by Sasha Greene
Silence fell for a few minutes, then Jade looked up at Nick. ‘You do know that this relationship is doomed from the start, right? What with me working evenings, and Sundays and stuff, we’re only going to be able to meet up once a week, at best.’
She should tell him exactly what had happened with Ruby now. Before they got in too deep. If he was going to reject her for not caring enough about her sister then better sooner than later. But just then Nick smiled down at her, and the tender look in his eyes made the words die in her throat. Coward. She felt as if the word was branded across her forehead.
But Nick didn’t seem to notice anything. ‘They say it’s quality, not quantity. Let’s just see how it goes.’ He pulled her towards him and kissed her again. Jade had never quite been kissed in the way that he did it. His mouth was neither to hard nor too soft, and his tongue, when it touched hers was … well … anyway, it felt amazing. She gave up thinking for a while.
They were very wrinkly by the time they finally dried themselves off and flung themselves down on their towels. Jade pulled some sun cream out of her bag and tossed it over. ‘You should probably put some of this on. Your top half looks like it hasn’t seen much sun this year. If ever.’ She dodged as Nick threw the bottle back at her in mock disgust.
‘Will you rub some into my back?’ His eyes sparkled at her, as if he knew he was using another cliché.
She affected casual nonchalance, lifting her chin. ‘Only if you’ll do mine.’
‘With more pleasure than you will ever know.’ He reached over her to retrieve the bottle and squeezed out a massive dollop. ‘Go on. Roll over.’
She was luxuriating in the touch of his hand on her skin when her phone beeped in her bag.
‘Do you want to get that?’ Nick stopped, his hand just resting on her shoulder.
‘Only if you don’t stop what you’re doing.’ She reached for the backpack.
‘Don’t forget you still have to do mine.’ Nick squirted out some more cream.
She looked over her shoulder at him, a wicked grin on her face. ‘With more pleasure than you will ever know.’
She dug out her phone. ‘Oh. It’s Dad. He said they were thinking of coming up to pick us up and go for an early dinner at the pub in Balmaha.’
‘Oh.’ Nick sounded surprised.
‘Is that OK?’ Jade couldn’t work out if there was disappointment in his tone.
‘No, no.’ Nick looked slightly pink, but whether it was from the sun or something else then she couldn’t tell. ‘It’s just I was enjoying having you all to myself. Selfish, I know. It’s a great idea. Especially because it means we get to stay here a bit longer. But what about his work?’
‘He’s going to start a bit later tonight. Said he didn’t want to waste a day like this. He and Mum have been sitting out in the garden all day apparently.’
‘What time are they going to come down?’
‘About half five.’
Nick looked at his watch. ‘That still gives us another couple of hours down here.’
‘Well, I’d better get some of that cream into your white patches before they turn red then.’ She typed a quick reply into the phone and grabbed the bottle from him, giving him a quick kiss as she did so. ‘Can’t wait to get my hands on those hench muscles of yours.’
Later, they walked hand in hand up the path back towards the village. The sun was slightly lower now, but still pretty warm. It really had been a perfect day. Being around Nick made her forget her worries and just focus on the present. Something she really hadn’t been doing enough of lately. And touching him. It just felt so good, she thought, squeezing his fingers with hers.
He looked down at her. ‘You OK?’
She smiled up happily at him. ‘Yeah. Thanks for everything. It’s been great.’
He draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her towards him as they walked. ‘I’m so glad you changed your mind. Being just friends with you was starting to be a bit challenging.’
She snorted. ‘Why, because of my stunning looks?’
He stopped and turned to face her, placing one hand on each of her shoulders. ‘You are stunning, you know.’
His tone was so earnest that she looked up at him in surprise. ‘Come on, you’re kidding me on.’
He shook his head. ‘I wish I could hold up a mirror that reflects you as I see you. I think you’d be surprised.’
Jade took his hand again, and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. ‘You’ll have to behave when we see my parents. Otherwise they’ll realise just how crazy you are.’
