Page 12 of Pelvic Flaws

“No, it’s quite old but it’s more shit than ancient. Carl bought it for me when he left with the family car.”

My main thought was ‘what a dick’. Who the fuck doesn’t make sure their kids are being carried around safely, even if he doesn’t care about his ex-wife?

“I’ll help you get it sorted, don’t worry.”

Katie looked up at me through her bangs that were hanging in her eyes and gave me a soft smile. “Thank you, Dex. You really don’t have to, you don’t know me. This isn’t your responsibility.”

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing anything else,” I replied, leading her back to my car. “And anyway, I’d say after seeing the contents of your bag, I know you pretty well.”

“Oh God,” she groaned. “That was so embarrassing.”

I laughed and opened the back door of my car. “Get in and let’s get you home.”

As Katie got in, Debbie looked over her shoulder at her and suddenly I didn’t feel hungry for Mexican in the slightest.

Katie

When I got inside Dex’s car, I was faced with another woman staring at me over her shoulder.

Shit, he was on a bloody date.

“This really is nice of you,” I said. “But I can call Carl, it’s no problem.”

Trouble was, I knew Carl and Sophie usually went out on Saturday night, leaving Jessie with Sophie’s parents. I really had no one else to call, not anyone that wouldn’t cost me a fortune anyway. There was always Jim, Mandy’s husband, I knew he’d come, but I hated having to ask. I had this feeling that as the only single woman in my group of friends, it wasn’t right for me to keep asking their husbands for help. I wouldn’t cope without my friends and I really didn’t want to wind them up the wrong way by pestering their other halves at every opportunity. Jim and Dave, Trisha’s husband, had helped enough when Carl first left. Charlie played up because he was missing having his dad around, so being his football coach, Jim took Charlie under his wing and helped him through it, as only a man could do. As for Dave, he came and finished off the decorating that Carl had started in the lounge, as well as fixing the garden fence that had three loose panels.

It wasn’t that I was a quivering mess, or that Carl wouldn’t do it if I’d asked, but my friends were bloody awesome and sent their men in to help me out so that I wouldn’t have to ask my ex-husband. That was why I couldn’t say no to Dex, although the way the woman in the front seat was eyeing me suspiciously, I kind of wish I had.

“My momma would tan my hide if she thought I’d left you there,” Dex said, fastening his seat belt.

“I just hope I haven’t messed up your plans.”

“No, not at all. We can have dinner any time, can’t we?”

He turned to the woman, who gave him a tight smile and nodded.

“I don’t live far, so you’ll be able to carry on with your evening pretty quickly.” I smiled at them both, hoping they could see how much I hated being such a pain in the arse.

“Well, I think maybe we should take a rain check.” Dex turned to the woman. “I need to get Katie home and try and sort out something for her car.”

“Honestly, Dex,” I protested. “I can sort it in the morning. Really, you’ve done enough.”

“You know each other?”

Dex looked at me and then back to his girlfriend. “Sorry, Debbie. Yeah, this is Katie.”

I thought he was going to expand and tell her how we knew each other, but saying we met yesterday in a pizza place probably wasn’t the best way to ‘mug her off’ as Isaac would say.

“Please, no.” I cried, leaning in between the two seats. “Don’t change your plans on my account. Just drop me off and get back to your dinner.”

“It’s still quite early, Dex,” Debbie said, giving him a smile and a wink.

Ooh, that made me feel a bit funny, thinking what that wink meant. Shit they were probably going to have sex later.

Dex, evidently wasn’t up with the program, because he took her hand and looked her in the eye.

“I’m real sorry, Debbie, but I really wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t get this sorted.”

God, I felt so bad for her. If that had been me, I’d have been in tears. What sort of boyfriend does that to his girlfriend? Dex seemed such a good guy too. I inched back in the seat, trying to give them as much privacy as I could from the back seat of a car.

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