Friends With Benefits

by Lisa Swift

  ‘Hey. I’m Uhura.’

  He shook his head. ‘Do you not even know who Janeway is? She’s actually a really cool person to be.’

  ‘Course. She was captain of the, er… spaceship.’

  ‘What spaceship?’

  ‘The SS… Spaceship.’

  ‘Lexie Whittle, somewhere in this room your stepson just disowned you,’ Theo said. ‘She was captain of the USS Voyager.’

  ‘Right. And Uhura was…?’

  ‘Comms officer on the Enterprise.’

  ‘But they are all Star Wars, right?’

  ‘That had better be a joke.’

  She laughed. ‘Yeah, all right, that one was deliberately to wind you up. I know it’s Stargate.’

  ‘Seriously, Lex, you really ought to keep your voice down. We’re going to get chased out of here by a pitchfork-wielding mob if you keep saying stuff like that.’

  She sighed. ‘I must be such a disappointment to you.’

  ‘Was just thinking that myself.’ He ran one hand down the back of her uniform, letting it settle on her buttocks. ‘Lucky for you you’ve got such a great arse. In that jumpsuit there’s not much I can’t forgive you for.’

  ‘Except muddling Wars and Trek.’

  ‘Right. You have to draw the line somewhere.’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ‘You OK, mate?’ Oli asked, nudging Connor as they queued for Neil Carter’s autograph.

  ‘Hmm?’ Connor stopped scanning the crowd for Sophie and JJ and forced himself to pay attention. ‘Oh. Yeah, fine.’

  Oli reached up to smooth his gelled Wolverine hair, and Connor’s gaze drifted to his friend’s bare arms. He’d never paid much attention to Oli’s arms before. They were good arms: skinny but a bit muscly too, with a dusting of dark, curling hair. Connor found himself wondering what it would feel like to run his fingers over them.

  ‘Look, don’t worry about Soph,’ Oli said. ‘She’s just trying to get her own back because she thinks…’ He flushed. ‘Well, I reckon she thinks me and you are here on a date. She heard me talking about us planning to go together and I think she got the wrong idea.’

  ‘You mean she thinks we’re here together? Like, together together?’

  ‘I guess. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?’

  ‘Well no, but we’re not, are we?’

  ‘We could be. If you wanted to be.’

  ‘Ugh.’ Connor scowled into the distance. ‘All I want is my mates back. I want to have my birthday with all my mates and do cool stuff and talk about Star Wars. Why is everyone always trying to get me to do other stuff?’

  Oli’s face fell. ‘All right.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Connor said in a softer voice. ‘Did that sound mean? I just meant, I like us being mates. I don’t really want to date anyone at the moment, Ol, not you or Soph or anyone else. Maybe next term I might feel ready, but right now I just want to keep everything in my life simple, you know? I feel like… like I’m only just learning who I am. I can’t do that if I have to be learning who someone else is too.’

  Oli blinked. ‘Whoa. Deep, Con.’

  ‘Right?’ He glanced over the crowd again, but Sophie seemed to have disappeared. ‘I wish we could get her back in the gang. This is so stupid. She should be over here queueing with us.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Oli looked thoughtful. ‘Listen, bro, can you mind my place? I need to go for a piss.’

  ‘Yeah, all right.’

  Ten minutes later, Oli still wasn’t back. Connor was starting to worry that his friend was going to miss getting Neil Carter’s autograph. Had he got lost in the crowd?

  ‘Hi,’ a girl’s voice said softly.

  Connor turned around. ‘Soph. Um, hi.’

  JJ seemed to have disappeared, but Oli was standing beside her, smiling awkwardly.

  ‘Brought someone to see you,’ he said.

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Con, can we talk?’ Sophie asked.

  ‘Um…’

  She glanced at the line. ‘Oh. Right. Neil Carter.’

  ‘No… no, it’s fine. I can queue again.’

  ‘I’ll take your place,’ Oli said. ‘Meet you by Jabba’s Palace after.’

  Sophie took Connor’s hand and led him to one of the sets that had been created for photo opportunities. She took a seat on the Wampa Beast of Hoth’s hairy dismembered arm and Connor sat down in the fake snow beside her.

  ‘I thought you were here with Oli,’ she said.

