Breaking the Ice (23 page)

‘
Sam, I’ll give you a ride,’ Jimmy insisted.

‘
No, ho, he, that’s OK. There’s a cab just here - hello, Woolston please,’ Samantha said through the open window to the driver as she prepared to open the door of the taxi.

‘
Sorry love, I’m booked.’

‘
Oh, oh well. I expect there will be another one along in a minute,’ Samantha said.

‘
You’ll be lucky love - an hour wait at this time of night,’ the cab driver answered.

Samantha swallowed, not daring to face Jimmy.

‘
Come on, I’ll take you home,’ Jimmy told her.

Samantha reluctantly let go of the handle of the taxi, her very last form of escape, and trooped after Jimmy as he led the way back to his car.

And then there it was.
The tiny car she had tried so hard to avoid, still there, in the same place it had been an hour ago and she still had to get in it.

Jimmy opened the door for her and she gulped. Was it possible it had shrunk in an hour? It definitely looked smaller and narrower. She knew Jimmy was watching her so she hurriedly hopped into the car and closed the door behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Jimmy got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Samantha clutched the small red bag to herself and looked out of the passenger window, trying to focus on anything other than the fact she was alone with him in the very small car.

‘
So, how did you like the club? Was it what you expected?’ Jimmy asked as he started to drive.

‘
I - I think probably it was,’ Samantha answered.

‘
I was thinking earlier, how little I know about you. I mean I probably know more about Cleo than I do about you. That’s kind of weird seeing as we’ve spent so much time together,’ Jimmy continued.

‘
Well, Cleo’s the interesting one,’ Samantha responded and then wished she hadn’t.

‘
You don’t think you’re interesting?’ Jimmy asked her.

‘
Did you know, they used to hang people from that tree there on the green? It’s hundreds of years old,’ Samantha blurted out pointing out of her window at a protected oak.

‘
I know virtually nothing about you,’ Jimmy stated.

‘
No? Ho, he, well…’ Samantha began as she started to cough.

‘
I know you don’t really like going to clubs, I know you like books - but are concerts like tonight your thing?’ Jimmy continued to question.

‘
Yes, no, maybe. I don’t know,’ Samantha replied and she barked a cough like a seal.

‘
Do you like the movies?’ he carried on.

‘
Sometimes, I don’t know. Well I guess black and white ones on the TV - you know Deanna Durbin or Judy Garland. Cleo likes anything with Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise…’ Samantha spoke, taking a deep breath.

‘
How about sports?’

‘
Cleo likes rugby, not that she knows the rules. I think…’ Samantha began, putting her hand over her mouth as she coughed again.

‘
Not Cleo Sam,
you
. What do
you
like?’ Jimmy asked again, taking short glances at her as he drove.

‘
Me? Well, I like - hmm, I like - I don’t know - just books and old films I guess,’ Samantha said, her cheeks bright red and her chest bursting with nerves.

She wanted the floor of the car to open up and for her to sink down out of it and onto the road. Anything to get herself out of this situation.

Jimmy didn’t ask any more questions and the silence was worse than anything he had asked her. Infinitely worse.

‘
My house is here,’ she muttered as she saw her home coming up a few houses away.

‘
Here?’ Jimmy checked as he pulled the car over to the
kerb
.

‘
Here will be fine, thanks,’ Samantha spoke, ensuring that he hadn’t stopped directly outside the house. She didn’t want to give Cleo any chance of seeing Jimmy rather than ‘Darren’.

‘
I had a really good time tonight,’ Jimmy stated his brown eyes looking at her.

‘
It was - very - productive,’ Samantha spoke hurriedly as she fumbled around for the door handle.

‘
I’ll take that as meaning you enjoyed yourself,’ Jimmy replied with a smile as Samantha opened the door.

‘
I’m sorry about the coughing and the…’ Samantha began awkwardly.

‘
It’s OK.’

‘
See you tomorrow,’ Samantha said as she prepared to get out of the car.

‘
Sam,’ Jimmy called, making her stop and turn back to face him.

She saw the perfect hair, the full lips, the dark brown eyes and swallowed.

‘
You dropped your bag,’ Jimmy said and he held out the red Barbie bag to her.

‘
Oh, oh thanks. Wouldn’t have been able to get in the house without that - not the bag - I mean you can’t get into a house with a bag, especially one that small - I mean it has my key in it,’ Samantha babbled.

‘
See you tomorrow,’ Jimmy spoke, re-starting the car.

Samantha closed the car door and watched Jimmy drive up the street.

When she was sure he was out of sight and not coming back she let out a heavy sigh of frustration. She had acted like an idiot. Firstly all she had talked about was the Civic Hall and menus and Happy Meals and then she had coughed and hyperventilated and somehow ended up at a nightclub dancing and almost bumping into Felicity. She’d been with Jimmy, all night, on a date that wasn’t a date. She had been with him, out of the Civic Hall, not ice skating, for hours and nothing had really happened. She realised then that she was disappointed. Stupid! Stupid! He wasn’t for her, he was too good looking, too outgoing, too nice. She was pathetic
indulging
her fantasies, imagining his lips on hers, looking into the chocolate eyes. She was turning into Cleo, finding all that superficial stuff attractive - except there was more to him than that. He was kind and generous and he made her laugh and he looked after her.

Samantha walked up to the front door of the house and before she had a chance to put her key in the lock the door was swung fiercely open. Cleo grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into the house.

‘
I heard you coming up the path, I’ve made Horlicks. Come in here, sit down and tell me everything!’ Cleo ordered excitedly.

Sixteen

The following morning when Samantha came downstairs she was amazed to see Cleo already in the kitchen. It was only 6.30
am and Cleo being up before her was practically unheard of. It had only happened a few times when a dark haired twenty-something had started doing the street’s
milk round
. The fact that she was also cooking made Samantha immediately suspicious.

