Getting him Back (10 page)

I didn’t know
what he meant by this; was it a suggestion of taking things further
or was it a question about our future together. I took it to mean
the latter. ‘You know what I want to do, Mark. I promise you, I’m a
one-man woman. I’ll never cheat on you. I don’t know why you won’t
give us a chance.’

He placed his
drink back down on the table and pushed his plate away. ‘I’m not
hungry any more. What do you say we go for a walk by the
river?’

‘Yeah, why not.
I’m not that hungry either and that soup’s well too hot, even for
me!’

He stood up and
went to pay the waiter. I took hold of his hand when he came back
to the table and we walked right out of the car park and down the
path towards the river. It felt strange walking in the dark. It was
getting colder; I could see millions of stars up above in the
cloudless sky. I snuggled against Mark’s shoulder as we walked. I
was glad that he didn’t try to stop me. We didn’t talk at first but
it wasn’t awkward; if anything it was nice.

When we
got to the river Mark took off his coat and placed it on the floor.
‘Sit.’ He said. I sat down next to him and he placed his arm around
me. It felt so nice I wanted it to last forever. It was becoming
clearer now that he was coming around to the idea of us getting
back together.
‘I love
to come down here when I’ve got things on my mind,’ he said,
staring straight ahead at the rippling water.

‘I like it here
too,’ I said.

‘Yeah. It’s
quiet. I like the quiet life. No cares or worries.’

‘I bet you
don’t have much to worry about. You have a great family and your
job sounds interesting.’

‘It is yes. I
am happy right now, that’s why I don’t really want a relationship.
If it all goes wrong then my life will be ruined.’

‘You’ve been in
relationships before, though and you’ve survived! When I first met
you I didn’t want a relationship either, not after what my ex did,
but now I can’t imagine life without you.’

He turned to
face me. ‘You don’t know how much you upset me when I found out
you’d only gone out with me because you wanted to get back with
your ex.’

‘
Ok, I’ve
already said I’m sorry and, anyway, that was before I knew you. I
swear on my life that once I got to know you I wanted to go out
with you because I liked you and not because of Mark.’

He sighed. ‘You
still tried to get back with him, though, didn’t you?’

I’d vowed to be
honest, so what else could I say? ‘I did meet up with him, yes, but
as soon as I saw him again I didn’t feel anything. Seeing him again
made me realize that it was you I wanted, don’t you see? Even if
he’d asked me to get back with him I’d have said no. I just want us
to be together.’ I couldn’t help it; tears started to roll down my
cheeks. I’d never felt so vulnerable – not even with ex Mark.

He pulled me to
his chest. ‘Shhhh,’ he said, ‘it’s ok.’

I continued to
cry, letting all my sobs out. I wasn’t just crying for him, I was
crying for my ex too and the death of that relationship. I guess I
knew that there was going to be no future with Freckly Mark after
all so I wanted to make the most of our last night together and let
him hold me. I breathed in the smell of his aftershave and I so
wanted to go to sleep. I felt so safe with him. It was as though
I’d known him all my life.

When I was all
cried out I sat up and rubbed my eyes. He was looking at me with a
solemn look on his face. ‘I think we should go back to the car,
don’t you?’

I nodded and
waited while he put his coat back on. He held his hand out and I
took it, practically clinging on to him for dear life. When we got
into the car he smiled and turned on the radio. ‘Let’s see if I can
find something to cheer you up,’ he said fiddling with the
dial.

He revved
the engine and skidded away from the curb and as usual, I held on
for dear life as he took the corner in third gear. The “Black Eyed
Peas” pounded out of the stereo. As I listened to the words,
“tonight’s going to be a good night” I really hoped that it was a
sign that Mark had finally made up his mind to get back
together.

He glanced over
to me. ‘Are you ok, now?’ he asked.

‘I’m a bit
better,’ I said.

He turned
his attention back to the road. ‘I think I’ll stop the car just
around the corner from your house if you don’t mind.’

‘Why?’ I
asked.

‘I think it’s
best.’

