Down Under Complete Trilogy Box Set Page 3
My head is so confused right now. I have to pinch the bridge of my nose and take a few deep breaths to prevent the onslaught of emotions that are starting to crash around my body. If only he stayed away. Why the hell did he have to come and burst my bubble? Men, they are more trouble than they are worth, seriously. I make my way to the bathroom and turn on the shower. Maybe the hot spray will be enough to erase the drama that has decided to take over my life in the past twenty four hours. Stepping into the shower, I welcome the assault of the steaming hot water on my skin. I allow the water to run itself down my body, calming me and slowly easing out the knots of tension that have built up throughout the day. Finally, I start to think a little more clearly. I need a plan of action and as soon as I think this, I realise I have the perfect way to hatch one. When everything around me starts to crumble, there is one person who I know that I can count on, no matter what; my best friend Jen and a good old bottle of wine or two.
I spend the next fifteen minutes or so searching high and low for my phone. Where the bloody hell is it? I can't remember for the life of me where I last had it. How the hell can I lose my phone in this house? Everything has its place and I never go anywhere without it. It has my whole life on it. I say a silent prayer to everything that's holy, for iCloud. I have searched everywhere and it’s not as if I can phone myself, as I always have it on silent. Too many sales companies hassle me; if it's not them, then I'm being told that I am owed thousands for an accident that I have never had, all they need is my bank details. The easiest option would be to change my number. Maybe I should look into doing that, right after I have located the one item that keeps my life on the straight and narrow.
I'm still rummaging through the wash basket when the landline chimes to life. Making a dash for the receiver I stumble a little, going over on my ankle slightly. Shit, that fucking burns.
"Hello?" I squeeze my eyes shut to block out the pain that's beginning to radiate up and around my ankle. I hobble over to the sofa to take some pressure of it for a moment and I can hear Jen patiently waiting on the other end of the line for me.
"Hey, you okay?" The concern in her voice is sweet. If anyone knows how clumsy I am, it’s Jen. We've been besties since we were eight, so she has seen a fair few incidents on my part, most of them being embarrassing ones. Throughout it all, she has stuck by me and never once judged me, so I guess I found myself a real keeper. Either that, or I have far too much dirt on her.
"Yep, just kinda gone arse over tit trying to get to the god damn phone before it rings off. If you've been ringing my mobile I apologise. I can't find it for the life of me and it's driving me insane."
"Maybe that's because you left it in my car last night." Jen says and chuckles down the line. "I'm on my way over now anyway and I've grabbed the wine; figured you could use it after your urgent meeting this morning."
What a legend she is. The first sign of drama and she's on her way over with wine. I seriously don't know how I'm going to cope with her being on the other side of the world from me.
"In that case, why are you still on the phone, get your arse over here sharpish lady.'"
I hobble back to my room, the pain in my ankle easing slightly. It’s times like these, that I am thankful that I have the house to myself. It's not that I didn't parade around the house in just my underwear when Josh was here, because I did and quite frequently; but there is just something more comforting knowing that nobody is going to walk in on me half naked. I settle on my lounge pants and a vest top and shove my still damp hair into a messy bun. I'm a big lover of comfort. Plus it’s all I can be bothered to do with my hair. My split ends are atrocious; the sight of them would give my hairdresser a coronary. When I get my phone back I must remember to give her a call before my little adventure begins.
Jen makes it over within the hour. As I am busying myself sorting the pizza, my wild child of a best friend comes barrelling into the kitchen.
"Hey sexy lady!" I look up from removing the pizza to see her looking like the cat that got the cream. Someone is definitely feeling happy for herself.
"Hey yourself. Pizza's done so grab what you want." I say as I make my way to the lounge, wine glass in hand and await the assault that is about to be impounded onto my brain. Quiet, Jen is not.
I'm still waiting whilst Jen finishes the last of the pizza that remains on her plate. She's a little too quiet for my liking.
"Spill it Davies! What, or should I say who has put that dopey arse smile on your face?" I ask quite firmly.
"I don't know what you're talking about." she says as she pops her plate onto the coffee table. "Can't a girl be happy to spend some quality time with her favourite girl?" I watch her curiously as she refills our glasses. She can't lie for shit and by hook or crook she isn't leaving my house until she fills me in on the gossip that I have obviously been missing out on. I continue to stare her down. "I'll happily sit here all night until you confess whatever it is that you've been hiding from me, and you bloody well know it."
She lets out a defeated sigh "Well, you know like Molly and Dave have moved out? Well it seems that they have decided to rent their house out, rather than sell up. It doesn't always work out when you emigrate apparently and Molly wanted to keep her options open." She takes a big gulp of her wine followed by a wicked grin. "I noticed the lights were on when I got home on Thursday and thought it would be polite to introduce myself to the new neighbours." The blush on her face appears again, so I just sit here and wait for her to continue. "You know, just a quick hi, or how do you do; feel free to pop around for some sugar if you need to, that kind of thing."
