2. Helen
Chapter 2
Helen
I looked around the restaurant and then at my phone for the hundredth time, but there was still no sign of him and no message or phone call explaining why he wasn’t here. Lifting my glass, I drained the last of my wine before letting out a loud sigh.
I unlocked my phone, opening the dating app, ready to write Oliver AKA @Salty_Temptation a snotty message, reminding him how rude it was to stand someone up, but there was no sign of him or our two-week-long message history. Confused, I typed out a message in a group chat with my friends.
Me: Why would someone vanish from a dating app if you’ve been talking to them?
Vee: Ghosted! Why?
Vee: No! Did that fucker ghost you?
I tried not to let tears prick my eyes as I tucked my freshly cut and professionally coloured hair behind my ear, feeling foolish in my black A-line dress and heels I could barely walk in.
Me: Looks like it.
Becks: Shit, H. Men are the worst. Sorry.
Lizzy: You want us to come rescue you?
I smiled because I knew they would drop everything to turn up here and make me feel better.
Me: No. I’m going to head home and wash this makeup off. I just wish I’d not wasted this outfit and underwear on him. Although, I do love the new hair, so it wasn’t all a waste.
Vee: None of this is a waste. There is someone out there right now who will treat you like a queen.
Me: Maybe, but no more dating apps. I want the fairy tale.
Becks: Don’t we all!
Me: You’re happily married.
Becks: A girl can dream… or enjoy a bit of role play with her husband *winking face emoji*
Lizzy: Gross! I’ll never be able to look at Dave in the same way again. *vomiting face emoji*
Lizzy: Back to Helen. What are you going to do?
Me: Go home. Delete the app. Eat too much ice cream and binge a boxset. Preferably where the man is murdered painfully for ghosting his date.
Vee: Text us when you’re home. I mean, he might be the serial killer, waiting for you to leave the restaurant alone.
Lizzy: WTF V!!!!
Becks: *faceplant emoji*
I laughed louder than I should, drawing the attention of the couples and groups sitting at the tables near me.
I worked for one of the most paranoid men in the world, so when I told him I was going on my first date tonight and didn’t have enough details about him for Thomas to run a background check, he insisted I brought some ‘protection’. Which was why Tyler, my own personal bodyguard, was waiting outside to make sure I got home safely.
Vee: Sorry!!!!! I need to think before I speak… or text! In other news, have you tried our vibrating gifts yet?
I signalled to the waiter, asking for the bill before I typed my reply.
Me: Erm, nope. They are all scary-looking. Don’t they come in smaller sizes?
Lizzy: You don’t have to put them inside you. You can just start with them on your clit.
Me: No. Stop right there. Too much.
Becks: Watch some porn and just have some fun with them.
Me: OMG. I’d rather talk about people waiting to kill me than this. I hate you all.
Lizzy: You’ll thank us for it when you make yourself come.
Me: Oh look, a hole I can climb into. Thanks, ladies, at least I feel less embarrassed about being stood up and ghosted. Best friends EVER.
Lizzy: Glad we could help. *winking face emoji*. Seriously, call us when you’re home.
I put my phone down just as the waiter appeared with another glass of wine. I looked up, my brows furrowing in confusion.
“You can’t just leave without eating, Helen. Thomas would never forgive us.”
I sighed because this was one of the joys of small town living that I could do without sometimes. Everyone knew everyone’s business and everyone knew my boss, Thomas Lanton.
“Honestly, I’m good. I’m just ready to go home.”
The waiter smiled, and I wished I could remember the poor boy’s name. “Chef said to order whatever you want. On the house. You can get it to go if that’s easier. But you need to eat, right?”
Tilting my head, my lips curved into a small smile. “Tell the chef thank you. Can I get the pesto chicken pizza and whatever dessert he’d recommend? And, please bring me the bill. I want to pay for dinner.”
He nodded before leaving me and I took a sip of the crisp white wine he’d left before opening my phone and deactivating my account on the dating app.
