How to Get Hitched in Ten Days (6 page)

BOOK: How to Get Hitched in Ten Days
11.38Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Chapter Five – Mikey

Thanks goodness Dave was on time and I hadn’t been forced to play Scrabble. Well-read Jasmine always ended up in giggles, as by the end I usually resorted to using words such as “bum” and “poo”. I was also keen to leave as I’d tentatively arranged to meet dance teacher Theo. I felt the need to… warn was the wrong word… to
inform
him of what Dave was like, ahead of the dance lesson organised for tomorrow, just in case Dave came across as stand-offish towards him as well. He also belonged to FitFun gym, so it was the perfect place for a rendezvous.

I glanced to my right and gave a sheepish smile. Well, perhaps not so perfect. We were both on the running machines and I’d spent the best part of half an hour trying to keep up with his speed. Compared to your average bloke, I liked to think I was reasonably fit, but Theo took workouts to a whole different level.

I loved FitFun. The gym was dark, with pulled blinds, black equipment and navy blue walls – practically the only lighting came from the music channel videos blaring out from the televisions hoisted in the air. After a tiring day, you could be as inconspicuous as you liked and lose yourself for a couple of hours.

‘Great T-shirt, Mikey,’ said Theo, in a perfectly smooth voice, with no gasps for breath.

‘Thanks… got it in the Hollister sale.’ (Shh, don’t tell Dave. He’d be over the moon that I fulfilled at least one gay stereotype by shopping there.)

Theo gave me the thumbs up and for some reason I felt all fuzzy inside. He had hardly a hair out of place, whereas my fringe bobbed up and down on my forehead. Nor had Theo broken into a sweat. Thank goodness I was wearing an absorbent wrist band to discreetly wipe my face. He was toned. Tanned. Stylish. Yet not in a flash way – his running shorts weren’t designer and his watch had a leather strap with an old-fashioned roman dial, unlike the ones other gym-users wore, that told you everything from your heart rate to whether you slept well.

‘Fancy a juice, Mikey?’ he said. ‘I’ve built up quite a thirst.’

‘Um, yeah, sure, if you’ve had enough,’ I spluttered, hoping I’d withheld the immense sense of gratitude from my voice. I stopped the machine, grabbed my towel from its side bar and followed him whilst drying the back of my neck.

We sat down on stools and I swivelled from side to side as I studied the drinks menu.

‘Mango and ginger, please,’ we both said to Patsy, behind the bar. We looked at each other and grinned.

‘I think that’s as far as our similarities go.’ I put down my towel. ‘I’m worn out. Your fitness level is pretty impressive.’

‘You look in great shape to me.’

Heat surged into my cheeks. It has been a while since another guy had paid me a compliment – and not just another guy, but one with the kindest face and a manner that shouted ‘putting other people first’.

Theo shrugged. ‘Anyway, not much else to do these days. Split up from my boyfriend six months ago and will do anything to avoid sitting in my pad, with just the remote control for company.’

‘Sorry to hear that. Guess I’m lucky having a flatmate.’

Theo nodded. ‘Sanjay’s told me all about Jasmine – she sounds great. So…’ He winked at Patsy as she slid a juice over to him. ‘Dave… her boyfriend… I’m to teach him salsa tomorrow night, no?’

‘Just a few moves would be great. I’ll be there of course…’ My cheeks felt hot. ‘I just wanted to tell you upfront… don’t think anything of it if he’s a little…’

I stared into Theo’s face. Kind as it was, it still went against the grain to open up to someone I didn’t know that well.

Theo’s brow furrowed.

‘Um… he’s a bit off keel at the moment, that’s all – proposed to Jazz at the weekend and it didn’t work out. So, he might be a bit… grumpy. I just didn’t want you think that he – we – were ungrateful for your help.’

‘Course not.’ Theo laughed. ‘And don’t talk to me about grumpy. I grew up with three sisters. Arming them with hot water bottles and paracetamol, at a certain time of the month, prepared me for life. I laugh in the face of grumpiness. Their hormones did me a favour.’

I grinned. ‘You sound like the perfect brother.’

His voice softened. ‘They’re the perfect sisters more like – looked out for me at high school, when the other kids teased me for my well-groomed looks and love of dancing.’

I nodded. This was nice. And a little scary. Direct communication. Talking about stuff that mattered. I took a deep breath and tentatively told him a little of what I’d gone through as a child. He was so easy to talk to… a good listener with an expression that said he was hanging on your every word.

Eventually Theo finished his drink and got up to go. ‘Right. Things to do. Great to meet you, Mikey. See you tomorrow night at my studio – seven sharp. I look forward to the lesson and will bring a hot water bottle for Dave.’