"Go on." I'm quite interested in where this is going. Shit, she's flustered just thinking about it. Believe me when I say that this is not a look that you see on Jennifer Davies' face often!
"What can I say; I didn't expect a fucking god to open the door in nothing but a towel, Jess. I mean, come on. I stood there with my mouth hanging wide open, full on gawping for him to see. Talk about attractive!" Her head falls into her hands in shame and I can't help but laugh. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall in that moment.
“Are you being serious?” I say, while trying to catch my breath from laughing so much. Tears are streaming down my face.
"It's so not funny, Jess. I've never moved so fast in my life. Less than ten minutes later he's knocking on my door, still in just a towel, asking if he could use the shower as his boiler was playing up."
"Yeah I'm sure it was Jen. Still, there are worse lines he could have used."
"Obviously, I let him in to use it. I couldn't exactly say no after my perfect neighbour routine, could I?"
I shake my head in disbelief. Jen never gets embarrassed about anything and I mean anything. She was always the girl that would flash her tits from the back of the bus, or do anything to create a bit of drama and attention. This guy must be pretty hot if he's managed to work her up this much.
"So you fucked him." It's more of a statement than a question. "Tell me you at least got his name?"
"Hey!" She feigns a hurt expression and holds her hand to her chest "what kind of girl do you take me for? Of course I got his name; it's only fair since I made sure he was saying mine all night!"
The laughter is uncontrollable. It takes a while for us to settle down. Every time we catch a glimpse of one another, our laughter starts up again.
"His name's Luke, if you must know." She smiles as she says his name and her eyes are as bright as fireworks. "It's only a little bit of fun. Pure heat, fuelled lust with no strings. It's perfect for me Jess. I'm done with getting walked all over. It's time I let my hair down and had some fun for a change."
I couldn't argue with her on that front. Yes, she's dated some pretty shitty guys and she deserves to have some fun. My only problem is that she falls too deep, too soon. That is always a recipe for disaster.
"But shitting hell, Jess, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't take him for a test drive again. The man has some serious skills."
"Anyway, enough about me and my rocking sex life. What's happening with you? How did your meeting go?" She says as I fall back onto the sofa. Oh where to start. I knew this was bound to come up in conversation eventually, I just thought I would have had a little bit of time to adjust and think about how I was going to position it. One thing that I’m sure of when it comes to Jen, is to never beat around the bush and to get straight to the point.
"Mal's moving. He's been offered an amazing opportunity to expand the business; I think it's fantastic. I've seen him work so, so hard to build the business to what it is today. Nobody deserves it better than him." I reach over and grab my glass before I continue. "I'm not sure when it's all going to happen. It was more of a quick briefing, than anything else. I don't think the other guys have been told yet, as there was only me and Mal in the meeting this morning."
"How come it was only you and Mal in the meeting? What's going to happen with the office here? I sure as hell hope he leaves you in charge. No one else has put as much time and effort into that place like you have. You've always bent over backwards for that company, Jess."
I take a deep breath, not knowing what her reaction will be, but I take the plunge anyway. "He wants me to go with him Jen. I'm not sure of all the ins and outs just yet, but what I do know, is that a new development project has come up and both Mal and this other company want me on board." I await a response from her. It seems she is at a loss for words, which takes me by complete surprise. Her mouth opens and closes a few times and then the questions start to flow.
"Go where? How long will you be gone? Shit Jess, this is big stuff." She whistles.
"You're telling me. I haven't even managed to think it through yet; it's taken me all day to try and get my head around it. Most likely it will be for a couple of weeks and then I can oversee everything from my office, here."
"Shitting hell. My princess is about to make it big. Wait, what am I supposed to do without you? George doesn't put up with my drama strops like you do. What if I asked you to stay? Would you do that for little old me?"
I give her a slight punch to the arm. "I get the promotion of a lifetime and all you care about is who you can whinge to? Unreal, Davies. I'm sure your new little plaything will keep you more than entertained while I'm away."
"Less of the small, that he most definitely isn't. I won't even tell you what that man can do." Jen pouts her lips in a plea for me to change my mind.
"Come here you soft cow." I pull her into a tight hug. "What am I going to do with you, hey? I'm going to miss you too."
JESS
The rest of the weekend goes by pretty quickly. Jen ended up leaving shortly after lunch. I'm guessing lover boy was after a bit more action as her phone was going non-stop. Never, in all the years that I have known her, have I ever witnessed the speed in which Jen left my house. Damn that girl has it bad already. I just hope she isn't playing with fire. I guess only time will tell.
