by S J Crabb
She heads off murmuring and Jack looks at me with a sexy look and whispers, “Thanks for that. You know, you surprise me more every minute I spend with you. I’m glad you’re my girlfriend.”
He winks as he pulls me back into the kitchen, leaving me one big, hot mess. This man is good. He messes with women’s minds and strips them of all rational thought. If I didn’t know better, I would really believe he meant every word he just said.
Its great fun watching Aunt Alice open her presents. None of the usual flowers and boxed soaps for her, instead Amanda and James have bought her a spa day for two in a nearby exclusive resort. Ariadne and Godfrey have bought her a paintballing day out for her and three friends and Jack has bought her a Victoria secrets voucher. I feel ashamed at my own lack of originality when faced with these amazing thoughts and as she catches my eye, she smiles and says gratefully, “And of course Nelly bought me the most amazing box of chocolates. Obviously, she knew the real way to my heart.”
I smile but it’s laced with anxiety and she picks up on it immediately.
“What’s the matter, darling, you look a little subdued?”
All eyes swivel in my direction and I say sadly, “I had a visit from a most unpleasant woman and I’m still working out what to do about it.”
Amanda says sharply, “Tell us, maybe we can be of some help.”
Jack says bitterly, “It’s that woman who was after dad in the salsa class. Apparently, when she marries the man she was with, she will become Nelly’s new landlady. She has already demanded rent with menaces and promised an increase. It’s no wonder Nelly’s feeling upset.”
Amanda shakes her head and says tightly, “I told you she wasn’t to be trusted, didn’t I, James? She had that predatory look of a woman out on a gold rush.”
Aunt Alice looks thoughtful. “So, business is slow and you are worrying about making the rent?”
I nod miserably and she looks at Jack with interest. “Do you think this is something you’ve caused by opening?”
He nods. “I don’t think I’ve helped the situation. Maybe we should pool our resources and try to bolster Nelly’s trade.”
Ariadne shakes her head. “You can try that if you like but I always think you should fight fire with fire. Don’t be a pushover and fight back.”
Jack rolls his eyes. “This isn’t the playground you know, Ariadne. This is a grown-up problem and needs to be dealt with accordingly.”
She looks at him irritably. “Think about it, Jack. She’s obviously in this for the money. This man, whoever he is, is being manipulated and played. Well, it’s up to us to show him the error of his ways and get her shoved back from where she came from.”
Godfrey says in confusion, “What can we do, sugar pie? By the sounds of it, this woman isn’t one to go lightly. No, my advice would be for Nelly to pay up and then look for another vacant unit in the town. She is best showing that she can walk away elsewhere.”
We all look at him and shout simultaneously, “Shut up Godfrey.”
He frowns as Aunt Alice nods enthusiastically. “I agree with Ariadne. She’s picked the wrong family to mess with. We don’t take kindly to idle threats and now it’s our mission to bring her down. Let’s put our heads together to think of the best way to achieve it. Don’t worry, Nelly, we’ll make sure your problem goes away if it’s the last thing we do.”
26
By the time Jack and I leave, we have a thin outline of a plan and I’m doubtful it will work and could actually make the whole situation much worse. However, that’s not my only problem because Jack’s acting strangely and I’m not sure why. I know we had to keep up the pretence in front of his family but he appears to have forgotten they’re not here. For the entire journey, he reaches for my hand on the odd occasion and squeezes it. He makes plans for me to come over and watch that new series on Netflix we both liked the look of and he asked me if I fancied joining him after work at the gym one evening for a workout.
After a while, I say firmly, “What’s going on, Jack?”
He sounds surprised. “What do you mean?”
“All of this. The plans, the loving touches, the shared nights ahead, it’s all a bit excessive if you ask me.”
He says tightly, “I’m just playing my part, Nelly.”
“Hm a little too well if you ask me. Listen, I promise I won’t pull out, is that it, do you think you need to persuade me to stay to keep up the pretence? I know I told you I’d had second thoughts but quite honestly, I’m too exhausted, emotionally speaking, to care anymore. We can continue with this charade until you get your money and then maybe I’ll get mine.”
I didn’t mean to be so hard and brutal and as soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. The atmosphere in the car changes to an icy one and he says tightly, “Of course, the money. After all, that is what we agreed.”
I feel terrible but just shrug. “It was your idea, not mine. You talked me into it and quite honestly, I knew you would struggle with it. What’s the matter, are you feeling bereft of female company and have now resorted to hitting on the hired help?”
I wish I could sew my mouth together because what is spilling out is vitriol even to my own ears. I suppose all the hurt, resentment, rejection and recent threats, have tainted my mind because I have absolutely no self-worth left and no self-esteem.
Jack doesn’t answer and just screeches into the visitor’s bay near my apartment and says in a cold voice, “Fine if that’s all this is to you, then maybe we should take any emotion out of it. You have made it perfectly clear you are only doing a job and want nothing else from me. I’ll let you know when we need to venture out in public but until then, have a nice night.”
I open my mouth to speak but his furious expression silences me. I’ve upset him, it’s obvious. He is trying to mask it but I can see real hurt in his eyes and he looks upset. He scowls and nods towards the door, “Go on then.”
