"A few hours, tops. Don't look at me like that with those eyes. A few hours will fly by with that Tasmanian devil in there." He nods in the direction of the kitchen, just in case I didn't understand his meaning. All I can do is pout. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to stop by and see your mum tomorrow. Or, if you want we could go later?"
I'm hesitant for a moment before I reply, "I'm not sure Max." My chest feels heavy at the mere mention of my mum and it kills me. I'd love nothing more than to go and see her, even if it was just to make sure that she's okay and to see if she's feeling better; but how am I supposed to do that when she won't take my calls and constantly refuses visitors? My only comfort right now, is knowing that she's in the best possible place, receiving the best possible care that she could ever need, and it's all thanks to this devilishly handsome man stood beside me.
Initially I'd refused any kind of offer that he threw at me to help out, because the way that I see it, she's my mum to look after and I should be able to do that on my own. I remember clearly in my mind the way he looked at me, held me close and said, "Angel, please. Please allow me to do this one thing for you. I don't have a mother to look after, Jess. I guess I was never really given that chance, so please let me do this one thing for you."
As much as my stubbornness and pride screamed out for me to say no, and as much as I actually wanted to say no, I just couldn't do it. I found that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't form the words. The pure, raw sadness that swam in his eyes had me aching for him, aching for his past and the hurt that seems to still haunt him to this day.
"Okay." I whispered, unable to say more, but for Max it seemed to be enough as he scooped me up into a tight embrace and smothered me with kisses. I just hope that one day I'll be able to tell him just how grateful I really am, for everything.
"Well, I'll see you later then, angel." Max whispers, bringing me back to the here and now. "Jen, make sure you look after my lady. She's precious cargo, this one."
Jess
"So, have you been back to Stanton's, then?" Jen asks while lazily reaching over for the remote control.
"No, not yet. To be honest Jen, I've not really thought about going back just yet and it looks like Max has everything under control there, anyway." I'm happy doing the stuff I need to do from home right now, and as long as everything continues to run as smoothly as it can, I don't see any point in fixing what isn't broken.
"Yep, you've sure found yourself a keeper in that hot surfer boy, princess." She laughs at me.
I can't help but smile a heart-warming smile at her words. If I'm being entirely truthful with myself, I don't know what I would have done over these past couple of weeks without him. He's been right by my side and fighting for me every step of the way. He's given me space whenever I have needed it, brought me alive when I needed comfort and he's worshipped me more than a woman could ever dream of. I still find myself wanting to pinch myself from time to time, and to think only a few months ago I was knee deep in a relationship that I thought would be forever. Thank fuck I found out what a cheating son of a bitch he was when I did. Absolute toss-pot.
"Have you spoken to Amelia?" Jens words hang in the air as soon as she has voiced them and she looks like she'd be pretty happy if the ground opened up and swallowed her whole. Automatically I feel numb at the mere mention of her name. I've tried to block it out as much as possible, because as soon as those images come crashing into my mind, it's bloody hard to get rid of them again. I guess I was doing a pretty good job right until Jen opened her bloody big fat gob.
"Jess. Shit, I'm so sorry..."
"No, don’t be, it's fine." I cut her off. I know she didn't say it to upset me and I'll have to talk about everything that happened eventually, so why not now? If I can't talk to my best friend, then who can I talk to? "I don't plan on speaking to her. I don't plan on bumping into her anytime soon, either." Although, I don't know how I'd react if I did. I guess I’m pretty limited on my actions right now seeing as though she’s pregnant.
Since I kicked Josh out, I thought I'd been doing a pretty good job of getting my life back on track. I guess that was until my colleague and so-called friend accidentally let slip that she was pregnant with none other than the man-slag himself. After storming out of Stanton's that day, I haven't spoken to either of them since. Instead, I have kept myself wrapped in my own bubble of protection and perfection... Max.
"I still can't believe what they've both done to you, princess. I swear if that whore-bag wasn't pregnant then I'd do some serious damage."
