Opposing Forces (6 page)

Maisie sat in her bedroom wondering for the longest time whether or not she should go round to see Frankie.

She had met him earlier in the week at one of their usual bars and had spent a great evening together.  He really was a very interesting man, not just your average jock, and she found herself gradually being drawn in.  He was keen to take their relationship further, she was more for taking it slow. 

She could invite him over for dinner; Julianne was away which meant the apartment was all theirs.  But that would break her sacred rule; she never slept with men in her own bedroom.  Her room was her own private haven.  There was nothing worse than falling in love with someone, only to be dumped and then having the heartache of remembering him in your bed, his cologne on your pillow.  Nope, she had been down that road once and never again.  If she wanted to be with Frankie, it would have to be at his apartment.

He had no plans for tonight, he had said as much when they last met.  Dressed in lacy white underwear and his laundered white shirt, Maisie slipped on a long cream raincoat to cover herself.  Driving over to Frankie’s she felt the butterflies multiply in her stomach.  She loved doing things on the spur of the moment and she had to admit, she was looking forward to being with Frankie.  He was undoubtedly attractive and had a delicious body to match.  But she also liked him a lot. 

Luckily someone was coming out of Frankie’s building as she arrived which meant she did not have to press his buzzer to alert him to her imminent arrival.  It really would be a surprise when she knocked on his door.  She made her way up to the third floor, took a deep breath and rang the bell.

Her spirits started to drop when he didn’t answer straight away.  Perhaps he had gone out after all.  She was just about to walk away, feeling highly dejected, when she heard the door unlock.  Her heart leapt in anticipation and she undid her coat, revealing her shirt underneath.   Frankie was wearing just his jeans. 

“Hey, handsome,” she drawled softly. “I did say I would surprise you one of these days.”

Frankie looked genuinely shocked to see her.  “Maisie. Jesus. You should have given me some warning.”

“I don’t care if your place is in a mess, it’s just you I’m after.”  She stepped forward and wound her arms around his neck.  “Aren’t you at least going to kiss me?”

He hesitated for a split second before pulling her tight to him and kissing her very hard.  “God, the amount of times I dreamt of you walking through that door, and you choose today of all days.”

“Why, have you got plans?” she whispered, seductively running her hand down his bare chest to the waistband of his jeans.

“Oh, Maisie, I…,” he started to explain.

“Is everything all right, Frankie?” a woman’s voice called from inside. “Are you planning on coming back to bed?”

Maisie’s jaw dropped open.  Bloody hell, this was not a scenario she had envisaged.  All the colour drain out of her face as she recoiled from him quickly; she was so mortified, she wanted the ground to swallow her up.

His face was a mix of embarrassment and shame.  “I’m so sorry…”

She did not let him finish. “There’s no need to apologise. I appear to have misread the signals.” She turned and hurried down the stairs, hoping she could make it back to her car before the tears started.

“Maisie, wait.” He went after her and caught her arm.

She shook him free.  “You should not keep the woman already in your bed waiting,” she responded with coldness.

“But it’s not her I want, Maisie, it’s you. It always has been. You know I’m in love with you,” he pleaded.

“So you’re willing to tip her out of bed and put me in her place? I hope you’d at least have the decency to change the sheets.” She stalked on down the stairs.

“Maisie, please…”

“Forget it, Frankie.  I’m glad I’ve discovered you’re nothing but a womanising dickhead before I actually slept with you.”  She strode out to her car, head held high.  Inside she was a complete mess.  Her decision had come too late, Frankie had got tired of waiting for her.

Maisie drove back to her apartment in tears, more from mortification than anything else.  She never dreamt for a moment that he would have another woman in his bed.  She felt so cheap and dirty.

She hurried up the stairs to her apartment and locked the door.  She needed to wash, to try and rid herself of the shame. A lovely deep bath with Moroccan rose oil was just perfect for calming and picking up her spirits, along with loads of soothing candles.  If that didn’t work, then she’d down a bottle of wine.  She felt such a fool, thinking Frankie was waiting patiently at home for her to say yes.  He was an attractive, red blooded male; if it was offered to him on a plate, of course he would take it.  Ironic really that the one time she should throw caution to the wind and decide to sleep with someone she was very fond of, that he should already be otherwise occupied.

How was she going to face him again?  There was a big party at one of the Raiders team members’ house at the weekend; she certainly could not go now.  Maybe it was time to take that trip to Paris she had been delaying.  Paris in summer was not really appealing but it was much more welcome than running into Frankie so soon.

Yes, Paris was the sensible option.  A working weekend, sort of.  She hauled herself out of the bath and dried off.  Firing up her laptop, she sent a few messages to the hotels she needed to see and booked her accommodation; if she caught the fast train around midday, she would be in Paris within a few hours. 

The buzzer for the building front door caught her attention.  She padded out in her pyjama shorts and camisole to the hall and looked at the intercom camera.  Her stomach flipped. It was Frankie. She had no intention of letting him in so returned to her bedroom, turning the music up to drown out the sound of the buzzer.  Her mobile was also ringing.  She ignored it too.