I left the restaurant armed with pizza and two slices of the chef’s famous cheesecake that they’d refused to let me pay for and found Tyler where I’d left him, waiting outside.
“Go home, Tyler.”
“Your date?”
I felt like an idiot. “Didn’t show.”
“Fucker. Do you want me to let the boss know so we can track him down?”
I laughed, shaking my head because I was used to the high level of protection and paranoia that came from the men I worked with, so his reaction didn't surprise me. “No, don’t do that.”
“But—”
“I’m good. I had a glass of wine, I have dinner, so I’m going to get a cab and head home. I appreciate you looking after me, though.”
He nodded towards the blacked-out SUV. “Let me give you a lift. That way, when Thomas asks tomorrow, I can tell him I got you home safe.”
“Scared of getting your balls chopped off by our boss?”
“Damn right I am. Have you seen the man?”
“I’ve been working for him for nearly ten years, so yes, I know what he’s like.”
“Ten years. Did you start working for him when you were fifteen?”
My eyes creased as I laughed loudly. “Smooth, Tyler. Fine, I’ll take the lift.”
Ten minutes later, we were about to turn from the coastal road onto the short residential street that led to my house when I spotted someone familiar sitting on a bench, staring out over the waves.
“Could you just stop for a second, Tyler?”
“Helen?”
“It’s fine. I think that’s my son’s friend.”
He pulled the car to the side of the road, and I lowered the window. “Jackson,” I called.
His head turned as if he was being pulled from a daydream. Recognition flared in his eyes. “Mrs Fischer?”
“Helen, please. Are you okay?”
“All good.”
I leaned over and pressed my hand to Tyler’s shoulder to reassure him I was safe before I stepped out of the car. The cold breeze whipped around me, forcing me to hold down my dress so I didn’t flash my new underwear at the world.
“Jackson, it’s freezing, so you’re not alright, otherwise you’d be inside, somewhere warm.”
He didn’t break his attention from the crashing waves beneath us, so I took the seat next to him, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Jackson?”
“Can you not call me that? No one has called me that since I was a teenager. Jax. Please.”
I stared at his profile as he avoided eye contact. His face looked pinched, tension furrowing his brow as his jaw twitched.
“What’s wrong?”
He let out a long sigh, and he suddenly looked so much older than his thirty-one years. “Bad shout, stress of a new job, a new job where I’m in charge, living in a hotel for the foreseeable as the house I was buying fell through… it’s just been a week.”
“Bad shout?” I hated how upset he seemed.
“Yeah, kids, home alone when they shouldn’t have been, fire. Everyone’s okay, but it took a while to find the youngest.”
“Shit. How old was she?”
“Five. Her eleven-year-old brother and seven-year-old sister were left looking after her.”
Before I could reply, he seemed to snap out of his mood. “Helen, it’s freezing out here, and you’re only wearing a dress.”
“I was just heading home when I saw you.”
He tilted his head slightly. “Heading home from?”
“A date.”
“Right.”
“I got stood up. Whether he came and took one look at me and ran because I'm too old or it was obvious this was my first date ever or he was just an arsehole and never intended on coming…”
His rich chocolate-brown eyes flashed over me. “He was a dick and you’re better off without him. Wait, did you say your first ever date ?”
I shrugged, my arms feeling numb from the cold air. “You eaten?”
Jackson shook his head.
“I have pizza and dessert in the car. Do you want to share?” He stared at me for the longest time and it got so uncomfortable that I started to panic. “God, sorry. I’m your friend’s mum. That is so weird. Just ignore me.”
“I haven’t eaten since breakfast,” he mumbled.
“It’s 9.30. You must be starving, but I’m too cold to eat out here. Do you want to come to mine? It’s just up the hill.”
I stood and Jackson followed, and as he climbed into the car behind me, I tried to ignore the nervous energy that rippled through me like a dangerous undercurrent.