Wags To Riches (17 page)

“Thank you!” I say smiling.  I could live in the wardrobe actually and I’d be quite happy.

“Well, that’s the whole house,” Adam says as we go back downstairs.  “What do you think?”

“It’s amazing Adam – it’s just beautiful” I reply.  “I feel like I’ve wondered into
Homes & Interiors
magazine!  It’s a lot different to mine”.

Adam frowns.  “But your house is lovely too Gail” he says.  “
I
think it is”.

“Thank you” I say smiling.  He is so sweet but come on, next to this?  “Have your parents seen this place yet?” I ask.

“Yeah, they’ve seen most of the alterations I’ve made.  I’ve told them all about you, you know – they would really like to meet you!”

“That would be nice,” I say, feeling nervous at the prospect.

We go back into the lounge and Adam turns the fire up a little as it is now quite late evening and the air has become chilly.  I sit down on the rug, take off my shoes and waggle my toes in front of the roaring fire.

“Would you like a drink Gail?” Adam asks.

“Oooh - yes please” I reply.

“Champagne all right?” Adam asks.  “I think we should celebrate me finishing all this work on the house and you seeing it for the first time!”

“Oh definitely!” I reply smiling and Adam goes into the kitchen.  He comes back a few minutes later with some champagne.

“Thanks” I say as Adam passes me a glass.  He sits down next to me.  “Cheers” he says as we chink glasses before taking a drink.  “Oh – before I forget,” Adam says, “I’ve had a set of keys cut for you, so you can come and go as you please”.  He reaches into his jeans pocket, takes out a bunch of keys and passes them to me.  “I’ll show you how to do the alarm and the gate as well tomorrow morning before we go - don’t let me forget”. 

I take the bunch of keys and put them carefully in my pocket.  I don’t know quite what to say.  “Thanks Adam,” I say quietly, smiling at him as he sits back against the sofa.  Adam smiles back at me.  He looks incredibly attractive in jeans, soft navy crew neck jumper and with his hair all funky and messed up.  “I want you to make yourself at home Gail” he says.  “I like the idea of you being here with me,” he continues as he leans in towards me and kisses me.  God I fancy him something rotten.  It isn’t long before we are lying down on the rug, kissing each other fiercely as Adam starts to undress me and I pull his jumper over his head.  “Let’s go to bed,” he whispers urgently.

* * * *

“I’d better go downstairs and make sure the door is locked.  Won’t be long” Adam says later as he gets out of bed and pulls his jeans back on.  He goes downstairs and while he’s gone, I rummage in my bag and find my black satin camisole that I’d bought.  I slip it on and go into the bathroom to take my lenses out, smiling to myself.  If someone had told me all this was going to happen – I would have thought they were insane.  How lucky am I to be in this fantastic house with this fantastic man?

Adam knocks on the door.  “Come in” I say.

“You all right?” he asks casually.

  I look at his reflection smiling at me in the bathroom mirror.  “Never better” I reply and smile back.  Life is very good at the moment.

At work the next day my phone beeps to tell me I’ve had a text message and I pick my phone up off the desk smiling.  Adam has already sent me several text messages today, each one progressively flirtier than the last.  I open the message, read it and laugh.  What is he like for goodness sake?  I press reply and type:

You are really bad Adam Finchley! 

And a minute after pressing ‘send’, my phone beeps again:

Oh you don’t know how bad I can be – I’ll have to show you!  You staying at mine again tonight?

Okay
-
I’ll just nip home first and get some clean clothes
I reply. 
Pick me up at seven?

My work phone then starts ringing.  As I answer the call, my phone beeps again.  I pick it up and gasp as I read the new message from Adam:

Great!  Don’t bother with any underwear tonight though – saves time!

“You alright love?” a lorry driver somewhere on the M25 asks.

“Yes – I’m fine thank you” I reply hastily, blushing furiously and trying not to laugh.  “Now – you needed to know which shipment you were collecting?”

When I hang up, Alex looks up at me.  “What was all that about?” she asks.