He stopped the
car near the park and switched off the engine. ‘I know you’re upset
about everything and I’m upset too but you’ll get over it. You got
over your ex, right? I think I’ll get over it too. Let’s just say
we did get back together and you cheated on me in a couple of
year’s time. I don’t think I’d get over that.’

‘And I don’t
think I would get over it if you cheated on me, either.’

‘So you agree
it’s for the best to call it a day now?’

I tried to stop
myself from crying again. ‘It doesn’t matter what I say. You’ve
already made up your mind anyway.’

He didn’t
say anything; he just kept staring out of the window.

‘I may as well
go then,’ I said.

He unfastened
his seat belt. ‘I’ll let you out,’ he said attempting to open his
door.

‘No, you don’t
need to get out. I can open the door myself.’

He sat back
down. ‘Ok, you do that then.’

I opened the
door and stepped out onto the pavement. I looked at him. He looked
so gorgeous, yet so familiar at the same time. Why did I meet him
at the wrong time, when I was on the rebound? I should have
realized how special he was the night I’d first met him. ‘I guess
this is goodbye, then,’ I said, hoping that he would suddenly
change his mind, but he didn’t.

‘You look after
yourself, Terri,’ he said, before switching on the engine and
driving out of my life forever.

I walked
slowly down the path. I knew why he’d dropped me around the corner.
He knew I’d not want to go straight into my house, to face my mum.
He knew me so well. I decided to sit in the bus-stop for a while;
it was quiet. All the buses had stopped running. I put my head in
my hands and started sobbing again. If it was possible, I cried
harder and longer than I did with my ex. I must have fallen out of
real love with him ages ago. I was so glad he cancelled the wedding
now. I just wish I didn’t have to go through the pain of another
break-up. This was going to last for weeks; I didn’t need the
hassle now that I’d got my promotion. If there was one thing Mia
taught me it was not to bring your personal problems into work. As
I sat with my head on my lap, tears pouring out of my eyes I sensed
a presence enter the bus-stop. I felt scared. I couldn’t look up. I
was scared they would make a fuss because I’d been
crying.

‘Terri.’

I recognized
that voice. It was Freckly Mark. What was he doing here?

I raised
my head.
‘Mark?’

He sat
down on the bench, next to me. ‘I was half way down the road and
the DJ started talking about love, for some reason, and that’s when
I knew what an idiot I’d been.’

‘What do you
mean?’

‘Well, I just
parked the car and ran back down here. I knew you couldn’t have got
far!’ He put his arms around me. ‘Look at you, you’ve been
crying!’

‘I know,’ I
said, continuing to blubber all over him.

‘It’s ok. I’m
here now and I’m not going anywhere.’

I looked at his
face. ‘Do you mean that?’

He
smiled. ‘Only if you promise me you’re not going anywhere
either?’

I threw my arms
around him again. ‘You know I won’t!’

‘Great. So, how
do you fancy going for a walk around the nature reserve tomorrow
afternoon?’

I saw a
cheeky but totally sexy glint in his eyes. I knew what he was
getting at and I couldn’t wait. ‘You bet! And I promise I won’t
push you away this time!’

He pulled
me towards him and we kissed. I’d never felt so happy. I was a
changed woman. I vowed to go through my wardrobe as soon as I got
home and throw away my green velour tracksuit, my pink velour
tracksuit and any other lounging around clothes. I’d also get rid
of any baggy white knickers and bras with the underwire missing. A
trip to the lingerie department was in order – especially now that
things were going to get steamier. I was going to try new things
too; I’d learnt my lessons. Mark Wyatt was going to be with me
forever. I would give him no reason or chance to escape! And as for
him, I was a one-man woman and I wouldn’t let him forget
it.

The End

If you have
enjoyed this book you may also enjoy other books by Anna
Pescardot:

“
Always
the Bridesmaid” – a
romantic comedy

“Old-Fashioned
Romance” – a short romantic story.

You can now
follow Anna on Twitter or Facebook. She enjoys discussing her books
with readers who have enjoyed her work.