by Nikki Ashton
“Like who?” he said, flopping back down.
“I don’t know, your head teacher maybe.”
As Charlie rolled his eyes, I got up and padded through to the hall. When I reached the door, my footsteps faltered. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing through the glass panel – only bloody Dex.
“Shit,” I muttered, noticing my reflection in the hall mirror.
Messy hair, half in a ponytail and half out, baggy jogging bottoms that did nothing to make my bottom look like I’d been jogging, and a pale blue sweatshirt with tomato soup that we’d had for lunch dripped down the front. Oh well, he couldn’t just drop by and expect me to look tip-top, could he?
“Hiya,” I said brightly, as I opened the door.
“Hey darlin’,” he replied giving me a grin. “Thought I’d come and see how the patient is doing. And I brought this for him, figured he might be bored.”
He held up what I recognised as a gaming magazine. It was in a plastic packet and had some sort of free gift in it.
“He is off school, right?”
I nodded and opened the door wider. “Yes, he is. Come in, he’s in the lounge.”
Dex stepped inside and as he drew level with me, he stopped and kissed my cheek, sending a little quiver through my body.
“Nice slippers by the way.”
I looked down and laughed at what looked like a pair of hairy feet with four claws.
“They’re Charlie’s Gruffalo slippers,” I explained.
“Like I said, nice.”
Dex grinned at me, his sexy little grin which I was beginning to become addicted to, and moved to the lounge door. “Okay to go in?” he asked.
I nodded and followed him inside, catching a sneaky glance at his jean clad arse as I did so.
“Hi Dex,” Charlie cried, pushing up into a sitting position.
“Hey, Charlie. How you doing?”
“Better, thanks. Sorry again for barfing on you.”
“Ah, no worries,” Dex said, waving him off. “You couldn’t help it.”
Charlie smiled and I saw him glance at the magazine in Dex’s hand. Dex noticed too.
“Oh yeah. This is for you. Figured you might be bored. Hope you don’t have it already.”
Charlie’s eyes gleamed as Dex passed him the packet.
“No,” Charlie gasped as he studied it. “This is the latest. Woah, thanks Dex.”
Dex let out a breath that seemed to be of relief and smiled. “My pleasure.”
As Charlie ripped open the packet, Dex turned to me.
“You get much sleep, darlin’?”
I shrugged. “Enough. Although someone decided to text me at gone one this morning.”
I giggled, marvelling at my attempts at flirting. It had been a long, long time since I’d flirted with anyone. In fact, I couldn’t actually remember whether I ever had. Carl and I had just fancied each other at school and he’d sent his best friend, Terry Smith, to ask my best friend, Wendy Walker, if I’d go out with him. Ryan, the footballer, had started with a drunken game of Spin the Bottle at a friend’s party. Getting back with Carl had been because I needed a lift home from a club one night after I’d split up from Ryan. Carl was there, so I snogged him knowing he’d pay for a taxi back to my mum and step-dad’s house, thinking he was getting his leg over. The fact that he did was immaterial. As for pickled egg man, I did not even contemplate flirting with him – ugh.
“Just wanted to be sure we were on the same page,” Dex said, his voice low and seductive, rousing me from my banal musings. “So, are we?” he asked, reaching out a finger and linking it with one of mine.
I drew in a deep breath and without any thought, nodded. I had to be dreaming and any minute I would wake up alone in my bed. When Dex tugged me a tiny bit closer and licked along his bottom lip, I sighed with relief that I was well and truly awake.
“Good to know,” he replied. “I’d better get back. I’m on reception duties for a couple of hours. I left Nate on there, in between appointments.”
“You, a receptionist,” I laughed out.
Dex grimaced. “I know, but Scarlett has a hair appointment. Apparently, her roots just won’t last another day.” He winked at me and turned to Charlie. “You take care now, buddy.”
“I will.” Charlie looked up from his magazine, blinking through his hair. “And thank you for the magazine.”
