by J. J. Hayle
O: When I get home tonight.
E: I’m so happy I’m making ur fave for dinner luv u xx
Olly had typed that he loved her as well, but he hadn’t sent it yet. She locked his phone and returned to the sandwiches.
So, I am getting divorced, and for someone who can’t even use correct English.
She should have felt angry or hurt, but she felt very little. She didn’t have a husband anymore. She was alone every night. She didn’t even know what Olly’s favourite meal was. It used to be cottage pie, but she didn’t know if it still was.
Olly returned to the sandwiches.
“Are they done now?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be as quick as I can,” he said, collecting his phone and picking up the trays to load them in the van.
It was one in the morning before Clare arrived home. She’d had a wonderful meal with Aaron at a lovely restaurant and then several drinks at his apartment. He let his bartending skills shine by rustling up a few cocktails before making love to her. She had to prise herself from his arms to take a taxi back home.
Olly was home and in their bedroom when she arrived. She entered the room and found him lying on the bed wearing just his pyjama bottoms. Olly did not have a physique like Aaron, though he was not unattractive and was still slim. She imagined his nightly exertions kept him fit, since he did not have the time to go to the gym like Aaron.
“Where have you been?” he asked her.
“Out,” she replied.
“Where?”
“For a meal and a few cocktails with some of the girls from the gym,” she said, slipping out of her jacket and hanging it in the wardrobe. She was wearing a tight-fitting dress, though she doubted Olly would notice.
“Since when do you go to the gym?”
“I’ve been going every Monday and Wednesday for the last year,” she replied, removing the dress and her bra, and pulling on one of her skimpy nightgowns.
“I didn’t know,” he muttered.
“You’re never here, Olly,” she said, trotting to their en-suite. “I have my own life.”
When she returned to their bedroom, Olly was wearing a sullen expression. She debated asking him what was wrong but got into bed instead. She lay with her back towards him and pulled the covers over her. Moments later Olly lay down and turned out the light.
The next morning Clare’s head thumped, leaving her wishing she’d had more sleep and less alcohol. Olly did not mention anything about his intention to divorce her, and their morning and work day progressed as usual. Clare did not attempt to talk to him during their tea breaks and spent time texting Aaron instead.
At the end of the day, Clare told him she would see him tomorrow as he locked up.
“Why don’t you ask me if I’m coming home anymore?” he asked, wearing the same sullen expression he had the previous night.
“Because it’s a waste of time, Olly. I know what the answer will be.”
“It might not be.”
“What is this, Olly? Please yourself what you do. If you want to come home then come home, and if you don’t then don’t. You don’t need an invitation.”
“Am I even welcome?”
“It’s your home, Oliver. Or it was once. Now it’s just somewhere for you to sleep and store your stuff.”
He bit his lip. “I won’t be back late.”
She frowned at him. “So, after all that, you’re not coming home anyway?”
“I won’t be late.”
“I told you I knew what the answer was,” she said, turning her back on him and walking towards the tube station.
Clare returned from the gym at seven-thirty, and Olly was already home. She wasn’t sure how to greet him when she saw him.
I suppose he will tell me now that he wants a divorce.
“Hello, Oliver,” she said, walking to the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of water. Olly followed her to the kitchen.
“Do you love me, Clare?” he asked her softly.
Why is he asking me this?
She stared into the sink, not knowing how to respond. “I don’t know,” she whispered after a pause.
“Could you love me again?”
Could she?
She had loved him deeply once. “Not like this.” She faced him. “Not with our lives as they have been. We have not been a couple for a very long time.”
“I will try,” he said. “I will come home every night with you from work.”
She turned away to stare at the sink. She wanted to ask what he would do about Erin.
What about Aaron? I’d have to end things with him to make my marriage work. Do I even want it to work? I have felt alive with Aaron for the first time in years. Why does he have to pick now to make an effort?
“Why now?” she said, not looking at him. “What has changed?”
“You have,” he said. “You’re cutting me off. I know you’ve been seeing someone else and… Don’t worry, I’m not mad, but it has made me realise that I’ve pushed you away. I’ve pushed you into the arms of another man, and I always thought that I wouldn’t care, but I do. I don’t want to lose you, Clare.”
She turned to face him, and he had tears in his eyes. “What about your affair?” she asked.
“I’ve ended it,” he said. “I’ve told her I want to make my marriage work.”
Clare leaned back on the sink and stared at the floor.
“Please, Clare,” he pleaded.
“Oliver, you have had affairs for years, and you’ve never cared if our marriage failed. I have an affair, and suddenly you don’t want to lose me. Did you just imagine that I would hang on forever while you behaved as you pleased?”
“I took it for granted that you would never leave me.”
“You were planning to leave me,” she said. “You left your phone unlocked yesterday, and I saw you had told Erin that you were planning to divorce me and move in with her.”
He closed his eyes and blinked away the tears. “I had brought it up with her a few weeks ago when I was annoyed that you wouldn’t help me with the café. She’s been pestering me since then, and I went along with it because it seemed a good idea. I thought I wanted to leave, but I don’t.”
