‘Probably…and the interviews for Head of Science will be taking place soon. Have you heard anything yet?’
Stevie had submitted her application on the first day of term.
‘Nothing yet, but it’s early days, I suppose. I’m not holding my breath.’
‘Are you kidding? I reckon the job’s yours. And then you’ll be so busy it’ll be ‘Jason who?’ before long. You mark my words.’
She wasn’t in the least bit convinced. ‘Hmm. We’ll see, shall we?’ She had always wanted the Head of Science position. It was the next step. And Mollie was right. The job was such a busy one that she would have no time to feel melancholy. She could hope.
The bell for afternoon lessons sounded, and the staff room began to clear. David from P.E. approached the table where the two women were reluctantly rising to leave. He was dressed in long shorts and the school’s bottle green polo shirt and fleece.
He cleared his throat. ‘Hi…ahem…hi, Stevie. I was wondering if you’d maybe like to go out for a…um…drink again on Friday evening?’ His cheeks coloured.
Mollie smirked and walked towards the door. Stevie scowled at her, hoping to communicate the phrase I’ll get you for this Mollie! with her eyes. She glanced back at David. ‘Oh…I’m not sure what I’m doing Friday yet, David.’
His eyes dropped, and he looked a little like a chastised puppy dog. ‘Oh…right. Not to worry. I did wonder with Jason turning up on your doorstep like that. Never mind. See you later.’ He turned to leave.
Stevie felt overwhelmed with guilt. David was a good-looking guy and very sweet. Plus, I need to move on. ‘David, wait…a drink would be nice, thank you.’
His face lit up and a handsome smile emerged. Anyone would think he had just won the lottery. ‘Fantastic! I’ll pick you up at seven.’
She felt her heat rise in her cheeks. ‘Great…lovely. I’ll see you before then, obviously.’
He beamed at her. ‘Oh yeah…sure…it’s only Wednesday, after all.’
Stevie made her way down the long corridor to her lab where a line of twelve-year-olds awaited her arrival. Some of them were being sensible, but the usual handful were wrestling each other, causing her to break out her death stare.
‘Are we doing an experiment today, Mrs. Norton? We haven’t done one for ages,’ one of the more challenging members of the class asked as she unlocked the door.
‘There’s a good reason for that, Jonathan. Perhaps next time we try something as exciting as burning magnesium, you will refrain from dropping the hot tongs onto someone’s sweater. Melanie could have been seriously hurt. And you were lucky not to be expelled.’
The boy dropped his gaze and went as red as a beetroot. The other class members laughed and jeered at him as they filed into the room. Stevie shook her head and waited for the class to take their seats and settle down.
‘Okay, you lovely lot. Today we’re going to look at the reactions of metals with acids, and so this does mean we’re doing practical work.’ A cheer erupted around the laboratory. ‘But you will need to be sensible. The first sign of anyone messing around, and you will all suffer my wrath!’
‘You’re the best, Mrs. Norton!’ Jonathan shouted from the back of the room. Stevie turned to write on the board and made a mental note to look into getting her name changed.
Chapter Fifteen
Friday night rolled around, and Stevie was beginning to regret agreeing to a date with David. Was it a date at all? Was she worrying over nothing? Whilst she was getting ready, her landline rang. Mum.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, sweetie. I was ringing to check how you are. See if you’re nervous.’
‘No, Mum…not nervous. I don’t think I want to do this. It’s not wise mixing work and home life as it is, and although David is lovely, he’s not… He’s not Jason.’
Her mum sighed. ‘Oh, sweetheart, I know. After I pushed you into dating Miles, I’m not going to tell you what to do here. All I will say is be happy. If David isn’t the one, don’t waste your time on him. But if you go out with him and he gives you a fire in your belly, then you have my support.’
Stevie smiled. ‘Thanks, Mum. And will you stop worrying over the Miles issue. It wasn’t your fault, okay?’
‘Hmm. I pushed you into dating him, and now you have a divorce under your belt. Anyway…I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Love you.’
‘Love you too, Mum.’
