Chapter 4
Mia
I watched them go. There was a story there. A dark story that obviously hurt, but one I desperately wanted to know. The way his worn jeans moulded his perfectly biteable butt made my mouth water. Then there was his shirt. If I thought for a moment he filled it out well from the front, then the back view was something else altogether. My fingers itched to run down his muscles and feel them tense beneath my nails. Collapsing into the cheap desk chair, I dropped the clipboard and ran my hands over my face. It had been too long. Clearly. I was drooling over some guy I’d probably never see again. I knew I should file the papers away and prepare for my next class, but curiosity had me firmly in its clutches. As much as I knew I shouldn’t look, I couldn’t seem to help it.
Scanning down the page, I found Derek’s writing. It was typical male hand writing?barely legible and all over the place. That didn’t matter…just what he’d written. His name, Derek Cartwright. A phone number with the comment hastily added beside it, ‘call any time,’ then the relationship section made my heart stop. In the brief encounter I’d had with Derek, he’d come across as a guy of very few words. He seemed like the kind of guy that would be honest, even if it was brutally so, but the few words he did use would be meaningful. Every. Single. Time. Swallowing the nerves which had settled in my throat, I checked what he’d written.‘Big brother, guardian, best friend, flat mate, confidant.’
“Well, shit!” I sighed, dropping the papers to the desk.
“Everything all right, Mia?”
My head shot up. I’d been so caught up in my Derek Cartwright dreaming that I hadn’t heard the door chime as an overweight, middle age lady named Hannah shuffled through the door.
With my hand pressed to my chest, I willed my racing heart to steady. I needed to get my head out of my ass and back to reality. I had a business to run and it didn’t care about men with eyes you wanted to drown in or an ass so tight you had to bite your lip just to stop you reaching out and swatting it.
“Everything’s fine. I was just caught up in some paperwork. You know how it goes.” I shrugged, clambering to my feet.
“Unfortunately, I do.”
“You’re here for the class, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I take Julie’s self-defence class once a week.”
I watched as a blush coated her bloated cheeks. Another reminder why I worked as hard as I did and why I insisted I do this my way. People like Hannah wouldn’t be seen at a normal gym. A gym where meatheads hogged the equipment and admired themselves in the mirrors. This was a place where people like Hannah were welcome and safe. And that was something you couldn’t underestimate the importance of providing.
“Great! Well, Julie’s out sick today, so I guess you’re stuck with me,” I forced out cheerily. Usually I love taking classes, but for some reason I was just not feeling it. Maybe I’m catching what sent Julie and Mackenzie down. “Why don’t you head on through? We still have a couple of minutes before we get started!”
“Great!”
Despite my lack of energy and enthusiasm, Hannah’s smile was infectious. Suddenly the bounce was back in my step and I wanted to get into it. I wanted to kick something. Somehow, I’d rework the routine…it was one of the many perks of being the boss.
When the lock clicked into place I let my shoulders slump. I could already feel the bruise starting to take shape on my left side from a misjudged kick earlier. It had been a long day, and even though I know I should’ve scooped up at least one pile of papers and worked on it tonight, I just couldn’t be bothered. Tuesday nights were hard enough without thinking I’d be able to fit paperwork in as well. Checking in both directions, I crossed the road and took the stairs into the parking station. Most days I caught the tram into the city, but Tuesdays I started early and had to be home as soon as I could get away. I was one of those pathetic twenty-six-year-olds who still lived at home with my parents. I still slept in my childhood bedroom. The same room I’d made childish dreams and adolescent promises in. It was still the same. I’d painted the once pale green walls white and replaced the comforter, but ultimately nothing had changed. It was still the same bed head, just a new mattress. Mum said it brought her comfort. Me, it made me feel safe, so I didn’t really give a shit. Mum was happy and I was safe, there was nothing more I could ask for.
Jumping behind the wheel of my blue bug, also known as Betty, the love of my life, I headed home. Taking every back road and shortcut I’d learnt in the past three years, it took barely fifteen minutes before I pulled into my designated spot in the driveway. Grabbing my bag from the backseat, I locked the car and headed inside. I needed a shower before I got roped into helping with dinner. Shaking my head, I don’t know why I thought it would be any different. Every Tuesday was the same. I’d race home, change into something respectable, and help Mum finish up the cooking. Five minutes before it was ready to serve, in would trudge my brother Ashton with his snarky, sneaky wife, Willow. I couldn’t stand the waif of a woman, and it was no secret. My whole family knew. So did she. From the moment Ashton brought her home, I didn’t trust her. There was just something about her. She was one of those weird vegans who criticized anyone and everyone who ate normally, despite the fact that my brother was always the first person lined up at the barbeque to grab the biggest, rarest hunk of steak known to man. Eventually we’d get through the fake pleasantries and air kisses before settling down at the table. Just as everyone prepared to devour the mountain of food Mum had more than likely spent the better part of the day preparing, in would float Josie.
I loved Josie. She was my baby sister and my best friend. Josie was probably the only person in the world I trusted with all my secrets…and I had more than my fair share of those. Josie was everything I wished I could be. Young, free spirited, trusting, ambitious. Ready to take on the world. In truth, I was a bit jealous of her adventures, but I’d never begrudge her for them. We’d chosen different paths. Every step of the way we’d supported each other and when one fell, usually me, the other was there to pick them up, dust them off, and help them get back on their way again.
With memories of our stupid adventures floating about clouding my vision, I stepped into our house and into the time warp. Sure, appliances and furniture had been updated as the years passed by, but the house was still dated. From archways between each room, to the wooden architraves around the wide windows opening onto the immaculate gardens…and the beige. Everything was either brown or beige. It was almost as if colour was banned from our home. But that’s exactly what it was. Our home. The truth was, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Hi Mia. How was it today?” Mum called, spying me coming through the door.
“Hi Mum. Today was a hard one. Julie and Kenz were sick, so I was on my own. All good. I’ll just wash up then I’ll be out to help.”
Toeing off my runners, they stood out in the pile of bland brown and black leather shoes lined up precisely. My neon pink runners made a statement and I loved it.
“Don’t rush, sweetheart. Everything’s under control.”
“Okay,” I offered, knowing she was lying. It was the same conversation we had every week. Nothing was ever under control. There was always something that needed to be done. Shaking it off, I headed towards the back of the house and the sanctuary of my room.
Four long hours later, Ashton had taken the bitch home before she’d gotten herself bitch slapped. Josie and I tolerated her snarky comments and put up with her nasty barbs most of the time, but when she criticized Mum’s cooking, mind you on the meal she had to prepare specially for her, all hell broke loose. What made it even funnier was I wasn’t the one who let rip first. Josie beat me to it. Now, Josie and I sat outside on the deck finishing the bottle of wine we’d opened, just shooting the shit.
“What the fuck does Ash even see in her? I mean seriously…”
“Maybe she’s really good in bed.”
I spat wine everywhere. I should have been prepared for something inappropriate to come from Josie’s mouth. Now I’d wasted a mouthful of this wine and I was covered in sticky liquid.
Josie giggled. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe she is.”
