Count On Me

Part Twenty Two

If the phone hadn't rung? If they hadn't had a proverbial bucket of cold water thrown on them, then what would have happened?

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in anger, and all he could remember was the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest, his growing erection settled between her thighs, and her ravenous lips meeting his every touch.

Storming into his bedroom, he kicked the bed...but it only served to hurt his foot. Then he aimed his phone at the wall...but instead of throwing it, he took a breath, then called Krystal. This was a call that was weeks, if not months overdue.

Lizzie was determined to be happy, smiling and uncaring when Oscar appeared the following morning. But not sleeping and feeling like shit didn't help. It was before six when she showered, then brushed and plaited her hair, by seven she was dressed, made-up to a level that she felt was appropriate, and was making coffee at the same time as booting up her laptop when she heard movement across the room.

Grabbing her filled mug, she moved to the computer and didn't look up until she was calm inside. Oscar stood in the middle of the lounge, wearing just a pair of pyjama bottoms, hair all ruffled, face looking creased from sleep.

"Lizzie, I need to explain..."

She looked up and gave him a smile, "it's fine, emotions running high and alcohol. I am sorry, hope you and Krystal are ok."

"It's not..."

She cut him off straight away, "it's fine Oscar, we were drunk...got a little carried away. We're both adults, we can ignore this and move on. Ok?"

With that she dropped her head back to the laptop, and tried to ignore him. He made a few stilted noises, and then with a grunt made for the bathroom.

By the time he emerged, Nate was up and sat on her lap on the sofa, changing channels on the TV frenetically until he found Paw Patrol on one of the stations. Then he leaned back against her and told her about every little thing that happened - his analysis of the show.

The greatest distraction, and a shield for her fragile psyche, she sat there only smiling as Oscar greeted his father. Excited enough to garner his father's full attention. Oscar looked equally unsure, and it seemed they both appreciated the boy taking up the void.

"So what are we doing today Dad?"

Oscars still felt a swell of emotion every time Nate called him that, and he wasn't sure that he'd ever get used to it. He smiled at the happy boy and shrugged, "there's a lot to do here, what do you want to do?"

"Is there a toyshop?"

Oscar laughed, "I'm sure we can find one. What do you fancy doing Lizzie?" He finally looked up at her; he'd avoided her eyes until now. She looked as nervous and awkward as he felt.

"As long as Nate's happy, then I am."

The cop out, he thought as she turned her eyes back to the magazine she was reading.

So he took the bull by the horns.

"Well in that case, we have six hours before we need to get to the airport, I suggest breakfast in half an hour, then a trip up the Rockefeller Center, the view is amazing. Then a toy shop, maybe a return to the M & M shop...and then we can get to the plane, how's the sound champ?"

Nate didn't have a clue what half of it meant, but he grinned, whooped and gave the obligatory fist bump when Oscar offered.

True to his word he emerged from his bedroom in less than half an hour later, only to find Nate stood there, dressed for the day, and Lizzie tying his shoe laces, she too was ready for the day, in skinny jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt, Converse on her feet.

He sighed, she looked perfect, relaxed, and casual and she'd got them both ready in twenty minutes. Anyone else would need an hour just for themselves. Or rather the women you previously dated, his internal regulator reminded him. Yup, all previous girlfriends would never dream of hitting a Manhattan street without full make up and a pair of Jimmy Choos. But Lizzie didn't just do throw that to the kerb, she looked amazing doing it.

"You look good," the words burst out before he could regulate his brain.

Lizzie looked up, "really? These are THE most creased in my bag..." she stood up, the shoe laces tied, and stared at him, "you don't have to try and be nice to me Oscar; I'm cool with it all. OK?"

As she turned her back to put things into her bag for the morning, he gasped. That felt harsh, and he did want to talk about the previous evening and that devastatingly amazing kiss.

But he didn't have an option to discuss anything, and as they boarded the plane to take them back to Coop and Freya he felt such regret that they were returning on a similar footing to how they'd left, the closeness they'd had when they'd been away in a moment of madness. Bloody Krystal, and bloody him for not dealing with her properly earlier.

Sitting across from her, Nate between them, he checked his phone before they took off. He had an email from his boss and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He had three months, a leniency of sorts, where he could stay in Britain, but he was expected to work remotely and make at least four trips back to the States. It was more than he really could have hoped for, and he had to make the most of it. There was no mention of what happened next, once the three months were up. But he had to take this for all that it was and spend as much time as with Nate as he could.

He glanced across at her; she was worrying her teeth on her thumbnail, anxious, worried. He'd done that. Nate was playing a game on Lizzie's iPad, so he leaned closed and spoke quietly to her.

"I've got the ok to come back with you, to work from Manchester."

She spun around to face him, a grin on her face, "really? That is fantastic news, we...we can go back to normal? To our lives? That's just made my day."

He couldn't believe how she reacted, had he disrupted everything that much? He almost laughed, she was flying out of Manhattan, a million miles from the simple life she lived in Manchester. He just didn't think she'd hate it that much.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled back, "so it's still ok for me to live with you guys."

As she nodded enthusiastically, her relief at not having to make a more difficult decision so evident, he omitted to tell her that the time was limited. What mattered now was planning what happened after that time. And that involved making himself irreplaceable to both Nate and Lizzie.

"Can we talk about last night?" Nate had fallen asleep and they were cruising at altitude for the short flight.

She shook her head, "nothing to talk about."

He gave a soft chuckled at her reaction, and leaned forward so that he was closer to her ear, "I think there is. The day we got back here, from Manchester, I argued with Krystal, I realised that she doesn't fit in with my future. Nate has changed all my plans, and it made me realise that it was all superficial." he didn't add that she'd make a terrible step mother, as that would really upset Lizzie. "Since then she's been playing games because she doesn't want to accept that it's over. But it is, or rather is has been. And last night..." he watched her swallow nervously and it made him want to smile. "...last night was important to me. Extremely important, and I couldn't stop thinking about it, all night."

What the fuck was she supposed to think about that? The rest of the flight he sat there smugly, and she felt like a rabbit in the headlights. He was so dangerous, he was worldly, experienced, he operated in a completely different circles to her, he scared her, terrified her. And if that wasn't enough... he'd slept with her sister.

She shuddered at that thought. She needed to get back to her home, there she could control things, resist him. She was sure of that, but here, out of her depth, she was very likely to do something she was going to regret.