Lola's House (Lola Series) (14 page)

‘Years?
’ he says, looking totally crushed.  A part of me feels like caving in so I remind myself to stay strong and stop myself from being rollercoastered into doing something I may regret. ‘Oh, I’m not sure what to say, Lola.  I thought you felt the same as I do, happy to be back together?’

‘I am happy to be back together, James, I just need to take it at my own pace.’

He thinks about it for a minute and seems to rally himself considerably.  ‘Well you know best, Lola.  I’m happy to wait if that’s what you want, although I’m sure marriage is inevitable in the end.’  He smiles and pulls me towards him, pressing his mouth onto my neck and kissing a trail down towards my chest.  ‘As long as I don’t lose you again I’m happy.’

I
sigh, I’m not totally convinced he has got my point.

He carrie
s on kissing his way down my body, and adds, ‘now I really am ready to go again.’

With that he silence
s me once again by appealing to my horny gene, as his tongue travels south down my body, past my navel.

Chapter Fourteen

I step down from the minibu
s into the Brighton sunshine, a blessing from the rain we have left behind in Lichfield.  ‘Am I glad to get off that bus?’  I say, stretching my aching muscles out.

‘Yeah, thank God.  Now I can have a drink.’  Chrissie grab
s her bag from the back of the bus and strides off into the hotel.

I st
and and watch her disappear while I wait for my bag to be passed down from the bus.  Poppy looks at me questioningly.  ‘What’s up with Chrissie?  She’s been really quiet all the way here, I sort of expected her to be more of a hell raiser.’

Chrissie
obviously hasn’t told Poppy and the others about her problems with Cal, and I certainly don’t want to break a confidence so I say, ‘oh she’s been working really hard, she’s probably just tired.  No doubt she’ll perk up when she’s had a rest.’

I grab
my bag and follow on into the hotel to avoid any further questioning and leave the others standing round at the back of the bus.  I can’t see Chrissie anywhere in the lobby so I check us in and get our room key.  Poppy appears in the lobby with her two sisters and some friends from work who I’ve never met before today. 

‘Meet us back down here at se
ven-thirty, we have a meal booked at the Greek place tonight,’ she says.

‘And get ready for some serious drinking
,’ laughs Kelly.

‘Don’t forget the belly dancing
,’ Anna whoops, as she wriggles her very skinny midriff suggestively.

I smile in return
, whilst grimacing on the inside and go off in search of Chrissie.  I find her sitting on a tall stool propping up the bar, an empty glass in front of her.  She motions to the barman.  ‘Give me another please, and keep them coming.’

I s
it beside her.  ‘We’ve got all weekend, Chrissie.  There’s no rush to get drunk.’

‘I need it to numb the pain,’ s
he says, her head in her hands.

‘Are things no better with you and Cal?’

‘No, worse if anything.
  He’s being an arsehole and has hardly spoken to me all week.  I just don’t know what to do anymore.’ She blinks rapidly.

‘I thought you were going to have a talk?’
I shake my head at the barman to motion I don’t want anything to drink.

‘We did.  It ended in a b
ig row and he slept on the sofa. He said he’s going to start looking for a new flat over the weekend,’ she says, tears springing into her eyes.  ‘He could be gone when I get back.’

I
put my arm around her shoulders, she feels skinnier, like she hasn’t been eating properly.  ‘I just can’t understand it, Chrissie.  You two were just so into each other.’

She
wipes at her eyes.  ‘I know, but I guess he’s not into me anymore.’

‘Come on.’  I grab her hand.  ‘Let’s go up to the room.  It’s better than crying at the bar and you can let it all out.’  She t
akes my arm and lets me lead her away like a child, all of her usual feistiness gone.

By seven-thirty after many tears, Chrissie has had a shower and pulled herself together.  We meet the others in the lobby and head off to the restaurant.  Once seated Chrissie orders a bottle of wine and sinks the first glass within seconds.  I know if she keeps hitting the booze at this rate I will end up carrying her back to the hotel, so I keep my drinking to a minimum to maintain a clear head.