We both grinned. Wow. He had the most amazing blue eyes. They reminded me of a holiday I once took to Florida. The Keys. Shortbread sands and waters clearer than Polka Dot Diner’s windows once I’d completed one of my polishing sessions.

‘I might do twenty minutes on the rowing machine, before I go home,’ I said, not wanting to get home early and gatecrash a potential reunion between Dave and Jazz.

‘Go for it,’ said Theo and flashed his white teeth again. Clearly from the same school of touchy feeliness as me, he leant forward, slid his arm around my back and gave me a quick hug. He squeezed my shoulder as he pulled away, as if to say… I’m not sure. But it felt good; made me feel as if our meeting had a degree of significance.

Humming, I headed over to the rowing machine. At last the heavy cloud over me, due to Dave’s meanness last night, began to lift. Gym workouts clearly did beat stress. In fact I was still humming twenty minutes later, despite being a little out of breath. Although two people arguing behind me proved to be a distraction. I got off the rower, stood up and turned around, ready to break up any trouble if things got more heated.

‘Dave?’ He stood opposite Patsy. As I approached she repeated, in steely tones, that he couldn’t enter the gym area without proof of membership.

‘It’s okay, Pats, I’ll deal with this,’ I said and wiped my towel across my brow. My stomach twisted. ‘Everything all right – it’s not Jazz, is it?’

‘Ha! Everything all right? Yeah, just hunky dory since you ambushed my perfect evening with her – no wonder you were so keen to “help”.’

I glanced at his curled fists – the square stance of his shoulders. ‘Look Dave – have a juice. Let’s talk about this over a drink.’

‘I don’t want a friggin’ mocktail, thanks very much.’ He swaggered forward but I stood my ground.

‘Stop being a jerk. Quieten down. You’re making a show of yourself.’

‘Yeah, no thanks to you,’ he spat. Patsy took a step back.

‘Right. Outside. Now,’ I said and glared at him. He glared back. ‘Am I going to have to make you?’

Dave paused a second before scowling and headed towards the swing doors. I followed him down the stairwell and out into the parking lot. I squinted through the darkness at him, as he span around.

He snorted. ‘You really are a piece of work. Mr popular. Angel-face this, sweetheart that… whereas in reality you are nothing but a selfish, two-faced, promiscuous prick.’

A sheet of coldness pressed down on my chest. So, Dave really didn’t like me, I’d been coming to terms with that – but why so vitriolic all of a sudden? I took several breaths. No point both of us losing our tempers. ‘What the hell’s got into you, Dave? And me? Promiscuous? Haven’t you heard Jazz pushing me to try and find a date for the last year?’ I said, in a measured voice. ‘Celibacy is practically my middle name.’

‘Yet you haven’t hooked up with anyone. I wonder why.’ He shook his head. ‘Bravo. Your plan worked, to totally ruin my evening with Jazz. For a start…’ Dave loosened his collar. ‘The oven conveniently didn’t work. I couldn’t finish the bolognese. She said you knew what the problem with it was – you fiddled with it, didn’t you, to make me look like a fool?’

‘No!’

‘And the scented candle
you
suggested made her sneeze violently, like when you burned that cranberry one at Christmas.’

My ears felt hot. ‘Ah yes. I’d forgotten about that.’

‘Then the dessert – I bet you placed the jam roly poly near the hollandaise sauce in the fridge on purpose, instead of the custard.’

Oh God. Despite his insulting ranting, a chuckle tickled the back of my throat. Jam and hollandaise? Yuck.

‘Dave. Of course I didn’t – you didn’t… oh, crap – well that’s an easy enough mistake.’

‘And best of all,’ he said, brow perspiring, voice high-pitched, ‘you let me think she liked E.L. James, the author of Fifty Shades.’

‘Dave!’ I couldn’t help laughing and a couple looked at me as they walked past, towards the gym. ‘For God’s sake man – you should know she’s a sweet happy-every-after ending kind of girl. Whips and handcuffs – no!’

‘But you said…’

‘James. I meant the lauded novelist PD James, it came to me later on – PD not EL. She fancied trying some crime fiction.’

Dave’s jaw dropped.

‘So let me get this right – you’ve tracked me down tonight to moan about custard and dirty books and smelly candles?’

‘The evening was a disaster,’ he said in a tight voice and turned away. With speed, he headed towards his car. ‘You were supposed to help me woo her back,’ he shouted over his shoulder. ‘Instead you made sure she’d send me packing.’

‘You really think I’d do that?’ My throat felt scratchy and dry. ‘And please do explain,’ I continued stiffly, ‘why exactly am I promiscuous?’

