This Time Around (14 page)

“Don’t you dare Liam. I swear to God, Liam. Liam Bradley. DO. NOT. DO. IT.” But it is no use, he isn’t listening to me. I look over his shoulder at the sound of screaming and see that Matt has Darla thrown over his shoulder. Adrian is carrying Claire bridal style just like Liam is me. It is funny to see the boys move with the flippers on their feet.

“Last chance, Roadie,” I shout at him, but he is just laughing. Thank the Lord that the flippers are slowing them down. I wriggle around in his arms trying to get free but it is no use, he has a good grip on me. A big scream echoes around the pool and I turn my head slightly, just in time to see Darla fly through the air and hit the water. A laugh bursts from me but it is cut short as I find myself being thrown through the air. I just catch a smirking Liam as I hit the water. The coldness takes my breath away as I go under. My bikini bottoms ride up between my bum cheeks.

Wedgie much.

I swim to the surface and gasp for air once I hit the top. I splutter and gasp. My hair is plastered to my face and I can’t see a thing. I tip my head back and slick my hair back away from my face. I am so going to make that man pay. Big time. Claire is to my left and Darla is to my right. All three of us glare at our men standing at the edge of the pool, smirking at us.

“They need to hurt … a lot,” Darla states. I nod in agreement.

“Fuck yeah they do,” Claire adds.

Rachel comes up behind Matt and puts her hand on his shoulder, her laughter can be heard in Wales, she is laughing so loud.

“I got the whole thing on video. Oh. My. God. That was hilarious. Best day ever,” she says betweens laughs. Darla nudges my arm and nods her head in the direction to Rachel’s side. I see two of the lads from the tattoo parlor come up to Rachel and grab her. Matt snatches her phone and starts recording her as the boys throw her into the pool with us. I shield my eyes from the splash she makes and laugh along with the girls. She shrieks when she comes to the surface, only making people around us laugh harder. I see that more people have their phones out, filming or taking photos of our little scene.

“Karma, bitch,” I snark, as I walk past her towards the pool steps. Darla and Claire laugh and then follow me out of the water. The boys have removed their stupid child accessories and are now sitting in the camping chairs. The kids are sitting nicely on the blankets eating the food we brought. Claire sits next to Jorja and ignores Ade when he tries talking to her. I sit at Liam’s feet and take a cheese and pickle sandwich out and start to eat it. I feel Liam touch my shoulder but I ignore him.

“Baby, are we okay?” he asks quietly. I turn and offer him a sweet arse smile.

“Withholding until further notice.” He gasps. I turn back around to see my sister sitting in Matt’s lap, him feeding her grapes.

“Hey, how the hell is this fair? Bambi is withholding se …” Liam cries, but Adrian cuts him off.

“And, she told me that I can’t touch her for seven days. Seven bloody days, people. How the hell am I going to cope?” Adrian whines. Claire winks at me and I stifle a giggle.

“Yeah, see. Bambi is withholding and yet look at him,” Liam points to Matt and Darla. Matt winks at the boys and Darla answers them.

“Lads, have you seen my husband? No way in hell am I punishing myself by not touching this fine specimen of a man. That is like grounding your kids. I am punishing myself by keeping them locked up in my house, where they can bug me more. Nope, not happening.” She winks at us girls and turns back to give Matt all of her attention.

“Penny. Babe. Bambi, come on it was just a bit of fun,” he whines from behind me. I feel his hands slip under my armpits and he lifts me into his lap. He nuzzles my neck, laying sweet kisses behind my ear. “You know it was a joke, right?” I twist my body so I can see him better.

“I know. I can take a joke, babe.” I move my mouth to his ear. “But remember I can play a joke also.” I kiss his neck, causing him to groan and his arms to tighten around me.

“I like you playing with me,” he says, and lays a kiss on my lips. His mouth slants over mine, he takes his time with me and I love this side to him. But I love the hard, fast Liam too. I lose track of time and get lost in my roadie.