Feeling like a complete bitch, I open the door and say in a small voice, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say those things. You’ve only been nice to me and I’ve just thrown it all back in your face. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted nothing more to do with me. I’m sorry, Jack.”
I make to leave as the tears threaten to spill and am surprised when a hand pulls me back and a voice says gently, “Don’t go.”
Spinning around, I’m surprised to see his expression has changed to one I know all too well. The look of loneliness.
He smiles shakily. “I’m sorry. I have something I need to tell you and you aren’t going to like what I have to say.”
My heart starts beating so fast I can almost hear it and I say fearfully, “What is it?”
He looks down and says in a small voice, “Can I come in?”
Nodding, I exit the car feeling as if I’m about to experience one of those moments in life when everything changes. The crossroads that determines the path to tread and a parting of the ways, or another journey into the unknown together.
Whatever Jack is about to say is serious, judging by his expression and I’m not sure that today of all days, I’m ready to hear what it is.
We head into my flat and I don’t even register the usual mess that greets us. Something is happening here, and it’s serious. I try to lighten the atmosphere and say nervously, “Um… would you like a coffee, tea, hot chocolate or maybe something stronger?”
He shakes his head and stands looking awkward in the doorway. I shrug and say nervously, “Ok, then… um… you had better tell me what’s on your mind then.”
He takes a deep breath and says in a low voice, “I suppose I had better start with what happened today and work backwards.”
Feeling completely confused, I just nod as he sighs heavily. “Emma told me something that made me mad.”
My heart thumps as I wonder what she said and shrug, “So what, Emma’s always been a gossip and a bitch, surely you take whatever she says with a pinch of salt.”
He just fixes with me a severe loo
k and I wonder what on earth she told him because to my knowledge it’s nothing I could have done?
He says tightly, “It was just after we locked up. She asked me how things were going with us and I said fine. She seemed nervous and shy which isn’t like her and it made me curious. She seemed worried and said she’d heard a rumour about you and hadn’t wanted to say anything but she cared too much for me to see me made a fool of.”
I’m not sure what I should say because so far none of this is ringing any bells with me, so I shrug, “What am I supposed to have done, or said for that matter?”
“She told me your friend Angela told her you were well known for being a little over-friendly with your reps. Apparently, they all loved coming to see you because you sampled more than their chocolates in the back room of your shop.”
I can’t help it and burst out laughing. “Seriously, you are kidding me.”
One look at his expression tells me he’s not, and he says gruffly, “She also said that the woman who threatened you had found out you were after her fiancé and had propositioned him. She told her that you were well known for being easy and she didn’t want me to be made to look like a fool.”
I feel the disappointment forming a huge knot inside my stomach as I say angrily, “And you believe her, of course.”
Jack comes across and pulls me towards him with one sudden move that makes me wonder if he’s about to murder me or something. Instead, there’s a fierce look in his eyes as he almost shouts, “Of course I don’t believe her, what do you take me for?”
I stare at him with the utmost confusion. “Then what’s the problem?”
He almost shouts. “You are the problem, Nelly. You! Do you know what she did after she told me?”
I shake my head, wondering if he’s gone a little mad as he shouts, “She kissed me. She pressed her body against mine and kissed me, telling me that she had always loved me and girls like you didn’t deserve men like me. She told me we were always meant to be together, and I never saw what was staring at me in the face all those years.”
He breaks off and says roughly, “And she was right.”
My voice shakes as I say, “She was?”
He nods. “But it wasn’t her staring at me in the face… it was you.”
“Me!”
His face softens and my breath hitches as I see the emotion in his eyes. “As soon as she said the words everything clicked into place. The way my heart lifted when I saw you staring at me through that window. You may have changed a lot since school but I knew it was you. It took me back to those days where you were just another girl in class. The girl we all disregarded, yet for some inexplicable reason always made me look twice. There was always something about you that drew my attention and I never knew why. I thought it was because you were odd and a little strange. Maybe out of reach because you were the headmaster’s daughter and off limits. But when I saw you again, it all came flooding back. Maybe I had an epiphany because I couldn’t pass by the chance to get to know you better.”
I stare at him in total shock. This was not what I expected to hear. He smiles nervously. “Look at you. You’re clever, beautiful and well out of my league. You also appeared to hate me and when you wouldn’t come to my opening, I was surprised. Then when you did and confronted the group from school, it turned my world around. You see, Nelly, I have been trying to figure out why I’m so uncharacteristically drawn to you and it’s taken me a long time to realise that…”
I hold my breath as he says softly, “It was always going to be you.”
For a moment, I just stare at him. He spoke, and I heard what I thought were words I have dreamt of hearing spilling from his lips but the reality must be very different because guys like Jack don’t say those words to girls like me. He pulls me beside him on the couch and says in a worried voice. “The trouble is, I have done something you may not be able to forgive.”
A feeling of dread creeps over me. Of course, here it is, the sting in the tail. Whatever brief moment of magic just happened is about to turn to dust because I know that look in his eyes. I’m about to get the killer statement that ends this before it’s even begun.
