Page 79 of Conviction
“It was fucked.” I shrug. “I have so much to tell you. I could really do with a wine and a chat. I’ll give you a call a bit later.”
She nods. “Coolios.”
Before I get a chance to move, Maria says from beside her, “Oh my God, my ovaries just exploded.”
“Holy shitballs,” Donna responds from the other side of the rep and her volunteer.
“Jesus wept, that’s hot,” the rep adds. I follow their gaze. Conner is leaning against the archway that leads into our treatment room. He’s lifted his jumper, and his fingertips are stroking his bare belly. He winks at me, knowing full well the reaction he’s getting from my girls.
“Matty’s here Meebs. You ready?” He nods his head at the hormonal puddle of women surrounding the sink.
“Ladies.”
“Hey.”
“Wow.”
Oh my fucking God.”
“Fuck. Me.”
Are the collective responses. I roll my eyes, first at them, then at him.
“If we don’t catch up tonight, I’ll see you next week,” I tell Sophie, not missing the look she shoots Conner.
“What?” I ask. Looking between them.
“Erm,” is all Sophie says.
“You’re not here next week, Meebs. I’ve sorted it with Sophie, you’ve got a couple of weeks off.”
“What?” I ask, having no idea what’s going on.
“We’re going away. It was gonna be a surprise, but you might as well know, I’m taking you away. I’ve sorted it all with Soph, your clients are all organised and rescheduled.”
There're a few loud sighs and ‘awws’ from Conner’s fan club.
“Fine,” is the only thing I can think of saying. I say goodbye to everyone and head out to the waiting Land Cruiser with Conner.
I don’t end up meetingup with Sophie Friday night. The combination of the wine I drank earlier in the day and my run in with Marcus has left me feeling a little bit shaken and a whole lot stupid.
I’ve always considered myself a reasonably intelligent person. I did well at school and was expected to get great exam results and go on to university. Dropping out when I had my little meltdown over what happened with Conner and the baby, probably wasn’t one of my wisest decisions but look how that turned out. I’m now the joint owner of a chain of hair and beauty salons, and they’re all doing very well, thank you very much.
So, I can’t help but wonder, how did I not see what my brother and Marcus were doing? I feel like an idiot.
I have a long swim when we get home, which calms me considerably, on the outside at least. On the inside, I still feel queasy and unsettled. We end up walking with the dogs around the grounds, and then I lay sprawled out on top of Conner and force him to watch ‘When a Man Loves a Woman,’ with me. It’s one of my all-time favourite films, Andy Garcia being one of my first ever crushes.
“Would you still love me if I became an alcoholic?” I ask him, still watching the film.
He runs his fingers up and down my spine, and I can feel that he’s already more than at half-mast, as his dick is pressing into my belly button.
“What d’ya mean if? You stunk of wine when I met you in the park earlier.”
“Yeah, well, you’d stink of wine too if you’d had the morning I’d had.”
“How was your mother?”
“A cunt,” I tell him.
