The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (45 page)

  
‘Why on earth did you
rush off like that?’ she gasped.

  
‘I don’t like Jon hugging
you. And he doesn’t have to tell me how lucky I am to have you, I already know
that.’

  
‘But he’s my brother, I
love him. We always hug one another.’

  
‘Forget it, Jess. I’m
sorry, okay.’ He leant over and kissed her. ‘Come on. Let’s get back. I want to
make love to you.’

  
‘It’s a deal,’ she said,
following him into the car park.

***

  
'Shit, Dad’s home!’ Nick
exclaimed, spotting both of
Roy
’s cars as Jess swung up the long gravel driveway of Jasmine
House. ‘There’s no bloody peace for the wicked.’

  
Jess sighed. ‘Well let’s
unload the car, leave our stuff here and go and find somewhere to park up. I
don’t fancy doing it in
your
room
in case your Dad’s next door in the music room.’

  
‘There’s not much space
in your Dad’s car, Jess. We’ll be like bloody contortionists,’ Nick said as
they went indoors. ‘Dad, are you in?’ he called.

  
There was no reply as
they made their way upstairs with their parcels. His parents’ bedroom door was
ajar and Nick popped his head into the room where
Roy
was curled up on the bed.

  
‘He’s asleep. Poor old
sod. Maybe he’s ill. He never usually sleeps during the day. It must be his age
catching him up.’
   

  
‘Maybe he’s been working
really hard with Dad.’ Jess smiled at
Roy
as he snored softly. ‘And like you
say, it’s probably his age. He’s not getting any younger.’

***

  
‘Hope you don’t mind a
takeaway, Helen,’ Jess said as she and Nick prepared to entertain Jon and Helen
with a curry. ‘We’ve ordered one of those banquets for four.’

  
‘Not at all,’ Helen
replied.

  
‘Well it’s that or Jess’s
speciality, coffee and toast. Or we could open a tin of beans as a real treat,’
Nick teased.

  
‘Nick and I will go and
collect the order while you girls set the table,’ Jon said as Jess bristled at
Nick’s teasing.

  
‘We don't have a dining
table,’ Jess said. ‘We’ll have to sit on the floor around the coffee table.'

  
Now the new furniture was
in place, the apartment felt less spacious, but Jess loved her new home and the
freedom it brought to her and Nick’s relationship.

  
Helen took the cutlery
and napkins through to the lounge while Jess opened a bottle of red wine.
      

  
‘You okay with wine,
Helen. I know you’ve got school tomorrow. Would you like Coke instead?’

  
‘I’ll have a small glass
of wine, Jess. Then I won’t be tiddly in front of Mum. She went mad the other
night because I’d been out drinking with Jon.’

  
Jess raised an amused
eyebrow. ‘I hope he’s not being a bad influence. Dad’s warned him to behave.’

  
Helen smiled. ‘He’s not a
bad influence. We have such fun together. I really like him.’

  
‘Jon’s a nice guy, but
he’s a randy sod. You watch out for yourself.’

  
Helen blushed and changed
the subject. ‘He’s very striking to look at. Is he like his late mother?’

  
‘Sort of I suppose, in
that she had curly hair,’ Jess replied, frowning. Why was Helen blushing,
surely she and Jon hadn’t…Jess didn’t allow the thought anymore space in her
mind. ‘I’ve only seen a couple of photos of Angie and they were old,’ she
continued. ‘It’s hard to tell really. Mum gave Jon a nice christening photo
recently. You’ll have to ask him to show you. Dad never speaks of his first
marriage and Jon doesn’t want to upset him by asking questions.’

  
‘Is it really exciting,
having a famous dad?’

  
‘I never think of him as
famous. He’s just Dad, like
Roy
’s just
Roy
. I suppose it has its advantages in that you get to meet stars.
He’s currently writing for
Perry’s Dream
.
Now I wouldn’t mind meeting Ja
mes
Perry. I’ve really got the hots for
him.
’ Jess grinned lustfully.

  
‘Oh,
he’s
gorgeous,’ Helen agreed as the door flew open and Jon and Nick
strolled in, arms laden.

  
‘Talking about me again,
Helen,’ Jon teased as he put down the bags of food.

  
‘Ja
mes
Perry actually, brother dear,’
Jess said and went to get the plates out of the oven where she’d remembered to
put them to warm.

  
‘He’s a poser, if ever
there was one.’ Jon pulled a face. ‘Still, if his records sell, then who am I
to complain? More money in the family coffers.’

  
‘Come and help
yourselves,’ Jess called from the kitchen. She put the foil containers out on
the work-top and removed the lids.

