Chapter 17
17
At 1.00a.m., George was on her fourth lager and three quarters of the way through chicken curry, chips and egg foo yung from the local Chinese takeaway. You could get a bit sick of fine food when you spent all day working with it and everyone needed to indulge in a bit of comfort eating once in a while. Besides, this was a celebration meal. This was a treat for managing to land the function of all functions, a wedding every caterer in the modern world would have poked their own eyes out for a piece of. And it was hers.
She was just deciding what to watch on TV when her mobile beeped as a text message came through.
Wish I was there Q x
George looked at the words and suddenly, the event that was going to turn her business into an international success diminished dramatically in her mind. She wished he was there too. She wished she could put her arms around him, strip him of his clothes and lose herself in him. He seemed to instinctively know what she wanted every time they were together.
She picked up her phone and began to type a message back.
Im catering ur weddin g
She put the phone back on the table and ate another mouthful of food. She hadn’t told him yet. She wondered how he would feel. Perhaps he would persuade Taylor that her food wasn’t that great, say he had tasted it for four nights, it sucked and she should consider another catering company.
The phone beeped again and she picked it up.
I know cant wait to show u the infinity pool x
George looked at the text and took a deep breath. Nothing seemed to faze him. He took everything in his stride; he didn’t worry about anything. She was like that once. She missed being like that. But she was responsible now; she had a business and a professional reputation to protect. She had to think twice about what she did. Didn’t she?
The phone beeped again.
Want to c u
George let out another sigh and hastily text a reply.
Ur in Manchester
Within seconds, it beeped again.
Guess again
George looked at the text and was about to reply when her phone made a loud, determined beeping noise and the battery died.
‘Oh shit! Bugger! Where’s the charger? Damn it!’ she exclaimed, vaulting from her seat and hurrying into the kitchen.
She tried to bring the phone to life again, holding down the power button and willing it to be resuscitated. She opened drawers in search of her charger, dropping things on the floor, cutlery and catering implements knocking her knuckles as she searched through the contents.
This was one of the craziest things he’d ever done. Taylor was there, everyone was there and he wasn’t. He had escaped, paid off the people that needed to be paid off, because of her. Because what he felt for her wasn’t diminishing now he hadn’t seen her for twenty-four hours, it was growing. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. He couldn’t settle; he felt uncomfortable with the amount of miles between them. He didn’t want to give her up, he couldn’t and he wouldn’t.
Suddenly, there was a loud thumping on the back door that jolted her, making her drop a pair of oven gloves and a cheese grater.
‘Who is it?’ she called, approaching the door with caution.
‘Who d’you think?’ Quinn’s voice called back.
She couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be here! He wasn’t supposed to be here; he was supposed to be at the other end of the country! She fumbled with the lock then hurriedly threw the door open.
‘I don’t believe you’re here! How? Why?’ George questioned all at once, her hands at her mouth in shock.
‘How? Helicopter. Why? Because I couldn’t stay away,’ Quinn informed her.
He stepped onto the threshold of the door and looked at her, as if he was drinking her in with every glance. His breathing was already erratic as he moved inside .
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ George spoke, touching his face to check he was real.
‘You’ll have to thank the woman at number one in the morning. You didn’t reply to my last message so I had to knock on a few doors to ask where you live. Remembered Raleigh Crescent, didn’t know the number.’
‘Oh God! You didn’t!’ George exclaimed.
‘I had to see you. So, how pleased are you to see me?’ Quinn enquired, pulling at her t-shirt and ripping it over her head in one quick motion, leaving her in just her bra.
‘On a scale of one to ten?’ George asked as he bent to deliver kisses to her neck.
‘Uh huh.’
‘About 245,’ George responded, taking off his baseball cap and pushing him up against the table.
He turned her around until she was backed up against it, and then he lifted her up and pushed her down on it, scattering the pans and containers on the floor.
He kissed her mouth and brushed her hair off her face as they lay in bed together.
‘I still can’t believe you’re here; you only left this morning,’ George said, running her hand over his shoulder.
‘You knew I wanted you to come with me. If you wouldn’t come to me, I figured I’d just have to come to you,’ Quinn answered.
‘But where do people think you are?’
Quinn shrugged and moved off her, putting his arms around her and holding her close to him. She took hold of his hands and held them in hers.
‘I don’t care where they think I am,’ he responded.
‘But what about Taylor? ’
‘I don’t want to talk about her. I want to talk about you,’ Quinn answered.
‘We talked about me last night. Why don’t we talk about you?’ George suggested.
‘There’s nothing to tell. I’m a thirty-something musician, you know that; that’s it,’ Quinn told her.
‘Why don’t you like talking about yourself?’ George asked.
‘Because there’s nothing to talk about,’ Quinn replied.
‘Now that makes me think you’re hiding lots of dark secrets,’ George said with a smile.
‘I wish,’ Quinn responded with a sigh.
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Quinn.’
‘Look, I’m messed up George, that’s all,’ Quinn answered, sitting up and running his hand over his hair.
‘I can’t get it if you don’t tell me,’ George said.
‘Sometimes, it’s best not to understand things; trust me,’ Quinn spoke.
She didn’t reply but rested her head on his chest.
She didn’t want to push him. She enjoyed being with him, she knew their time together had a short shelf life and she didn’t want to spend it fighting. Not when they could be doing so many other fantastic things.
‘What’s important is the here and now. The past’s yesterday. It’s gone,’ Quinn told her.
‘If only it were that easy,’ George replied.
‘It is that easy. Come here, let me show you,’ Quinn said, pulling George on top of him.
George smiled down at him, letting him cup her breasts with his hands.
‘Wanna hear something funny? Now this will get you. The other night, I had this dream. You were dressed up in this school uniform, you had long, pink hair and we were together at this God-awful gig,’ Quinn told her .
‘That all sounds a bit kinky to me,’ George replied, kissing his lips.
‘Mmm, that’s what I thought. In fact, I didn’t want to wake up.’
‘I did dye my hair strange colours, a very long time ago now, though,’ George answered with a laugh.
‘It was a good look; maybe you should try it again.’
‘And the school uniform?’
‘You still got it?’
The tap in the bathroom sink leaked and he wanted to get it repaired for her. What the hell! He looked at himself in the mirror above the sink and let out a heavy sigh. What was he going to do? Tonight, she’d whispered his name in his ear, kissed him so tenderly, he thought he was going to lose it there and then. He wanted to share stuff with her. He wanted to open up to her but he was scared. He was scared, if he did, there was no going back.