  ‘I know. I’m not though. I mean, I am. But I’m not.’ He glanced at her Leia costume. ‘You look, um… pretty.’

  ‘You too. I mean, boy pretty. You’ve always been my favourite Boba Fett.’

  He smiled. ‘Cheers, Soph.’

  ‘So Ol just marched up to me and told me I was being a douche and ruining your birthday.’

  ‘Did he?’

  ‘Yeah.’ She sighed. ‘He’s right, isn’t he? I’ve been a total bitch. I was just hurt and jealous. You know, Con, you could’ve told me you were gay in the first place. If you wanted me to pretend to be your girlfriend till you were ready to come out, I would’ve done it anyway.’

  ‘I’m not gay though.’

  She blinked. ‘Aren’t you?’

  ‘No, I’m bi.’ He shook his head. ‘Why do people always seem to forget that’s a thing?’

  ‘So you…’

  ‘Soph, what we did… when we were dating, you know that was real, right? I never pretended anything. I really liked you.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. I didn’t even know I was bi then. That’s what made it all confusing, because Oli and me kissed, and suddenly I knew – I mean, maybe I knew before and I just hadn’t been thinking about it, but I dunno, it seemed pretty surprising when I worked it out. Big thing to get my head round, you know?’

  ‘So you and Oli aren’t seeing each other?’

  ‘No. We kissed twice at your house, once in Spin the Bottle and once after, but we’re not boyfriends. I mean, I like Ol, but…’ He sighed. ‘I kind of don’t want to be dating anyone at the moment, Soph. I need some time to find out who I am. I’m only fifteen and this… this is major stuff, you know?’ He took her hand. ‘But I would like my friend back. I’ve missed you.’

  She smiled. ‘Aww, Con.’

  ‘So, um… would you be back in the gang? Me and Ol need you. JJ and Crucial have been driving us insane.’

  She laughed. ‘Tell me about it. JJ’s talked about nothing but my boobs all morning.’ She glanced down at her costume. ‘This bikini was not a good idea.’

  Connor shook his head, smiling. ‘I can’t believe you went out with him.’

  ‘I know, what was I thinking?’

  ‘Soph, how come you never told anyone about me and Ol? I thought you’d tell everyone.’

  She squeezed his hand. ‘I might’ve been a bitch, Con, but I’m not that much of a bitch. It’s up to you who you decide to tell something like that to.’

  He smiled. ‘You’re kind of cool, you know?’

  ‘Cooler than you,’ she said, smiling back. ‘I got here early so I could get Neil Carter’s autograph before the queues.’ She tapped her head. ‘Smart, see?’

  ‘Hug then?’

  ‘OK.’ She put her arms around him. ‘Sorry for being such a dick.’

  ‘No, it’s my fault, I should’ve talked to you. I feel bad you got hurt because of me.’

  She gave him a tight squeeze. ‘Well, I’m glad we’re friends again. I missed you too, Con.’

  * * *

  ‘…no, Mr Spock was the science officer on the Enterprise. Dr Spock was an eminent child psychologist.’

  ‘Right,’ Lexie said. ‘So who was Dr Cornelius? Wasn’t he in Star Trek?’

  ‘That was McCoy. Cornelius was the head science chimp in Planet of the Apes…’ Theo shook his head. ‘All right, now you’re just taking the piss, aren’t you?’

  She grinned. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Well, you’re lucky I love you, that’s all.’
/>
  She squeezed his fingers. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.’

  ‘Good, because I wasn’t planning to stop saying it anytime soon.’ He nodded to a group of four approaching them. ‘Hello. What’s this?’

  Lexie squinted at them. ‘So a Jedi, the Wolverine, Princess Leia and Boba Fett walk into a bar…’

  ‘You think Sophie and Connor made up?’

  ‘Looks like.’ Lexie pulled a face. ‘Ugh, but we gained JJ.’

  Theo shrugged. ‘You win some, you lose some.’

  The rest of the day seemed to pass quickly. Crucial appeared at some point wearing a Jon Snow Game of Thrones costume, and Connor spent a happy afternoon with his friends getting all the autographs and selfies his fifteen-year-old heart could desire. Lexie beat Theo at Mario Kart in the retro gaming area; he beat her at Mortal Kombat. After that they discovered a pop-up pub, the Mos Eisley Cantina, which Theo discovered did a pretty good pint for a wretched hive of scum and villainy. That proved a good place to hole up until the young people had finished doing their stuff, and it was soon time to leave.

