Chapter 37

 

April came out of the changing room in Dylan’s house with a towel wrapped round her and made her way towards the Jacuzzi. Dylan was already in and the bubbles were gurgling away.

She removed the towel, slowly, until she was totally naked and stepped into the Jacuzzi.

“Here,” he handed her a flute of champagne.

“Mmm, thank you.”

“At last,” he gave her a sexy smile. “I’ve wanted to get you in here for a while.”

“Yes, well, it’s a bit difficult with Henry around. I don’t fancy him seeing me in all my glory.”

“No, I don’t fancy him seeing you either,” he smirked taking a sip of champagne. “He’s a bloody nuisance skulking around the house. The times I turn around and he’s there, in my face. I think he tiptoes around on purpose to have the element of surprise.”

“Where is he tonight, anyway?”

“Says he’s crashing at a mate’s house.”

“You don’t sound confident he is?”

“Who knows? Long as he’s not into drugs, I’m not bothered where he is.”

She wrinkled her nose, “I feel a bit sorry for him.”

“Well don’t. Save your sympathy for me, I have to parent the lazy little bugger.”

She sighed, “He seems lonely to me. What about his friends, have you met any of them?”

“No, he wouldn’t bring them here. He prefers to go to theirs.”

“Aren’t you worried who he’s mixing with?”

“He’s almost eighteen,” he frowned, “I can’t control who he sees. All I’ve asked is for him to focus on getting a job, preferably an apprenticeship as he’s not interested in education.”

“You’ve ruled out art totally, have you?”

“He’s not mentioned it for a while, so I don’t think he’s serious about it.”

“At least he’s kicked drugs, that’s a positive. You don’t want him going any further down that road.”

“Exactly. He’s always been a bit of a rebel though, so he does worry me. I remember when he was fifteen and all hell broke loose when he was with a group of older lads who were caught breaking and entering an off-license. My ex-wife was frantic.” He shook his head, “I don’t really think it was out of choice he became involved, I reckon it’d be more to do with trying to fit in. He’s so odd, and never had a lot of friends, but he’s very sharp and consequently I know that’s why a gang would want him onboard. As I said before, codes and alarms etcetera, are his bag. Fortunately, I have a good lawyer who had the right contacts to keep his name out of it when the police got involved.”

“Oh dear, he does seem to have a deviant streak in him. Where does he get that from?”

He gave an indignant look. “Not me I can assure you.”

How far could she take this?

“I used to say that,” she widened her eyes, “and now look at me.”

“Yes, but you’ve learnt from your mistake.”

“I have, but it’s an uphill struggle. I wonder if it’s a dream sometimes to get myself back on the occupation ladder. You know what I mean, something decent, so I can get a nice flat and maybe buy a car. You know . . . what normal people have.”

“You could always bag yourself a rich husband,” he smiled topping up their glasses.

“And where do they hang out? I’ve not met any of them down the pub I go to.”

He laughed, “No, I don’t suppose they do.” He took another sip of his drink, “Tell me, if somebody offered you a way to make some money so things weren’t such a struggle, would you take it?”

“Only if it was legit.” She shrugged, “But I can’t imagine there’s an abundance of people out there ready to offer me any opportunities that were going to make me rich, somehow.”

“Never say never.” He took the drink out of her hand and rested it on the edge of the Jacuzzi. “Anyway, enough about that, I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he started nibbling her neck, “you are certainly getting under my skin, woman, do you know that? I think it must be time to dry ourselves off and adjourn to the bedroom, don’t you?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ll have a quick shower to get the chemicals off otherwise I’ll be regretting it later when I’m itching in my sleep.” He moved towards the steps. “Do you fancy joining me?”

“No, I’m fine, the chlorine doesn’t irritate my skin.”

He made his way to the shower room and closed the door behind him.

She quickly got out and reached for his phone resting on one of the wicker tables. She pressed use passcode and typed in the access number Henry had given her. Two-five-eight-zero.

Bingo!

She was in.

Thank you, Henry.