We reached his Fiesta and Dave stood, hands on the windows, head bent over as if his shoulders carried the heaviest dumbbells. Eventually he turned around again. ‘Enticing my girlfriend into your bed,’ he said sulkily.

I shook my head. ‘Then that makes her promiscuous too, no, if you really think we’ve slept together?’

His bottom lip jutted out further. ‘Just saying. I know what your intentions are. I mean, there was me, just for one second, thinking that I could trust you to help me, for Jasmine’s sake. Well, pat yourself on the back. Nothing will stop her moving to New York now and you’ve only got yourself to blame.

Dave thinks I set him up? Why oh why does he always think the worst of me? ‘Get in the car, Dave.’ I held out my hand for the keys. ‘We need to talk.’

He shrugged as if he was a balloon that had been inflated with words instead of helium, and they’d all been used up.

Minutes later we sat in the Fiesta, me in the driving seat just to prevent Dave pushing me out and driving off.

‘Dave… once and for all, tell me why you don’t like me – you’ve made that obvious enough over recent months. I mean talk about distant – what did I ever do to put you off? Or are you just not keen on… on…’

‘Oh please – don’t accuse me of being prejudiced,’ he muttered. ‘Anyway – you aren’t the easiest guy to get to know. You’ve been distant too.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Although I shouldn’t have called you promiscuous…’

‘Is that your way of saying sorry?’

His bottom lip quivered and I sighed.

‘The only reason I’ve kept my distance, Dave,’ I said softly, ‘is because I picked up your vibe about never wanting to spend even one second in my company, without Jazz. So spill. Put me out of my misery. Am I simply a revolting human being, or is there another reason?’ I squirmed in my seat. It felt dangerous, talking about intimate things, but there was no way around this now. Dave and I needed to thrash it out, once and for all.

Silence.

‘Dave?’

He fiddled with a cufflink. ‘Okay. If you must know. I’m jealous. There. I’ve said it.’

‘Huh?’

Dave turned to face me. ‘You. Jasmine. Your friendship. I’ve always felt like a third wheel. Marvellous Mikey.’ He shook his head. ‘How did I ever think I was going to compete? With your six-pack and trendy clothes, your love of cocktails and catchy music… yet you are just macho enough to make Jasmine feel protected and secure.’ His lip curled. ‘You’re the perfect combination of a lover and a good mate…’ Suddenly his voice wobbled. ‘But shouldn’t
I
be her best friend? The one she turns to when upset? Who she confides to about a new job or the one whose arms she wants to lie in during the night?’ His eyes shone. ‘Yet you fulfil all those roles.’

‘Whoa – Dave… hold up. You know women – think back to school. Unlike men, most like – need – to have a particular best friend. That’s all I am to Jazz. It’s you she fancies – it’s you who gives her that romantic glow.

‘Who knows just how she likes her eggs cooked? Who thinks to do her ironing when she’s feeling down or paints her nails if she’s got a big meeting at work?’

Oh Dave. Poor lad. I exhaled. Yet, wow. So he didn’t… he didn’t hate me for myself. I managed to suppress a big smile.

‘Dave. Do you think she’d find you half as hot, if you helped her choose a varnish colour or suggested doing face packs to de-stress after a hard day in the office? No! You’re the person she wants to kiss her senseless when the real world is too little fun. And I’m just there for the smaller stuff – who did she run to first, last year, when her aunt was rushed to hospital?’

Dave didn’t speak.

‘And remember when she fainted on the underground? Yes, I was there to take her to casualty but who did she keep asking for?’

Still no reply.

‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘She wanted your strong arms around her – yeah, she and I have sleepovers, but half the time I annoy her by snoring and it’s just for the companionship – to make the night a little less scary, if we’ve got worries on our minds. Was that why you lost it at the diner on Monday? After Sanjay mentioned that Jazz and I had spent the night together?’

Dave nodded. ‘The thought of her with another bloke… it’s like a spear through my heart.’

‘I think we can both agree I’m not your typical man.’ I sighed. ‘You should have mentioned to Jazz that her and me… sharing the same bed… it makes you feel uncomfortable.’

‘She mentioned it. You know Jasmine. Caring and considerate. We’d only been going out a couple of months and you two planned a Mamma Mia night – baklava, the DVD…’

BOOK: How to Get Hitched in Ten Days
11.38Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Sweet Bravado by Alicia Meadowes
Indulging in Irene by D.L. Raver
The Apple Tree by Daphne Du Maurier
Dark Canyon (1963) by L'amour, Louis
Fire in the Blood by Robyn Bachar
Unicorn Keep by Angelia Almos