  
Plates piled high they
settled down on the floor and tucked hungrily into the mounds of Indian food.

  
‘I won’t be able to move
after this little lot,’ Nick said, shovelling curry into his mouth like it was
going out of fashion.

  
‘Haven’t you eaten today,
Nick?’ Helen asked in amusement.

  
‘Course he has,’ Jess
said. ‘He had toast and coffee for breakfast.’

  
‘And
coffee
and
toast for lunch,’ Nick quipped, dodging the magazine Jess lobbed at his head.
‘I’ll look like a Warburton’s sliced by the end of this year.’

  
‘Any joy about the
holiday, Helen?’ Jon asked.

  
‘I can’t go. Mum went
mad. Had a feeling she would, but it was worth asking, I suppose.’

  
‘Can’t you persuade her
to change her mind?’

  
‘No, and it'll cause more
arguments if I bring the subject up again. It’s not worth it.’

  
‘So
I’m
not worth
it? Is that what you’re saying?’

  
‘No, Jon, not at all. You
know she really likes you. But she says I’m too young to be going away with you
and that’s the end of it.’

  
‘What if we tell her that
you and Jess will share a room and you’ll be quite safe?’ Jon persisted.

  
‘She’ll still say I’m too
young. I can’t face any more arguments. She’s always been overprotective
towards me because of what happened to her.’
   

  
‘Well
I
won’t get
you pregnant!’ Jon said indignantly. ‘She need have no worries on that score
with me. You tell her that.’

  
‘Jon, leave it,’ Jess
interrupted, seeing Helen was close to tears. ‘If Helen says she can’t come
with us then that’s that. You’re not being
 
fair, putting pressure on her.’

  
‘Sorry, Helen. I’m just
disappointed.’

  
Helen smiled ruefully.
‘I’m disappointed too, Jon. But there’ll be other holidays.’

  
‘More wine?’ Nick
produced another bottle.

  
‘Not for me,’ Helen said
as Nick topped up the glasses.

  
‘I’ll get you a glass of
coke.’ Nick jumped up and went into the kitchen. ‘Why don’t
you
go and
see Helen’s mum, Jess?’ he said as he came back and handed Helen her drink.
‘See if you can get her to change her mind. You can be quite persuasive when
you want to be.’

  
‘Would you, Jess?
Please,’ Helen said. ‘I mean, it’s worth a try, surely?’

  
‘Please, Sis,’ Jon begged.
‘I’ll do the same for you. Well, I’ll do you a favour anyway.’
 

  
Jess sighed. ‘Okay then.
But I’ll feel guilty lying to her, about us room sharing I mean.
Y
ou’ll
feel guilty too, Jon, next time you see Helen’s mum.’

  
‘I’ll cross the guilty
bridge when I come to it. It’s not like we’ll be doing anything we haven’t
already done.’ He pulled Helen close and kissed her while Nick raised his
eyebrows and Jess shook her head. Just as she’d suspected, Jon had slept with
Helen.
 

  
‘Dangerous ground, Jon!’
Nick exclaimed. ‘Helen’s under age.’

  
‘She’s sixteen next week.
We didn’t jump the gun by too much.’

  
Nick sighed. ‘You’re old
enough and daft enough to know what you’re doing, I suppose.’

  
‘I’ll clear the table
then shall we have a game of cards?’ Jess changed the subject, feeling
strangely jealous at the thought of Jon sleeping with Helen. He’d had loads of
girls and probably slept with most of them. She’d never felt jealous before, so
why now? She began clearing away the empty plates from the coffee table and
Helen got up to help.

  
‘Let’s play strip poker,’
Nick said as Jess and Helen came back into the lounge.

  
‘Nick! Honestly, what’s
he like?’ Jess rolled her eyes as Helen giggled.

  
‘What about a game of
Trivial Pursuits?’ Jon suggested. ‘You brought the game from home, didn’t you,
Jess?’

  
‘Yeah, I did. No one
plays it these days, so I thought we might use it more here.’ Jess rummaged in
the hall cupboard and brought out the game.

  
‘I’ve never played it,’
Helen said.

  
‘Oh, it’s easy. I’ll show
you as we go,’ Jon said, setting up the board and tipping the coloured wedges
onto the coffee table.

  
The game went on until
almost
midnight
when Helen glanced at her watch and gasped.

  
‘Jon, we’d better go. I’m
supposed to be home by twelve. We need to keep Mum sweet if we’re to get any
favours from her.’

  
Jon stood up and
stretched. ‘Come on then. Thanks for a lovely evening, you two.’ He shook Nick
by the hand, swept Jess into his arms and kissed her full on the lips. She
smiled as he looked deep into her eyes and she stroked his cheek
affectionately.

