Page 46 of Hit For Six
Later that day, having both agreed to spend until the early afternoon apart, Lola catching up on sleep– blimming heck, as she would say– she deserved it, and Monty getting to grips with his upcoming fixtures and training schedule, Monty rang Lola’s doorbell in Daniel Street.
‘The withdrawal symptoms have been hell. Sorry I’m a bit early.’
Lola, looking sexier than ever in a scruffy bun and an oversized lounging T-shirt, pulled him into the hallway, kicked the door shut with her foot and pressed him against the wall for an explicit kiss.
‘You don’t mind too much, then?’
They both laughed as they caught their breaths.
‘I might have missed you a little bit too,’ she replied.
‘Right,’ said Monty. ‘Are you sure that you’re sure about this? I don’t want you to feel pressured into the whole meet and greet thing just because you’ve been accosted by my parents.’
‘I am. They’ll love you. And, well, I’d just rather get the intro over with because if by doing so you think that we’ll never be a decent long-term match, at least I can bounce back a bit quicker.’
‘Lola.Lola!’ Monty stood back, his arms on both of her shoulders as he surveyed her, at which point, one of the upstairs neighbours interrupted them with the jangle of keys at the building’s front door. They parted like the Red Sea to let himpass and the grungy thirty-something scurried up the stairs with a grunt. Once he’d slammed his apartment door shut, Monty’s brow furrowed before he continued. ‘What have I got to do to prove to you that none of this matters? You are the one I want to be with… and vice versa, I hope. Neither of us are dating each other’s parents!’
‘Look.’ Lola glanced at her fluffy socks before fixing her gaze earnestly on Monty. ‘I didn’t want to say anything but… the thing is… I’ve dated someone upper crust in the past. Someone who completely snubbed my parents.
‘Oh, I see. I didn’t realise that we needed a blow-by-blow account of one another’s previous relationships.’
If that didn’t come across as jealousy. Pull yourself together, mate!
‘We don’t. This is not you, it’s me.’
‘That old chestnut.’
Monty let out a sigh.
‘Please let me explain.’ Lola took a deep breath. ‘Once we’ve got this little hurdle over with, I’ll be able to properly relax. Maybe that’s selfish of me, but I’d rather be honest with you. It’s something I need to do for my peace of mind.’
Monty closed his eyes, willing the hurt to dissipate.
‘I can’t pretend that I’m not mildly offended after trying to convince you that I’m not a cookie cutter snob. But I want to be understanding and if this is what it takes, then so be it.’
He tenderly kissed the back of Lola’s hand, holding her palm against his heart. Hopefully she wouldn’t think he was being soppy at such an early stage in their relationship, but it was an action that conveyed how he felt right now. Never mind him potentially not taking to Lola’s mother and father, they might have a prejudice against him after the way her ex had treated them. All of a sudden, Monty was no longer looking forward to today’s trip.
***
Gail and GregSmith lived on the outskirts of southern Bath, an area that Monty was mostly familiar with by car since one of the A roads leading out of the city sliced through it.
‘You’re quiet,’ said Lola as they walked hand in hand and he felt his palm grow sweatier, the nerves kicking in.
‘Hmm, me? Well, I am a tad zonked,’ replied Monty. ‘We did get a lot of exercise last night! I should have factored in a Squiffy nap like you, but I had to try to appease my father ref his parting shot. Let’s just say it didn’t exactly happen. I’ll have to try again tomorrow.’
‘Argh, I see. Well, if you want to talk about it? We never did get onto the subject last night.’
They kind of had when Monty had hit on the subject of legacies. But there was so much backstory to wade through. They’d find a better time.
‘Too much distraction.’
Monty pulled Lola into him and squeezed her. It felt so good. He vowed never to take what they had for granted.
‘It’s always a fair stroll to visit them,’ said Lola, once they’d got back into their stride. ‘But Bath feels strangely compact and before you know it, you’ve passed the Rose and Fiddle pub, and you’re basically in Plummerton.’
She pointed to the graffiti-worn signpost that welcomed visitors into the suburb.
Monty was alarmed at the state of some of the gardens along this strip of housing estates. It really was a world away from the environment he’d grown up in. Like Lola’s ex, some of his friends wouldn’t have been able to resist sensationalising his current surroundings and behaving like pompous gits. A handful of the ex-council houses had skips full of junk and bruised and battered cars in their front gardens, there was an excess of‘Mind the Pitbull’ signs plastered to the gates and front doors, and some seriously mouthy-looking kids paraded the streets, sucking greedily from vapes and doing unquantifiable damage to their young lungs.