The meal
is surprisingly good, especially the baklava of which I eat two portions, but I convince myself it’s okay as I’m not drinking.  Then the dancing begins.  A beautiful young Greek girl comes out wearing a little pink bra top with silver coins hanging from the bottom and a floaty pink skirt with a silver scarf, complete with hanging silver coins, wrapped around her slinky little hips, which she bounces from side to side with practised skill.

‘Jeez, I w
ish my stomach looked like that,’ says Amanda, as she stands up and tries to copy the belly dancer.

Poppy
and Anna join in and the belly dancer approaches our table and leads the girls over to the stage.  I turn to Chrissie to comment and find her seat empty.  I look back to the stage and see her standing with the others, bouncing her hips from side to side and shrieking with laughter, barely able to keep herself upright.  I groan to myself, this will probably turn out to be a very long night.

At one forty-five in the morning, I manhandle Chrissie back into our room.  She had been singing her head off in the lift on the way up, and I guess we will be told off by the hotel management in the morning.  Poppy and the others have gone off to the local hospital as Amanda managed to fall off the stage whilst belly dancing and now has a suspected broken ankle. 

I prop Chrissie up by the bed
while simultaneously trying to dump my handbag on the floor.  She falls face down on the covers completely out for the count.  There is no way I am going to try and get her undressed, so I pull off her shoes and put her into the recovery position, then go off into the bathroom to take off my make-up.

I
am exhausted.  Chrissie’s emotional breakdown has completely worn me down, so I snap off the lights and get myself into bed.  I am out for the count within seconds.

Next morning I awake to the sound of seagulls shrieking outside the open window.  I look over to Chrissie’s bed and find it empty.  I jump up. 

‘Hey, sleepy head.
  I thought you were going to be there all day.’  Chrissie stands over me with a cup in her hand looking as fresh as a daisy.  She hands the cup to me.  ‘I made you some coffee to perk you up.’

I t
ake it gratefully.  ‘How are you even alive, never mind awake, after what you drank last night?’ I ask her, squinting in the morning light.

She laugh
s.  ‘You know me, I’ve got the constitution of an ox.  I’ve been for a run and now I feel great.’

I look at her through my sleep
y eyes.  Yes, she looks good, but there are still worry lines etched on her face.

She
sits on the edge of my bed and acknowledges my look.  ‘Okay, I’m not back to normal yet but I’m working on it.  I miss Cal like mad, and I’m frantic he won’t be there when I get back.  But I can’t force him to stay against his will, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to the idea of being single again.’

‘Oh
, Chrissie,’ I say, grabbing hold of her hand.  ‘I wish I could make it better for you.’

She lean
s forward and hugs me.  ‘I know you do, Lola, you’ve always been a good friend.’

‘Seriously though
, Chrissie, promise me you’ll try and speak to Cal at least one more time.’

‘I doubt it will do me any good
,’ she says, looking forlorn, as if the whole world has come to rest on her shoulders.

‘Well just try, you’ve got nothing to lose.’

‘Okay I’ll try.’  She smiles at me.  ‘Now get your lazy ass out of that bed.  We’re going to the spa.’

I’m lying face down on the bed, with my face poking through the hole at the end.  Two hands knead and pummel my back, easing out the tension and melting away all of the stress I have felt over the last week.  A feeling of calm envelopes me and I relax into it, floating away and letting myself go.  The smell of oils fills the air and I can feel my eyes fluttering to a close as I drift into sleep.  Then a thud as the door swings open and her voice breaks my reverie.  ‘Hey, Lola, meet me in the bar when you’re done, I’ve got good news.’  Chrissie pulls the door closed again as she leaves and I feel the air waft over me.