She looked at his face, and tears sprang to her eyes. How had everything gone so wrong? She had loved this man. He had been her world.
“Please, Clare,” he pleaded again.
She choked on her tears as she threw her arms around his neck. Their mouths hungrily found each other as a spark blown out twenty years ago reignited within them. Olly unzipped her hooded top and tore her vest and sports bra over her head. She ripped his shirt free and pulled him to her. His hands were everywhere as though he could not touch her enough. He kissed her frantically as she unfastened his jeans and pulled them down. He was hard and ready for her. He kissed her neck and loosened her track pants, allowing them to fall to the floor, before pulling down her knickers.
Olly lifted her onto the kitchen counter, he pulled off her trainers and her lower clothing, shrugged out of his own clothes. Clare pulled him towards her, and he pushed his hardness inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist pulling him in tighter as his hips thrust against her.
Clare kissed his cheek, neck, and shoulders, and everywhere she could reach. She ran her hands along his back and through his hair. She couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted every inch of him. His hands were on her back and shoulders, pulling her close. He groaned as he climaxed, and he held her tightly sobbing into her neck.
“I love you, Clare. I promise I will make us work.”
Olly led Clare to their bedroom and guided her to their bed. He rose on top of her and ran his tongue along her neck then her breasts and stomach and made his way slowly between her legs. He nibbled her thighs before putting his mouth on her and running his tongue inside her.
Clare trembled as Olly pleasured her. His lips roamed across her body as he made his w
ay to her mouth kissing her as passionately as he had when they were teenagers. Clare moaned softly as he penetrated her, his pelvic bone massaged her clitoris stimulating her pleasure. He bit her neck as they both arrived at their climax.
Clare woke to the sound of the alarm the next morning and found herself in Olly’s arms. They made love again before showering together, which made them late to the shop. Fortunately, Emma had returned from her holiday, and the morning was less of a rush than it had been. Clare was able to leave Emma to watch the shop while Olly was on his deliveries, and she phoned Aaron.
Aaron was very sweet and very understanding, which made Clare tearful. He told her that he had enjoyed their time together, but he hoped things worked out and she would be happy in her marriage. He also told her to ring him if it didn’t work out as he wouldn’t hesitate to see her again.
Olly returned from his deliveries and greeted Clare with a kiss. Emma had seemed surprised, as though she did not realise she even worked with a married couple, but she smiled and continued her work.
At the end of the day, Clare and Olly returned home together for the first time in a long time. Clare made cottage pie for dinner, and Olly confirmed it was still his favourite. They curled up on the sofa and watched rubbish on TV before retiring to bed and making love. Clare smiled as she fell asleep in her husband’s arms. Their marriage had been a mess, but the love that had left them all those years ago had finally returned home.
Erin checked her phone and frowned.
Nothing.
“Are you ready?” asked Emma, slipping her feet into her heels.
“Yes.” Erin sighed, stuffing her phone into her clutch bag. The two left their room in the spa hotel and made their way to the restaurant.
Erin spotted a few of their group waiting in the bar. “I don’t want to sit next to Barbie,” she said. “She makes me look ugly.”
Emma laughed. “Me neither. Do you think her boobs are real?”
“Not a chance. They don’t even move. Did you not see her in her bikini?”
“I was trying not to look.”
“I couldn’t help but look, she was right next to me when we were getting a massage.” Erin laughed. “I don’t want to sit next to my brother either, I’ll never be able to get close to Larson with him keeping his beady eyes on my every move.”
Emma sighed. “Don’t you want to get over the last man before you move on to another?”
“This is me getting over him. When he phones me in a few weeks because he is tired of that old crow, then I will tell him that I have upgraded him—significantly.”
Emma shook her head. “Let’s get a cocktail before dinner.”
“Yes,” said Erin. “I need to find my brother so he can pay, nah, never mind. I will charge them to his room.”
“I will buy my own,” said Emma. “I’m not taking advantage of your brother. I already have a free trip.”
“We’re in Scotland—it’s hardly a holiday.”
“We’re staying in a five-star hotel near one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world.”
“Bah,” scoffed Erin. “You sound like him. Perhaps you should marry him. No, scratch that. I couldn’t bear my best friend being married to my brother—I’d never be able to get into any trouble then.”
Emma grinned as Erin perused the cocktail menu while also perusing the selection of men in their group. Erin had bullied her brother, Nathan, into paying for her and Emma to join him and his old school friends on their golfing weekend. She’d learned Tom was taking Barbie, and she was staying in the spa while the boys hit balls down holes with sticks.
“Good evening, Erin,” said Nathan, approaching the bar. “Hello, Emma.”
“Nate, I’m charging cocktails to your room,” said Erin, barely looking up.
“Hello, darling brother,” he said sarcastically. “Thank you for picking up the bill for my champagne this afternoon.”
She waved her hand.
“I will pay for my drinks,” said Emma.
“He can afford it, Em,” said Erin.
“I pity whoever you marry, Erin,” he said. “I’ll get them, Emma, in exchange for you keeping my sister out of trouble.”