The calls with her Mum these days were brief but frequent. Dana knew how much heartache Stevie had been through over Jason and was evidently still worried. She let Stevie know she loved her and was there for her at every given opportunity.
The Queen’s Head was a traditional real ale pub on the outskirts of Wilmersden. It was a place that Stevie usually went to with the people from the Science Department and so she felt comfortable there. No airs and graces. Just real pub grub and good beer. Except Stevie still drank wine.
She sat next to David as they chatted about school. Despite her initial trepidation, being with David had been easy this time, and Jason had never been mentioned. Of course when she realised this, he was immediately lodged at the forefront of her mind and her mood plummeted. The past month since he went back to Scotland had been filled with tears and heart to heart sessions with her mum where she tried in vain to cheer Stevie up. There had even been talk of a blind date with Mollie’s older, recently divorced brother, Marcus. Stevie wasn’t too keen, but Mollie seemed to think he would be just what she needed. She had seen a photo, and he was very handsome. Tall and dark…just like Jason. Oh Jason.
‘So…have you heard from him?’ David asked as if stepping into her mind.
She feigned ignorance. ‘Who?’
He frowned. ‘Come on, you know very well who I mean, Stevie. It’s my guess that he’s just popped into your mind. Your face suddenly dropped.’
Good grief, how perceptive is he? ‘I’m sorry, you’re right. And no…not a word.’
‘I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.’ He seemed genuine. ‘I was hoping that perhaps you’d give me a chance. I wouldn’t hurt you like that. I know I’m no hunky, panties melting, male model type like he is, but…I really do like you. And I don’t mean as a friend… Obviously, I do like you as a friend…you’re a great girl. But what I mean is…good grief I’m rambling… What I mean is that I find you very attractive. Stop me anytime you want to… I know I’m making a complete pillock of myself here.’ He smiled.
‘No, you’re very sweet, David.’ She leaned in to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and met her lips with his own. His lips were firm where Jason’s were soft. His skin was smooth where Jason’s stubble rasped deliciously at her skin, making her senses spring to life. His kiss was gentle where Jason’s was lust-filled and passionate. She returned the kiss for a moment, and he cupped her head tenderly.
When she stopped kissing him back, he pulled away and stroked her cheek looking into her glassy eyes. ‘Thank you.’
She was confused by his choice of words. ‘W-why are you thanking me, David?’
He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. ‘Because I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time. And now I know that it does feel wonderful to kiss you, just like I imagined. And even though I know it’ll never happen again, you gave me a chance to try with you.’
His tender words made salt water escape from her eyes. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered.
‘Hey…no need to be sorry. Come on, I’ll take you home.’
Jason sat on his bed, book in hand. He had tried several times to get past his current page but couldn’t quite manage it. The words weren’t registering in his brain at all. It was nine at night, and he was feeling agitated and distracted. It had been just over a month since he had left London…and Stevie. There had been no contact on either side, and he had decided it was probably time to let go and move on.
For the past couple of mornings, he had awoken to find blankets still neatly folded on the chair in the lounge. Things between Dillon and Do
rcas were getting fairly serious very quickly, and being around the two of them was becoming increasingly unbearable. They couldn't keep their hands off each other and seemed to touch at every given opportunity. From simple strokes of a hand down an arm to full on passionate embraces. Urgh! Whilst Jason was aware he would be the same if Stevie were here, his tolerance levels were falling rapidly.
That morning after the staff briefing for the next arrivals to the camp, he had caught the cringe-worthy couple kissing through the trees on the riverbank, the same place where he and Stevie had kissed. It made his stomach knot tightly when he remembered the taste of her kiss and the feel of her body melded to his.
He hadn’t realised he was staring until Dillon spotted him and shouted, ‘Oy! Are you perving at my sexy girlfriend?’ The couple had sniggered, and Dorcas had pulled Dillon behind a large, thick tree trunk where they could continue sucking face to their hearts’ content, out of the view of prying eyes. Jason had shaken his head and walked away.
Back in the present, he heaved out a heavy breath and threw his book aside. Running his hands through his shaggy damp hair, he made a rash decision. Grabbing his phone, he rifled through the contacts and hit dial.