  ‘Can you drop me off at the Parrot, Lex?’ Theo asked when she’d driven Oli home.

  ‘Aren’t you staying at ours?’

  ‘Yeah, I’ll come over in a bit. I badly need to peel myself out of this sweaty suit and jump in the shower. Tell you what, both Ryan Reynolds and the entirety of the BDSM community have jumped up in my estimation today.’

  ‘All right. Come round when you’re back in your civvies, eh? Birthday Boy’s requested a family curry and film night to round off the celebrations.’

  ‘Sounds good.’ He leaned over to kiss her cheek, ignoring Boba Fett’s retching noises from the back seat. ‘See you soon, beautiful. Bye, kiddo.’

  ‘So did you have a good birthday?’ Lexie asked Connor as they drove back home.

  He shrugged. ‘It was all right.’

  Lexie smiled, knowing that was as much glowing praise as you could ever extract from a teen.

  ‘I think you can take the helmet off now, Con.’

  ‘I will when we get home. I haven’t finished being Boba Fett yet.’

  She laughed. ‘You and Sophie made up then?’

  ‘Yeah. We’re not dating any more, though. Just mates.’

  ‘Well, I’m glad.’ Lexie frowned as she pulled into the drive. ‘Hang on.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Something’s wrong… you didn’t close the living room curtains this morning, did you?’

  ‘No, why would I? I never do things to the curtains.’

  ‘Well they’re closed now.’

  He shrugged. ‘You forgot to open them then.’

  ‘No. No, I distinctly remember opening them to get the best light for the photo of us in our costumes.’

  ‘Maybe Nana came round.’

  ‘She has her yoga class on Sunday afternoons.’ Her brow knit into a worried frown. ‘Con, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’

  She jumped out of the car and hurried to unlock the front door, but there was no need. It was already open.

  As she’d feared, when she walked into the living room she found someone very familiar in there. He was sitting in the armchair watching TV, for all the world as if he owned the place.

  ‘Daryl,’ she muttered. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Daryl stood up and scanned Lexie’s Star Trek costume. ‘Lex. What on earth are you wearing?’

  ‘Why are you in my house, Daryl?’

  ‘Our house, you mean.’ He stared as Connor appeared at her side in his Boba Fett armour and helmet. ‘Who the hell’s this guy? Christ, Lexie, what sort of kinky shit have you been getting into while I’ve been away? Where’s Connor?’

  Connor took his helmet off. ‘Here. What the fuck are you doing back?’

  ‘Connor?’ Daryl stared up at him. ‘Jesus. You’re enormous.’

  ‘Well, you’ve not visited in nine months,’ Lexie said. ‘That’s a long time in the life of a growing boy. Your son’s fifteen now, Daryl.’

  ‘Fourteen, you mean.’

  ‘No, I mean fifteen,’ she said, glaring at him. ‘It’s his birthday. Remember that, the day your only child was born? We’ve been at CalderCon celebrating, hence the costumes.’

  ‘Oh. Right. Well, champ, give your old man a big birthday hug then.’ Daryl went to embrace him, but Connor took a step back.

  ‘What’re you doing here, Dad?’ he asked.

  ‘Seriously, no hug?’

  ‘We never hug. What do you want to start now for?’

  Daryl sighed and sat back down. ‘I was hoping you might’ve missed me.’

  Lexie cast a worried glance at Connor before going to perch on the sofa opposite Daryl. Connor stayed where he was, watching the two of them warily.

  ‘So are you here for a holiday?’ she asked.

  ‘No.’ Daryl smiled at her. ‘I’m back, Lex. Back for good.’

  ‘What? But you’ve got six months left on your contract. You didn’t get sacked, did you?’

  ‘Of course not. Taro’s expanding the business. He wants to open a chain of Utsukushī restaurants here in the UK and he’s asked me to head it up. This way I get to come home earlier than planned and there’s no need to look for another job. It’s a permanent position, plus there’s a pay rise included.’

  ‘You don’t mean…’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry, I’m not moving back in here,’ he said. ‘I’ll only be staying a week until my apartment’s ready.’

  ‘A week!’

  ‘It is half my house. There’s plenty of space, isn’t there?’