  
Nick pecked Helen on the
cheek as he watched Jon and Jess kissing. He forced a smile and waved them off.

  
Jess closed the front
door and wandered into the bathroom. She turned on the shower, calling out for
Nick to come and join her.

  
He walked into the
bathroom as she stripped off. ‘Come and have a shower with me, Nick.’

  
‘You sure you wouldn’t
rather be having a shower with Jon?’

  
‘What do you mean?’

  
‘I mean, would you rather
have a shower with Jon than me?’ He leant against the doorframe, a mutinous
expression on his face.

  
‘Nick, that’s a
disgusting thing to say. Jon’s my brother. For God’s sake, what’s the matter
with you?’

  
‘He kisses you in a very
un-brotherly way. He looks at you as though he really wants to get into your
knickers! I don’t like it.’

  
‘Now you’re just being
stupid.’ She put her arms around him. ‘Jon loves me;
I
love him, but not
in the same way that I love
you
.’ She
unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his bare chest.
  

  
Unzipping his jeans she
slid her hand inside and he groaned as she cupped him. ‘Step out of your jeans
and shorts,’ she ordered, yanking them down as Nick slipped off his shirt. She
pulled him into the shower cubicle and began soaping his body. He sighed
blissfully and soaped hers in return. He kissed her, and picked her up,
carrying her into the lounge. He lay her down on the Flokati rug and knelt
beside her.

  
‘The furry pile will
stick to our bodies, Nick. We’ll be all hairy,’ she giggled. ‘Am I forgiven for
kissing my brother?’ She looked into his eyes, seeing the love shining there.

  
‘Totally,’ he whispered.
‘I’m sorry for being such an arse. We won’t mention it again.’

***

CHAPTER
TEN

  
MAY 1984

  
‘More champagne, Jess?’ Nick swayed by her side at the entrance to the
marquee, holding an almost empty bottle over her glass.

  
‘No thanks and anyway there’s hardly any left. I don’t think
you
should have more either. You won’t
be able to pick up your guitar later, never mind play.’

  
Nick was celebrating his eighteenth birthday in style. The DJ had got
the evening’s entertainment off to a good start, and later,
The Zoo
, along with Roy and Eddie, were
to play. The marquee and gardens were overflowing with family and friends. The bushes
around the patio had been strung with coloured fairy lights. Madonna’s
Holiday
blasted from
speakers fixed onto a couple of large trees and the caterers were handing out a
hot buffet to the line up of guests.

  
Halfway through the evening Roy
climbed onto the makeshift stage, where the instruments were lined up waiting,
and invited Nick to join him.

  
Grinning and praying desperately that his Dad wasn’t going to embarrass
him in front of his mates, Nick leapt up beside Roy who put his arm around his
shoulders and spoke into the mike.

  
‘Your Mum and me would just like to say Happy Birthday, Nick. We’re very
proud of you, but there’s one thing about you that drives us bloody mad!’ He
held out a small brown packet. ‘I hope the contents of this envelope will put a
stop to it.’

  
Puzzled, Nick took the proffered envelope. ‘Thanks, Dad.’ What had he
ever done to annoy his parents so much that Dad had to announce it to everyone?
He shook the envelope and a set of car keys attached to a Ford key ring fell
onto the stage by his feet.
 
‘Dad, a
car?’ He bent to pick up the keys.

  
Roy nodded. ‘Yeah, a car.
You see, the thing that drives us crazy is that you’re always borrowing our
cars and never putting any petrol in them. Now we can do the same to you.’

  
Sammy appeared at Roy’s side
and handed Nick the garage keys.

  
‘It’s in the small garage, Nick,’ she told him. ‘Grandpa Tom cleared out
all the junk to make room. So it’s now
your
responsibility to look after
the garage as well as your new car.’

  
As everyone cheered, Nick shot off the stage and grabbed Jess by the
hand. He pulled her through the revelers and across the garden to the garage
block. His hand shook with excitement as he unlocked the door and pushed it
upwards. His felt his jaw drop. Standing in the middle of the floor was a brand
new, black Ford Fiesta XR2.

  
For once he was speechless. His dream car! He’d been secretly hoping for
one, but never for a minute had he expected to get it. His parents had already
put a substantial sum into an account for he and Jess and he’d assumed that was
also his birthday present.

  
‘It’s got a personal number plate, look,’ Jess pointed as Roy
and Sammy appeared at the door. “NRC 18”. Nicholas Roy Cantello, eighteen,’ she
laughed, looking at his delighted face. ‘You’ll never grow old, Nick. You’ll
always be eighteen.’
 

