Erin The Fire Goddess: The Beginning (14 page)

Along one side was a high hedge, about 7 feet
high, separating their garden and next. At the far end of the garden, there seemed to be a tennis court.

“Wow
!” I gasped, as I went to sit down next to Sean on a two-seater wicker sofa with floral cushioned seats.

Sean followed my gaze, as he took my glass from my hands and placed it on a small table. Without a word, he stood up and took my hand and led me out of the conservatories side door.

It was all so breathtaking. There was a paved area, when I first stepped out, decorated with statues and a small fountain in the middle. To one side there was a path that led to the bottom of the garden, with brightly coloured flowers on either side.

We stopped for a
while to look at the tennis court, which I reckoned was used frequently.

“Do you play?” I asked, without looking at him.

“Yep. My mum is really good at it and often teaches people at weekends.”

“Wow
!”

Every day I felt like I learnt something knew about Sean and his family. No matter how much I tried to prepare myself, he always surprised
me.

One thing I really liked was the fact he never shoved it in my face. He was very modest, and until I came to his house, I would never have guessed that his family had so much money.

“I want to show you something.”

He led me
back  the way we came to another path that I'd seen half way down, which was lined with tall blossom trees. After about 50 metres, we came to what I thought was a small wooden house, about the size of an average bungalow.

Sean pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

“This is the summer house.” Sean told me as he opened the door and we stepped into a room which held a large plasma TV on the wall, with every type of games console neatly placed in a stand underneath.

Next to this were stands full of console games. In one corner stood a stereo system, and next to it stood two old arcade machines
, Pac man and Street Fighter.

In the middle was a large three seater sofa, which looked more like a four seater. On the floor
were five bean bags that were scattered about the room.

Whilst I looked around the room, Sean started opening the windows. I noticed there were several doors leading from this room.

“May I?” I pointed to the two doors at the back of the room.

“Sure
.” Sean nodded, as he followed me into a small room, which held a fridge, microwave, and a couple of cupboards.

He walked past me to open the window as I went to look in the next, which was a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, shower and a bathroom cabinet.

As I closed the door behind me, I saw Sean entering another room, to the right of the bathroom. It was an average sized bedroom, with a double bed, wardrobe, TV and a two chest of drawers.

“This is my room, or whoever
's if we have guests.” He laughed. “And this.” He led me to the next room. He laughed again when he saw my reaction. “This is the Jacuzzi room.”

“Wow
!”

There stood in the middle of the room was a large circular Jacuzzi that could probably fit about 10 people.

“Do you use it?"” I asked when I noticed it was empty.

“Yeah,
we’ve just not used it in a couple of weeks.” He walked over to open the windows. “You'll have to bring a swimsuit over next time.” I blushed without answering him. “Let me show you the other two rooms.”

He led me across the main room, to the two doors on the other side. The first door was another bedroom, set up the same way as the other bedroom.

“Kelly's.” He nodded, closing the door behind him, and then walking through the next door, into the last room. This room held a pool table in the middle and a darts boards on one wall. “Fancy a quick game?”

He pointed at the pool table. I nodded with a smile. I wasn
't very sporty, but one thing I knew I was good at, was pool.

“You can break
."” I smiled as I went to get a cue and apply some chalk. “"And don't go easy on me 'cos I'm a girl." I joked with a wink.

“Ooooo
h, are you a pool shark?” He laughed, as he walked round to take the break shot.

“No, but I know how to play.” I gave him an innocent smile, and it didn't take me long to show him how good I was.

“Oh
, I'm going to have some fun with the others.” He laughed as I looked at him, confused for a moment. “Justin is a bit of a pool shark, and Paul's pretty good too, but I don't think they have anything on you.” I laughed as I went to put the cue back. “Let's keep this a secret for now. I want to see the look on their faces when you destroy them.” I was nervous at this idea.

“I
'm not that good.”

