Chapter 25
Oakley
In the week that followed Frank’s sentencing, Cole and I spent some time doing normal things together. Not thinking or worrying about trials or deplorable men. We didn’t even talk about our future or anything heavy.
We’d had fun. It was the best week of my life, going on dates and spending lazy evenings in bed.
But our time in that fantasy was limited.
I was ready to work out the details of never leaving him again.
That was why I sent him to work this morning. That, and the fact that now any time he had off was unpaid.
I parked the rental car beside Marcus’s in front of the gym.
My heart fluttered as I remembered the countless times I’d been dropped off here. The gym was magic. As soon as my feet stepped through that door, I could fly.
It had the power to shrink the things I was dealing with until I got a couple hours reprieve.
It still smelt the same when I walked inside, just like a gym, faintly of feet and cleaning products.
I pushed the double doors open, and I was smiling before I knew it. Springboards, beams, benches, trampolines, vaults, bars were a happy part of my childhood.
“Oakley!” Marcus called. A grin spread across his face as he jogged over to me. “I’m so glad you came. How are you doing?”
I gave him a hug. “God, this place takes me back. It looks great, Marcus. I like the new equipment.”
“Feel free to try it out.”
“Oh, I’m sure I would break something now.”
“Rubbish. You were born for this. You could’ve gone all the way, Oakley. The Olympics was in your future.”
I shook my head. “I never would’ve taken it that far.” But it was nice to hear again that I was good at something.
“Why not?”
“I didn’t want the attention.”
My dad never would have let me go for it, either. There was a chance that if my name was out there, his would be, too. Ridiculous really. How many rich, famous people, and politicians were a part of the circles my dad ran in?
“What are your plans now?”
“Well, I was kind of hoping you could help me out there.”
He tilted his head. “Go on.”
“I’ll need a job if I stay in England.”
I’d not figured out where I’d live, though I had a feeling Cole would insist on me living with him, but I needed a plan B in case he wanted to take things slower.
“If you stay?” Marcus asked.
“I want to.”
“Good. I don’t think Cole will let you go again, anyway. You know, he came here a few times. I saw him at night, sitting outside the gym.”
My heart stuttered. “What?”
“I guess he wanted to be close to you—to something you loved.”
“Did you speak to him?” I whispered.
“Sat with him a couple of times. He didn’t want to talk.”
“I had no idea.”
Marcus smiled. “I don’t think you were supposed to. Mary’s moving away with her husband, so we have no one to teach the under-fives on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I want to expand, so I’ll have more hours soon.”
Hope bloomed in my chest. “Yeah?”
“I know it’s a bit like herding kittens at that age, but you can handle it.”
“I don’t mind which age group it is. Cole will probably tell me he’ll take care of me, but I don’t want that.”
He’d spent a long time doing that.
“Want to get a drink? I have a while before class,” Marcus asked.
The drinks in the canteen were disgusting, but I actually missed them, too. “Drinking that crap again?” I smiled and linked my arm through his. “You bet.”
Marcus nudged me and nodded to a table in the canteen. “You sit. I’ll buy the liquid shit.”
I chose my favourite spot by the window. Sunlight streamed through the blinds. Marcus sat down opposite me and handed me a hot chocolate. It would be watery, but that was fine.
I wrapped my hand around the cream mug with the stick image of a gymnast doing a cartwheel on it. “Thanks. Hey, you remember when Silas broke his wrist doing a backflip off that table?”
Marcus laughed. “Yeah. What a dick. You just stood there looking at him like you couldn’t believe how someone could be such a moron. He was a good gymnast but too cocky.”
“Confidence not arrogance,” I said, repeating words Marcus had told us repeatedly over the years. Even the best could fall. “He wasn’t so cocky after that. Anyway, what’s going on with you?”
He sighed. “Between me and you, something’s going on, but no one seems to know a damn thing. Or they do and they’re not saying. Some guys in fancy suits have been wandering around. I think the place is in trouble.”
“Have you asked Greg?”
Greg was the owner of the centre, and a total idiot. He cared about money, not people. I’d always hated him. There was trouble with him every year about raising the prices too high, and none of the extra money ever went into improving the facilities.
“I did. He made it sound like it was all in my head. Of course, he wouldn’t tell me the truth. He’s said so much bullshit in his time, I don’t even think he knows what the truth is anymore. Enough of that crap, though. Has the media circus died down?”
“Yeah, to be fair, after I spoke to them about Cole, they’ve been pretty decent. The odd one hangs around sometimes, hoping to get an exclusive.”
“That was a brave move,” Marcus said. “You queen.”