  
‘I can’t believe it! Mum, Dad, thank you so much.’ Nick hugged his dad
and flung his arms around his mum and kissed her on the cheek as Jason and
Jules strolled into the garage.

  
‘You like it then, Bruv?’ Jason said, grinning. ‘Pretty smart, isn’t
it?’

  
‘Top of the range,’ Roy
said. ‘You’ll get your turn, son in ten months time.’

  
‘I don’t want to learn to drive,’ Jason said. ‘Not yet anyway. Me and
Jules don’t mind jumping on the bus or train, do we, Jules?’
   

  
Jules nodded, smiling at Jason. ‘It’s a lovely car though, Nick. Nice
alloys. You’re very lucky. My mum could never run to something like this.’

  
‘It’s brilliant. Can we go out in it?’ Jess ran her hands lovingly over
the bonnet.

  
‘Not tonight,’ Roy said.
‘Nick’s had a skin-full of champagne
and
whatever else he’s been
knocking back.’

  
‘We’ll go out tomorrow, Jess. I’ll take you, Jules and Jason somewhere
nice for Sunday lunch,’ Nick slurred and hiccupped.
 

  
‘We’d better get back to the marquee and play a few numbers,’ Roy
suggested. ‘While you can still stand up!’

***

The audience cheered loudly as the
group assembled on stage. Roy
pulled Livvy out of the crowd to join them when they played the song he’d written
for her. She belted out the lyrics with pride, smiling at Roy who sang along
beside her and Jess. As the song ended, Roy
put an arm around each girl and pulled them close while the crowd shouted for
more.

  
He looked back at Eddie, sitting at his drum-kit and grinned. Audience
adoration, this was what they both missed, what they needed to get back to. He
nodded as Eddie mouthed
Summertime Blues
to him.

  
‘One more for old times sake,’ Roy
announced.

***

Stepping down from the stage,
while the band performed a rousing version of one of
The Raiders
favourite Eddie Cochran songs, Livvy looked up at Roy
who winked at her.

  
She was head over heels in love with him and she was pretty sure that
he
was also in love with
her
. She’d broached the subject of his
marriage and he’d told her quite truthfully that he still loved Sammy and
probably always would. He’d also told her that theirs had to be a no strings
affair and that he had far too much to lose if Sammy were ever to find out
about their relationship.

 
 
Livvy
took everything on board, but in reality none of it sunk in. She saw Roy
needing her as his commitment to her, and he needed her more and more as time
went by. There was hardly a day now when they didn’t meet up and make love.
Livvy was certain that it was only a matter of time before he left Sammy to
move in with her.

***

As the song came to an end Roy
put down his guitar and thanked everyone for coming. A huge cake with eighteen
candles was carried on stage and everyone joined in a rousing
Happy Birthday to Nick,
who stood
in-between his proud parents and Jess. He blew out the candles then amidst
cheers, pulled Jess off the stage, out of the marquee and back into the garage.

  
He unlocked the passenger door of his new car and she climbed in. He clambered
in beside her. ‘I know we can’t go anywhere tonight, but I wanted to sit in it
for a while with you.’ He took her in his arms and kissed her long and hard.
‘Do you promise to love me always, Jessie-Babes?’

  
‘For ever and ever, Nick.’ She shivered as he looked deep into her eyes.

  
‘You cold?’ He rubbed her arms and pulled her closer.

  
‘No. A little ghost ran across my grave, as Gran would say. Strange,
really.’ She smiled reassuringly and kissed him.

  
‘You are staying tonight and not going back with your parents?’ Nick ran
his hands through her long hair.

  
‘I’m staying. We’re a proper couple now. I’m not leaving you on your
own. But are you capable, Nick?’ she teased.

  
‘Of course I am. I’m a Cantello, we’re always capable. Let’s go and say
goodnight to my guests and then I’ll show you just
how
capable I am!’

  
They clambered out and he shut the car doors carefully, gave the bonnet
a loving stroke and locked the garage door.

  
‘Come along, Nick, your guests are waiting to go,’ Sammy called out to
him.

  
‘Good,’ he whispered to Jess. ‘The quicker they go the sooner I can drag
you off to bed!’

***

Roy
placed his arm around Sammy’s shoulders as he watched Nick saying goodbye to
his friends. ‘The present went down very well, didn’t it, love?’ He looked into
her cool blue eyes and added, ‘I fancy you in this slinky dress, Mrs C.’ He ran
his hand down her back and caressed the top of her thighs through the fine
fabric. ‘It’s so silky and soft I can almost feel your flesh.’