“I beg to differ
.” He leant against the pool table and pulled me close. “Any other hidden talents I should know about?”

“Not that I am aware
.” I smiled.

“I bet you have
.” He winked as he pulled me closer for a kiss. “Let's head back and get our drinks.” He said, standing up and taking my hand.

“Don
't you need to close the windows?”

“Nah, Kelly and the twins will be down after dinner
.”

“Okay
."” I followed him out as he locked the door behind us before turning to take my hand.

“After we
've gotten Dr Hammersmith out of the way tomorrow, we can come back here if you like?” I nodded nervously, as I remembered about Dr Hammersmith. I had no idea what tests he wanted to do, and I felt too sick and nervous to ask if Sean knew. I just nodded as he continued to talk.

“My Poppa and Gran would like to meet you. Are you okay with that?” He watched my face for a reaction.

“I would love to.” I smiled, and I meant it. “I have a few questions I would like to ask them.”

“Poppa would love that.” He gently squeezed my hand, and with a smile he leant across to kiss my cheek.

By the time we
'd gotten back to the house, Sean's parents were back. Sean had taken my glass and went to put ice cubes in it as I hovered at the kitchen door.

“Erin
.” Sean's dad, Brian, crossed the room to hug me and kiss my cheek. “How are you?”

“Good thanks
.” I smiled shyly.

“You
're looking lovely."” He smiled as he looked me up and down, making me blush.

“Thanks. This is my sister
's.” I cringed. Why did I have to tell him I was wearing my sister's clothes? I think 'thanks' would have been enough.

“Here you go
.” Sean came to stand protectively, next to me, as he handed me my glass of orange juice.

“Thanks
.” I smiled.

“I hope my son
's looking after you?” Brian raised an eyebrow at Sean.

“Most defin
ately.” I flustered.

“Of course
, dad.” Sean dryly told him.

“Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes
.” Ruth called, breaking the friction.

“We
'll be in the conservatory."

“What's the deal with you and your dad?” I whispered as we sat down.

“Nothing really
."” He shrugged.

“Nothing really?” I raised an eyebrow. He sighed when he realised I wasn
't going to let this go.

“Firstly, he isn
't happy that I'm not as into sports as I was.”

“And?
” I knew there was more and I would drag it out of him, if I had to.

“I still don
't like the way he spoke to you, the first time you met him.” He held his hand up before I spoke. “And he wants me to follow in his footsteps and manage the gym, or the other one he plans on opening, and I still don't know if that's what I want to do.” He sighed.

“Firstly, your dad is fine with me, so don
't worry about that.” I cuddled up next to him, and we stayed like that for a few minutes, neither of us speaking, then I quickly sat up and turned to look at him.

“What do you enjoy doing?” I asked, intrigued.

“Besides spending time with you?” He laughed. I nodded in reply. “I really do enjoy kickboxing.” He told me thoughtfully. “I would actually like to teach people.” He seemed to light up at this thought.

“Why don
't you then?” He paused for a moment as he thought it over.

“Hmmmm
...” He smiled. “I like the sound of that."

“Maybe you could use one of the rooms at the gym
.” He seemed to think about this, then all of a sudden he kissed me and gave me a huge hug.

“I love it, and I love you
.” He kissed me again. I laughed at seeing him so excited.

“Dinner
's ready.” Kelly called.

We got up and Sean took my hand and led me to a chair in the kitchen, next to his. He looked like he was ready to burst, as everyone sat down.

“Dad?” Sean spoke like an over-excited child. “How would you feel if I used one of the halls at the gym to teach kickboxing?”

The whole table fell silent as eyes moved between Sean and Brian.

“I think it's an excellent idea.” Ruth finally spoke, breaking the silence.

Sean smiled enthusiastically as he stroked my cheek.

“It was Erin's idea.” This seemed to break whatever thoughts Brian was thinking.

“Was it really?” Brian asked, as I nervously fidgeted in my seat, making Sean place his hand to my left cheek and stroke my birthmark.