“My pleasure. I’ll call you,” he said, turning to me.
“Okay,” I breathed out and led him out of the lounge to the front door.
As I reached for the handle, I was fully aware of his presence behind me and I really wanted to turn around and kiss him.
I wanted to kiss him for being so bloody lovely to my boy.
I wanted to kiss him for being so bloody lovely to me.
I just wanted to kiss him. Full stop. Period. End of. Finito.
As I opened the door, chickening out of turning around and grabbing him, I felt Dex’s palm in the small of my back, causing me to pause. I looked at him over my shoulder.
“Promise me you won’t go over thinking things,” he said.
“I won’t,” I promised, meaning it.
“Good.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against my cheek. “Speak to you soon.”
With my stomach flipping and my heart joining in, I opened the door, only to come face to face with Carl.
“Oh, hi,” I spluttered.
“Hi. I thought I’d come and see Charlie.” He looked over my shoulder towards Dex. “Hello.”
As Carl nodded to him, Dex moved forward and held out his hand.
“Hey, nice to meet you. Dex Michaels, Katie’s friend.”
I saw Carl’s eyes light up with realisation that this was the pretty boy, tattooed, muscle man, who he wasn’t happy had been hanging around with his kids.
“Carl Grainger. Katie’s ex-husband.” His voice was low and his eyes were cautious as he looked Dex up and down.
The two men shook hands, both holding on firmly. Carl’s jaw was tight, while Dex pulled his shoulders back and stretched out his spine.
“Sorry if I’m interrupting,” Carl said as he let go of Dex’s hand. “I’ll just go through if that’s okay.”
“It’s okay, I’m gonna go.” Dex kissed my cheek again, and I almost squeaked with surprise. “Speak later.”
“Okay, bye,” I replied, softly.
As I watched him go, I noticed that Carl was standing next to me, watching, and hadn’t gone through to the lounge.
“What?” I asked, closing the door behind me.
“So that’s the new boyfriend,” he stated, giving a chin lift towards the door.
“No, he’s just a friend.” I moved past him and went into the lounge. “Charlie, Dad’s here.”
Charlie’s head shot up from his new reading material and turned towards Carl.
“Hey, Dad.”
Carl moved to him and stooped to kiss the top of Charlie’s head.
“How you feeling? Any better?”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah much. Did Mum tell you I was sick all over Dex?”
I grimaced as Carl looked at me, a brow cocked expectantly.
“I thought I’d asked you if I could meet him before he was around the kids again. Yet, he was evidently here last night and again just now.”
“I wasn’t expecting Charlie to be here and the other two were in bed. And he came over to check on Charlie. He’s been here ten minutes at the most.”
I felt like a teenager getting caught out sneaking a boy into her bedroom, and the look he was giving me definitely made Carl look like my dad. His chin was set in grim determination and his eyes were narrowed on me in a look of disappointment.
“I texted you to say I’d brought him home.”
“A text, really?”
I crossed my arms over my tomato soup stained chest, watching the glimpse of guilt on Carl’s face before his dad expression returned.
“He wanted to come home. Said he wanted to
be with you,” he replied, quietly, glancing at Charlie who had gone back to his magazine.
“If he was that ill, you should have called me.” I omitted to admit that I probably wouldn’t have heard the call as I was in a busy bar, but he didn’t need to know that.
That was what divorce was all about, wasn’t it? Be as amicable as possible while pointing out your exes mistakes and conveniently omitting yours from the conversation.
“Yeah, you’re right. I should have called. Even so, I’m not happy that he was around Charlie when I don’t know anything about him.”
Carl shoved his hands into his pockets and I knew his hands were fisted, by the way the veins on his forearms were sticking out. God, I used to love those forearms, but now I found them distinctly average after seeing Dex’s and his myriad of tattoos.
“Well, now you’ve met him,” I replied, flippantly, bored of the conversation.