“Ummmm hello. Kids in the room.” I break away at the sound of my daughter’s voice. I giggle and bury my head in Liam’s neck.

“But she tastes so good, sweetheart,” he says to Connie.

“Yeah, like strawberries, right?”

“Yeah, Con. Like strawberries. Just remember we are having a movie and junk food weekend. Knox is away with the school on a Geography trip. Are there any films you want me to pick up?” he asks.

“Anything with Zac Efron and Ryan Guzman in and you will have a happy girl. Oh and please bring Quavers,” she says, as she skips back over to the water.

“Is Knox okay with you spending the weekend with us?”

“Yeah, babe. He just said that we have to make it up to him when he comes home.”

“That’s only fair. We will all have to do something.”

“That would be nice, baby. He will love that,”

His words make me happy. He makes me happy. And having two happy kids makes me happy.

Hell, just call me Penny ‘Happy’ Miller.

“Okay, so please be safe and behave. This trip is a learning experience and not a chance to mess around just because you are away from home,” I tell Knox, as we walk into the school. He is going away with the school until Monday. I hate being away from him that is why I walked away from my roadie life.

“I know, Dad. I am rooming with Max, Alfie and Theo, so it will be fine. You know us four will behave,” he smiles sweetly at me. I believe him because it is the one thing I drummed into him, that lying to me is very bad and it upsets me when he does. I carry his duffle bag over my shoulder and watch as other parents walk in with their kids and their suitcases. Bambi came over last night and made sure that we had packed everything Knox would need. Seeing her with my son, helping him get ready for his trip, made my heart swell with love for her.

We walk over to the bus and I hand his bag to the driver who is storing everyone’s luggage under the bus. We walk to the bus door and I give him hug. I kneel down in front of him and hold him tight to my chest.

“I love you, Knox. Remember to have fun, but learn as well. Watch out for the boys and I will be here on Monday to pick you up.” I feel my throat tighten but I choke it down.

“Love you too, Dad. I will be fine, now go. Remember the DVD’s for Connie or she will be really moody.” I chuckle and let him go so he can climb onto the bus. I walk up the side of the bus, following him until he sits with Max. They both wave at me and I smile back at them. I feel a hand on my arm and I look down expecting to see Bambi but it isn’t. It is Cerys, one of the single mums in the school that has repeatedly tried to get me to take her out for drinks.

“Hi, Liam. He will be fine. My Alyssa is so excited for this weekend.” She leans in and lowers her voice. “But so am I, I get the whole house to myself. I am not sure what I will do with myself, all alone in the house,” she whines a little. I think she is trying to sound sexy,
but failing.

“I am sure you will find something to do, Cerys. I have to go, my plans are waiting at home for me.” I watch as the bus pulls away and walk over to my Jeep. I can hear Cerys’ flip flops come up behind me but I ignore her. I get to my car just as she reaches me. Fuck.

“Liam, why don’t we go out for a drink over the weekend? You can’t spend the whole weekend with that thing you call a dog. Be serious.” Did this tart just insult my dog? Ramsey may be small but he is a fierce little shit.

“Hey, leave Ramsey alone. He is wicked. Plus, he is not the only one I am spending the weekend with. I am spending the weekend with my girlfriend and her daughter. So really, I have to go. Enjoy the weekend.” I turn and open my car door but Cerys isn’t finished yet.

“Girlfriend? Since when? Do I know her?” She places a hand on her hip and angles it out. I picture Bambi doing that and she looked sexy as fuck, but Cerys? Yeah, not so much.

“Yes, girlfriend. I am seeing Penny Miller. Now if you will excuse me,” I try again, but damn it she is persistent.

“Penny? God, Liam you could do so much better. Have you seen her? I mean look at you and look at her.” Now that comment pisses me off. I turn my body so I am fully facing her. I see her step back a little, she must recognise the look on a man's face when someone insults his woman.

“Penny is perfect. She is perfect for me. And believe me, I have seen plenty of her and I like very much what I see. So again, if you will excuse me, my girls are waiting for me at home,”

“Girls? So you are Connie’s dad? Fuck, no wonder they kept it quiet.” Now that gets my attention.