“Kind of...” My throat was dry as I spoke.

“I really like it
.” Brian smiled as I sighed with relief. James, who was sat next to me, patted my back. Then Brian turned to look at Sean. “We'll need to sort out a business plan and discuss advertising.”

They continued talking as I saw Ruth mouth the words
, ‘Thank you.’

For the rest of the meal, Sean and Brian happily discussed all the details, leaving everyone else hardly getting a word in edge
-ways.

Even when we had all finished, Sean and his dad stayed at the table talking as I helped Ruth clear up.

“Thanks for that.” Ruth pointed to her son and husband. “It's been a while since I've seen them have a proper conversation, without a fight nearly breaking out.” She looked happy and relieved as I handed her dishes to put in the dishwasher. “How did you come up with it?” She asked puzzled. “Brian's been on at him for months to decide what he wants to do.”

“I just asked him what he enjoys
.” I shrugged. Ruth looked at me and started laughing.

“I think that's the one thing no one asked him.” She closed the dishwasher then turned it on. “Are you going to be one of his students?” She asked seriously. It was my turn to laugh.

“I don
't think so.”

“Why not?” She picked up a cloth and a bottle of disinfectant and started cleaning the sides.

“Not my cup of tea.” I laughed.

“I know what you mean
.” Ruth smiled with a wink.

“Erin?” Kelly called from the conservatory door.

“Yes?” I turned to look at her.

“We
're off to the summer house.” She pointed in the direction of it. “You fancy coming?” I looked at Sean, who had looked up at me.

“Go ahead. I
'll follow down in a bit.” I leaned down to give him a kiss as I walked over to follow Kelly and the twins. I paused at the door way to look at Ruth.

“You don
't need any help do you?”

“Not at all. You go ahead and have fun
.” She smiled.

Smiling back
, I followed Kelly into the garden.

“Have you been to the summerhouse before?” She asked as we walked side by side, as the twins ran ahead.

“Yeah, Sean gave me a tour before.”

We carried on walking in silence. I was unsure what to say. I wasn
't used to being around people and I'd never had a proper conversation with Kelly before.

“I was thinking of going clothes shopping at the end of the month, do you fancy coming?” She breezily asked me.

“Sure.” I smiled, and she seemed to sigh with relief.

“I normally go alone. Paul and James aren't really into shopping, unless it's for themselves and my mum is always working.” I nodded as I listened. “I don't actually relate well to other girls since all of this, and most people don't understand what's going on with me and the twins.” She sighed a sad sigh.

“I never seem to relate to anyone full stop
.” I laughed nervously. Kelly gave me a warm smile in reply.

“Well
, I hope that will change now.” She gently touched my shoulder. “"And thanks.”

“What for?” I asked confused.

“Sean and my dad, and for making my brother happy. It's been a long time since I've seen him so happy.” She paused and looked at me. “Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him this happy before, so thank you.” She gave me a wide genuine smile.

“You're welcome?” I laughed more in confusion as to whether they were the right words.

By the time the summerhouse came into view the twins were already inside.

“I actually expected you to have lots of friends
.”  I had heard that Kelly was popular, like Kasey-Ray.

“I did
.” We entered the summerhouse to find the twins sitting on two bean bags with one of the games consoles switched on. “But when I found out what I could do, I found it hard to talk to others, I was actually nervous in case I revealed myself in front of my friends.” She went to sit in front of the sofa, kicking her shoes off and pulling her feet up.

“Eventually my friends stopped calling
.” She shrugged and actually seemed upset thinking about it. Sensing this, the twins moved in unison, towards Kelly and rested their heads on her legs. There was something so comforting and loving as I watched the three of them. “On a plus though.” She smiled as she leaned down and gave each twin a kiss on the head. “I have met these two.” She looked so happy as she spoke about them.

“How did you get together?
”  I enquired.