I don’t get it, either. How could Amelia fall for such a jerk like him? I guess I’ll never know, but what they did to me is unforgivable. I don’t buy Amelia’s bullshit line about not knowing who josh was. I mean come on, I’ve worked at Stanton’s for fucking years. I know it was never often, but Josh did pick me up from time to time "I know. It still feels so surreal to me Jen. I mean she was crying on my shoulder for god sake and all along it was over Josh. Shit, I bet they had a pretty good laugh at my expense." I'm still so angry about what they've done, that I can feel frustrated tears begin to fill my eyes. I promised myself I wouldn't shed anymore tears for them, but I guess I'm only human after all.
"Well, come on then. What do you want to do today?"
"Very subtle, Davies." I smile weakly at my best friend, for all intent and purposes, my partner in crime for all things good and bad.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, princess." She smiles back at me while twiddling with her hair innocently.
"Yes you bloody well do, and I appreciate it." Jen's always been a pro at putting her foot in it, and even better at changing the subject when the times have called for it. There's no denying that the girl is bloody amazing. A right pain in the arse at times, but amazing all the same.
"Well? I've not ripped you away from lover boy just to sit in you know. What do you want to do?" She asks again, while pulling herself up on the sofa.
I can tell Jen's beginning to get impatient, as she rocks her ankles back and forth, and I can't help but find it highly amusing. She's got such a short fucking fuse. Maybe she should learn to take it if shes going to go around giving it out.
"Honestly? I'd much rather hermit it out and stay in, watch some tele and eat crap all day. What do you say?"
"Bollocks to that. You're getting out of this house and I'll make goddamn sure of it, even if it's the last thing that I bloody do, lady."
"Ugh, but I really, really can't be arsed Jen." I whine. I already had my whole day planned out and it pretty much consisted of Max, myself and the bedroom, without any distractions. None whatsoever.
"Oh come on, Jess. Stop being such a bore. It'll be fun. We could go shopping, or maybe waltz around London like we used to? Plus lover boy said that he'd be gone for at least a few hours, and the fresh air will do you the world of good. Trust me, I always know best."
"Fine, okay you win." I shout, throwing my hands up in defeat. "I suppose I best go and get dressed then."
"Now that's a good girl, princess."
"Well?"
"Well what?" I ask Jen, noticing a bemused expression creep over her pretty features. After not much planning, a quick wash and change of clothes for me, we ended up hopping on the tube for one of our touristy days out, and like any other adventure of ours; the heavens soon decided to open with a passion. Needless to say, we soon found ourselves rocking up to the nearest Whetherspoons to fuel our bodies and to dry off.
"What's wrong with you today? You're holding back on me, princess. Tell me, what are the plans for the big day?" I almost choke on my cappuccino at her words. Either I'm suffering from severe lack of sleep, or this girl has suddenly gone bat-shit crazy.
"What big day?" I ask, as soon as my airways open up again, with confusion clearly evident in my tone.
"Oh, you know. The one where it's all about you. Surely it's pretty obvious to see by now that Max will want everything to be perfect for you?" Jen's smile lights her whole face up, and
I'm sure mine resembles someone who's just been slapped in the face with fish, pretty bloody hard. Yet, she's still looking at me expectantly, as if I should know what she's bloody going on about. She's clearly waiting for something, I just don't know what.
"Have I missed something?" By the sounds of things, this girls about to marry me off at any moment and I’m not completely sure how I feel about it.
"Oh for god sake, Jess. I know your heads been stuck up your arse recently, and I'm not blaming you for it considering the circumstances, but don't think for a second that I'm just going to sit back and allow you to forget about your birthday. That shit just doesn't happen... Ever."
I let out a massive sigh of relief as it all finally clicks into place, and then I inwardly groan when I realise what this means. I'd completely forgotten about it. Jen's definitely right; my head has been well and truly stuck up my arse recently. Usually George, Jen and I have a cocktail fest to mark the special occasion, but for the first time since I can remember; I just don't feel like it.
"I know you're turning into an old cow-bag Jess, but don't think that your day will pass by without a celebration. Not If me and George have anything to do with it."