He looped his arm over her shoulders again. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll behave.’
As they came in sight of the pub Jade could see her parents sitting outside with their drinks. Just orange juice – Dad wouldn’t drink when he was going to drive, and Mum never drank much anyway – but they looked happy and relaxed.
‘Had a good day?’ her mum asked, as they rounded the end of the low stone wall.
‘Yeah.’ Jade smiled up at Nick. ‘It’s been a great day.’
As Nick excused himself to go to the toilet, Jade sank down gratefully into one of the metal chairs.
Her mother was looking at the wooden door through which Nick had disappeared. ‘I’m glad you worked things out with him. He’s a good lad.’
Jade knew she was blushing, but she didn’t care. ‘Yeah, we worked things out. We’ll just see how it goes.’ She didn’t want to reveal anything more than that.
She fell asleep on the way back, nestled up against Nick in the back of the car, and she only awoke when the car stopped outside his front door. He just gave her hand a quick squeeze as he got out, and she knew he didn’t want to make a big show of affection in front of her parents. She mimed texting him as she waved goodbye, and he gave her a big thumbs up.
She got her first text from him within seconds. He must have barely opened the front door.
Great day. Really wanted to kiss you, especially with your face all sleepy like that.
She typed back quickly. There’ll be another chance. Next Saturday?
Aren’t you taking out the oldies again? To the matinee?
Only in the afternoon. The rest of the day is yours.
Let’s make a plan nearer the time. Depends on the weather. But you could come over Friday night after work and we could wake up together … This was accompanied by both a rain and a sun emoji and a winking face.
Sure. She sent back her trademark smiling face and strong arm emojis.
‘Seems like he likes you.’ Her mother spoke from the passenger seat in front.
‘Yeah.’ Jade settled back into the seat with a satisfied sigh. ‘Seems that way.’
But then her phone beeped again. So what is the next thing on the list anyway?
Jade grinned to herself. Turn off your smartphone for 24 hours.
Sounds like a great plan. I’ll totally go for that.
She was surprised at how enthusiastically he had agreed; he had seemed pretty wedded to his fancy watch. Still, she hadn’t said that he had to turn that off too. Maybe she should include it into the deal.
Talk later in the week? She texted back, smiling at the thought.
Sure thing. His reply came back almost immediately.
Chapter 11
They texted back and forth so much over the next couple of days that Jade began to wonder what life had been like without Nick. He was pretty romantic; and funny pictures and messages were obviously carefully chosen to make her laugh. So it was a bit disappointing when the message she found waiting for her when she woke up on Monday morning was not in the least bit romantic.
Really sorry, but I don’t think I’ll make our plans for Friday night, I’ve just been asked to work that evening. Client in the States needs some help and support and we probably won’t finish before midnight. Tried to get out of it but there’s no escape, no one else wanted to do it. Five crying emojis gave her some clue about how he felt.
He had obviously felt bad about it,
because half an hour later he had sent another message. Can I cook you dinner at mine on Saturday night?
Jade pushed down her irritation. It wasn’t his fault that he had a crappy job with a crappy boss. Although, she did wish he would do something about it. Still, there wasn’t any guarantee that if he got another job then it would be any better as far as hours were concerned. Maybe she was the one who should try and get another job. Something that gave her more evenings off. But then, it wasn’t a bad job. Bill was a pretty good boss. She gave up thinking about it and went for a shower.
It was only when she got out of the shower that she realised she hadn’t texted him back and reached for the phone, holding the towel round herself with her other hand as she closed the bedroom door with a foot. She remembered just in time that her dad would still be sleeping and managed not to slam it closed.
Would be great. You want me to bring anything?
He had obviously been watching the phone, anxious for her reply, because his answer came back almost immediately. Just your stunning self.
She sent him a blushing emoji. Now that she thought about it, she kind of fancied another run. Although, she’d only got out of the shower, so that was a bit stupid. Maybe it could wait until tomorrow? Or, she could always have another quick shower when she got back.
