Page 41 of The Trouble With Love
Chapter Seventeen
Aiden was still there. I could tell from outside. And from the flickering inconsequential nature of the light I could see from behind the curtains, he’d either lit candles or set fire to the tablecloth.
‘Great, you’re back.’ He was dressed, for which I was very grateful, but in leather, for which I wasn’t. A tight black shirt clung to his upper body like a shaved monkey and the trousers were probably measurable on the Richter scale, judging by the noise they gave off when he moved. I had the feeling he thought he looked really sexy. ‘I got takeaway. Chinese suit you?’
Okaaaayyyy. And yes, while it was nice to come home to dinner and a lovely man . . . there’s something rather clinical about a guy who orders in takeaways and then meets you at the door in leather. A bit like, he’s acknowledging you need to eat (to keep your strength up for the contents of the leather) but can’t actually be bothered to cook anything. I mean, there were ready meals in the freezer, he wouldn’t have had to strain himself. But still. He’d thought a bit.
‘Thanks. Chinese would be great.’
He’d fetched all the candles I owned and put them in the living room on saucers. He’d even found the obscene one that Megan had brought me back from an Ann Summers party, where she’d won it for being the most straight-laced attendee. Unfortunately, this had now burned half way down, and the result was anything but sexy. ‘So. How was today?’
I took the proffered tinfoil container and fork — washing up was also clearly not on tonight’s agenda. ‘Tough.’ I wasn’t going to say anything else, but the image of Kai’s confusion was burned into my brain. ‘Went to Leeds with Kai.’
‘Right. That’s your man, isn’t it? The one you’re just . . . seeing?’
‘Yes. Aiden . . .’
‘D’you think he’d like to come out to play?’
‘Actually, I have no idea.’ I thought about Kai and his confessions about drinking too much and wild living and then wondered how I could have thought anyone like him could be otherwise. ‘But I . . .’
‘Maybe we should give him a ring, I’m feeling like a bit of the hard stuff.’ Aiden sucked on a bit of lemon chicken and winked at me. ‘Oh, and I downloaded some possible wedding venues onto your laptop. Take a look.’
He genuinely didn’t see any dichotomy in discussing wedding plans and almost simultaneously proposing a threesome with another guy. Maybe there were women out there for whom this was a huge turn on, all I know is, I wasn’t one of them. And he hadn’t even given me the chance to say so.
‘Aiden. We need to talk about this.’ The takeaway was really good though, and I hadn’t realised how hungry I was. ‘After dinner.’
‘Seen the weather forecast? Tomorrow’s going to be really mental. How about we spend the day in bed?’ Aiden undid the top two buttons of the leather shirt and scrumpled up his hair, ‘It’ll be cracking.’
‘There’s more to life than self-indulgence.’ I wondered how Kai was. How he was feeling, whether he’d come to any decision yet. I wanted to phone, but decided to leave him alone, give him a chance to think.
‘Och, I give great hedonism.’ Aiden grinned at me. ‘Why, what else would you be doing, on a day when it’s not safe to go out?’ He dropped his lemon chicken and gave me a kiss that went on longer than was decent, then stood up to reveal the leather trousers straining with something longer than was decent. ‘In fact . . .’
‘Aid, I’m knackered.’ I fought to keep hold of my prawn balls. ‘Can’t we, I dunno, watch TV for a bit?’
‘After. Aw, c’mon, babe. You never wanted to watch TV when you visited me on set, did ya?’
I was too tired to fight him. Besides. You know. Those trousers. And he was stunningly good.
* * *
During the night the wind rose. And kept on rising, somewhat similar to Aiden himself, although the wind slapped the rooftops not buttocks and moaned in chimneys not in a baritone.
We did get some sleep. We must have done, because I was woken by the phone ringing.
‘Leave it,’ Aiden groaned as the wind hit the side of the house with a smack and whumph that made the windows rattle like teeth in a punched mouth. ‘They’ll go away.’
But they didn’t. The phone rang on. I crawled across to look at the display through blurry eyes. ‘OL? Who’s OL?’
‘How the fuck should I know?’ Aiden burrowed deeper under the covers. ‘Lie still, darlin’, you’re letting the cold in.’
There was an almighty bang from outside as something blew into something else. It sounded like wood on metal. Snow was strafing the windows, more solid than fluffy, and the wind had started howling like a thwarted animal. It was still dark outside, but, in this weather that didn’t mean much, it could have been any time from six to breakfast.
‘Old Lodge!’ I sat up suddenly and Aiden groaned again, pulling the duvet tight to his body. I snatched up the phone. Did Kai need me, after all? ‘Kai? Is that you?’ But at the other end no one spoke. The line between us sounded hollow. ‘Cerys? Nick?’
Still no answer, just the sea-like sound of an engaged phone line, and if I listened hard I thought I could hear breathing. ‘Is it the babies? Are you in labour? Where’s the guys? Where’s Kai?’
And now a change in the tone. If I really strained I could make out the word come, repeated with a breath’s pause in between. ‘Shit. I’m on my way.’ I hung up and struggled from under the covers. ‘I’ve got to go out. Someone’s in trouble.’
