“I really would love to, but I have to go home,” he said without further explanation.
She considered her options; say nothing or push for more information. Why did he have to go home? Which home? His flat or wherever Mrs Brooker lived? When would he be back? When would she see him again? She decided not to be the needy jealous mistress so went with the first option.
“Okay, but I’ll miss you,” she said, stretching back up to kiss him again.
“I will see you at Charlie and Lindsay’s tomorrow, but it might be a good idea to arrive separately and if you want to we could pick this up tomorrow night,” he suggested cautiously.
“I would like that.”
“Good.” With a single gentle kiss to her nose he continued, “But darling, I really do have to go now.” He gave her a final kiss before picking up his keys, phone and wallet, then left.
Steph had just pulledup outside Charlie and Lindsay’s house after a restless night’s sleep when her phone alerted her to a message. She pulled out her phone and hoped it wasn’t Lindsayagain to tell her that today was cancelled; she had already called that morning to say that it would just be her, Charlie, Steph and Jon as everyone else had been forced to cancel for one reason or another. She looked at her phone and smiled as she realised her message was from Jon.
She sighed as she speculated on his reasons for his non show that afternoon and then replied with a short and concise reply.
Ok. I missed you too. Am I playing discretion game today if your name comes up? Steph x
May be wise to, but can think of other games I would rather play with you. Jon x
She smiledto herself at the thought of being able to spend the night with him tonight, but then also wondered if he had spent last night with Lucy and huffed heavily as she began to imagine just what their evening had involved. That coupled with the fact that she had not heard from him since he’d left her the previous night made her uncomfortable.
As she walked up the path towards her friend’s front door, she heard a familiar voice.
“Steph, we need to talk.”
She turned and came face to face with Simon.
“What are you doing here?” she asked warily.
“I’m not stalking you, I promise. I saw you at the supermarket, or at least your car leaving the car park, so I followed you,” he admitted honestly.
“But you’re not stalking me?” she asked ironically and realised that Jon had been right about the benefit of changing her car.
“Yeah, it sounds a bit creepy, doesn’t it?” he asked, awkward when he heard just how stalkerish his words actually sounded.
She laughed in spite of herself and the situation. “Just a bit.”
“Can we talk, please?” he asked calmly.
“I don’t think we have anything to say, not to each other anyway,” she told him frankly.
“I have some things I need to say to you. Please,” he almost pleaded making her soften to his request.
“Okay.”
Suddenly Charlie appeared on the doorstep, “You alright, Steph?” He stared, an expression of abject confusion spreading across his face at the sight of her and Simon together.
“Yes, fine thanks. I’ll be in shortly, there are just a few things Simon and I need to discuss.”
Charlie nodded suspiciously but closed the door again as she gestured back towards her car, “We can talk in the car if you want to.”
He smiled and nodded before following her back to her car where they sat for a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.
“So . . .” Steph eventually said, desperate for him to say whatever he needed to for them both to move on.
“So, I’m sorry for everything, for cheating on you and being a prat about everything. Really.” He sounded very sincere.