She opened the cupboard and dragged out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. No time like the present. All she had to do was find that app.
Sunday had been predictably rainy, as if to make up for the beautiful weather the day before, so Nick had spent most of his time reading his library books, only stopping to sort out food to keep himself going. Food that you could eat with one hand was the way to go, he decided. Anything that needed both a knife and fork just slowed you down. By the time the fading summer light made him realise it was past eleven in the evening, he was half way through the last of his books and hungry for some more. It was time for another visit to the library.
He nipped out at lunchtime on Monday again, taking the books he had finished. As predicted, Charlotte wasn’t there, but Sean was, and greeted him enthusiastically.
‘Hey. You finished your books already?’
‘Most of them.’ Nick placed his books on the counter.
‘Any you particularly liked?’
Nick nodded enthusiastically. ‘You were right about the Shackleton. It’s amazing. That bit where they get to the island and then realise they have to climb over the mountains to the other side …’
Sean smiled. ‘Yeah. That’s my favourite bit too.’
‘But some of the others were pretty good. I know you’re not that keen on crime, but this one’s pretty exciting.’ He pointed to the one he had read first.
‘Hey.’ Sean held up his hands. ‘I’m not going to rubbish anyone else’s taste in books. Just because it’s not for me, doesn’t mean it’s a bad book.’
Nick hesitated, an idea suddenly occurring to him. There was something he was afraid to ask, but then again, who was Sean going to tell? ‘Do you think … I mean, do you have any books on career changes?’
A big grin split Sean’s face. ‘Oh yeah, loads. Let me show you where they are.’
He led Nick over to a row of shelves. ‘This one was a great help to me, when I was trying to work out what to do.’
He pulled out a slim book. ‘It was written quite a while ago, but it’s got lots of useful exercises to do to find out what sort of job might suit you.’
Another book was pulled off and placed in Nick’s hands. ‘This one has great advice about interviews, CVs etc. It’s also very useful.’
He gestured towards the shelf. ‘Anyway, have a look at the other ones. Most of them have at least something useful in them.’ He strode off.
Sean always tended to stride everywhere, Nick had noticed. Forget about his mental image of a soft-voiced librarian who always tiptoed around. Anyway, he took the two books Sean had recommended. They would do for now. He could always go back for some more. He selected some more fiction books. Escapism was especially valuable on his bad days. Although really, since he had met Jade, his good days definitely outnumbered his bad.
Nick took the books to the desk, where Sean was looking up something on the computer. As Sean scanned the books through, he hesitated for a moment. ‘Look, me and a couple of guys are going out for a walk at the weekend. I was wondering if you’d like to come?’
‘Me? Really?’ Nick knew his surprise was showing on his face.
‘Yeah.’ The other guy seemed slightly embarrassed. ‘Only if you want to though.’
‘Yeah.’ Nick suddenly realised that his surprise might have been taken for reluctance. ‘Yeah. Yeah. Sure. I mean, that would be great.’
Then, he suddenly remembered what his other plans were. ‘Oh. I’m busy on Saturday though.’
Sean flashed him a grin. ‘That’s fine, because we’re going on Sunday.’
Nick felt his own face break out into a happy smile. ‘Great. Great. That would be great. Only–’ he hesitated, ‘only if you’re sure?’
Sean nodded. ‘Yeah. It would be great. There used to be a group of four of us that always went out together, but one guy had to move down to London a couple of months ago and since then things just haven’t been the same. It would be good to have some fresh blood.’
He looked down at the crime novel in his hand. ‘Actually, that sounds really creepy with me standing here holding this.’ A laugh escaped him. ‘Just come. Only a short walk this time as the weather’s not supposed to be great. Pick you up about eleven?’
‘Yeah. Yeah. Great.’ Nick just didn’t know what to say. They swapped numbers and he wandered back to work in a happy haze.