“Oh – it’s just Adam sending me very flirty text messages” I say and I can’t help but smile.

“Aw!  It’s great when you’re in love!” Alex says smiling back.  “I remember when me and Dave were like that” she continues wistfully, “Now our messages are mainly about grouting and wallpaper” and we both laugh.  Then my phone beeps
again
.  “Oh Adam – I’ve got to get some work done” I say with a smile as I pick up my phone.  I open the message, only to see it was from Gina who has just returned from honeymoon:

Hi Gail – fancy going shopping on Saturday?  The lads are playing away (not literally!) and I need some new stuff!

“Are you and Dave decorating this weekend Alex?” I ask her as she returns from the kitchen with two cups of tea.

“Yes – worse luck” Alex says with a grimace.  “Believe me, I would much rather go round the shops with you, but Dave wants to make a start on the bedroom and I can’t leave him with all the wallpapering can I?”

“Oh I don’t know” I say smiling, “no - you can’t really.  Looks like it’s just me and Gina shopping on Saturday then as Tony is taking Sharon to Madrid this weekend.”

“Blimey” Alex replies, “How the other half live eh?”  I smile whilst thinking about the screaming row Sharon and Tony had had at the wedding.  You don’t know the half of it mate I think to myself.  I press ‘reply’ to Gina’s message and type:

Hi Gina!  I’d love to go shopping on Sat.  What time and where?

A moment later Gina replies:

Great!  Meet U 10.00 near the clock. 

How was Paris? 
I text back.

Gina replies with a single word:

Magic!

I smile and answer another call before glancing up at the clock.  Only three hours to go before they let me out thank God.

* * * *

Later on, I’m sat across from Adam in his dining room, tucking into a delicious dinner.  “Mmmmm - this is lovely” I say, “You are a really good cook Adam – this tuna steak is
gorgeous
.  What kind of sauce is it in again?” 

“It’s one of my own creations – it’s got sweet chilli and lime in” Adam replies.  “I’m glad you like it”.

“Oh I do – it’s great.  The potatoes are nice as well” I add, smiling as I take a sip of wine.  I could get used to this.  After dinner, we go through to the living room and snuggle up together on the sofa.  Adam picks up the remote control for the DVD recorder and scrolled through the menu to a football highlights programme.  “Is it okay if we watch this?” he asks.  “Only I recorded this at the weekend and I haven’t had chance to watch it yet”.

“Okay” I say.  Hopefully it won’t be on long.

“I promise you can watch
Eastenders
afterwards” he adds, winking at me as the programme starts.  “Hey – this is from our match against Tanningworth!” he says grinning and sits forward as footage of him scoring a goal fills the TV screen.  “OH – WHAT A GOAL!” he shouts and I laugh.  Adam then plays the footage again, studying the screen intently.  “See there - look Gail” he says, getting off the sofa and pointing at the screen, “If I’d have passed to Tony – there, look” he points to a figure on the screen, “I could have got into position earlier and scored earlier.  Still, it was a bloody good goal”.

“It was a brilliant goal Adam” I reply, “but I think the best bit is after the goal myself,” I add, snuggling up to him again as he pauses the DVD and sits back down on the sofa.  “This bit” I say and point towards the screen where a completely elated Adam is running round the edge of the pitch shouting at the fans, just before the rest of the team all jump on him and hug him.  “I bet it’s a brilliant feeling isn’t it to score a goal?” I ask, looking up at him.

“It’s the best Gail – it’s the best feeling on earth,” Adam replies fervently.

“What – better than sex?” I ask grinning.

“Well I wouldn’t go that far” he replies and we both laugh.

“Gina texted me at work today – they got back from Paris all right” I say after a moment, reaching down to my handbag on the floor.  I want to have a look at the mini statement I’d got from the ATM to see how much I’ve got to spend when I go shopping on Saturday.

“Yeah, Tim was at training this afternoon” Adam replies.

“Oh - of course he would have been,” I say, remembering what Gina had said at the wedding.  “Anyway - she asked me if I wanted to go shopping with her this Saturday as you are playing away.  Where are you playing?”