"Jen..." I begin. Silently praying that she’ll let this one pass without much fuss, but I guess that’s like asking for fresh water in the middle of a desert.
"Do not Jen me, princess. It's happening. Whether you like it or not." Her warning tone and pointed finger stun me into silence. I hate it when she switches to diva mode, and not just because she always gets what she wants, she just turns down right psycho with it. Fucking hell, I don't even want to imagine the crazy arse shit that she's been planning behind my back.
"Shoot me now Jen. Please." I plead to her, but she doesn't back down. I don’t know why I thought I could expect anything different from her. This girl never backs down.
"Oh, don't be such a sore loser. A night out will do you the world of good. It will give you a chance to let your hair down and forget about all this crazy shit that's been going on. Plus, we miss you. Going out without you just isn’t the same. You know it’s far more entertaining for George if the two of us are there."
I know she's right. God, she's always right, but for some unknown reason, I just can't be bothered. I’d much rather have a nice meal and a few cocktails at home with my close friends. Oh my fucking god. I know what the problem is as soon as it hits me. I’m officially getting too old for this shit. "I guess."
"You know, it's okay to be upset, or even angry Jess. You're only human and it's natural to feel emotions. Shit, I'd be serving time right now if I was you, and that twat wants to count his lucky fucking stars that it wasn't me who he screwed over, because believe me, that boy would be tied up somewhere and suffering a whole lot of torture right now."
I don't bloody doubt it for a second and what's worse is that her words don't scare me, or even make me flinch. All I can do is laugh, laugh because I know she's right once again. I need to get this off my chest, because the more I hold back, the more it's going to eat away at me and cause problems in the relationship that I'm in now. A relationship that I want to stay in, for as long as possible.
"I just can't believe I was so stupid, Jen. How could I have not noticed sooner? I don't even know how long it was going on for, or how many women he went through." If I'm being completely honest with ,myself, I don't think I actually want to know. Keeping it as vague as possible is probably best all round.
"Princess, with a man-whore like that, you'll never know, and that's probably for the best. Anyway look at the fine specimen of a man who shares your bed these days. Definitely and upgrade I'd say, and what's more; Max worships the ground you walk on, whereas Josh only worshiped his dick and that massive ego of his. I have no doubts whatsoever that Max would take bullets for you. The guy is completely besotted by you. Anyone can see that. All you need to ask yourself is, Josh who?"
"Well, I'll definitely drink to that."
We spend the rest of the afternoon lazily strolling through London and visiting our usual haunts. Cocktails on the way home are always a must and by the time we've finished, I feel a little light headed and the world looks more colourful through my recently clouded eyes. My mum will hopefully be on the road to recovery, Josh is no longer involved in my life and then there is Max. Oh Max, I feel myself weakening at the thought of him and I'm pretty confident that it has nothing to do with the alcohol that's working its way through my system.
"That right there. That's how you should be?"
"Huh?" I gaze over at Jen, completely oblivious to what she's harping on about.
"That smile. I've missed it, princess."
"Oh, shut up you bloody drama queen." I chuckle at her. "Have I really been that much of a miserable bitch?"
"Erm, don’t hate me, but yeah. I don't like it when you lock yourself away. It's just not you. Believe it or not, me and George were ready to stage an intervention."
"Why didn't you tell me? Now that, I would love to see. Please tell me that there would be some kind of costume involved?" I automatically think about going back into hiding, purely so that I can witness whatever contraption is that they’ve come up with.
"It can still be arranged, so quit with your mouth."
"Piss off, you know I’d love to see you and George all caring and protective. Actually it’d make my day. Why aren’t you holed up with Luke anyway?" I ask, suddenly realising that she hasn’t mentioned him all day. Last time I checked, they were practically joined by their genitalia. Well, once Jen had finally gotten over her dramatic false alarm. The thought of having a mini Jen in the world is a bit scary, but by god she’d be cute. Especially with her Auntie Jess buying heaps of amazing baby clothes. The range they have for kids these days is ridiculous. It makes the adults look amateur.