“What do you know about Connie’s dad?”

“She hasn’t told you, has she?”

“What the
hell
are you talking about?” I spit out.

“Oh no. You need to talk to the perfect Penny. I am not getting involved in this shit. But just remember, that if things don’t turn out good for you two, you know where to find me,” she winks and walks away. Bitch. Am I the only one being kept in the dark about Connie’s father? This shit needs to get sorted out tonight. It is driving me crazy. I climb into my car and start it up. Music starts playing as my phone is connected to my car via the bluetooth. Asking Alexandria’s ‘Moving On’ plays through the car. This song. It hits home for me in so many ways. The lyrics are my life. I turn the volume up until the song is literally blasting through the speakers. I open the windows and let the song wash over me.

I had a hard a time on the road working as a roadie, the drinking, the drugs and the fucking women throwing themselves at me. I hit rock bottom and that is what lead me to Shelly, and in time Knox. But I believe he was brought into my life to save me. When I first laid eyes on him my heart tripled in size with love for him, and I knew that I had to change for him.

He saved me.

So who was I to not give him the best in life? And that is what I did; and still do. Pulling up outside Bambi’s house I park my Jeep and turn the engine off. I climb out of the car and go to the boot and pull out my bag for the weekend. I have one bag with everything I need and I have a separate bag full of junk food and DVD’s for the girls. Shutting the boot and walking towards the door I click the key and the door locks. I climb the small amount of steps and knock the door.

Hetch starts to bark from inside the house and I hear Connie tell him to ‘calm it’, I chuckle at her stern voice but the beast of a dog listens to her. The door swings open and Connie’s face lights up when she sees it is me.

“MUM! Liam is here,” she screams. “Morning, Liam. Oooo goodies.” She takes the bag from me and skips back into the house. I follow her in and shut the door behind me. I take in the house as I walk to the kitchen. I love seeing the baby photos of Connie. Seeing her change over the years. Fucking shit, I need to know if she is mine.

“Hey babe,” I say when I enter the kitchen. Bambi smiles at me as she flips the bacon in the frying pan.

“Morning.” I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her thin waist, leaning my chin on her shoulder. She is wearing an oversized shirt that falls off the one shoulder, leaving it bare and kissable. I place a kiss to her shoulder and watch as she moves the bacon around the pan. Bacon: the man's food.

“Knox leave okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, babe. He was so excited to go. I am glad that he gets to experience this, I never did when I was his age. My school did nothing like this. I think it’s good that they do and in the summer holidays as well. I think it helps break up the six weeks, you know?

“That’s fab. Same with my school, we never got to do anything.”

“Are you ready for this weekend? Are you ready to watch movies with the hot Zac Efron and the other guy that we are being forced to watch?” I say in a very preppy voice. “Shoot me now,” I say in my normal voice.

“I heard that,” Connie shouts from the living room. Bambi and me burst out laughing.

“She loves that boy more than me I think,” Bambi says.

“Not possible, babe.”

“Can you get some plates from the top cupboard, please? The cutlery is in the top draw. Do you want to eat out on the deck or stay in here?” she asks.

“Out on the deck. It is a nice day out. Come on. Connie, breakfast is ready,” I yell for her to join us. I help Bambi carry everything outside where we can enjoy a nice breakfast in the nice weather. I sit and watch the two of them interact in front of me and I can’t stop the smile growing on my face. I take a bite of my toast, taking in everything they are saying. They talk about school, the summer and boys. Wait what? Boys? Nope, not gonna happen.

“Whoa. Whoa who is this boy?” I ask them, sitting up straighter in my chair.

“Oh cool it, dude. His name is Lee, and he is only here for the summer.”

“How old is he?”

“Ten,” she says.

“Mmmm, not happy about you hanging around boys,” I say, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Well it’s a good thing that you have no say then,” she replies, adding a touch of attitude to her answer.