Page 26 of Wish You Knew
“Hey! Not fair.”
“Tell me, how many women did you sleep with over the weekend? I saw you in the gossip columns again.” I kept the question light, despite not wanting to know the truth.
“None.” He shot a sideways glance at me as he parked. “Honestly, Rosie. I haven’t been with anyone.”
Letting the subject lie, I got out of the car and looked up at the house instead.
Scott hauled my suitcase from the boot. “Let’s get inside. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
The knot in my stomach was doing a great job of keeping the hunger at bay, but I pretended otherwise. “Mmm, yeah, me too.”
The inside of the house lived up to the outside. Decorated in fairly neutral tones, it boasted two living rooms downstairs and an impressive staircase. Without showing me around any further, Scott beckoned for me to follow him upstairs.
“This is your room.” He opened a door at the end of a corridor, then gestured to a door next to it. “The bathroom’s there.”
A calm oasis of blues met me as I walked in. A view of the woodland area to the back of the house greeted me from the window. There was a huge king-sized bed, a whitewashed dressing table and chest of drawers, plus a built-in wardrobe. It was everything I loved about country living.
“Wow, it’s gorgeous!”
“You didn’t think someone as rough as me could have something so beautiful?” It sounded like a joke, but I could sense some underlying meaning in Scott’s words. “I’ll leave you to unpack. If you need me, my room’s the one at the opposite end of the house.”
Without another word, he disappeared.
I opened the window, watching the sun slowly set in the sky, and inhaled the clean air, so different to London. If I listened closely, birdsong sounded in my ears, punctuated by the occasional seagull or car. Otherwise, it was blissfully quiet.
Turning back to the room, I let out a long, deep breath. Humming to myself, I unpacked my clothes, then took my wash bag and cosmetics into the bathroom. A claw foot tub dominated the room, leaving me with a longing to take a long, warm soak before bed. My eyelids were already becoming heavy at the thought.
I wanted to forget everything which had happened today - up until now.
Suddenly overwhelmed by everything, I sank down onto the edge of the bed and placed my head in my hands. Silent tears fell down my cheeks as I contemplated exactly what I was doing here.
13
Scott
While I waited for Rosie to come downstairs, I cracked open a beer, and examined the contents of the now well-stocked fridge. My cooking skills were non-existent. Evening meals usually consisted of something I could shove in the oven or arrived at my door within minutes. Or were liquid.
With a flourish, I slammed the fridge door shut and turned up the music on my phone. Lost in the moment, I danced around the kitchen, eyes closed, singing along to the track, waving my bottle. With no deadlines, no pressures, no gigs, it was freeing. Much as I loved the band and the lifestyle, sometimes I needed to get away and be on my own. Clear my head, reset.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought me back to the present.
My eyes flew open to see Rosie standing in the doorway, a grin on her face. “You really are a terrible dancer.”
“I’m enjoying myself, not auditioning for that celebrity dance show.” I ground to a halt, not sure whether to be offended by her comment. “Since when are you the expert anyway?”
“Challenge accepted.”
She entered the kitchen, and started to step around me, hips swaying in time to the music, totally on the beat. Her entire body moved in perfect harmony, the movements almost hypnotic. I couldn’t tear my gaze away. Even dressed casually in an outfit which shrouded her figure, she was mesmerising. If she carried on, we wouldn’t need to worry about dinner…
“Okay, okay, stop.” I placed my hands on her shoulders, trying to ignore the throbbing in my dick. “You win.”
“Yes!” She punched the air and twirled away from me.
I laughed. “Do you want a drink?”
Her shoulders sagged. “Ugh, yes please. I would happily have had several on the train, if only to block out the family who sat next to me. I still have the bruises to prove it.”
“Beer? Wine? Gin? Vodka?”