He couldn’t wait to get home and start on his new cache of books. When the time came to go home he zoomed along as if he had wings on his feet, and was soon settled on his sofa. He left his half-finished book for later and opened up the fatter of the career books. But even more than that, he couldn’t wait for the weekend. The idea that he had not just one but two things to look forward to was amazing. Sean seemed like a really solid guy. And Jade … well. Dinner with her was going to be great.
Dinner. He suddenly sat up straight, pushing a hand through his hair. What the hell was he going to cook? It had to be something special. But then again, if he tried something too complicated then he would be sure to screw it up. He flicked the pages of the book absentmindedly while he tried to think. And then he knew what he had to do. He pulled out his phone and dialled home.
‘Hey, son.’ The voice that greeted him was his father’s. ‘Everything OK? You don’t normally call during the week.’
‘Yeah. Yeah. Fine. Is Mum around? I just wanted to ask her something.’
‘Not at the moment. We had an unexpected group booking so she’s gone out to get more breakfast stuff.’
‘Oh.’ Nick rubbed his cheek. It would just have to wait.
‘I’ll tell her you called, shall I?’
‘Yeah, thanks. I was just after her for some of her recipes, that’s all. I’m cooking on Saturday and wanted to do something special.’
‘Oh. Sure. Will do.’ There was a long pause. ‘I could give you my shepherd’s pie recipe if you want. It’s a bit basic, but pretty good. And pretty easy too.’
Nick had a sudden vision of a shepherd’s pie coming out of the oven, crispy and golden on top with the rich juices bubbling underneath. His mouth started watering. ‘Yeah, Dad. That would be great. In fact, that would be perfect. Let me just get a pen.’
He scribbled frantically as his dad recited ingredients and quantities.
‘And then, you just bake it for about half an hour and that’s it. So who’s coming to this dinner anyway?’
Nick should have seen the question coming but had been too busy trying to keep up with writing things down. He flailed. ‘Oh … just a … just a friend.’
His dad laughed. ‘Is it a girl?’
Nick could feel a flush creeping up the back of his neck. ‘Yeah. But don�
�t tell Mum, otherwise she’ll never stop with the questions.’
‘Scout’s honour.’ His dad laughed. ‘I’m doing the gesture too, just so you know I’m serious.’
‘Thanks, Dad.’
They chatted for another couple of minutes and then hung up.
All that talk of food had made Nick hungry. It was time for dinner. He texted Jade. Got some more great books at the library. Just settling down for a quiet night in.
He knew she’d be at work, so didn’t expect an answer back straight away. He was in his bed by the time his phone beeped.
Hope you had a good time. Had some right tossers today. Three poo emojis completed the message.
Want to talk about it?
Nah. Just the usual corporate aholes. I’m used to it. All I want is my bed.
Sleep well. Nick sent back three kisses and a hug.
You too. Have a good day at work tomorrow.
Nick had made it through most of the first career book during the evening, although he had skipped a few bits. There were some pretty interesting exercises and some great suggestions on CVs that he would have to incorporate next time he sent one out. But the book was more orientated towards trying to work out what you wanted to do. He knew what he wanted to do, but just didn’t know how to do it. Still, there was no point worrying about it for now. He got himself comfy on the pillows and yawned. He could worry about things later.
It always felt a bit weird when he shifted his working day to match a different time zone. East coast wasn’t too bad at only five hours, but this was west coast, a full eight hours behind. He wouldn’t be finished until gone midnight. At least they would pay for some dinner.
It felt quite weird to get into the office just as everyone else was leaving. This was the first time he’d done this by himself. He should be proud of himself, actually. It meant they trusted him to do a good job. Which was definitely something.
He got some snarky comments from some people, and some commiserations. But when everyone had finally left, the office seemed strangely peaceful. He opened a couple of the forbidden windows, and let the fresh air flood in, breathing deeply and feeling his shoulders relax. He put his own music on, and let it waft around the office. And then he sat down at his computer.