“I hardly call that me meeting him, Katie. Maybe Sophie and I should come around one night.”
The thought was a heinous one at best, but I knew he was right. They were his kids and he was doing the right thing by wanting to meet Dex properly. After all, I’d insisted on pretty much the same thing when he’d started seeing Sophie.
“That sounds like a good idea,” I found myself saying. “I’ll speak to Dex. Although, you know we’ve only just met and had one dinner. I don’t even know if we’re going to see each other again.”
“Yeah right,” Carl scoffed. “I think the way he was with you in the hall means you’re going to be seeing each other again.”
I wanted to squeal and ask him what he meant, but me saying ‘was he looking at me’, made me sound like a teenager.
“Well, like I said, I’ll ask him,” I replied, trying to ignore the excitement rolling around in my belly.
“Good. Now, Charlie boy,” he said, turning to our son. “You feel up to coming back with me, or you want to stay with your mum again tonight?”
Charlie looked at me and then his dad, blinking rapidly. I knew he was torn and could sense the emotional pull he was feeling between his two parents. The poor kid had been the one most affected by the divorce. He was a sensitive boy and hated upsetting either of us. He was too young to have to deal with it, and for a split second I wished we were still a family of five and Charlie didn’t have to go through this trauma.
“I’d rather he stay, if that’s okay,” I said, noticing a sag in Charlie’s shoulders as I did. “I want to be sure he’s okay, and if it’s a bug you don’t want Jessie catching it.”
Carl looked at Charlie, who gave him a, ‘I’m as disappointed as you Dad’ kind of look.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Maybe come at the weekend instead, hey dude?”
Charlie grinned and nodded. “Yeah, okay Dad.”
Carl bent and kissed Charlie’s head and then looked to me as he straightened up. “You’ll sort something then, with Dex, or whatever his name is?”
“Yep,” I replied, hiding my grin at him pretending to forget Dex’s name. “I’ll let you know.”
With a quick glance around the room and a ruffling of Charlie’s hair, Carl left, letting himself out.
“Thanks, Mum,” Charlie said, when we heard the front door close.
“What for?” I asked, re-joining him on the sofa.
“I wanted to stay here and read my magazine.”
“You could have done that at your dad’s. I wouldn’t have minded if you’d wanted to go.”
Charlie shook his head. “No I couldn’t, Jessie would have ended up ripping it. She does that a lot,” he grumbled.
“Well, she’s still only a baby. But maybe leave it here when you go at the weekend.”
Charlie agreed. “Yeah, I will. I can’t believe Dex bought it for me.”
“I know,” I answered, feeling a warm glow. “It was very kind of him.”
“Yeah it was.”
We were both quiet for a few moments until Charlie sat back and snuggled into my side.
“You know, Mum,” he said, lifting up my arm and putting it around him. “I really like Dex.”
“That’s good. I do too.”
God, and boy did I like him.
“Good,” Charlie said. “Because I think he likes you too.”
I looked down at him with raised brows.
“You think so?”
Charlie nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. A lot.”
As he pulled his magazine onto his lap, continuing to read, I just hoped that the saying was right and the truth really did come out of the mouths of babes.
Dex
I couldn’t stop the fucking stupid grin that was plastered all over my face. It was ridiculous. One client had even asked me if I’d been to the dentist and had my mouth frozen. That’s how crazy I must have looked. Truth be told, I didn’t give shit though, it was how Katie made me feel. I felt excited about something for the first time in a long time.
I hadn’t planned on going over to see Charlie, but when I saw the magazine when I was out on the lunch run, I just had to get it for him. I wasn’t even sure he’d be home from school, but thought it a probability. I was glad I’d taken the risk, because it’d been good to see Katie and make sure she wasn’t thinking things she shouldn’t have been.