‘Hello, stranger,’ came the sultry voice at the other end. ‘Long-time no-speak.’
‘Yeah…hi, Jenna. Are you busy?’
‘Well, I am busy painting my toenails…naked…but for you I can be free any time,’ she purred.
‘Great. I’ll be up in a little while.’
‘Hmm…need to de-stress a little, do we?’
‘Something like that.’
‘Okay, bring a nice bottle of Pinot. I’ll be waiting.’
Jason pulled on his bike leathers and helmet, grabbed his keys, and went out to his bike. The moonlight glinted off the shiny, black metal, and he threw his leg over, inserting the key into the ignition and starting the engine. He paused for a moment. What the fuck am I doing? He switched off the engine, dropped his head, and sat for a few moments. Awww fuck it. She’s probably dating by now. And I need to release some tension. Just sex. No strings attached, sweaty sex. That’s what I need right now. He started the engine and set off before the two sides of his brain could argue further.
Twenty minutes later, after calling for some wine, he arrived at the flat in Aviemore that he had become familiar with in the past few years. Meeting Jenna a couple of years earlier had been a happy accident. She was over from Aus taking a year out from work and had been employed in the Australian bar he frequented. After spilling a drink on him and apologising profusely, they had hit it off, talked for hours, and he had gone home with her that first night. After falling in love with Scotland, Jenna had made the decision to stay and make a life for herself. They had been friends with benefits for over a year, but Jason had stopped the hook ups when it began to feel a little too much like a relationship.
Jenna opened the door, and Jason looked her up and down. ‘I thought you said you were painting your toenails naked?’ He pouted.
‘I thought you’d maybe like this little ensemble instead.’ Her husky voice was enough to drive a man insane with lust.
There she stood, her black, poker straight hair just reaching her shoulders. Her very slim frame and minimal curves covered in black lace undies complete with stockings and stilettos.
She looked out from under her bangs and crooked her finger at him. ‘Come on in, hunk.’ She backed into the hallway of her flat and he followed. Once inside the door, Jason kicked the door closed with his heavy boot and made a grab for her. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and pressed her against the wall until she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his middle. ‘Hmmm, there are no prizes for guessing what you need tonight,’ she whispered in his ear, sending shivers down his spine and spiking at his groin.
‘Yeah, don’t expect me to be gentle.’ He growled in between the determined thrusts of his tongue.
‘Oh I never do and I don’t care. Come on, let’s take this somewhere a little more comfortable.’ He let her place her feet back on the floor, and she pulled him further into the flat. ‘Do you want a drink?’ she asked, looking over her shoulder.
‘I think you know what I want, Jenna. I’m not in the mood for small talk, drinking, or anything else for that matter. I have one thing on my mind right now and that’s to forget. You can help me do that.’
Jenna led him into her bedroom. The girly, pink cocoon was a little too cloying for his taste, but he would have to look past it to achieve his goal. And his goal was to nail another woman. Forget Stevie. Shit…Stevie. He glanced back at the black haired beauty that now lay provocatively sprawled across her cerise faux fur throw, patiently waiting. He clenched his jaw and stripped down to nothing as quickly as he could, making sure to grab the condoms he had brought.
He paused, looking down at the semi-naked woman. She looked nothing like Stevie. Stevie’s hair would fan out on the pillow around her, making her look like she was suspended in water. Jenna’s hair was so neatly styled it was too perfect and quite severe. Jenna was very slim with small breasts. Her stomach concaved when she laid back and her hip bones protruded. Stevie was soft and comforting and felt so good beneath him. Jenna looked up in anticipation, her eyes burning with lust. Stevie would have had more than that behind her eyes. There would have been love too.
Stevie, Stevie, Stevie.
She overtook his every waking thought. And it was driving him mad.
With ice poured on his libido at the thought of cheating on the woman he couldn’t have, he clearly wasn’t going to be able to go through with sleeping with the one he could have. He slumped down on the bed with his back to his scantily clad companion.