“We’re playing Kennington Rovers on Saturday – they are based in Birmingham so I should be back in time for dinner” Adam adds.

“Oh great!” I reply.

“It will be nice for you to go shopping with Gina Gail; it will do you good to treat yourself” Adam says.

“Yeah – trouble is though” I say frowning as I look at the mini statement and quickly worked out in my head what was left to go out of the bank, “I haven’t got a lot of money to spend.  Still, it will be nice to have a look round anyway”.

“Oh Gail don’t be silly!  I’ll give you some money.  You can’t go shopping with hardly any money to spend!  Here,” Adam says, reaching into his pocket and taking out his wallet.  He pulls out a thick wad of notes and hands them to me.  “Do you think that will be enough?”

I look at the money and then him, completely flabbergasted.  “Adam!  You can’t give me all this!” I protest, “There must be four hundred quid here!”  Even as I say it a little voice inside my head is thinking
Wow!  I could get tons of new stuff with this!

“Yes I can” Adam says firmly, “Now make sure you buy lots of nice things to wear.  You don’t have to pay me the money back either” he adds, putting his wallet back in his jeans pocket.  “It’s a gift”.

“Are you sure?” I ask, feeling slightly troubled and delighted at the same time.

“Yes of course!  If you look good then we both benefit,” he says, smiling his sexy lopsided smile at me.

“How do you mean?”  I hardly dare ask.

“Well,
you
feel good and
I’ve
got a seriously hot looking woman to enjoy looking at!” he says laughing as my mouth falls open.

“Adam!  You are outrageous!” I say blushing. 

“I know - but it’s true though isn’t it?” Adam says smiling at the look of shock on my face.  “Now come here and give me a kiss”.

* * * *

Early Saturday morning after a nice breakfast of two croissants with jam and coffee, I’m stood in front of my wardrobe at home in my underwear, looking through all my clothes.  I have no idea at all what to wear.  No doubt Gina will be looking gorgeous in some gorgeous designer outfit and I’ll be stood next to her feeling like a bloody ugly little troll.  I look through the hangers and finally decide on jeans, boots and my black slash necked jumper.  It’s really cold again, so I put my electric blue furry coat on and go to get the bus into town.  I glance at my watch as I walk to the bus stop.  Adam will have left by now.  Hope he wins today.

The bus arrives bang on time for once and I get into town early, so I buy a newspaper and decide to have a coffee before going to wait for Gina.  I find a café, order a latte and go to sit down.  I take a couple of sips of coffee.  It’s lovely – just the thing on a cold Saturday morning.
  I open the newspaper and read the first few pages before taking another sip of coffee and turning the page and almost spitting the coffee out.

There, on page seven, is a large photograph of me and Adam walking along, hand in hand on a busy London street!  Oh my God!  When did they take that?  I feel su
ddenly exposed, almost naked.  Look at me - I look awful!  I’m never wearing that jumper again – I didn’t realise I looked that fat in it.  Then I see the words printed at the top of the page.  Oh, - just look at that!  I close my eyes for a second in complete disbelief.  The headline reads:

‘Adam and his new love – will this one last?’

What do they mean – will this one last?  There is also a small paragraph at the side of the picture:

   ‘Adam Finchley, star striker for Grandmere United, is currently said to be besotted with another stunning girl!  Her name is Gail Auden, who is 26 and works for a plastics company.  A source close to the couple said when they recently attended the celebrity wedding of fellow soccer ace Tim Winters and model Gina Armstrong-Jones, that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and seemed to be really in love!’

“Who the bloody hell said that?” I wonder aloud as I lift my head and then hastily look down as a few people in the café turn to stare at me.  At the bottom of the paragraph I read ‘For Louise Timmings comment, see Page 11’.  Timmings – Timmings – I know that name from somewhere.  I turn hastily to page 11, my heart beating fast.  The top of the page shows a picture of a nasty looking woman and underneath it the caption: