Lola's House (Lola Series) (8 page)

‘
Well, he seems a bit quieter than earlier.’  I bend down to stroke his ear and he wags his tail like a little propeller.  ‘Is he going to be okay on his own when you are out at work all day?’

‘I work from home so he’ll have company
,’ he says, realisation crossing his face.  ‘That’s okay isn’t it, me being here all day?’

‘Yes, of course, although with Ned and co still working on renovations you might not get much peace.’ I
take in his blank expression.  ‘Sorry, they’re my builders.’

‘I don’t mind, I can tune out.  Maybe I can help you out a bit here and there?’ 

‘I don’t want to put you to any trouble,’ I say, he does look genuinely eager to please but I can’t really put him to work when he’s only been here for half a day.

‘It’s no trouble, really and I’m no stranger to a bit of hard work.’
My eyes flick down to his biceps for confirmation, he’d certainly being doing something to pump them up.

‘Okay, well thanks.  I’ll leave you to settle in
.’ I leave the room quickly, and back upstairs with my snack before I get carried away checking him out again. 

Chapter Eight

Sunday morning I get up around nine and creep quietly down the stairs.  I listen briefly by Robert’s door but there’s no sound coming from within.  I hadn’t seen him or his mad dog at all yesterday, his car had been gone when I got home, but I’d heard him come in some time after midnight.  And with him out of the way yesterday I had been able to nab my parking space back so that was a bonus, I thought to myself.  It had been a bit weird having him here initially, but I hoped it would all settle down now, with us both having our routines.  Chances were we wouldn’t bump into each other that much.

Once in the kitchen I
can hear the sound of the shower running in the downstairs bathroom.  I put some bread into the toaster and pour myself some orange juice and then sit down at the table to eat breakfast. 

As I
am about to bite into the toast the bathroom door opens and my head shoots up.  Robert walks out wearing nothing but a towel and water droplets, which glisten on his firm body in the early morning light.  My eyebrows shoot up and my jaw drops down.  He clearly hasn’t seen me sitting at the table and walks straight back into his room closing the door behind him.  I am still poised with my mouth open after he has disappeared and I feel myself getting a little hot under the collar.

I sink my teeth into the toast to try and get my mind off the vision I ha
ve just seen.  It isn’t going to do me any good having a hot man parading through the kitchen half naked first thing of a morning.  

I
can hear him moving about and talking softly in his room as I finish up my breakfast. It sounds as if he might be talking to Harley and smile to myself.  Then his voice gets a little louder.  I stop and prick up my ears to hear him better.  He is getting a little irate so perhaps he is talking to someone on his phone; I can’t imagine him getting annoyed with his dog.  Whoever he is talking to has certainly got an ear full, as I hear him say good bye and hang up angrily. Oh God, perhaps it was his girlfriend.  I had never considered that.  I don’t know why but I feel a little bit put out.  I hear him start moving around again and quickly make myself look busy in case he comes into the kitchen.

I put my plate in the dishwasher and
go to fill up the kettle for tea.  The kettle isn’t in its usual place so I turn around confused wondering where it could have gone when I spot it on the worktop on the other side of the room.  I stomp over to fetch it, muttering under my breath.  He’s only been here five minutes and already he is re-organising my kitchen for me.  No wonder he’s having arguments with his girlfriend if he bosses everyone around like that and just takes over.  I fill up the kettle and put it back where it’s supposed to be.  I lift the plug to the socket and find a hole where the socket should be.  I stand there nonplussed for a few seconds trying to work this out in my early morning head.  Then it clicks into place.  Bloody Ned.  Now I feel like a total arse and take the kettle back over to the other side of the room, silently apologising to Robert for slating him in my head for moving my kitchen appliances.  I really need to have a chat with Ned and get some ground rules in place.  Like, not removing plug sockets without warning me about them first. 

James
is picking me up at twelve so I go upstairs and have a lovely shower that lasts way too long as I can’t drag myself from the hot steamy water.  When I eventually come out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, I hear the front door slam shut and I go over to the window to have a look.  Robert is getting into his car with Harley.  It is hard to tell whether he’s still pissed off from his phone conversation.  I pull away from the window as he reverses off the driveway, to ensure he doesn’t spot me spying on him.