  
‘I chose this fabric and designed the dress especially with you in
mind,’ she told him.
  

  
‘that right?’ he grinned. ‘Well it works ’cos you look very sexy in it.’

  
‘You know what I’d like to do, Roy?’
she said, sliding her arms around his waist.

  
‘No. What would you like to do?’ he replied, eyes twinkling.
   

  
‘I’d like to shag in the marquee when everyone’s gone home.’ She giggled
drunkenly.

  
‘Sammy! Actually, you took the words right out of my mouth. I was about
to suggest the very same. Our dirty minds obviously think alike.’ He caught a
movement to his right and turned to see Livvy observing him holding Sammy
close.

  
‘I’m about to leave,’ she said, looking coolly at Roy.
‘Thank you for a lovely evening, Mr and Mrs Cantello.’

  
‘Roy and Sammy, please, no one calls us Mr and Mrs. It makes us feel so
old,’ Sammy said, smiling at Livvy. She was momentarily distracted by Jane who
came over to see if she could help with the clearing up.

  
Livvy turned and marched into the house. Roy
seized his moment and followed her up the stairs to a spare room that was
doubling as a cloakroom.

  
‘Livvy?’ He closed the door quietly.

  
‘What?’ She looked at him, eyes brimming with tears.

  
‘Please don’t get upset, love. You know the score.’

  
‘Oh yeah, I know the score all right,’ she spat. ‘You still love her,
don’t you?’

  
‘Of course I do. I’ve never lied to you and told you anything different,
have I? I’ve always loved Sammy, I always will.’

  
‘And me, Roy, what about me?’

  
‘I love you, too; you know I do. You make me feel wonderful, alive,
young again. I
do
need you, Livvy,’ he said with honesty.

  
Livvy nodded. ‘I need you, too. Can’t be without you, Roy.’

  
‘I’ll try and come over tomorrow night. Won’t be able to stay too long,
but we should have an hour or so and then I’ll see you on Monday after work as
usual. If there’s a chance tomorrow afternoon to call you I will. Might be a
bit difficult with all the houseguests, but I’ll try.’

  
‘Okay,’ she nodded. ‘Well, I’ll leave you to make love to Sammy in the
marquee then. Have fun!’ She pushed him out of the way and left the room.

  
Roy stared after her,
shaking his head. She’d obviously overheard every word he and Sammy had said to
one another. He sighed, wishing he’d never started the affair in the first
place. But he couldn’t finish it; he needed her. Not only that, he didn’t want
to stop.
 

***

Eddie was standing alone in the
hall as Roy walked slowly
downstairs.

  
‘Where did
you
disappear to?’
Eddie asked, frowning.

  
‘Just upstairs,’ Roy said
eyes downcast.

  
‘Livvy ran past me looking really upset. What do you know about that?’
Eddie stared closely at Roy,
waiting for a reaction.

  
‘We had a few words,’ he muttered sheepishly.

  
‘What about?’

  
‘I’ve been seeing her, Ed. She got a bit upset tonight because I was
with Sammy. She finds it hard to handle.’

  
‘What, you mean seeing her as in shagging her?’ Eddie raised an eyebrow.

  
‘Yeah!’

  
‘I knew you were up to something. You’ve been secretive lately and
that’s not like you. Is this the aftermath of that lunchtime session you had a
few months ago? You’re a bloody fool, Roy,’ Eddie said as Roy
sighed again. ‘You’re really playing with fire. Put a stop to it right away.
It’ll destroy your marriage if you don’t.’

  
‘I can’t just abandon her, Ed.’ Roy pulled Eddie into the now empty
lounge from where Sammy’s mother Molly had just emerged, shooting a curious
glance at them, before going upstairs.

  
‘You’ll have to, mate. If she’s upset at seeing you with Sammy then you
can bet your life she’ll be spilling the beans before too long. She’ll land you
right in the shit!’
    

  
‘She wouldn’t do that. She knows it’s important to keep the affair
secret. I don’t want to hurt her. She’s a lonely little soul. She’ll go to
pieces if I finish it.’

  
‘Well stop sleeping with her then. Be her friend, if you must. Be
supportive, but encourage her to make friends of her own age.’

  
‘She never goes out anywhere, apart from the odd drink after work with
Sean and your Jon and even then she goes home early. She’s a bit timid around
men.’

  
‘Well how the fuck did she get so involved with someone like
you
then?’ Eddie asked.

  
‘That was my fault entirely and you’re right, it followed on from me
taking her out to lunch. I couldn’t resist her and
she
wanted me. She’d
never slept with anyone else.’

  
‘Jesus, Roy! She’s only a
bit of a kid. How could you?’