Oxygen (Romance, Completed)

Chapter 24

On Saturday night, we had to keep the noise down with Sofia sleeping just along the hallway, but Linc agreed it was best he stayed at my place so we could be up early for Hisashi on Sunday morning. My son had never met his birth father, and whenever I watched Hisashi with Linc, I secretly started to hope he might be interested in the job.

The biggest issue I saw looming was how to overcome the school's no-fraternisation policy. After spending all of Sunday with Linc, having to leave him on Monday morning and pretend for the remainder of the day that we didn't know each other hurt. I turned it over in my head as we went over our ensemble pieces in class, but nothing could dampen my good mood. I'd always struggled with the upbeat nature of that particular Beethoven score, but my happiness transferred to the keys and I played it like a dream. When I reached the closing bars, I even got a smile out of Dr. Vasilyevich, and for once, Jansen didn't come up with a snide remark.

I kept an eye out for Linc as I ate lunch, but he was keeping a low profile. What could we do about our little problem? I thought of leaving Holborn, but apart from my issues with Jansen, I'd grown to love the lessons, and I'd learned so much since I started. The other option would be for Linc to leave, but I had no idea how to broach that subject with him. Of course, with the amount of money in my bank account there was no need for him to work at all, but would he go for that idea? In Japan, especially among people like my parents, the idea of a woman supporting a man was unusual, but I'd heard it was more acceptable here in America.

Maybe I could ask Sofia? Or even call Emmy? To my surprise, I'd only had one message from her since last week, a rather bland "Hope everything's going well" and a query as to whether I'd be joining them in Virginia for Christmas. I'd held off on replying until I discussed it with Linc. I'd prefer to spend the holidays with him, and I didn't know what his plans were.

Except I wanted to speak to him in person, and he needed to wax the floor in the auditorium this evening, an extra job that meant he wouldn't finish until late.

"Damn boss," he'd said early this morning when he got the message with the request. "At least it doesn't need to be done often."

With practice tomorrow, that meant I wouldn't see him until Wednesday, and I didn't want to discuss something as important as Christmas by text. But he sent me a message in the afternoon reminding me to smile, so smile I did.

"What are you grinning about?" Jansen asked me on Tuesday evening.

"Nothing."

"Well, it certainly isn't your playing. You're going too fast."

"It's supposed to be allegro."

"Yes, allegro. Not presto."

Sofia's salmonella idea sounded more attractive by the second. By the end of two hours with Il Duce, I wasn't grinning anymore.

"Good day?" Clint asked as I slumped into the seat.

"Could have been better."

"There's always tomorrow, ma'am."

But tomorrow was hours away. I had to get through the rest of tonight first. I glanced at my watch. Half past eight. What if...?

"Take a right here."

"Pardon, ma'am?"

"Take a right."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to visit Linc. You know, the guy who went with us to the zoo on Saturday?"

"Do you think that's wise, ma'am? It's late, and you haven't made an appointment."

"No, it'll be fine." Clint just couldn't help being polite, could he? Calling me ma'am, suggesting an appointment to see my own boyfriend. If only more men showed that kind of respect. "It's left at the stop sign."

Linc had sent me a text as I left Holborn to say he'd come back from the gym, and I kept my fingers crossed he hadn't gone out again. And also that he wasn't watching one of those awful porn DVDs. No, I needed to put those out of my mind. Linc had told me they weren't his, and I believed him. But I couldn't help looking forward to a different sort of adult entertainment. Perhaps I should have bought some prettier underwear?

"Er, do you want me to wait, ma'am?"

"Maybe just for a few minutes, until I've checked he's there."

Heart skipping in time to my footsteps, I hurried up the stairs, pausing for a brief moment before I rapped my knuckles on Linc's door. I'd missed his smile so much. And his...

"Who are you?" The man standing in front of me definitely wasn't Linc. I checked to make sure I had the right door, and I absolutely did. Number 102, the same as always.

"I could ask the same question, lady."

"Where's Linc?"

He shrugged. "How should I know? I haven't seen him for days. Have you tried his house?"

Hold on, his what? I stared dumbly as I tried to form words. "I-I-I thought this was his house?"

"Oh, you mean he brought you here?"

"Yes."

"He borrows the place from time to time, like a swap. Said something about it being an undercover job. Doesn't bother me. At least I get to use his pool."

Undercover job? Pool? Linc had a pool? Had he lied to me? Confusion swirled inside as I willed myself to keep calm. No, I must have misunderstood what this other man was saying.

"Would you be able to give me directions to his house? Please?"

"Sure. Just a second." He came back half a minute later with a grubby napkin and a ballpoint pen and proceeded to draw me a lopsided map. "So it's left at the end of the road, then right, carry on about a half-mile then take a left into Redwood Gardens. Number 8. You can't miss it—fucking massive, it is."

Linc was living in a big house? Not on his janitor's salary, surely? Unless it was a houseshare. Yes, that must be it. Obviously, he wouldn't have wanted to take me home if he was living with a group of others—that would have been more than a little awkward. But why hadn't he just told me the truth?

"Thank you." I tried to unclench my teeth. "You've been very helpful."

"No problem. Say, when you see him would you ask him what he's done with my DVD collection? Half of it's missing."