Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Naomi was sneaking a peek out of her bedroom window when the taxi pulled up outside.
‘Bye, sis,’ Gracie called up the stairs.
‘Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ Noms shouted back.
‘Ha. Don’t give me that much scope. Bye.’
Gracie was laughing as she shut the door. A grinning Ed held the taxi door open for her.
‘You look amazing, Gracie.’
She felt amazing. She’d dried her hair straight and with her slight weight loss felt slim enough to wear a little black dress that accentuated her curves. Finished off with heels, coral lipstick and freshly painted nails she felt confident. And she felt sexy.
The handsome landscaper handed her a bunch of pink roses wrapped in pink tissue paper.
‘Ed, that’s so sweet, thank you.’
‘Thought we’d go to the Thai, down by the river in Putney.’
‘Lovely. I went there for a work meal once. The food is amazing.’
Over their meal, conversation flowed, laughter bubbled, wine was drunk. Time passed quickly.
‘Anything else to drink?’ Ed smiled with his eyes as he asked.
She hiccupped. ‘I’m a little drunk already.’
‘Not too drunk to forget you’ve been on a date with a handsome younger man, I hope?’ He leant down and retrieved his napkin from the floor.
‘God, no, I’m not at the stage of not remembering stuff, don’t worry.’ Gracie grinned broadly.
‘That’s a relief. I want this to be a special night. A special night for a special lady.’
‘It’s been great, I haven’t eaten such good food in ages and the company’s not that bad either.’ Gracie meant it. It had felt natural being in Ed’s company and there was no denying she really did fancy him. ‘Coffee would be good,’ Gracie added.
Ed reached for his wallet. ‘How about we go back to mine for a coffee?’
‘For coffee or for coffee?’ Gracie winked.
‘Depends how lucky you’re feeling.’ Ed laughed as she play-hit his hand across the table.
Back at Ed’s Clapham apartment, Gracie noticed the photos above the fireplace. ‘So, you’re a skier?’
‘More a snowboarder. How about you?’
‘Never been, actually.’
‘Oh, you should, it’s such a fun holiday.’
‘Is that your brother?’ She pointed to a photo of another handsome smiley man with a girl on his arm.
‘No, that’s my flatmate, Greg. He’s gone to Paris with his girlfriend this weekend. Rumour has it he’s going to propose.’
‘That’s so sweet.’
‘Another one bites the dust, I say.’ Ed laughed.
Gracie smiled. ‘You’re so wrong.’
‘But oh so lovable.’ Ed took her by the hands. ‘Anyway, sexy lady, I’ve been waiting to do this all night.’
He gently tilted Gracie’s head and kissed her lightly. When she pushed into him he gave her a full-on passionate toe-curler of a snog.
They came up for air.
‘I feel dizzy,’ Gracie giggled.
‘So, do you want a coffee, tea, me…’ Ed grazed her lips again.
‘Just you.’ Gracie leant up to kiss him again. She put her hand to his crotch and the slight bulge that greeted her made her feel horny.
‘Let’s have a coffee first, hey, Gracie?’
For a moment Gracie felt a little rejected. ‘Hello, is this really the hot-blooded landscaper who was going to have his wicked way with me?’
‘I just want you to be comfortable with this, that’s all. You’ve had a lot going on.’
He sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. ‘Come here.’
She leant in to kiss him again. ‘I am comfortable.’ She looked right into his almond-shaped brown eyes. ‘Really, I am.’
‘So, if I wanted to make love to you, you would say yes?’
‘Ed, you’re being weird. Just kiss me.’
Gracie moved herself to lie along the sofa and pulled Ed towards her. She spoke very slowly and deliberately. ‘Ed Duke, I want… to do… despicable… things to your body…’
He grinned. ‘As long as you are sure, who am I to argue?’
The foreplay was tender and oh so good. Ed’s body was taut and strong and Gracie could almost have cried at how complimentary he was about her.
‘Have you got condoms?’ Gracie said breathlessly.
Ed rifled on the floor for his wallet. ‘Here. You do it.’
As she was hurriedly ripping off the wrapper, Ed suddenly got up.
‘Shit, I’m so sorry, Gracie, must be the drink.’ He ran to the bathroom.
Gracie sat up. What was going on? He was gone for what seemed like ages, then he appeared in his boxers and came to join her at the sofa. He hugged her tightly.
‘That didn’t go quite as planned, did it? How embarrassing.’
‘Hey, it’s fine. Don’t be silly.’ Gracie felt awful. He obviously didn’t fancy her at all. ‘I think I may just head home.’
‘It’s 1 a.m., Gracie. Are you sure? We could go to bed and cuddle, then see what comes up in the morning, maybe?’ He kissed her on the forehead.
‘No, I’d really like to go home, it’s fine. I’ll get an Uber.’
Ed smiled weakly. ‘I know this is so cliché, but it’s not you, it really is me. And I’m so sorry if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable.’
Gracie reached for her phone and booked a car.
Ed brushed her lips with his at the door. ‘Make sure you text me when you get in, yeah?’
Gracie got in the car and rested her head back on the seat. Yes, things like that did happen, but it still seemed odd. If the drink had affected him, then fine, but the fact she had seen his huge erection in the mirror when he ran to the bathroom made it all the more strange. She wasn’t that unsexy, was she? It didn’t make sense. He really had seemed to like her. Maybe she should have stayed but her feelings of rejection had made her want to run. She was just thinking that she hoped that she hadn’t left Ed feeling bad about the situation when the driver braked too hard and jolted her out of her thoughts.
Remembering she had run out of her favourite tea bags and skimmed milk, she asked the driver to pull into a garage. And that was when she saw him.
Lewis.
Staggering out of the garage with a full carrier bag of hangover supplies, Gracie guessed by the look of him. He was smashed! Hiswhole face lit up when he saw her. ‘My Gracie… My Gracie with the special hair!’
She put her hand to the back of her head and realised she had a bad case of ‘rolling round on sofa’ hair. Shit!
He put his hand on her arm. ‘I miss you, Gigi,’ he slurred. ‘I miss you so much.’
She thought she was going to cry. ‘Look, I do need to talk to you, but not now. I’ll ring you this week, I promise.’
She scurried back to her Uber shaking. He had looked so sad, then so happy when he saw her. Her heart was beating too fast. Maybe she did still love him?
That was the trouble with the head and the heart, Gracie thought. How could you just switch love off? One day everything seems perfect, and the next day they cheat and you have to hate them. The heart doesn’t understand, as it’s the head telling you what to feel. Gracie’s thoughts were confusing her. The sooner she got home and into bed the better.
A text from Ed flashed up.
You home yet babe? x
Then another.
I still love you Gigi X