I ha
ve a quick scan though my wardrobe, which I must admit, would cover almost every eventuality and even some eventualities that I haven’t even considered.  I pick out a black shirt dress with a really pretty blue swallow pattern on it.  On my feet I put black patent sandals with a raffia wedge, not too tall and not too short.  Perfect.  I put on a slick of eyeliner and mascara, tousle my hair to perfection and spritz on a light perfume and I’m ready to go.  As I grab my jacket I hear the front door knock downstairs.  I fly down the stairs and open the door. 

‘Hi
, beautiful.’  James presses his lips on mine and greets me with a very long and passionate kiss, which if I’d had socks on would have knocked them right off again.  He holds me tightly to his chest and strokes my hair.  ‘It seems like ages since I last saw you.  Maybe we should ditch the picnic and just go upstairs?’

I look at him surprised.  ‘I thought we weren’t rushing things, James?’

‘I know but I just want to hold you tight, and you’re making me so hot.’ He breathes heavily into my ear and runs his hands down my body squeezing my buttocks and pulling me into him.

I tap him playfully on the arm, and push him away gently, making a joke out of it.  ‘Come on, it’s a beautiful day and it’s a shame to waste it.  Let’s get going before you get carried away.’

I definitely don’t want him to get carried away.  I’m not at that point yet, but I have a feeling he will try and push me faster than I want to go.  I want to get to know him again properly and I’m still sorting out my feelings for him.  Having spent the last year pushing him firmly out of my mind and now he’s back in it again, I need time to process this change of circumstances. 

It’
s about an hour’s drive to Bridgnorth.  James finds a parking space and we go off in search of somewhere to sit.  We find a nice secluded spot overlooking the river but mostly shielded by bushes and trees on both sides.

James
lays the blanket on the grass and forages around in his rucksack, which today is doubling as a picnic basket. He pulls out two packets of sandwiches, which he has obviously bought from Sainsbury’s on his way to pick me up, a punnet of strawberries and a small bottle of champagne.  I sit on the blanket and get myself comfortable and he hands me two plastic beakers to hold whilst he fills them with champagne.  He sits next to me and taps his beaker against mine and says, ‘here’s to us.’

I smile and sip
the champagne, watching the river flow past whilst James studies the clouds in quiet contemplation for a short while.  Eventually he breaks the silence.  ‘So, how’s the house coming along, I noticed you’ve had the roof done.’  He must have seen the panic in my eyes at the mention of the house and he grabs my hand to reassure me.  ‘It’s okay, Lola, I’m not going to go into meltdown about the house.  It is how it is and I know you’ve worked hard on it.  I was an arse back then and totally selfish.  I should have been more supportive.  But I think I’ve changed and if you give me a chance I’ll prove it to you.’

I visibly relax at his words and start to breathe again.  ‘The house is great thanks, I’ve had to put in a few hours work, but I think it will be worth it in the end.’

‘Yes, it’s a big house.  I bet you spend most of your time rattling around it on your own.’  His eyebrows crease together as he thinks about it carefully.  ‘Maybe you’d fancy a roommate?’  He gives me a saucy wink.

I smil
e at his obvious hinting.  ‘Funny you should mention that, I’ve just had a new lodger move in so the house feels more lived in at the moment.’

He stop
s smiling.  ‘A new lodger?’

‘Yeah, he moved in a couple of days ago.  We’re still settling into a routine but I think it will be okay.’  I pluck at some tufts of grass and then watch them sprinkle to the ground.

‘You’ve moved some bloke in?’  James pulls away from me as if he’s been stung.  ‘When were you going to tell me that?’

‘He’s not some bloke, he’s a paying lodger.’  I beg
in to feel decidedly ruffled under his angry stare.

‘For God’s sake, Lola, do you really think that’s a good idea?’  He
runs his hand through his hair and stares down at the river.  ‘Who the hell is he?’

‘He’s Mike’s nephew from the Waddling Duck, so I know he checks out okay.  It’s not as if I’ve moved any old bloke off the street into my house.’

He interrupts me quickly.  ‘Well I’m not very happy about this development, Lola, not happy at all.’  He knocks back the rest of his champagne in one gulp, an angry sneer twisting at the corners of his mouth.  ‘I think I had better have a word with Mike and sort this situation out.’

