An Unforgotten Bet: (A Contemporary Romance) (4 page)

Rose watches Tom as he makes his way back across the shop floor holding two cups of coffee. Part of her feels thankful for Lauryn, grateful that she brought them together. But another much stronger part of her feels jealous as she watches them out of the corner of her eye. She’s almost certain that Tom keeps glancing over at her, but she can’t be sure.

It’s such a peculiar feeling being in the same room as him after all these years, yet not being to talk to him,
she thinks to herself.
I have so much to say to him, so many questions, and so many things to explain that I never thought I’d get to tell him.

Her stomach sinks as Lauryn leans over the table and puts her hand on his arm. But just before she has another chance to feel jealous, the door swings open again, and Gina comes striding through.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she announces, slamming the door behind her. “The toilet had a leak and apparently I am the only one in the house who is capable of calling someone out to fix it.” The irritation in her voice is evident, and her face is bright red as she sits down, her wiry brown hair sticking out at every angle.

“Can I get you a coffee?” Rose asks, smiling supportively.

“That’d be great,” says Gina, sliding a handful of coins across the table. “Just the usual, please.”

“Got it,” says Rose, sneaking another glance over at Tom as she stands up. He’s turned towards Lauryn, but his eyes flicker in her direction as soon as she walks across the room, and she grins at him.
I wonder if he’s thinking the same as I am,
she thinks to herself. But she is snapped out of her thoughts when the waitress comes to the till.

“Two coffees, please,” she says. “Oh, make that two
large
coffees. It’s been one of those days.”

“Coming right up,” says the waitress with a grin.

Rose slides the handful of coins across the counter. “Keep the change.”

She can still see Tom watching her again as she wanders back to her seat, but she keeps her own eyes focussed on Gina.

“So, what’s new?” she asks, sitting down.

“Not much,” shrugs Gina. “The broken toilet is the most exciting thing that has happened in our household for a long time. Since the broken toaster, that is.”

Rose lets out a chuckle. “Wanna swap?”

“Not really,” winces Gina. “Anyway, tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t know,” sighs Rose. “It’s just not working out.”

“I’ve told you before, just leave him,” says Gina, rolling her eyes. “It’s been two weeks since he last cheated on you and you’ve been like this every day since. Who the hell gives someone three chances to cheat on them? And now you’re going to give him a fourth?”

“But my apartment, I—”

“You can stay with me until you find a place to go. I know it’s not much, and right now we don’t even have a toilet, but it’s better than staying with him. You’re coming.”

“Gina, I couldn’t ask you to—”

“Stop being so ridiculous, Rose,” interrupts Gina for the second time. “It’s not a request, it’s an order. I want you to come and live with us for a while until you’ve got that douchebag out of your life, I’m tired of watching him hurting you and getting away with it. Just tell him you’re not coming back.”

Rose smiles. “Okay.”

“I’m glad I’ve finally managed to talk some sense into you, even if I’m having to force you to do it,” says Gina triumphantly, patting Rose on the shoulder. “You can stay for as long as you need, there’s plenty of room.”

“You’re really great, Gina, I don’t know what I’d do without you. I think I just need some space away from him to clear my head.”

“Don’t mention it,” she says. “I’m just glad you’ve finally decided to leave him. You actually took much less convincing than I thought. What changed your mind?”

“I don’t know,” says Rose with a sigh. “Everything just seemed to…fit together while I was sitting here waiting for you.”

Gina cocks her head. “Fit together?”

Rose hesitates, watching as the waitress walks over with their drinks, smiling as she places them down on the. Rose immediately picks hers up to take a sip, but Gina doesn’t budge.

“Fit together?” she repeats.

Rose hesitates, but puts down her coffee. “See that man over there?” she says, nodding towards Tom. “Don’t make it obvious that you’re looking, just do it discretely,” she adds quickly.

Gina ignores her last sentence and turns around to stare at Tom. Lauryn looks over as she does so, and a scowling at them both.

