An Unforgotten Bet: (A Contemporary Romance) (3 page)

“I’m going out,” calls Rose as she grabs her keys from the kitchen countertop and heads towards the door. Her boyfriend Danny saunters out of the bedroom towards her.

“Where are you going?” he demands, his eyebrows raised.

“I’m going to see Gina,” she sighs, rolling her eyes. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” he spits. “We never spend any time together anymore.”

Rose replies with a half-hearted shrug; Danny’s expression darkens.

“Why don’t you stay home with me tonight?”

“I’ve already made plans.”

“Come on, Rose,” he says. His voice is soft, but his eyes demanding as he looks at her.

“No, Danny,” she sighs, shaking her head. “Please, I need some alone time.”

“What have I done?”

She stares at him, her eyes flashing with indignation. “
What have you done?”
she repeats.

“You’re not still sore about the cheating thing?” he says, sighing. “I’ve said I’m sorry.”

“Oh, of course, that makes everything better,” she mumbles. “I’m sorry, Danny, I just need some time.”

“I really am sorry, Rose.” He hangs his head, his voice quiet as he speaks.

“Okay. I’m going out.”

“Okay,” he says. “Have a good night.”

“Thanks.”

He watches her as she turns on her heel and walks out, slamming the door behind her.
 

The wind rips at her skirt as she steps out of the apartment and runs to the taxi. The driver smiles at her as she steps inside.

“Good evening, Miss. You’re looking very nice tonight. Off to somewhere special?” His eyes linger on her for a moment, admiring her short red dress and black high heels which draw attention to her long, slender legs. She blushes under his gaze.

“I’m just going to meet a friend,” she laughs, closing the taxi door.

“A boyfriend?” he chuckles.

“No, just a friend,” she says, pulling out her phone. A message from Gina pops up as she unlocks it.

“Yes, I have a boyfriend.”

“Ah, I see.”

They sit in uncomfortable silence for the rest of the journey, and Rose stares out of the window, wishing that time would go faster.
 

“Here you are, then,” he says as they eventually pull up outside the coffee shop. She pays and thanks him, then quickly scoots out the door. He watches her as she walks into the shop, purposely lingering until she’s inside. She stares after him out of the window to make sure that he’s gone before turning around. The coffee shop is mostly empty, as per usual, but today there’s one noticeable difference: there’s a boy sitting in the corner. A boy whom she hasn’t seen in over a decade.

It was a regular gloomy December evening, and Rose and Tom were sitting in their usual spot under the oak tree in the field around the back of their houses.

“Wait, what?” he asked, his eyes wide as he stared at her.

“We’re moving away, Tom,” she said, unable to look at him.

“Why?” he demanded, his voice shaking.

“My dad’s got a new job somewhere. His company says we need to move away from Texas, we’re going to New York.”

“Oh.” His voice was quiet, as if she’d knocked the breath right from his chest. “Will you be coming back?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Maybe in a few years.”

“A few years?” his mouth dropped open. “Rose, that’s…that’s too long.”

“I know. I don’t want to go either, Tom.” she sighed.

“Why don’t you stay?”

“Stay? I can’t stay, Tom. I need to go with my family.”

His head dropped, and he shuffled closer to her until their legs were touching and wrapped a thin arm around her shoulder. “I’m going to miss you, Rose.”

“I’m going to miss you too, Tom. You’re my best friend.”

He raised his head to look at her. Her blue eyes swelled with tears, and one managed to escape. He raised his finger to catch it as it rolled down her cheek. “Really?”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“You’re my best friend, too,” he mumbled, not used to admitting his feelings out loud. “You always will be, you know.”

“You too,” she said, cracking a smile.

They sat in silence for a few moments, staring up at the dark barren sky, before Tom plucked up the courage to speak again.

“Do you think you
will
ever come back?” he whispered, his head pressed close to hers.

Rose shrugged. “I don’t know, Tom. Maybe when I’m older I can come back and visit you.”

He smiled. “That would be nice.”

“You won’t forget about me, will you?”

“Of course not, Rose. Don’t be silly.”

“How much do you bet?”

He paused for a moment to look at her, then laughed. “I bet everything I have.”

For the first time that day, Rose also began to laugh. “You don’t have anything, Tom.”

He smiled. “If you’re not here, I don’t want anything.”

She giggled, blushing slightly, and then pulled away. “I should probably go now. It’s getting late and we’re leaving early tomorrow.”

He hesitated, but eventually stood up. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you again, right?”

“Of course.”

They began to walk away from each other to their houses on the opposite sides of the field, but Rose turned back when she got to her gate. Tom was lingering, and he was only half way back to his own gate when she called his name. He turned around immediately, his heart pounding as she spoke.

“You’ll never forget me, will you?”

“Never,” he shouted, in the loudest voice he could muster. Her laughter echoed around the field, and he could still hear it as she closed the gate and disappeared from his view.

That was the last time he ever saw or heard Rose Evans, but he always kept his promise. He had no choice, for it was quite impossible to forget her.

It’s her reflection in the coffee shop window that he notices at first: the girl with the long blonde hair, the cool blue eyes, the crooked smile which is slightly too big for her face, and the little freckle above her lip. Her resemblance to Rose is uncanny, and he can’t stop staring at her as she moves into the shop. He wants to drag his eyes away from the reflection in the window, to turn around and look at her for himself, but he can’t. If he takes her eyes off her, she might disappear and he might realise that she’s not really standing there at all, that it’s just a figment of his imagination and his mind is playing tricks on him as it usually does when he thinks of Rose. But this is too real, surely it can’t—
Then he hears it. The unmistakable laughter. The loud, breathy giggle that he hasn’t heard in over ten years. Only one person in the world can make such a noise, and her name is Rose Evans.