After running his hands through his hair, he rested his elbows on his knees. ‘I’m sorry, Jenna, you’ll think I’m crazy, but I don’t think I want this after all. I’m really sorry. I’m getting over someone. Well, I’m trying to get over someone. I thought that if I just had no-strings-attached sex with someone else that it’d help me get her out of my system, but I’m kidding myself if I think it’d work. I’d end up regretting it and feeling like shit.’
Jenna sat behind him and put her arms around his shoulders. ‘You’re in love? Oh Jason, I wish you’d have said. I would’ve refused to see you. Even I know that rebound sex isn’t the way to deal with heartbreak. You always think it is until you’ve done it and you end up feeling cheap. I should know. I’ve been there.’
Jason turned his head slightly and glanced at her. ‘You have? I thought you didn’t do relationships.’
‘I didn’t. But I met this guy with a weird accent a couple of years ago. Long hair…scruffy looking…runs an Outward Bounds camp…you may know him.’
He turned to fully face her. ‘What?’
‘Yup, it’s the truth, hunk. I fell for you way back then. And I fell hard. I knew it was just fun for you, and that was enough for a while. Any attention from you was still attention, and so I told myself it’d eventually turn into more. But you suddenly stopped calling and you hardly ever came into the bar. One night, a little while ago, Matt from the Rothiemurchus Rough Trax came in. He said he’d seen you with one of the school groups. He said you were upbeat, laughing with the kids, and that you seemed really happy. That you’d warned him off this teacher who was with the group, saying she was off limits when he’d expressed an interest in her.
‘I laughed when he told me. I didn’t believe him. He said she was a hottie and that he was trying to ask her out but that you were cock-blocking him at every possible avenue. I couldn’t believe it. You were always so serious all the time. Never really bothered about female company. But Matt said he’d never seen you smile as much. Said the way you looked at her was possessive like you thought she belonged to you. Anyway, one of my friends who knows Dorcas told me there was a woman staying with you and that you two were crazy about each other. I figured that was the end of any chances I had. I grabbed the first interested guy and shagged him, thinking it’d get my mind off y
ou. It didn’t. But then you called tonight, and I figured it had all been a mistake…that they’d got it wrong.’
Jason rubbed his hands over his face. ‘Oh hell, Jenna. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.’
She shrugged. ‘No biggy. I’ll get over it, eventually. But believe me, if she cares for you half as much as I do, she’ll find you impossible to get over too. My guess is that she’s sitting at home as fucking miserable as sin…just like you. I knew there was something when I opened the door. Your eyes…you looked…empty.’
He stood and pulled on his clothing. ‘I feel like such a shit. I called what I have with you no strings sex. What an arse. I’m so very sorry. You must think I’m—’
‘Hey, I think you’re a great guy with a body that melts undies and you happen to be crazy about a woman who must also be fucking crazy cause she clearly let you go. Now, once you see sense and realise that this is what you want,’ she gestured at her body with a grin, ‘then I’ll be here, but I won’t wait for long. There are a gazillion guys out there who want me, you know.’ She winked. Why was she being so great?
‘They’d be the crazy ones.’ He sat back down and pulled her into his arms. ‘Don’t let anyone use you again, Jen. You deserve so much more. I can’t believe I was such a heartless bastard.’ He kissed the side of her head. ‘Hang on a minute. You think I’ve got a weird accent?’
‘Ahhh, you’ve only just cottoned onto what I said, eh?’ She nodded, giggling. ‘Well come on, at least I have an Aussie accent, mate. What’s yours? Are you Scottish…are you a cockney? Who the fuck knows? I know. We’ll call you a Scottney! That about covers it, I reckon!’ She fell back laughing, and he couldn’t help laughing along with her.
Jason stood. ‘You are one fruit loop, do you know that?’
‘Yeah, I know that.’ She stopped laughing. ‘Now fuck off home will you. I need to load my Internet dating profile up!’ She threw a pink fluffy cushion, hitting him on the head.
Smiling, he shook his head and left. Once outside the door, he ran his hands over his head before putting his helmet back on. Fucking idiot, Reynolds. Total fucking idiot.
Reasons to Stay Page 12