“That’s hardly a fair deal,” said Emma.
Nathan laughed. “You’re right. I should throw in a car and a house as well.”
“I’m stood right here,” said Erin.
Nathan ruffled her hair and earned a punch in the arm before he went to join his friends.
“So was he that dark and brooding at school?” asked Erin over dinner.
“I don’t know him,” said Aaron.
“Chad?”
“Yes,” replied Chad. “I’ve always been dark and brooding.”
“Ha,” said Erin. “And I, of course, meant the handsome Mr Larson.”
“Of course.” Chad grinned. “Who else? But, I don’t know. He didn’t go to school with us. Tom invited him.”
“Tom did?” asked Erin. “He must be regretting that now. Barbie can’t take her eyes off him.”
Chad chuckled and took a sip of his wine.
“I’ve never met anyone named Chad before,” said Emma.
“It’s not his name.” Erin laughed.
“Erin, you’re a bully,” said Chad. “If you weren’t a girl…”
“What’s your name then?” asked Emma.
Aaron laughed.
Chad blushed.
“It’s something like Charlie Hotel Adolf—” Erin started and was cut off by Chad flicking water at her.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “It’s Charles Henry Abbott Davenport-Holmes.”
“Wow,” said Emma. “I bet you have a castle and a coat of arms.”
“Just a coat of arms.” He smirked.
“His father is an earl, and he is in the line of succession to the throne.” Erin teased.
“Stop now,” said Chad, flicking more water. “What is it you do, Emma?”
Emma blushed heavily. “I’m not telling you that,” she said.
Chad frowned at Erin.
“Oh, it’s okay, Emma.” Erin laughed. “He doesn’t mind slumming it with lesser borns. She works in a sandwich shop.”
Emma blushed again and looked down at her plate. Erin received a hostile glare from Chad this time, and she felt a little guilty for embarrassing her friend.
“I love sandwiches,” said Chad.
Emma smirked a little. “Salmon and cucumber?”
“Of course.” He smiled.
“Anyway,” said Erin. “I’ve had enough of sandwiches recently. I want to talk about Mr Larson. Is he single?”
“He may or may not be involved with his business partner, it depends on which rumours you follow.”
“Is that Ugly Betty? I heard Barbie talking about her.”
“She’s not ugly.” Chad laughed.
“He’s left her at home for a reason,” said Erin. “Which rumours do you follow? Has anyone not just asked him?”
“Larson is kind of intense. He’s not the sort of man you ask personal questions.”
“I don’t care who he is involved with. After enough drinks I will talk to him.” Erin grinned.
“Well, good luck with that.” Chad smirked back at her. “What are you up to these days, Erin? Are you staying out of trouble?”
“Why does everyone assume I will cause trouble?”
“You have a reputation,” said Aaron.
“Hard won it was too. I’m still sponging off Daddy who pays for everything while simultaneously trying to make me stand on my own two feet. Last month he gave me a choice between applying for uni or working for his company, and as you can see—I am doing neither.”
Aaron laughed. “Spoiled girl. Don’t you want to be a strong, independent woman? You must get tired of being compared to your brother and sister?”
“Yes.” Erin sighed. “But then I just buy myself some shoes on my dad’s cre
dit card, and I feel better. While he still pays for me, I don’t need to work.”
“And what if he stops paying?” asked Emma.
“Then I’ll go and lick envelopes in his office, but until then I am doing quite well. I have no problem being the disappointment if it gets me a free ride. Besides, getting expelled from school must have saved him a fortune in fees—I bet I haven’t broke even with Nate and Alexa yet.”
“I’m sure your father will be thrilled with that argument.” Chad chuckled.
“Didn’t he give you your apartment?” asked Emma. “That must be more than school fees.”
“Yes,” said Erin. “But he already owned it so it hardly counts. Anyway, I’m glad I was expelled, I hated being surrounded by toffs all day, no offence, Chad. And I wouldn’t have met my best friend in the whole world if I hadn’t.”
“Were you the only person who would put up with her in the entire school, Emma?” Chad asked.
“Not the point,” said Erin. “Anyway. Back to the topic. If I can’t have Mr Larson for any reason, who else is available amongst this rabble?”
“There are two gentlemen right here, Erin,” said Emma.
“Chad is married and don’t let Aaron’s body builder physique fool you—he’s old enough to be your dad,” Erin quipped.
Aaron spluttered. “I’m thirty!”
“I thought you went to school with everyone else,” said Emma.
“I went to the same school, but they were all in my brother’s year.”
“You look the same age,” said Emma.
Aaron smiled.
“You’re such a kiss-ass,” said Erin.
“Am I the only person here who didn’t go to public school?” Emma sighed.
“No,” said Erin. “I straddle both lines.”
Emma laughed. “I don’t know why you’re so concerned with Aaron’s age after the last one.” She winked.
“Oh, gossip,” said Chad. “Older man, Erin?”
“Yes, and he has broken my heart,” said Erin.
“He is married,” said Emma.
“Bah. A mere technicality. And one easily solved until he decided he didn’t want to leave his wife for me after all.”