Taking full advantage of the peace and quiet, I decided to spend the rest of the day researching the Gold Coast. I would be lying if I said I wasn't getting more and more excited at the prospect of this challenge and adventure. The images that I stumbled across were out of this world. To relax on the beach after a hard day at work is right up my street. Plus, the time away would probably do me the world of good.
Finally, I start to feel like my life is heading back on the right track, and truthfully it's about bloody time. Some things never change though. After switching on my phone, there were at least twelve messages from Josh. I left them all unread, as it's too much energy that I don't want to waste on him. I know ignoring him isn’t the answer, but what else can I say? I've told him time and time again that I don't want to know, that it's over, but yet he still continues with the calls and messages. Josh is a little situation that I really do need to sort out and soon, otherwise I can see it getting out of hand. It kind of bothers me why he is so insistent to talk; communication was never really his forte in our relationship. No matter what he has put me through and the hurt I still feel inside, I can't bring myself to look at him and watch that same hurt reflecting back at me. I guess he’s finally realised that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. A little too late, I'd say.
"Good morning, princess." Now that's a phrase I will never get tired of hearing. I'm scooped up into a big bear hug and spun around, before being settled back on my feet. "Looking gorgeous as always." Ever the heart stopper. I look up at George, the most important man in my life. No matter how shit I am feeling, this guy always knows how to make it right.
"Right back at'cha sweetheart; cappuccino when you're ready." I get a slap to my behind for my cheek and make my way over to a free table. I watch as he works his magic and notice without surprise, the lingering eyes of the morning crowd that follow his every move. I don't blame them; the guy is sexy as hell. It's a mighty shame none of them stand a chance. I'm sure he would show each and every one of them a great time and then some.
"I speak for the whole female population when I say this, and I say it with love in my heart, but you're a fucking waste to us women Matthews!"
He winks at me as he takes the seat opposite me. Running his free hand through his mass of jet black hair, which I might add is in need of a trim, but then I suppose it adds to his ruggedness. His emerald green eyes flash up at me, followed by his wicked, devilish grin.
"You couldn't handle me if you tried, princess." He flexes his biceps for added effect as he slides my cappuccino across the table. Fortunately, I am immune to his charm, but only just. Many women have tried to make him see sense. Apparently, it's a woman's touch that he needs and all of them have failed, Jen included. I've never seen anyone so sure that they could turn someone.
"If he's going to turn for anyone, it's obviously going to be me!" Her confidence is outstanding, but I sure as hell wouldn't have her any other way. One in a million that girl.
"What brings you in here this early other than catching a glimpse of this?" He runs his hand up and down his front and I can't help but laugh.
"What better way to start my week than catching a glimpse of my favourite god?" Oh, that coffee hits me in the perfect spot. "Mmm, that's so good! Move in with me so I can have this when I wake up every morning?" I love winding him up, but he's not for taking the bait today. He just stares me down, waiting for me to answer him.
"Oh, all right, killjoy. There’s a couple of changes going on at work; I don't know all the ins and outs just yet." George opens his mouth wanting to say something but I cut him off. "As soon as I have all of the details I'll be able to tell you more, I promise. To add to that, I've got Josh messaging and calling me constantly; practically begging me to meet up with him for a chat." I look at George over my cup so I can try and gage some kind of reaction from him. Both Jen and George were over the moon when I finally manned up and grew some balls as they kindly put it, when I ended things with Josh.
"A huge part of me wants to tell him to piss off, and then another part of me is curious as to what he has to say, you know? Maybe once he's done that, he can move on? Why is it me that always has the drama?" My head falls into my hands as I will the world to right itself.
"I guess Jen's having a field day right now? Jess, I'd be surprised if she's not currently hunting him down so she can torture him by holding a heated pair of pliers to his balls. I think we both know what a psycho bitch Jen can be when she feels the need to protect her own."
"I think he's kind of safe for now. I didn't end up telling her last night." I pause briefly, but quickly carry on. "What? Don't look at me like that, M
atthews!" I point my finger sternly at him in warning, but it does no good as we both start laughing. "She looked far too happy and I didn't want to be the rain cloud of doom twice in one day, okay?" Me moving away for a while is more than enough for her to handle in such a short period of time, let alone my issues with Josh.
"So what are you not telling me?" Oh now I'm being treated to the joys of his serious tone!
"I love it when you look angry and get all serious on me. It kind of makes me want to jump you and do bad, bad things!" I can see that he's cracking. A small trace of a smile spreads across his perfectly plump lips.
"Spill it!" He growls.
"Like I said, I don't know the whole ins and outs just yet, but Mal's moving to Australia to work on a new project for a while and he's asked me to go with him. I'm pretty sure I'll only be needed for a few weeks. It's no biggie!" I grab my phone to check the time and realise if I don't get a move on, I'm going to be late getting to the office.