Page 31 of Lord of the Lock

He looked over bath the waitress, and waved her over again. Her smile faltered when Finn reached over the table to thread his big fingers through mine. “I’ll have the chocolate fudge cake please. My boyfriend isn’t too hungry but if you could bring an extra fork just in case he wants to share with me…”

He let the revelation hang in the air for a second. “Sure,” said the waitress. “I’ll be right back.”

“She’s so spitting in our food,” I muttered.

“Let her,” Finn said. “This relationship is real to the outside world until you think I’ve served my purpose, OK?”

“Until you’ve…” I didn’t know what to say. It felt like we were on some kind of precipice, like if I said the right — or wrong — thing now I could send our relationship off in a whole different direction.

“What if we…” I started, unsure of where I was going next, when thatbloodywaitress arrived with Finn’s chocolate fudge cake.

“Enjoy,” she muttered then stalked back to the bar without checking if we wanted drink refills.

“She only brought us one fork,” Finn muttered. He raised his hand to get her attention but she was looking studiously at a glass at the bar.

“You heartbreaker,” I laughed.

“I didn’t do anything!” Finn protested. “Fine, if she wants to play dirty, I’m playing dirtier.”

He got a big chunk of fudge cake onto the fork and held it out toward me. “Want a bite?”

I reached for the fork, but Finn pulled it back. “Nope, open wide.”

“You bastard,” I whispered. I could feel myself grinning, and let Finn feed me the chocolate cake on the fork. “S’good,” I mumbled through the chocolate cake in my mouth and Finn chuckled.

He looked over at the bar and back at me before having a bite. “She’s looking,” he confirmed.

There was a little bit of chocolate cake on his lip, so I reached over the table absently to swipe it off with my thumb. I heard a glass smash over at the bar.

“That wasn’t even intentional!” I protested. We both looked over at one very red-faced waitress. “I promise!”

She was glowering, but it was someone else at the other side of the room my eyes were drawn to. My mother, normally the Iron Lady of the kitchen, was lounging against the wall and looking right at me, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “She likes you,” I said to Finn.

“I know, that’s why she’s smashing things in the corner.”

“No, my mother, stupid.” I couldn’t help but feel that we were somehow complicating things by bringing mothers into it now. But I was glad she liked Finn. I liked Finn. Everyone should like Finn.

“Right, shall I get the bill? My treat,” said Finn.

“Well, technically it’s Mum’s treat. This is her apology for my dad forcing my company on you the other day I think.”

“I can’t do that! I liked having you there.” Finn seemed to think for a second and stood up. “Wait here.”

I watched as he stood up and went to talk to my mother. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she was looking up at him and smiling in a way I hadn’t seen her smile since I came back home. Finn took out his wallet and put a couple of notes in her hand, then turned to me with a grin and beckoned me to the exit.

I walked over to Mum and gave her a hug. “Thanks for tonight, Mum. I really appreciate it.”

“Well I’m glad you’ve found such a gentleman. He’s welcome over whenever, no matter what your father says.”

I headed over to where Finn stood at the door. “Would you like me to walk you home?” he asked.

“What a gentleman,” I smiled. “What’s to stop me walkingyouhome?”

“Yours is closer, and I’m up at 6am for an early rugby session tomorrow,” he said. “Otherwise I’d have you with me all night.”

I took Finn’s hand, because it felt natural, and we walked out of the Pont’s car park and on to the road. We passed a group of men smoking, and I kept my firm grip on Finn’s hand. Until one of them spoke, a voice I’d not heard in years.

“Nath? Is that you?” Lewis detached himself from the group of smokers. He looked older, much older than he had any right to in the few years we’d been separated. Under the street light I could see that he’d put on weight and there were lines on his face that I hadn’t ever seen before. His hair was greying at the temples and his eyes were dull.

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