A while later the front door buzzer and her phone fell silent.  She thought she’d better check her mobile for any important messages.  There were five phone messages and twenty texts from Frankie.

She listened to the messages
.  “Maisie, I really need to speak with you. Please call me.”

“Maisie, I know you’re pissed with me but please answer my call.”

“I’m coming over, we need to talk.”

“Answer the damn buzzer, Maisie, I know you’re in.”

“I’ll stay out here all night if I have to. You will talk to me eventually.”

She deleted the messages and glanced at the texts.  They were all of a similar theme. 
Phone me. Text me. I love you. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.
Sorry you got found out, she muttered to herself and deleted them too. 

Pouring herself a glass of red wine, Maisie wandered out onto the balcony.  People were still milling about the small square, enjoying the warm summer evening.  It all looked so serene, the exact opposite of what Paris would be tomorrow. She needed to pack a few things for her trip, so she’d best get organised. 

“Maisie, I know you’re up there. Let me in,” Frankie hollered.

Damn, he had seen her on the balcony.  “Sod off, Frankie,” she shouted back. “I have no intention of seeing you for a very long time.”  She walked back inside and locked the balcony door.

The music was turned up again to drown out the noise of the buzzer. The guy was persistent if nothing else.  But if he thought a few apologies and some soulful eyes would get around her, he really did not know her at all. 

Suitcase packed, she headed to the kitchen to leave a message for Julianne. 
Gone to Paris, will phone you.
  She drew a cute picture of the Eiffel Tower in the corner.  Crossing the hall she nearly jumped out of her skin when Frankie started hammering on her front door.  Someone must have let him in the damn building.

“Open up, Maisie. I’ll break down the bloody door if I have to,” he shouted through the thick wood.

Now that would be pity, Maisie sighed, as it had just been replaced.  “Frankie, this is the one and only time I am going to talk to you,” she spoke sternly through the door.  “If you don’t leave, I will have no option but to phone the police and get you physically removed.”

“I don’t give a damn, Maisie.  I love you,” he hollered.  “I’m not going anywhere until we’ve gotten this sorted out.”

“There’s nothing to sort out,” she responded softly. “You love me so much you were screwing another woman.”

Maisie felt awful, but she had no choice; she was seriously starting to worry what Frankie would do if he did get through the front door. He clearly was not in a stable frame of mind.  She dialled the police headquarters and was relieved to find Sergeant Dufrais on duty.

“Sergeant Dufrais. It’s Maisie Carrington here.”

“Miss Carrington, it’s lovely to hear from you but should I be worried?  Or more accurately should the Chief be worried?”

She laughed softly.  “Not at all.  This is more of a…er…domestic nature which I would really appreciate if it could be handled with…sensitivity.”

“I’m listening.”  Albert was wondering all sorts of things.

“I have a rather upset, and I think drunk, Frankie Lavigne trying to break down my front door.  He’s been trying to get into the building for a while and some dear soul has kindly let him in.  As you know I’m rather partial to my new front door and also a little concerned as to his state of mind if he did get through. I was hoping you might be able to send a couple of decent officers around to remove him.”

Albert could not resist smiling.  She had such a way about her, how could he refuse such a polite request.  “Do you mind me asking what has triggered his irrational behaviour?  It might help my officers in subduing him.”

“I caught him in bed with another woman.” Her voice trembled slightly as she said it. Well, he’d only got out of it to answer his door.

“I’ll have a car around there in a matter of minutes,” Albert responded.  “I’ll also send an officer to take your statement.”

“Thank you, Sergeant. You’ve been so very kind.”

Albert felt all warm and fuzzy.  “We’re here to help, Miss Carrington.” 

He looked at his computer to see who was in the area and who was the most discreet.  He selected two officers and got hold of them on the radio.  He was tempted to ask them to rough Lavigne up a little for the hurt he had caused Miss Carrington, but thought better of it.  Knowing she probably needed cheering up, he sent Thevenez to take her statement.

Maisie felt awful when she heard the commotion outside her apartment.  The officers had obviously shown up and Frankie was none too happy about it.

“I will be back, Maisie, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” he howled.

There was a firm knock at the door.  “Miss Carrington, it’s Officer Thevenez.  You are quite safe to open the door now.”

Bless you, Dufrais, she smiled.  She opened the door and let Philippe in.  “If you spend much more time here, Philippe, I’ll have to put your name on the door.”

He grinned, turning a little red.  “It’s good to see you again, Miss Carrington.  But I am sorry it is under these circumstances.”

“Can I get you a drink? And it’s Maisie.”

“Coffee would be good.”

Following her to the kitchen, he noticed her eyes were a little red; she had obviously been crying.  He could not fathom how a man could cheat on someone so lovely.

“I never did apologise for mistaking you for a party guest. I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble.”

Philippe shook his head.  “After Chief Grundberg met you, I got off with just a mild slap on the hand.”

Maisie laughed.  “Cheeky!”