“What about him?” asks Gina, raising her eyebrows. “It looks like he’s on a date.”

“Well, I think he is,” says Rose sheepishly. “But he keeps looking at me.”

Gina rolls her eyes. “Rose, I think you’re looking into this too much, I—”

This time, it’s Rose’s turn to interrupt. “No, Gina, it’s
Tom
.”

“Tom?” Gina gawps. She swings round to look at him again, and this time Lauryn definitely scowls at them. For a second it looks as if she’s about to stand up and walk out, but she stands her ground. “
That’s
Tom?” whispers Gina as she turns back around to face Rose.

“Yes,” says Rose. “We just met tonight. It’s been over ten years. Closer to twelve, I think. In fact, it’s been so long that I can’t even remember.”

“Well what are you doing sitting here, girl?” Gina whispers excitedly. “Go and get him!”

Rose throws her head back, laughing. “I can’t do that; he’s clearly on a date.”

Gina rolls her eyes. “You’ve talked about that guy ever since I met you, forget about that girl, she can go and find someone else. If you don’t go over there and get him right now, I will.”

“I’ll at least wait until she’s gone,” Rose giggles. “He even asked for my number while she was sitting there.”

Gina laughs, shaking her head. “And you gave it to him, right?”

“No, I said I’d give it to him later.”

“Nice,” she grins. “See, I told you things were looking up.”

“I know,” says Rose, taking another sip of coffee to mask her grin.
 

“It’s been a great night,” says Lauryn through gritted teeth. “I hope we can do it again.”

“Of course,” says Tom, wincing at her obvious hostility. “I’ll call you?”

“Sure, if you’re not too busy calling that whore you keep staring at,” she says, standing up and ramming her chair into the table.

He rolls his eyes as she marches out, slamming the door behind her. The shop is completely empty now, except for himself and Rose. Her friend left about ten minutes ago, and since then he’s been desperately trying to get rid of Lauryn, terrified that Rose would leave without saying goodbye. For a moment he almost feels bad for making it so clear that he was disinterested in her, but all of his guilt seems to evaporate as he stands up and walks over to Rose, who is smiling at him from behind her coffee.

“How much coffee have you had?” he asks, grinning.

“Far too much,” she laughs.
“Sorry for distracting you on your date. I don’t think your girlfriend liked me very much.”

“You’re still as teasing as ever, I see,” he grins. “And she’s not my girlfriend. It was just a date.”

“You said she was just an old friend,” she laughs, shaking her head. “I am sorry, though. I didn’t mean to ruin your date.”

“It’s fine,” he says. “There wasn’t much charisma between us, anyway.”

“You never had much charisma with anyone,” she says, grinning.

“Except you,” he says, lowering his voice.

She blushes and drains the last of her coffee. “Do you still want my number?”

“Yes,” he says, immediately withdrawing his phone and handing it over to her. “Just type it in.”

She does as he asks and hands it back with a smile. “I should probably get going now, it’s getting late and my taxi is waiting outside. Besides, you have to drive all the way home.”

“Of course,” he says, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice when she doesn’t invite him over. “I’ll call you later, yeah?”

“Okay,” she smiles.

They sit there for a moment longer, avoiding eye contact, both wondering if the other would hug them before they left. It’s Rose who eventually breaks the silence and stands up. “I’d better go.”

“Me too,” he says, and together they walk out into rainy November evening. It’s already 10:30pm, but Tom is wide awake — and it’s not just from the caffeine.

“Goodbye, Tom,” she whispers as she climbs into the taxi.

“Bye, Rose,” he says, watching her as she climbs inside. “I’ll see you soon, right? I can still remember the last time we said goodbye to one another.”

“Definitely,” she grins. “I don’t think I could handle waiting another ten years.”

He chuckles as he watches her drive away, waiting until she’s completely out of eyeshot before he turns to get into his own car. Once inside he leans right back in his chair, clutching his phone and pressing it close to his chest. As ridiculous as it might sound, inanimate object is now the single most important thing in his life — aside from Rose Evans herself, of course.

Nothing can wipe the grin from Rose’s face as she opens the door and dances through her apartment into the kitchen, carefully taking her phone from her pocket and placing it on the countertop to await Tom’s call. But when she turns around to go to the bathroom, she’s immediately greeted by Danny’s angry eyes.

“Where have you been?” he hisses at her, blocking her pathway.
“I’ve been out with Gina,” she says coldly, folding her arms. “We discussed this before you left.” She pushes past him to get to the bathroom, but he grabs her arm and pulls her back. “Get off me,” she growls.

“Rose, baby, I’m sorry,” he mutters. “I’m a mess, I know it, but—”

She takes a deep breath, fuelled by Gina’s supportive words and the thought of seeing Tom again. “No. Save your breath, Danny. Enough’s enough. I’m tired of the way you treat me and the way you make me feel. I’m leaving you tomorrow, and I’m not coming back.”

“But Rose,” he groans, tightening his grip on her wrist. “Please, I need you. I can change.”

She shakes him off, but he keeps following.

“Three years, Rose. You can’t just pretend that’s nothing.”

“I’m not pretending, Danny. But you’ve had your chance. I’m going.”

“But I need you, Rose,” he weeps, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. She sighs, shaking her head.

“Why do you do this to me, Danny?”

He hangs his head, his eyes dropping to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

This is the thing about Danny. He can be so cruel in arguments, so hurtful and downright inconsiderate…but at the flick of a switch, he changes. This is the kind, compassionate, loving Danny that she fell in love with, and this is the reason why Gina can’t convince her to leave him.

“Go to bed,” she mumbles, shaking her head. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

He looks at her once more, his eyes wide, before trailing into the bedroom.

Rose sighs, dragging herself back into the kitchen.
Right before bed probably isn’t the right time to have this conversation, anyway. She should wait until morning.
She lingers beside the phone, wondering whether or not she should call Gina for more advice, when suddenly, it begins to sing. Knowing exactly who it is, she snatches it from the countertop immediately, answering it on the second ring and hoping that Danny didn’t have a chance to hear it.

“Hey,” she says softly, wandering into the lounge, the room farthest away from the bedroom.

“Hey,” he replies, sounding relieved. “I was scared in case you gave me the wrong number.”

“Why would I do that?” she giggles.

“I don’t know. I know how much you like to tease me.” She can almost hear him grinning as he speaks. “Did you get home safely?”

“Yeah, I did,” she says, smiling. “How about you? Did you think the trip was worth it?”

“Oh yes, definitely. I don’t know if Lauryn will want to see me anytime soon, though.”

“I don’t think she wants to see me ever again,” Rose laughs. “Sorry about that.”

“You did nothing wrong, stop apologising.”

“Really, though, you told me she was just an
old friend
,” she says.

“Actually, I’d never met her before,” he laughs.

Rose laughs too, but much quieter this time. She’s almost certain she can hear shuffling coming from the kitchen, and the last thing she wants is for Danny to know that she’s talking to Tom — or worse, for Tom to know that she’s living with Danny.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” she whispers, craning her neck to try and find out if Danny is listening in to her conversation.

“Okay,” says Tom. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, of course. I’m just tired,” she says as cheerfully as she can manage.

“After all that coffee?”

She laughs quietly, but by now she’s almost sure that Danny’s in the kitchen.

“We’ll speak tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright, I’ll call you. Good night, Rose.”

“Night,” she whispers, and then cuts off the call.

Danny pokes his head around the door as soon as she gets up from the sofa. His eyebrows are furrowed. He almost looks angry again.

“Stop listening to my conversations, Danny,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Who were you talking to?”

“It was Gina. Besides, it’s none of your business. Just go to sleep, okay?”

He looks hurt, and for a brief moment, she almost feels guilty. Almost.

Danny talks to her as they both climb into bed, but tonight Rose isn’t listening. All she can think about is Tom, and for the first time in a long while, she falls asleep with a smile.