They were fascinating and I wanted to know everything, but I didn
't know them all that well, so I didnt expect Kelly to fill me in on all of it, just yet.

“Wel
l, it was through Sean. He had started hanging around with them, and they were always round here. I couldn't get rid of them if I tried.” She teased, making the twins quickly look up, with faces like they were offended. “Was funny though. They seemed to hate each other.” The twins laughed at this. “I knew I had feelings for them, but I had no idea which. I actually thought it was because they were so identical, that I couldn't tell them apart, well not at first.” She smiled. “But I soon found out that they were complete opposites, and I love them both equally.”

She paused to look at Paul and James, lovingly. Then quickly turned and leaned over to touch my leg, with a laugh.

“You know what's funny?” I shook my head.  "The day we got together, was the day they stopped arguing. Their family love me for that. They still find our relationship weird, but love the fact I've brought them together."” She laughed as me and the twins joined in.

“What
's so funny?” Sean asked, as he came to sit next to me on the sofa.

“I was just telling Erin about how these two use
d to fight before we got together.”

“Ah
, I remember so well.” Sean laughed too as he leaned into me. I raised my arm as he rested his head on my lap. “They used to have proper fist fights, and there's no way they would be sitting there like that, playing a game together.” He laughed.

“We weren
't that bad."” Paul scoffed.

“You were.” Sean continued laughing. “I remember one time you two had a fight over a game of football and me and Justin had to separate you both.”

Paul didn
't reply to this as he turned back to the game he and James were playing, as I started to stroke Sean's hair.

“So?” Kelly playfully slapped Sea
n's leg.

Sean moved his knees to one side, so he could see his sister, and gave her a puzzled expression.

“What happened with you and dad?” Sean smiled but said nothing. “Come one, don't keep us in suspense.”

The twins paused the game they were playing and turned to look at Sean with interest.

“Okay, okay.” He laughed, as he sat up, swapping seats with me so his back was against the arm rest and his legs were bent over mine. “He seems really excited. I think more so that I'm excited about doing this and he said that if it takes off then we will kit one hall out for my classes. I just need to get certified as an instructor before we can do anything else.” Everyone was nodding, I wasn't sure if they knew anything about kickboxing or the process, I knew I had no idea. “Luckily my sensei has a certification program and said I can start next week. I also have to get a police check and insurance."

“Oh well
, that's you out then. The police will fail you."  James laughed.

“Ha
-ha.” Sean playfully kicked his shoulder. “Anyway I'm really looking forward to it. Probably be a slow start, but I hope it takes off.”

“
"Me too."” I whispered, proud of him. He leaned over to kiss me.

“So who fancies a game of pool?” Sean went to stand up, as I looked at him like I was a deer in headlights.

Paul's laugh interrupted my panic.

“You wanting your arse handed to you again do you?
”  Paul stood up, putting his controller down. Sean laughed as he winked at me.

“How about a game of doubles? I
'll have Erin and you choose whoever.”

“Do you want me to play one handed, to give you a chance?” The more
cocky Paul became, the more my nervousness calmed and I wanted to play and beat him. “Trust me, you will need both your arms.” I teased, making everyone stop to look at me. I was surprised at my fighting talk. It didn't have the effect I wanted, as I think Paul thought I was hyping up my boyfriend.

“Have you seen Sean play?” Paul laughed as he pointed at Sean. I nodded as I followed them into the other room.

“But I think this game, he may show you a thing or two." I smiled as I picked up a cue. “You can break.” I smiled sweetly at Paul, and for a second he looked nervous.

“Bruv?” He called to James, and then quickly looked at Kelly.

“Go ahead, I'll watch. I have a feeling this may be an interesting game.” Kelly went to sit on one of the stools.

For the start of the game, Paul was laughing as he took his turn, then Sean, and then James. Eventually it was my turn and I managed to sink four balls, along with wiping the smile off Paul
's face.