  ‘Daryl, we’re separated! You can’t stay here. That might count as a reconciliation, legally speaking. Go to a hotel.’

  ‘It won’t count as a reconciliation. My son’s here. I guess I’m entitled to have a short visit with the son I’ve barely seen in eighteen months, right?’

  Her frown relaxed slightly. ‘Well, yes, I suppose that’s fair enough. You could’ve let me know though.’

  ‘I’ve been trying to get you on the phone for weeks, Lex. You didn’t return any of my calls.’

  ‘What if I don’t want you to visit me?’ Connor demanded.

  Daryl turned to look at him. ‘Come on, lad, don’t be that way. I know you’re angry with me, but I’m the only dad you’ve got.’ He glanced from Connor to Lexie. ‘Look, Connor, can you go up to your room? I want to have some grown-up talk with your stepmum.’

  ‘That OK by you?’ Connor asked Lexie, flashing a resentful look at his father. ‘I’ll stay if you don’t want to be on your own with him.’

  She smiled. ‘That’s sweet, Con, but it’s all right. Your dad’s right, me and him ought to talk things through.’

  ‘Fine. If he upsets you though, I’m coming back down.’ He subjected Daryl to a hard stare before stomping off to his room.

  Daryl sighed. ‘I guess he really does hate me now, doesn’t he?’

  ‘He doesn’t know you, Daryl. I honestly think Tony Stark could’ve walked through that door and Con would feel he had a closer relationship with him.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘That’s Iron Man to you.’ She glared at him. ‘Going to accuse me of brainwashing him again then?’

  He winced. ‘Told you I said that, did he?’

  ‘Mmhmm.’

  ‘Look, I’m sorry. I was angry and… well, it was out of order. I shouldn’t have said it, especially not to Connor.’

  ‘I thought we agreed that no matter how pissed off we were with each other, we’d never drag Connor in. He’s a kid, not a weapon – you remember saying that?’

  ‘OK, I was wrong. And I do appreciate everything you’ve done for him, Lex. He obviously feels very protective of you.’ He glanced morosely at the door. ‘Not so fond of me though, eh? My own fault, I know.’

  Her expression softened a little.

  ‘So you’re really coming back to England?’

 
‘That’s right.’ He pulled his gaze away from the door. ‘I’m going to be honest with you, Lex. This job wasn’t something that was offered to me. I applied, and I had to fight bloody hard for it.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I wanted to come home. Home to my son.’ He smiled sadly. ‘I know I’ve been a pretty useless dad, all told. I never meant to be. When Connor was born, Elise and me, we had all these plans. The three of us forever, it was supposed to be.’

  Lexie bowed her head. ‘I know.’

  ‘God, I’d never been happier than the day that kid was born. This perfect little person with his mother’s eyes, all ours. But after she was gone, whenever I saw him… I mean, I thought with you and me it was going to be a new start and I could put the horror of the shooting behind me. But I couldn’t, Lex. I’m sorry. I tried, but… I couldn’t.’

  He looked so damaged and helpless, Lexie felt her heart go out to him. This was the side of Daryl that had first made her fall for him. Not the hard, success-driven career man he used as a shell, but the wounded, vulnerable person underneath who’d lost the love of his life in that horrific way. She ought to have known better than to think she could ever take Elise’s place in his heart, but all she’d wanted to do, then, was to heal.

  ‘I’m sorry, Daryl,’ she said in a softer voice. ‘I know it was hard for you. I tried to help, but it wasn’t enough.’

  ‘You helped more than you know.’ He leaned forward, as if to take her hands, then thought better of it and leaned back again. ‘Lex, I want to do better. I want to be a father to him, if it’s not too late. Do you think it is?’

  ‘I hope not. I can sense he regrets not having a closer relationship with you.’

  ‘You’ll help me then?’

  ‘I’ll do what I can, but it has to be led by Connor. He’s not a little boy any more, Daryl. He’s a mature, sensitive, bright young man who can make decisions for himself. If you treat him like a child, he’ll just put up barriers.’

  ‘Yes. All right.’

  ‘Hang on. Let me get some tea on.’

  She went into the kitchen, glad of an excuse to get away from Daryl for a moment so she could WhatsApp Theo.

  DON’T come over tonight. Daryl alert. Will fill you in tomorrow at work. Love you x