“Are you who I think you are?” she says, still standing next to the door of the shop. There’s nobody else around, just the two of them, but Tom wouldn’t even notice if the room was full. All he can focus on is this woman. Rose.

“Yes,” he says, unable to take his eyes off her. “Yes, I’m exactly who you think I am.”

“You haven’t changed a bit,” she breathes, slowly walking over to him.

“I’d like to think I’ve grown a bit since you last saw me,” he breathes. His voice cracks as he speaks, and he’s not sure whether it’s that or his actual response that makes her burst into laughter again as she breaks into a jog and throws her arms around him.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispers, pulling his body close to her own. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too, Rose,” he replies, breathing in her familiar scent. A shiver cascades up his spine as her name leaves his lips, and he pulls her closer. “I told you we’d meet again.”

She laughs, peeling herself away from him and pulling back just far enough so that their eyes meet. “I knew you’d keep your promise.”

“It’s been too long,” he says, pulling her close again, and she giggles into his ear as he squeezes her.

“I know,” she says. “I’m sorry, I always wanted to come back but I—”

“It’s okay, Rose.”

Her smile reaches her eyes as she pulls away from him once again and moves around to take a seat opposite. Tom watches her closely as she pulls out the wooden chair and sits down, hardly daring to take his eyes off her in case she disappears again.

“I actually moved away from Texas not long after you did. I was fourteen, I think. My grandma was sick, so we went to take care of her.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says, bringing a hand to her mouth. “Is she…is she okay?”

He shakes his head. “She passed away soon after, but it was good to be there for her in her final days, you know?”

“Of course.”

Rose had never met Tom’s grandmother, but he spoke about her a lot and she knew they had been very close.

“So how have you been since we last spoke? Lots has changed, I presume.”

“Oh, yes, definitely,” she sighs. “I don’t know where to begin. Are you waiting for someone?”

“Uh, yes,” Tom hesitates, wondering whether to tell Rose about Lauryn. He opens his mouth to admit that he’s on a date, but changes his mind at the last second. “I’m just meeting a friend.”

“Ah, right. Me too,” she says, almost sounding disappointed.

“A boyfriend?”

She laughs and raises her eyebrows. “Why do people keep asking that? No, it’s my friend Gina from work.”

“Ah,” says Tom, feeling his cheeks reddening. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she laughs, shaking her head. There’s a slight pause before she breaks the silence again. “So what’s new?”

“I live a few miles away now…about a half hour’s drive away, actually.”

“And you came all the way here just for a coffee?” she teases, her eyes lighting up.

“Not quite,” he laughs. “My friend lives over this way, so I thought I’d make the effort.”

“I see,” she says, still smiling. “This friend must be quite special, then.”

“No, not really,” he says immediately, quickly looking round to check that Lauryn hasn’t arrived yet. Rose is still staring at him, grinning, but thankfully she changes the subject.

“So what have you been doing since we last spoke?”

He shrugs. “Not much, really. I’ve been to college, got a degree in accountancy, and now I’m an accountant. It’s not very exciting, really, and the people I work with are even less exciting. How about you?”

“Sounds more interesting than my job,” she laughs. “I’m a waitress.”

“I bet you get lots of tips,” he says, winking at her.

“Not quite,” she says, grinning. “It’s enough to get by, though…almost.”

“So where are you living now?” he asks, leaning in forward to try and catch more of her scent.

“I live about ten minutes away,” she says, shrugging. “I moved out of my parents’ house a couple of years ago when I was 21. It’s just a tiny little apartment block, nothing extravagant, but I suppose it’s alright.”

“Do you live alone?”

She opens her mouth to answer, but at that moment, the door swings open again. Tom’s head jerks up to see a woman, who can only be Lauryn, walking through the door. She spots him immediately and raises her eyebrows, evidently unimpressed to see him talking to another girl. Rose turns to look at her too, and Tom’s adrenaline immediately kicks in.

“Lauryn,” he smiles, greeting her as if she was an old friend. As much as he’d like to impress this woman, he can’t take his eyes off Rose.

“Tom?” She sounds confused as she wanders through the maze of tables towards them.

“This is Rose,” he says with a smile. “She’s just an old friend. We haven’t seen each other in a while, it was just by chance that we were both here tonight.”

“That’s great,” says Lauryn, her disgusted tone making it clear that she absolutely does not think it’s great.

“Nice to meet you,” says Rose, holding out a hand. Lauryn shakes it gingerly, and then Rose stands up.

“I’ll leave you two alone now,” she says, turning her head to wink at Tom, who shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “We’ll catch up later?”

“I don’t have your number,” he says awkwardly. He can feel his cheeks heating up under Lauryn’s glare, but there is no way he is letting Rose escape from him again.

Rose laughs nervously, evidently sensing Lauryn’s discomfort. “I’ll drop it off before I leave, okay?”

“Thanks,” he smiles.

“Have fun,” she says, turning on her heel and waltzing over to a table on the opposite side of the room, purposely facing away from them both.

Lauryn sits down in Rose’s place, but doesn’t return Tom’s smile. “Would you like anything to drink?” he asks.

“Just a coffee, please.”

“I’ll be right back,” he says.

He zigzags in and out of the tables towards the counter and rings the bell for the waitress. Rose looks up when she hears him, and he grins at her from across the room
. This time, he definitely isn’t letting her get away.