Page 15 of Poles Apart
“You are such a fuck-up, Dom.”
Yeah, he deserved that.
Chapter Eight
Jacob
Jacob walked back to his car. He felt as miserable as fuck. He’d put his heart out there only for the whole thing to come crashing around him. He should have stuck to the facts of the years after he’d moved away and not have admitted to Dom how he’d felt way back then. He wasn’t sure what he’d been hoping to achieve, but it definitely wasn’t rejection.
Maybe, he’d also been too hasty to walk away. Maybe, he should have stayed to explain himself more or listen to what Dom had to say. But his insecurities had won out, and he’d walked away.
Were they still old feelings? He could admit that occasionally he’d looked at another man, but circumstances hadn’t allowed for a relationship, and so the love he’d had for Dom had never gone away, just sat there waiting for him to come back. He’d always presumed that if he never saw Dom again, he would find someone else, but not until Abby had moved on, either to university or somewhere else.
He sat in his car and looked at his watch again. It was only 4.30, so he still had an hour or so to kill until he had to pick up Abby. Decision made, he drove to Colin’s house. He knew he could talk to him.
He pulled up on the road outside the house, walked up to the door and knocked. Colin’s wife, Lindsay, answered.
“Hi, Jacob. What’s up? You look awful!” She held her arms open, and Jacob couldn’t help himself. He stepped into her embrace. Lindsay was a social worker, working with the many underprivileged children in the city, so he knew she would listen to him about his disastrous meeting with Dom.
“A day that started like shit and ended like shit. I’m done with it. I want to pick up Abby and go home to have a beer or three.” Jacob’s face fell, and he felt disappointed again with how things had gone earlier with Dom.
“Aw, come in, let’s have some tea.” Lindsay held his hand and pulled him into the house. Tea was the last thing he wanted. Dom had ruined that for him now too. He’d think about Dom whenever someone mentioned it. “No tea, thanks.” Jacob replied.
They walked into the lounge, Lindsay picking up toys as she went, placing them into the toy box under the window. She and Colin had three children: Thomas, Amy and a toddler, Ivy. Jacob sat on the sofa, Lindsay taking the armchair.
“What’s going on? I haven’t seen you this worked up in, well, forever.” Lindsay leaned forward and placed her hand on Jacob’s knee.
Jacob closed his eyes, taking comfort in her touch. He now knew how the children she worked with felt. Where to start indeed. So, he started from the beginning, eight years ago and told her everything.
“How was it when you saw him?” Lindsay asked. “Has he changed much?”
“He was even better than I remembered. The same but different, almost like he’d been enhanced. I know it sounds ridiculous, but everything I felt for him back then resurfaced, as if it had never gone away. How unbelievable is that? After all that time, he could still affect me like that.” Jacob blew out a breath. “I met with him today, after school, to tell him what had happened, why I’d gone away. I got to that bit anyway and told him about our parents, and then I might have fucked up.”
“What do you mean, you fluffed up?” Lindsay never swore, and he almost laughed at her words.
“I told him I’d loved him back then and still thought of him as my Dominic.” The look of concern on her face was almost more than he could bear. “I know, I know. I should have kept my mouth shut, but the words fell out. He said that hewasmy Dominic, emphasis on the past tense, then went on to say he’d changed and wasn’t the same person anymore, but we could always be friends. Talk about being shot down in flames.”
“How do you think he feels about you now?” Lindsay asked softly.
“I don’t know. He was pretty cold towards me on Sunday, but that could have been from the shock. I know I was surprised as hell to see him after all these years, but then later, at home, I was so happy that I’d found him again. What we had eight years ago was explosive, probably not the best relationship, but after I went away, I realised how much hedidmean to me. It was then I knew that I loved him.”
Lindsay sat for a while, her brow furrowed, then a triumphant smile appeared on her face. “I’ve got it. So, here’s what you do. Woo him, date him, and win him back if he means that much to you.” Lindsay had a look of glee on her face; she was in full planning mode. “We’re going to have so much fun doing this. What time do you need to collect Abby?”
“About now actually.”
“Go pick her up, then come back here. I’ll have a think while you’re away on what we can do to get your man back. This is going to be so exciting.” She was wriggling in the chair, then reached forward to pick up a piece of paper and a red crayon. “Urgh, this will have to do.”
She turned to Jacob and shooed him. “Go on, get Abby, then straight back here. I’ll have a plan in place by the time you get back. Colin will get us some food, so no need to worry about that.”
She stood up and all but pushed him out of the door. “See you in a while,” she shouted and shut the door in his face.
He stood on the doorstep, looking at the door. What had just happened? He had no idea, but he wasn’t going to argue. If she was going to help him get Dom back, he was all for it.
After picking Abby up from her after school club, he headed back to Colin’s house.
“Where are we going? Why aren’t we going home?” Abby turned to look at him from the passenger seat.
“Long story. You’ll find out when we get there, and we’re having dinner with them too.”