He shakes his head and says in a small voice, “I lied.”
I whisper, “About what?”
“The challenge.”
My mind struggles to keep up as I say with confusion. “No, you didn’t, your Aunt told me herself she had set you challenges.”
He grins sheepishly. “She did. The shop was mine.”
I nod. “Yes, the shop. You needed to open a business from scratch and keep the same girlfriend for the rest of the year.”
Shaking his head, he laughs nervously, “The shop was my challenge, the girl was never part of it.”
I stare at him in astonishment. “Then why…?”
“Because I wasn’t lying when I asked you to be my girlfriend. Then when we went on the date and it all became real, it made me nervous. I started to worry that I wasn’t ready. Maybe you weren’t the one for me and I was just chasing the impossible. Then when you were about to walk away, I panicked and so, I stretched my Aunt’s challenge to give me some breathing space. I would persuade you to help me by offering to pay your rent. That way it would make you dislike me a little less for opening opposite and give me some breathing space to see if this was what I thought it was.”
“Breathing space?”
“I’m sorry, Nelly. I’ve misled you and spun such a web I’m starting to be trapped in my own lies. It changed when I heard what happened today. It made me sick to my stomach, and I wanted to march over there and tear those people limb from limb. You were upset, so I was upset. When you told me we were just pretending, I realised I didn’t want you to think that way anymore. I want to be the guy who stands beside you and you turn to for everything. I want us to be a team like your parents are and I think this could be the start of something life-changing. But I can’t base it all on a lie. It’s one thing wanting someone but it won’t work if they don’t feel the same.”
The silence sits between us as we allow the words to sink in. Jack likes me as a man likes a woman. Me! Nelly Gray!
I stare at him in shock and he smiles gently. Then he takes me by surprise and drops to the floor on one knee and says loudly, “Nelly Gray, will you be my girlfriend… for real this time?”
There is that moment in life that you have heard a thousand times before in your dreams. When the prince asks the princess to marry him. When Danny chooses Sandy and doesn’t care what people think. When good conquers evil and when the meaning of life is revealed. This is that moment for me. The past now makes sense and reveals the path to the future. Past disappointments and betrayals cease to matter because it all becomes clear. Life’s tapestry begins to take shape and the puzzle pieces finally fit. There really is no other word to say than, “Yes, Jack. I’ll be your girlfriend… for real… um… but only if that is really what you…”
My word is captured at the back of his throat as he kisses me hard, demanding and in ownership. This kiss seals our future and changes everything. Jack and Nelly have made it through every obstacle thrown in their way because they finally found their way home. At least that’s what I like to believe.
27
It’s weird how life turns out. Here I was, totally obsessing that I wasn’t good enough for the school heartthrob and he was doing the same over the nerd.
For the next few days I am walking on air and any problems I have are firmly pushed away because I intend on savouring every moment of my new relationship. I can’t even tell my friends because they already think we’re a couple – oh, the irony.
Instead, Jack and I take the time to pull down the barriers and really get to know each other. We spend the evenings watching Netflix or going to the gym. I’m not even bothered that we’re spending too much time with each other because why pretend? That’s what started this whole fiasco off and if we’d been honest from the beginning, we would have saved a lot of wasted time.
I think Jack and I only stop kissing to breathe and eat. Occasionally, we catch what the movie is about but I can’t remember what we have actually watched. The gym sessions are just an excuse to stare unashamedly at each other as we practice our moves and the hot flushes I endure have nothing to do with nature. No, life is good except for one thing and that thing rears its ugly head when I’m least expecting it.
As I sort through the caramel kisses, I hear the door chime and look up. However, my welcome smile freezes as I see Violet looking at me with hostility. She looks around her disdainfully and says angrily, “I don’t appear to have your rent as agreed. I’m here to collect it in person.”
Slowly, I walk over to the cash register and open it with a flourish. Withdrawing an envelope from inside, I push a receipt book towards her and say firmly, “Your rent is all here and I require your signature as proof it has been paid.”
Sneering, she takes the envelope from my outstretched fingers and rips it open greedily. She withdraws the cheque made out to Ken and her eyes flash. “In future, we would prefer cash.”
I say nothing and just hand her the pen and the book and she grabs it roughly from my fingers and scrawls an illegible signature across the page. I say firmly, “Please print your name so it can be recognised.”
She huffs, “Is this strictly necessary?”
I say nothing and she takes the pen and angrily prints her name. As she straightens up, I say icily, “Now, if I may ask you to leave, I have work to do.”
Shrugging, she turns to leave and I say loudly, “Oh, I almost forgot.”
As she turns, I withdraw another envelope and hold it towards her. “Just a few repairs I need to be carried out before the next rent cheque is due. The damp is coming in again from the flat upstairs and has marked the carpet. Obviously, I sell food so it needs to be of the strictest hygiene involved. As my landlords, you are responsible for the maintenance of the building. Now, I used to just deal with this sort of thing myself but as we are now doing things properly, I would like that to apply to my rights as well. I’m sure there are more things to put right and will draw up my list before the next cheque is due. Good day.”