There was no way on God’s earth I could disobey that tone, so I spilled it all: Freddy groping and cursing me, the punch that knocked him on his arse, Slimy and his disgusting little plan, and finally how I finished him off, which made Andy grin, although it was more a rictus than anything; right then he looked like the scariest man alive, but I wasn’t scared now; it wasn’t me who needed to hunt for cover, I knew that for sure.
“You’re okay, baby-girl, you’re sure? He didn’t hurt you?” he asked, holding me at arm’s-length and looking me directly in the eyes, so I stared right back and nodded.
“I’m sure, Andy, both of those little pricks got what they deserved, it’s over!”
Andy stared at me for a few more seconds, then suddenly hugged me like he’d never done before; tight but really gentle, and I could feel his heart hammering.
“When I think what could have happened…” he whispered, and when I looked at him I was amazed to see tears in his eyes. On a sudden impulse, I hugged him, feeling his arms close around me again, making me safe again, and suddenly it was where I wanted to be forever. I’m sure he felt it too, as his hand gently stroked the small of my back, and so we hugged, oblivious to everyone around us.
Eventually I thought to let him go, feeling more than a little sand-bagged, and caught Sai Fong’s eye; she smiled slightly and raised one eyebrow, then quickly winked before turning away to gaze raptly at Harry as he chatted with his friends.
“You know this isn’t over…” murmured Andy, causing me to stare at him.
“Please Andy, no…” I began, but he shushed me.
“Reporting this isn’t going to work; all he has to do is deny it; and what if he tries this again? No, I’m going to have a little private chat with him; where is that dick, anyway?”
A quick canvas of everyone revealed that no-one had seen either Slimy or Freddy; Sai whispered something to Harry, who pulled Andy to one side and had a quick confab with him, then went back to the others, while Andy once more took my arm.
“I told Harry what Slimy did, and warned him to keep an eye on Sai Fong; Slimy showed a lot of interest in her when she used to come up for Sports Day. Better safe than sorry, eh? Now we need to find that stunted half-wit Freddy; I can’t believe he just left you like that; I’m going to kill him… no, I’m going to stamp him flat and nail him to the gates as a warning to others, the little shit; he’s finally gone too far!”
I stuck close to Andy the rest of the day and through the buffet, which he seemed to appreciate; every time I looked up, it was to see his smile, and it was doing strange things to me; I’d blush and look down again, but not before I saw Andy blushing as well; after a while I realised we were flirting; low-key, to be sure, but flirting, nevertheless. But it didn’t feel strange, or sick, or just plain revolting like it would if it was Freddy; it felt good, and warm, and nice.
In the general stir afterwards, as everyone circulated and chatted, Andy led me over to Sai Fong and Harry, with instructions to stay with them while he took care of something. I was afraid he was going hunting for Freddy, but he shook his head, reading my mind.
“It’s okay, Lin, I just have to make a couple of calls; you stay here, I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
He disappeared for a few minutes, then came back shaking his head. I asked him what the matter was, and he grinned ruefully.
“I can’t let you go back home this afternoon, not on the train by yourself, not with those two maggots on the loose, so I tried to get you a room at The Prince Rupert Hotel, but no luck; all their rooms are taken, ditto the Travelodge at Battlefield, and The Red Lion Hotel.”
“I have a room booked at the Prince Rupert, because I’m playing in the testimonial match tomorrow, so, unless you can think of a better plan, you’ll have to share my room, or, if you prefer, you can go home tonight to Cosford with Harry and Sai, and come back in the morning with Harry, then we can go home together after the match; what’s your preference?”
There was no way I was letting Andy out of my sight; I felt safe with him, so I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m staying with my big brother tonight!” I breathed, watching his eyes as he started to blush, then grinned happily.
“I’m glad, Lin!” he murmured back, obviously feeling that ‘something’ fizzing between us, the way I was.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was a blur for me, because my head was full of thoughts of Andy; I now knew I really fancied him, but not in the way I’d had crushes on Harry, or Big Jack Cameron, or David Denham, pretty-boys all; this was a lot more definite, something deep down inside me telling me that this was what I really wanted, but now I was old enough to do something about it.