‘
Morning! I thought I was going to have to come up and wake you for a change. Come on, come and sit down - I’m making scrambled eggs,’ Cleo announced, pulling a chair out for her sister.

‘
What d’you want?’ Samantha asked her.

‘
Oh Sam, you don’t mean that. Does there have to be a reason for your big sister to cook you breakfast?’ Cleo enquired as she rapidly stirred the eggs.

‘
Well, you’ve never done breakfast before and the last time you tried to poison me with an impromptu dinner you wanted me out of the house for a whole weekend,’ Samantha reminded her.

Cleo went quiet and turned her body towards the cooker, hiding her face behind her hair.

‘
I could tell you were keeping something back last night. You listened to me telling you all about Darren and the concert, but there was something else on your mind wasn’t there? Well, just get it over with. What do you want? I have an office I can sleep in now if you need me away for a night,’ Samantha reminded her as she took a sip from the mug of tea that was on the table.

‘
Jeremy and I had a talk last night, before you came home, about our relationship and other things,’ Cleo stated.

‘
That’s nice. Was that before, after, or during the shagging? I didn’t realise you talked
and
had sex - this is something new for you,’ Samantha spoke sarcastically.

‘
Sam! Stop it!’ Cleo exclaimed, plugging her ears with her fingers as Samantha mentioned the ‘S’ word.

‘
Sorry, go on. What was this earth shattering pillow talk you need to share with me?’ Samantha asked her.

‘
We want to live together,’ Cleo said hurriedly.

The tea she’d just put in her mouth caught in her throat before she had a chance to swallow it. She began to cough violently, leaning over the table and gasping for air.

‘
Sam! Are you OK? Breathe! Here, have some more tea,’ Cleo ordered, hurrying over to the table, picking up the mug and offering it to her sister.

Samantha caught her breath and took hold of the mug, gulping down the tea as fast as she could. When she had recovered enough she took a deep breath and looked at her sister with a serious expression.

‘
Did I really hear what I thought I heard or are my ears still ringing from the concert?’ Samantha asked her.

‘
What did you think you heard?’ Cleo enquired sheepishly.

‘
I thought you said you and Jeremy want to live together. But I couldn’t have heard that could I because you’ve known him like five minutes!’ Samantha spoke, her voice high pitched.

‘
It’s two weeks actually and I know it seems fast, but he really is different from any other guy I’ve dated before,’ Cleo told her.

‘
And do you know how many times I’ve heard you say that?’ Samantha exclaimed.

‘
It’s different this time,’ Cleo replied.

‘
Oh I see! OK, so where’s this living together going to take place? Has Jeremy got a pad? Or were you thinking of having him move in here?’ Samantha questioned frantically.

‘
Well, I’m not sure. We need to talk about it and consider the options,’ Cleo stated.

‘
Well I’ll make it easy for you. I’m not having a guy you’ve only known a week living here,’ Samantha told her firmly and she got to her feet.

‘
It’s two weeks,’ Cleo reminded.

‘
Whatever.’

‘
But you wouldn’t be able to afford the bills here on your own,’ Cleo exclaimed concerned.

‘
No, I wouldn’t. But don’t let me stand in the way of your plans. By the way, your eggs are burning,’ Samantha said as she turned away from her sister and left the room.

Cleo ran over to the cooker and hurriedly took the pan of blackened scrambled eggs off the heat.

At the hall Samantha couldn’t concentrate on her work. Everything in her life was just falling apart. For years her life had been settled, routine, comfortable and safe. Now in such a
short space of time every area of it was breaking down. She might lose her job and her beloved Civic Hall and she might also lose her sister and her home to a brogue-wearing estate agent. And then there was Jimmy. An infatuation she just couldn’t seem to ignore. He was being so nice to her and helping her more than anyone had ever helped her, but it was turning into torture. She was starting to like him more and more and the longer she spent with him the worse it got. She held his hand and he touched her every night when they skated, but that was all it was - it was just skating. And that fact hurt, because she knew, even though she shouldn’t, she desperately wanted it to be more.

She had been devising the new menus all morning and she had called a staff meeting for the afternoon to let everyone know about the changes. Tyrone, the computer expert, had called earlier and he was coming back the following day to upload the website and implement the online booking. Now she was chewing her pen and looking at the piece of paper in front of her. It was a mixture of writing, starting off with Jimmy’s erratic scrawling and ending with her small, neat and ordered writing. It was supposed to be notes for her speech at the council meeting, except she hadn’t added to it in over an hour. She didn’t know what to say, her mind was full of stuff it shouldn’t be full of. She put pen to paper and wrote ‘menus’. Oh, who was she trying to kid? There was no way she was going to pull this off. Most of the ideas came from an ice skater. If she was capable, if she was destined to be the manager, she should be able to handle this on her own. But she couldn’t, she was useless.

There was a knock on the door of the office.

‘
Come in,’ Samantha called with a heavy sigh.

The door opened and Jimmy appeared, shaking a brown bag at her. Great, that was all she needed, someone kind, considerate and fit to distract her.

‘
I’ve brought some lunch. Have you got time? I thought we could go through the speech,’ he suggested, stepping into the room.

‘
I haven’t really got time, I…’ Samantha began to protest.

‘
I bought it all in the restaurant, I’ve got baguettes, tuna mayo, I’m told that’s your favourite. I’ve got diet Coke and I’ve got cheesecake,’ Jimmy told her and he got out all the food and lined it up on Samantha’s desk.

‘
Is that
chocolate
cheesecake?’ Samantha queried, leaning forward to sniff the food.