I
feel my own anger rising, how dare he question my judgement and treat me like I’m a child.  I stand up quickly, knocking over my beaker and soaking the edge of the blanket with bubbly.  ‘You’ll do no such thing.  I’m more than capable of making my own decisions, James.  I’ve managed for the last twelve months perfectly well, thank you very much.  I certainly don’t need you to step in now and treat me like I’m incapable of trusting my own judgement.’

James quickly g
ets to his feet and wraps his arms around me.  ‘Oh god, Lola, I’m so sorry.  I never meant it to come out like that.  I was just shocked and worried about your safety.  I don’t want you to be taken advantage of.’  He tugs at my arm.  ‘Please sit down again, I’m really sorry babe.’

‘Well don’t think you can throw you weight around with me, James.’  My body fe
els rigid.  ‘You may have done it in the past but you certainly won’t do it now, I have also changed.’

‘Look, I’m sorry.  It was just a shock and I worry about you, alone in that house.  And I just want to make sure you’re safe, babe.  You can’t blame me for that surely?’  He h
olds both of my arms to my sides and looks deep into my eyes.  ‘Forgive me, please?’

He pull
s me towards him and kisses my neck and works his way to my lips and I feel my anger dissipate as he pulls away slightly and I see the pleading in his eyes.  I sit back down on the blanket and let James pour me some more champagne.  I take a sip and feel the last of my anger slipping away.  Maybe I have overreacted, he does look really sorry and I hate to stay angry with him.

‘Let’s not fall out, Lola.’  He
takes the beaker from me, tossing it onto the grass and pushes me back until I’m lying down.  He presses his lips onto mine and kisses me hard.  His breathing gets heavier as his hand travels from my hair, gently down my neck, and further down to my chest, where his fingers slip through the buttons of my shirtdress and trace the edge of my lacy bra.  A small moan escapes his mouth as his lips travel down my neck and then up to my ear, and his hand gets more adventurous and goes further into my bra.  I can feel his breath, hot in my ear as his hand explores further down my body, and he pulls up my dress until his hand is gently rubbing on my knickers.  I must admit, I am getting carried away myself at this point, and who wouldn’t under such provocation, when I hear giggling coming from nearby.  I come to my senses and look over to where a small boy stands at the foot of our blanket, tightly gripping a football. 

‘James,’ I wh
isper, and push him gently to alert him, but he carries on not realising we have a spectator.  I punch him hard on the arm.  ‘James, for the love of God, stop.’

He look
s up just as the boy turns and runs away shouting for his mom.  James rolls onto his back and groans in frustration, pushing his hands through his hair, but I feel slightly relieved we have been stopped from going too far.

James drops me off at home around six o’clock, he can’t stay as he is going to London on business for the week.  The house is empty when I get in, which is a blessed relief as I need time to chill out and recover from our mini argument and the frustrating encounter that followed it.

I kick off my sandals and drop
my bag in the hall, and then go in to the sitting room and flop onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.  I don’t know how long I have been lying there when there is a loud rapping on the front door.  Thinking it might be James having had second thoughts and come back to finish what he had started earlier, I spring off the sofa and go and open the door.  In breezes Chrissie.

‘So, is he here?’
she whispers, furtively looking around her.

I sigh and roll my eyes upwards.  ‘I’m sure we’ve had this conversation before, but I’ll ask anyway.  Is who here?’

‘Your dishy lodger of course,’ she says, her eyes scanning the hallway as if he may be hiding in a corner.

I
shut the front door and follow her.  ‘No, he went out this morning.  Not been seen since.’

‘Damn, I thought I might catch sight of him.’  She
stands by the door to Roberts’ room and puts her hand on the door knob.  ‘Can I have a quick look round his room while the coast is clear then?’

‘No, you bloody can’t you nosy cow.’  I grab hold of her arm and drag her away before she
can open the door.  ‘Come and have a cup of tea instead.’

I le
ad her into the kitchen and out of harm’s way and she sits at the kitchen table pouting.  She looks me up and down.  ‘You look nice, where have you been?’

I
tell her about the picnic with James and the brief sexual encounter until her eyes are well and truly popping out.  ‘Phew, he always was a horny little devil.  So did he plunder your lady garden?’

‘No, he only
made it to the gate,’ I giggle, ‘but he might have if we hadn’t been interrupted.  James is nothing if not persistent.’