"You have to swear that you won’t laugh at me, okay? Well, here goes. I just needed a break Jess. The sex is fucking killing me. He just wants it all the time, from the minute I wake up, to even when I’m minding my own business doing the dishes. He’s like an animal possessed and I really think I've met my match with him, you know. I don't know if I can go on much longer. My vajayjay can't handle anymore. Some days Jess, I can’t even walk properly. I just don’t know how to break it to him. How the hell do you tell someone that they are basically ruing your day to day life by giving you too much sex?"
"Woah. What? Back up. You want to stop seeing him? Jen that's crazy. I thought you were madly in lust with him or whatever you call it? You can’t just end it with him because the poor bloke has a majorly high sex drive, Jen. Wait a minute.” I stop and take a closer look at her. This isn’t Jen talking, there has to be something else behind this. “How can you say that sex is too much for you? You're like a bloody nymphomaniac." I watch her suspiciously. Are we actually looking at a new Jennifer Davies here? One that doesn't always crave sex every waking minute of the day? Fucking hell, now I think I’ve finally heard everything.
"Calm down. Don't start hyperventilating on me. I'm just messing with you, princess." She laughs as her shoulder bumps against mine. "I knew my Jess was still in there, somewhere. Welcome back kiddo, we've fucking missed you."
Max
George greets me with his gleeful morning cheer as I step inside Joe's for a quick coffee before heading to Stanton's. How can this guy be so fucking happy, all of the goddamn time? Whatever he's on, I could really do with some of it right now. After this morning, I know Jess is going to make me suffer and give me a serious case of fucking blue balls. Had it been any other time, I would have told Jen where to go, but I know she's been worried about Jess. Shit, I've been fucking worried about her too. Since she found her mum and almost lost her, it's like she's closed herself off from the world and I don't like it one bit. That prick Josh knocking that chick up hasn't helped matters either, even though I know she'd never admit it to me.
I know she tells me that she's okay all the time and she can keep telling me that until she's blue in the fucking fac
e, but what she doesn't realise is that I know when she's lying. I guess all I can do is be here for her until she's ready to talk, but it's killing me inside watching her like this. I'd be a hypocrite to act any other way, especially given how I closed her off when Mal fell ill.
"G'day Mr Wild." George smirks and nods his head in my direction. "What can I get for you?"
"Hey George. I'll have a flat white to go please." I did initially plan on staying in so I could catch up on my emails, but the way George is staring at me right now, tells me he's up to no good and I need to get out of here, and fast. To be fair, I actually like the guy, he's a good friend to Jess and he's never given me any cause for concern, but the look that's plastered on his face is creeping me the fuck out.
"Actually Max, I was wondering if I could talk to you before you head off?"
"Um, yeah, sure. What's up?" I say, and now he's really got me curious.
"It's about Jess..." Instantly I'm on high alert at the mention of her. She wins hands down. I laugh to myself. Fuck, Jess will always win hands down, no matter what. I lift myself up on to the stool facing me and wait for George to finish my order. As soon as I see him turning back to me, I catch his eye and say, "So, shoot. What do you need to talk about?"
"I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't have mentioned it to you, what with everything that's happened recently, but Jen and I don't think it should pass by unnoticed." He smiles at me, a look of pity or fellow support, I can’t be sure, but one thing is certain. I haven’t got a fucking clue what he’s going on about.
"Come on pal, I'm fucking in the dark here and you're talking in riddles. Give the guy a clue." How's a guy supposed to know what he's talking about. Am I supposed to be a fucking mind reader or some shit?
"Oh she's well and truly kept you in the dark this time, hasn't she?"
"Just spill it, man." I take my flat white from him and I can feel myself getting more worked up by the second. What is it that she won't tell me? Have I done something that I shouldn't have? Fuck, it can’t be that. I'd definitely know if that's what this was about. Jess doesn't hold back when she wants to get something off her chest, and that's one of the things I admire her for. Balls of fucking steel that woman.
Down Under Complete Trilogy Box Set Page 38