“Thanks. It worked so it was worth it. No one thinks badly of Cole.”
“That’s good. I’m glad things have settled down and you can focus on building a life here. I’m Team England.”
Laughing, I replied, “You’ve clearly never been to Australia.”
“No, but we have Cole.”
“Fine, you win.”
“Want some advice?”
I smiled. “Do I have a choice?”
“Why, no, you do not.” He winked. “It’s going to be simple. Be happy. Do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“That’s the plan. I’m tired of pretending that I’m okay. I never thought I’d move back. Lots of memories, but the bad ones have faded… mostly.”
“Time to replace them with engagements, weddings, and kids.”
“Let’s not get too ahead or ourselves. But yes. I’m just not sure what my mum and Jasper will do.”
“They’ll follow you.”
“Right, but I don’t want them to if that’s not what will make them happy. You know what I mean? We’re so close, and it would suck if we didn’t live in the same country, but I don’t want them to base anything on me.”
He shrugged. “You’re going to have to tell them your plans and let them make their own minds up.”
I took a sip of the awful hot chocolate. It was like brown water. “Yeah. So, when do you need me to start?”
“Mary leaves in three weeks. Come in two so you can work alongside her and see where the little ones are at. You’ll be here, yes?”
“Yeah, I’ll have to go back to Australia since my things are there, but it won’t be a long visit.”
“You can get that done in two weeks?”
I shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of things. Never really knew what I was doing or where I should be.”
“It was never home?”
“I guess not. It was everything I needed at the time, and I’ll still love it out there.”
“So… Cole’s hot as an adult,” Marcus said.
I thought he was hot before, too, but I can see how Marcus, now in his mid-thirties, is only attracted to the adult Cole. “It’s unfair really.”
“Your babies are going to be off the chart beautiful, blondie. You know that, right?”
I rolled my eyes. If they took after Cole. And we didn’t need to think about children yet.
When my awful hot chocolate was finished, I pushed the mug away. “I should go. You have a class soon.”
“All right. You keep me updated with your plans, yeah?”
“I’ll be in touch. We’ll work towards the two week start date. Thank you.”
He gave me another hug once we stood and then he picked up the mugs. “See you soon.”
I walked out of the gym with a plan and a job. Today was awesome.
All I needed to do was break the news to Mum and Jasper—not a conversation I was looking forward to—but at least once that was done, I’d get to tell Cole… and that was something I was looking forward to.
As I drove back to Ali’s, Cole’s name flashed up on my screen. I’d connected my phone to the car so I could talk handsfree.
“Hey.”
“Hey. How’d it go with Marcus? You on your way home?”
“Good, and yes. How’s work? You’re not busy, right?”
“Hmm, are you insinuating that I’m not busy because you think I do nothing all day, or are you asking?”
Smiling, I replied, “I’m asking.”
“Well, no, I’m not busy.”
“Of course, you’re not,” I teased. “Sorry. I know you’re very important.”
“Was there anything in particular you wanted?” Cole asked. His voice was laced with sarcasm and a hint of amusement. He was flirting with me, and I couldn’t get enough.
“You called me,” I said. “Do you want me to go?”
“No, I want you in my bed.”
“I really hope you’re alone in your office if you’re going to talk like that.”
“No, I’m in a conference,” he muttered dryly. “Of course, I’m alone. No one really comes in my office.”
“I’m playing a sad song on a tiny violin.”
He chuckled. “I’m going to hang up.”
“No, you won’t. Are you coming to Ali’s after work?”
“Do you want me to come to Ali’s after work?”
“Wow, you sure know all of the stupid questions to ask. You know I do. I miss you.”
“And you know I miss you, too. I’ll be at Ali’s straight after work.”
I pulled into the drive and cut the engine. “I’m back now. There are some things I need to talk to my mum about, so I’ll see you later.”
“Everything okay?”
“It’s fine. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” he said, and I hung up.
All right. It was time to tell my mum that I wasn’t going back to Australia with her, and it could go either way.
If it wasn’t for Miles, I thought she’d be happy. I knew how much she missed it here. Miles left two days ago, needing to get back to work. We were supposed to leave soon, too. Our stay had already been extended.
Now I was extending mine forever.
“Mum,” I called, letting myself in.
“Hi, honey. Marcus okay?”
I smiled when I saw her. She looked happy. “He’s great. I need to talk to you.”
Her smile faded. “All right.”
“It’s not bad. Well, depends on how you look at it.”
“Oakley…”
“Let’s sit.”
She followed me to the sofa and wrung her hands together as she sat down beside me.