I’d seen her face when she’d come back into the lounge and when Charlie emptied his guts all over me. She was second guessing everything and coming up with the idea that I didn’t need the hassle that three kids brought with them. But, she didn’t know me, or know that I didn’t get spooked easily – three kids were chicken feed. Yeah, it was very, very early days and I barely knew her or them, but what I did know I liked, a lot.
There was something about her that captured my imagination and had me wondering actually how far things could go. I hadn’t felt like that since Meggie Peters when I was eighteen. We were your typical high school golden couple - me, the Captain of the football team and Meggie, a cheerleader. We dated for almost two years and I planned on asking her to marry me after we graduated. Then she dropped the bombshell; instead of studying education at Houston, like we’d discussed, she was going to Southern California to study dramatic art. We’d planned I’d move to Houston with her and get a job, seeing as I’d decided against carrying on my education. The University of Texas had offered me a full ride on their football program, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I loved playing in high school, being top dog as we walked the corridors of school like we owned the place, but art was my passion and not chasing after a ball.
Meggie tried to say we’d do the long distance thing, but I saw it in her eyes and those of her social climbing folks – the jobless son of a factory worker was not for their daughter. As Meggie never suggested I go with her, I knew we were finished.
If it had been one of the great romances of the world, Meggie leaving me behind would have changed me – left me broken and closed off, but it didn’t. I missed her for about a week, but then my friend Kevan invited me to a party at his new frat house at UT and I welcomed the world of ‘hooking up’ with open arms. College was the best three years I ever had, without even attending.
The point was, I hadn’t even felt like this when I first met Cherry and we lived together. Katie was different than any other woman I’d ever met and I liked it. I liked that she was crazy and wasn’t perfect. I even liked that her kid had puked all over me.
Flicking through our portfolio and marking those designs that probably needed retiring, I didn’t look up straight away when I heard the door to the shop open.
“Dex.” A woman’s voice said softly.
I looked up to see Debbie standing in front of me.
“Hey,” I said. “I didn’t know you were in today.”
I looked down at the appointment book, knowing full well I wouldn’t see her name there. I needed not to make a deal of her turning up, because I had an idea why she had. She’d taken it okay when I’d called things off, but I’d still heard the disappointment in her voice when we
’d said goodbye.
“I’m not, I called to see you.” She placed a flat palm over the list of names and times, forcing me to look up at her.
“Well, it’s great to see you, darlin’.” I gave her a tight smile, having a sneaking suspicion that a serious conversation was on the way. “You’re lucky to catch me, I have a client coming in and they’re running late.”
Why I lied, I had no fucking clue. Maybe I thought she’d say ‘okay, I’ll go then,’ but I should have known better.
Debbie nodded. “Okay, I’ll say what I’ve got to say quickly.”
“Right,” I replied, having no idea what else to say.
“I know you said on the phone that it wasn’t fair to me, for us, to be FB’s when you like someone else, but I just wanted you to know, I don’t mind.” She let out a long exhale, as though she’d been practicing the words and had to get them out before she forgot them.
“But I care, Debbie,” I replied, pushing the reception desk chair back. “And so should you.”
“Okay,” she nodded her head and looked at me thoughtfully. “So, how about we make a proper go of it. Be a proper couple.”
“But I thought you were happy with the way things were.”
She always had been. There’d never been any pressure on either of us to call the other. We could go months without seeing each other and neither of us worry about it, so I wasn’t sure what had changed.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’ve changed. Maybe I want something more now.”
“When we first started this, you were the one who said it had to be casual. You didn’t have the need or time for anything more.”
“I know, but like I said, I’ve changed my mind.”
“You were also the one who said, if either of us met someone else that we wanted more with, we called it quits. So, that’s what I did.”
Debbie played with the edge of the appointment book, before taking the business cards out of their display holder, tapping them into a neat pile and putting them back again. She didn’t say a word, or even glance at me.
“Debbie,” I urged.
Her head shot up. “I’ve told you how I feel. I want to do things differently. I want us to be a couple.”