly walked barefoot up the road towards the barrier. ‘Drama, drama, drama, flashing, then a date!’

  ‘I know. God, I had the fright of my life when that door caved in.’

  ‘Your face was a picture,’ she laughed. ‘So proud of you, he’s a great-looking guy. Funny, too.’

  ‘I know,’ I grinned, looking over my shoulder to see him watching me as he wound up his hose. I was actually quite excited at the thought of going out with him.

  ‘Poppie, Paige,’ greeted Nora. ‘Thank goodness you’re both safe. It’s so good to see you.’

  ‘We didn’t expect to see quite so much of you,’ Bill chuckled, then groaned as Nora cuffed him around the back of the head.

  The Italian Job

  August ~ Sunday

  ‘Baby, come back to bed,’ Spence groaned as I wriggled out of his embrace.

  ‘I’ve got to shower and go. My flight to Rome leaves in three hours.’

  ‘We could have a quickie in the shower then. I’m not going to see you for a whole week.’

  ‘We had sex most of the night,’ I called from his en-suite. ‘Are you never satisfied?’

  ‘Insatiable when it comes to you,’ he murmured into my ear as he pressed up behind me and nipped it.

  ‘Spence,’ I laughed, trying to detach his roaming hands from my naked body. ‘I’m serious.’

  ‘So am I, baby. I’m really going to miss you,’ he sighed, tightening his grip.

  ‘I’ll miss you, too,’ I replied, tipping my head back for a kiss. I was surprised at how genuine that statement actually was.

  We’d been seeing each other for six months and I was staying over at his regularly. He shared a terraced house out in Fulham with Chunky and Nobby, another of his colleagues. I felt kind of weird about him staying at Alec’s place, in Alec’s bed, so Spence had never spent the night there with me. We’d had a great first date, though I’d had to wear a cat suit with long sleeves, along with gloves and a scarf, as my “golden tan” had, as feared, blossomed into something akin to a hot orange that even Vivian couldn’t tame. I really had looked a sight, but it hadn’t put him off me.

  I relented in the shower, unable to resist his firm, muscular, tattooed body, especially when it was wet and soapy. I finally had a boyfriend, and he was amazing in bed, so much better than Toby had been. I mean, Spence could hold me up with those biceps, without the shower wall supporting either of us. We were getting on great, I felt so relaxed around him, it was the happiest I’d been in a long time. I had to forgo doing my hair and makeup, as his idea of a quickie was a half hour ride. Rita Queen of Speed he certainly wasn’t. I pulled my wet hair into a ponytail and dressed casually for once, in jeans, a t-shirt, and my Converse trainers. I tried to go incognito as much as possible. I loved my life, but sometimes it was nice to go somewhere without being recognised. I grabbed my handbag and large sunglasses, and sighed with frustration as I watched him leaning against the doorframe with a small towel around his waist. He was so ripped.

  ‘I’ll call you when I land.’

  ‘You’ll call me incessantly,’ he ordered. ‘I don’t like the idea of you being away, surrounded by hot male models.’ His brows knitted together in a severe frown as his bottom lip pouted adorably. My boyfriend had a jealous streak. I laughed and went over to give him a chaste kiss.

  ‘I’m already dating a hot male model, he just chose to be a firefighter instead, which is so much more sexy in my eyes.’

  ‘I mean it, Paige.’

  ‘I know. I promise, I’ll pester you until you want to dump me.’

  ‘Never,’ he uttered, yanking me close and kissing me properly.

  ‘Spence,’ I moaned, my legs turning to jelly. ‘I’ve really got to go.’

  ‘I’ll see you to the front door,’ he advised, grabbing my hand. I giggled. He was really protective and didn’t like it if he found Chunky or Nobby sitting too close to me, or “looking at me the wrong way.” He opened the front door and kissed me again. I dropped my shades down onto my eyes and stepped onto the pavement, then screamed in surprise as a guy wearing a balaclava jumped in front of me. I barely had time to react before he tore open his long coat to reveal he was naked, and hard, then raced off up the street. Seconds later, a nearly naked Spence hared past me, chasing the flasher with just his towel from the shower wrapped around his waist.