‘We’re all done here anyway,’ t
he masseuse says, as she pulls the towel up over my back.  ‘Just relax for a few minutes and get up when you’re ready.’

I sigh
, and melt into the bed.  At least Chrissie seems much brighter, which is an improvement on yesterday.  Now all I have to do is find out what has made her so chirpy.

Twenty minutes later, dressed and still glowing, I find her sitting at the bar sipping an orange juice.  I frown at her improved state and wonder if there is a large vodka lurking in the bottom of that glass.  She laughs and offers it to me to taste.  ‘It’s just juice, honest.’ 

Grabbing
my arm, she pulls me into the seat next to her, a big beaming grin on her face.  ‘Guess what?  I called Cal, like you said.’

‘Oh good.
  And...?’ I position myself on the stool.

‘And
, he apologised for being so off with me.  He said being alone last night had given him a wakeup call.  He realised what a dick he had been and he misses me like mad.  He said he can’t wait to see me.’ Her face stretches into the biggest smile I have seen for a long time.

‘That’s fantasti
c,’ I say, squeezing her hand.

‘I know, and guess what else?’
she says, she’s fidgeting and holding her breath, bursting to tell me.

‘I don’t know.  There’s more?’
I laugh at her childlike enthusiasm.

She c
an barely contain herself.  ‘He said he wants to marry me but he’s going to propose properly when I get back home tomorrow.  What do you think of that?’

I laugh
again and hug her tight.  ‘That is wonderful.  Congratulations, Chrissie.’

‘
Thanks, Lola.  And thanks for being a superstar through all of this.’  She is nearly jumping up and down with excitement.  ‘I’m just so happy I could burst.  I wish Cal was here now.  Oh the things I plan on doing to him, he won’t be getting any sleep for a week.’

‘Oh
, Chrissie, It’s so good to hear you back to your normal self.’

Her phone ring
s in her handbag.  ‘That’ll be Cal, I’d better take it outside.’  She jumps off her barstool and mouths at me with a wink.  ‘Phone sex.’

She walk
s out the bar grinning into her phone so I sit there and finish her orange juice, pleased with myself it’s beginning to fall into place for her and Cal.

After a while I am getting bored sitting on my own at the bar.  Chrissie still hasn’t come back from her phone call and the others haven’t re-appeared, so I go to the reception desk to check on their progress with their beauty treatments.

‘C
an I help you?’ says the receptionist - I’m clearly interrupting her, probably facebook stalking her last boyfriend.  My attention is immediately caught by her impossibly white, square teeth.

‘Yes, I was here with some of my friends earlier, from the hen party?  I just wondered i
f any of them were still here?’ I try not to stare at her mouth, and focus on her eye makeup instead.  Very heavy eyeliner, a lot of fake tan.

She
sighs and quickly clicks her mouse a few times, taps her long nails on the keyboard and peers at the monitor on her desk.  ‘That party has finished their treatments, maybe they’re in the bar?’ she says, smiling, as if this is obvious.

‘No, I just came from there.  Thanks anyway, they may have gone back to the hotel.’
I smile at her as I turn and leave the reception area.

Outside there
is no sign of Chrissie so I call her mobile. It’s engaged, no surprise there, she is most likely still busy with her phone sex.  Next I try Poppy’s number which goes straight to voicemail.  I don’t bother leaving a message.  I tap nervously on the edge of my phone with my thumb, thinking what to do.  They have obviously left without me, so I start to stroll back to the hotel, hoping one of them will call me back soon.

Several hours later I have walked down every street that looks familiar and I am just going round in circles.  I’ve phoned both Chrissie and Poppy but neither is picking up.  The minibus had been down a myriad of streets when we had arrived yesterday and now I can’t remember the name of the hotel we are staying at or the street it is on.  I feel lost and abandoned.  Eventually, I sit on a bench facing the sea.  All the calm I had felt from the massage earlier has now turned to exhaustion and desperation.