That pulled me up short; just what exactly did I want to do about it, anyway? Echo answereth not, so I pondered, and thought, and pondered some more, until the answer that had been staring at me all day popped into view and flagged me down. I would do whatever it took to make sure Andy knew I wanted him, and if he wanted me too, well, here I was. It seemed like a plan, and it looked like working, too, if all those smouldering glances and electric thrills each time we touched was anything to go by.
>>>>>
We left the reception early; it had been a long day, and the fright I’d had earlier had really taken it out of me; Andy saw me flagging, so said his goodbyes and hustled me down to the car. Ever since I was a little girl I’d always liked being driven in mother’s Jag; it was so 1960’s glamorous, and Andy drove it through the cobbled streets with the ease of long familiarity; it almost felt surreal, with the juxtaposition of the sleek E-type growling softly through twisting medieval streets back to the hotel, like a scene from a 60’s art film by a French auteur.
The Prince Rupert is a late medieval half-timbered building on Butcher Row, and Andy booked me in as his guest, then ordered supper for the two of us in the dining room. We chatted while we ate, catching-up with family stuff, the latest news from the absent parents, his adventures at Edinburgh, but somehow managing to not talk about that… thing now rearing its head between us.
When we eventually went up to the room, I was starting to feel that somehow I would have to let him know what was happening inside me; all kinds of things were clicking into place whenever I thought of him, and I didn’t know where to start, or if he’d even take me seriously. Going up to that room with him was an agony of apprehension for me, believe me!
The room itself was spectacular; walls panelled in stained walnut, thick carpets, candelabras on every flat surface, and a huge four-poster bed.
I refused to turn Andy out of his bed, as he’d had a long drive from Edinburgh, and a hard day coming up, but Andy, ever the caring big brother, wouldn’t hear of it, and insisted on taking the ridiculous love-seat couch, which was about three feet too short for him to stretch out on; we argued back and forth, until I settled it by pulling the spare quilt out of the linen press and making a bed on the floor. Andy grinned, knowing when he was beaten, but then came the next problem.
As I’d originally had no intention of staying over, I had nothing to sleep in, no toiletries, and no change of underwear. Luckily the en-suite had new toothbrushes, soap, and lotions. Andy gave me his Shrewsbury Old Boys rugby jersey to sleep in, which just about covered my bum, but was made of stretchy Lycra and Gore-tex, so it was form-fitting, and I was immediately aware of my nipples sticking out from the friction of the material rubbing against them. Andy was trying to not see them, bless him, but I could see him reddening and looking away every time I looked up.
All washed and brushed, and tired-out after the stress of the day, I settled into my nest on the floor, adamant that I was comfortable there; I really didn’t want to deprive poor Andy of his bed, knowing the tough match he was going to be playing in the morning, but he was still unhappy about it, and repeatedly offered to change places.
I of course refused, and so he switched off the light and I settled down to sleep.
Tried to, I should say. The events of that morning kept replaying in my mind and try as I might, sleep just wouldn’t come. Every time I thought I was settling down, the image of Jack Fineman holding me pressed against him flashed into my mind, his slack, sneering mouth close enough to kiss, not that I’d ever have done that, I’d rather chew the leg off a leper, but it kept recurring, and I couldn’t make it go away.
Also, just to make my day even more memorable, it was cold down there; in fact, it was bloody freezing. There was a persistent draught whistling from God knows where, only to be expected in a building as old as the Prince Rupert Hotel, but at least now I knew why four-poster beds had curtains. It was a warm summer night, and that bloody draught made it feel more like early winter.
Added to that was the fact the the floor was a lot harder than I’d counted on, even though I was rolled-up in a thick, doubled-over quilt. After what seemed like hours, I’d had enough; I was cold, I was dog-tired, and I was even more wide-awake than when we’d first settled down.
“Andy, Andy!” I whispered.
He shot upright.
“What, what is it Lin, what’s the matter?” he stage-whispered.
“I can’t sleep, Andy, and I’m cold; can I share with you please?” I quavered, and for answer he took my hand and helped me onto that lovely four-poster, pulling me into the warm spot he’d been lying in while he retrieved the pillows and quilt from the floor.