  ‘Paige, what’s happening?’ yelled Chunky, his voice full of concern as he raced out to join me.

  ‘Some guy just flashed me,’ I uttered in disbelief. ‘Spence is chasing after him.’

  ‘Jesus, not again,’ Chunky groaned.

  ‘He’s done this before?’

  ‘You don’t watch the news, I take it? They’re calling him the Fulham Flasher. He’s been terrorising the neighbourhood for the last few weeks. Did you get a good look at him? The police are desperate to identify him.’

  ‘O yes,’ I nodded. ‘A young, white, toned male, about six foot tall in a balaclava and long green mac. Let’s ring them now, have them hook me up with a sketch artist and I can direct them to draw a picture of his cock and balls. That’ll be a real help in narrowing down the search.’

  ‘No need for sarcasm, I was only trying to help.’

  ‘Sorry, I’m just a bit shocked, but seriously, that’s about all I saw. I need to go or I’ll miss my flight, I’ll ring the police when I land if they need a statement from me.’

  ‘Here’s Spence now,’ Chunky nodded.

  ‘Lost him, he’s a nippy bugger,’ he panted as he joined us, putting his hands on his hips and bending over to catch his breath.

  ‘Don’t do that in the street with no underwear on,’ I warned, ‘or they’ll be arresting you by mistake. That’s all I need after the pictures in the media of you carrying me, practically naked, out of a window and then hosing me down, not to mention the shot someone got of me looking like an Oompa Lompa on steroids.’

  ‘That was funny,’ he chuckled as he straightened up.

  ‘If I come to the fire station and find any of
those shots up, there’ll be hell to pay. Kiss me, I have to go,’ I ordered as I clicked the button to unlock Fi-Fi, who was parked outside the house.

  ‘You need a new car, that thing’s not safe,’ he warned as he clasped my face and lay a trail of kisses from one side of my mouth to the other. ‘Can’t you afford a new one?’

  ‘Yes, but she’s special and there’s nothing wrong with her. I have parts repaired and replaced on a regular basis to make sure she’s in good condition. There’ll be newer cars out there that are more rusty and worn than she is.’ I never wanted to part with her. She was my gift from Mum and Dad and I’d always treasure her. Her hot pink colour did make it hard for me to zip around London or up to Shrewsbury to visit them unnoticed though, so I’d had to take on a driver for most travel. I slid into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and started the engine. Spence knocked on the window, so I lowered it.

  ‘I mean it, Paige, call me the minute you land.’

  ‘Will do. Bye, Chunk.’

  ‘See ya, Diamond,’ he called, earning himself a punch in the arm from Spence. I laughed and headed off. I had to get back home, say bye to Poppie, and grab my prepacked suitcase before Jean-Claude came to pick me up.

  ‘Come on, Fi-Fi, let’s live a little dangerously and do the speed limit,’ I suggested, patting the dashboard as I put my foot down. I giggled, wondering if other people talked to or stroked their cars. Everyone had quirks in them. Mum always leaned forwards when she was accelerating, like she was giving her car forward momentum. Nana had a dish fitted to her dashboard as she liked to remove her dentures when she drove and needed them somewhere handy to pop back in her mouth “in case she was pulled over by a dishy policeman.” Poppie liked to sing at the top of her voice and head bang to rock songs that she’d never listen to in public. And Bella, our old school friend, had rather disturbingly admitted that she only ever picked her nose in the car, always wiping her finger clean under the driver’s seat. I pitied the poor person who unsuspectingly purchased that car from her. I wonder if piles of aged, crusty snot would go mouldy?

  ‘When … the … moon’s in your eye, like a big piece of pie, or whatever the lyrics are, that’s … amore,’ I sang as I danced across the room, threw open the balcony windows in the lounge of my suite at The Rome Domville, and looked out across the city. I leaned on the ornate railings and rested my chin on my knuckles to soak in the view and atmosphere. ‘Hello, Rome, I do love visiting you.’

  The noise was insane, the chatter, the whizz of mopeds zipping up the narrow streets, cars and taxis honking. I loved it. I breathed in deeply, I could smell garlic and steak cooking. I was famished. I quickly headed through to the bedroom to unpack. Jean-Claude thought that it was hilarious that I was the most undiva-like model he’d ever worked with. Other than Vivian and Shauna doing the essentials, I packed and unpacked myself, ordered my own room service, made no demands, and had no required list for when I travelled or stayed in hotels. He was also infuriated at my refusal to have a bodyguard. It was complete overkill in my eyes. When I dressed down with my shades on, virtually no one recognised me.

  I showered and washed my hair again, taking my time to dry it, and applied a little mascara and Vaseline. I was only going to dinner with Jean-Claude, to an amazing little trattoria off the tourist track, not too far away, so there was no need to get glammed up. I had on a strapless, shirring maxi dress in black with blue flowers growing up from the hem. It was just a cheap thing I’d seen in a supermarket back home, but the flowers had reminded me of the cornflowers Alec had given me on our one and only date. I slipped on a pair of flat black sandals with a large rose bud on the thong and a load of silver bangles, then a silver lariat and a pair of big hooped earrings. My favourite perfume dabbed here and there, and I was good to go. My phone rang, so I bounced over to get it, hoping it wasn’t Spence again. We’d already spoken twice since I landed and he was worse than a woman for chatting on the phone, I’d never get out in time.

  ‘Paige,’ came Jean-Claude’s gorgeous French accent. ‘I’m outside on a hot pink moped, just for you. Get your rump down here, let’s go.’

  ‘Moped? I have a dress on!’

  ‘Hitch it up, show off those pins of yours. When in Rome,’ he laughed.

  ‘I’ll be down in a moment. If I get helmet hair, I won’t be impressed,’ I warned.

  I grabbed my small bag and chewed my lip as I looked at my phone, which was a bit too big for my bag. I didn't really need it, so I decided to leave it behind. I slipped in my Vaseline and room key and headed out towards the lift, humming Dean Martin’s That’s Amore as I descended. When I ran out of tune, as I’d forgotten the rest, I renditioned myself with Just One Cornetto, laughing as I spotted the black domed camera above me and wondering if they had sound too. I could just imagine the next headlines about me.

  I nodded and smiled at a few people who did a double take as I crossed reception. I thanked the doorman in Italian for gesturing me out with a tip of his hat, then put my sunglasses on as the early evening summer sun dazzled me. I spotted Jean-Claude on the vivid pink moped, complete with a matching pink helmet, waving to me. I laughed and skipped down the stone steps and ran towards him. Weirdly, it was a proper motorbike helmet with a black visor, rather than the open, strap under the chin one. He was taking my safety very seriously indeed. He held out another pink visored helmet for me and I groaned as I had to take off my glasses and squash it down over my head. Definite helmet hair. I scanned him quickly. He was looking very stylish in black boots, black jeans, a grey shirt, and a black bomber jacket. I nodded my approval.

  ‘How do I look?’ I laughed, doing a twirl. He put his thumbs up and flicked his head to the small section of seat behind him. ‘Honestly, you go to all the trouble of a proper helmet and I’m going to be balanced on the back of this death trap?’ I shook my head and inched up my dress, nearly flashing everyone a glimpse of my knickers, then swung my leg over and shuffled down into the seat, squeezing up behind him and putting my arms around his waist. ‘Wow, someone’s been working out,’ I shouted as he turned on the engine. I’d fallen asleep on him during a plane ride a few months ago and his stomach had been soft and squidgy, not hard and rippled like the one he had now. I wondered if everything between him and Pascal was alright. Why would he suddenly be getting buff? I hoped he wasn’t having an affair.

  I shrieked with laughter and screamed with fear intermittently as he sped along uneven cobbled streets, weaving through traffic, mounting the pavement and hooting walkers out of the way as was the apparent unspoken custom out here. Despite a few heart-stopping moments, it was fun. I felt like I was on a ride at Disney. I had a few days off before my TV commercial started shooting, the weather was amazing, and I was going to be able to eat some delicious Italian pasta, pizza, and ice cream. Life was good. Jean-Claude pulled up outside a trattoria and I pulled off my helmet, trying to tame my hair as I frowned. This wasn’t where we usually went. He stood up and offered me his hand. I started reaching for it, but halted as something registered in my brain. Jean-Claude hadn’t been working out, because the stomach I’d been clutching, and the tall man standing in front of me now, wasn’t Jean-Claude. He was a good three inches taller, with a far more lean and muscular body.

  ‘Who the hell are you?’ I bit angrily as I snatched my hand away and tried to get off the moped quickly in case I needed to run. My dress got caught and the moped wobbled and crashed to the floor, throwing me off it and into the street. ‘Shit,’ I cried as my elbow connected with a hard, flat slab under me and I lay there stunned.

  ‘Christ, Paige. You’ve rarely stayed upright all the times I’ve met you,’ came a muffled, but familiar, voice as the person stepped over the moped lying next to me. He quickly stood it back up, then yanked off his helmet, revealing his gorgeous mop of blond hair and those dazzling blue eyes.

  ‘Alec? What the hell?!’ I snapped, sitting up and rubbing my elbow, then scrunching up my eyes as everything started to spin.

  �
��God, you’re bleeding, you’ve hurt yourself.’

  ‘No shit,’ I moaned, reaching up to pinch my nose.

  ‘You look like you’re going to pass out. Hold onto me,’ he ordered. I felt myself being lifted up and was too dizzy to object, so I put my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder as he started walking. I heard excited chatter and him replying in Italian. I had no idea he spoke Italian, but then again, why would I? I also had no idea what he was doing here in Rome, or why he was kidnapping me. I’d warned Jean-Claude I’d never work with him again. I heard footsteps on stairs, then wooden floorboards, then more stairs as he carried me up. I wanted to open my eyes, I wanted to ask lots of questions, but I still felt a bit shaky. ‘Ok, I’m going to lie you down. Rosita is getting some water, a cloth, and a bandage to clean you up, and some grappa, that should have you feeling more with it.’

  ‘Alec, what’s going on?’ I asked, slowly opening my eyes to find I was on a small roof terrace, under a canopy of grapes and fairy lights, lying on a cushioned black rattan sun lounger. I tilted my head to see that a dining table for two, with candles, had been set up. ‘Wow, this is some kind of romantic proposal setting, but I think you’re here with the wrong woman. Tiffany’s your girlfriend, not me.’ I tried to sit up again as I grasped my throbbing and bleeding elbow.

  ‘Paige,’ he sighed, gently pushing me back down again. ‘Lie still, you just had a shock. Let’s get you treated first, then we can sit, eat, and talk. Ok?’

  ‘I’m not hungry. I’d like to go back to the hotel please.’

  ‘Not hungry? Right,’ he laughed. I silently cursed him. That sound, his laughter, his voice, made my toes curl. ‘So you’re going to tell me it’s my stomach that’s going off like a pneumatic drill?’

  ‘It’s not that bad.’

  ‘It is. Relax, will you? You were going out to dinner with Jean-Claude, what’s the difference having dinner with me? If you feel more comfortable eating downstairs with the locals, I’m sure they’ll find us a table, but I thought given how recognisable you are, you might like some privacy, so they set up the terrace for me.’