Wayward Son (Jensen Family #3) (29 page)

“We’
ve be
en
together on and off since I was
a teenager
, it’s only the last five years or so that we’ve actually been in a
relationship. I knew early on that she was the one but I refused to be a one
woman man, I wanted to play the field
. B
y the time I was your age,
I’d been with
around a hundred
women. Suzie knew I wasn’t ready and
refused to make our relationship a full time thing until I grew up and she was
right, my infidelity would have torn us apart and we wouldn’t have the
relationship we do if it wasn’t for h
er
.
”

“I don’t have that problem. I generally only have one girl on the go at a
time these days. It was different when I lived with Mum, I was different. I’ve
changed, I know what I want, I seem to be able to think clearly now that I
don’t have all the ange
r issues clouding my vision. I
want Angel. I want to have the sort of relationship you have with Suzanne and I
think I’m capable of it now.”

“Yeah, I think you probably are
,
” Paul nodded
.
“Come on,
people are going to think we’re arguing if we stay in here
much longer
.
”

“Thanks for believing me when I told you I’d done nothing wrong
.
”

“Even when you were a pain in the arse and getting arrested every five
minutes you were always honest about what you’d done
,
so believing you is easy. I could tell
just from t
he expression on your face that you were
innocent
.
”

“Thanks all the same. I’m going to shoot into town after work so I’ll be
a little late back
.
”

“No problem
.
”

Gavin did his stint at work, helping Liana through her swimming lesson
then he called into a loc
al mobile phone shop and
purchased a new phone with the intention of giving it to Angel the next time he
saw her. He spent the evening with Novak and James at the nearby bowling alley.
Novak had borrowed one of Paul’s cars while Gavin was at work to take K
iera home
,
so it turned into a real boy’s night
out leaving Gavin happy and slightly inebriated upon climbing into bed.

Having always been a reasonably early riser, Gavin was up, dressed and
had had breakfast long before either of his friends began to stir
. After cleaning the pool, therefore avoiding a nagging
from Paul, Gavin decided to tackle his dirt covered car. He was on his knees
beside the car cleaning the dirt Angel’s wet and dirty clothing had left on the
passenger seat when Novak shoved him.

“Arse
hole
.
” Gavin swung an arm backwards,
connecting with Novak’s knee
.

“Twat
.
” Novak replied
grabbing Gavin’s hand and hauling him to his feet
.
“James and I are going to pick up the
girls and head into town, do you want to come?”

“Nah, I’ve got to do the car,
besides, with you
two all loved up it’s hardly going to be a barrel of laughs for me is it?”

“Guess Not. I asked your Dad if it was ok for me to stay for the week, he
seems fine with it. I may even sort out getting another car.”

“Cool
,
” Gavin grinned
.
“It’
ll be
good to have you around
.”

“I know
,
” Novak laughed,
bigging himself up
.
“Plus it gives
me some more time to work on Kiera
.
”

“Ultimately though, this thing with Kiera isn’t going to go anywhere if
you intend going home eventually
,
” Gavin pointed
out

“It’s early days bro, I like her a lot but before I can offer her
anything in the way of a relationship, I’ll have to end things with the girl I
have back home, that shouldn’t be a problem though, it’s going nowhere fast
,
” Novak admitted.

“I told you, no b
ouncing on then off again
,
” Gavin warned.

“I’m not, honestly, I think we can make this work despite the distance,”
he shrugged
.
“We’ll see
.
”

“Just don’t involve me
.
”

“Of course I won’t. Have you heard from Angel?”

“No, not a word
.
” Gavin gruffed.

“So, why
don’t you call her?”

“I don’t want to push things, she’ll call me when she’s ready
,
” he said, making an effort to sound
more confident than he felt.

Novak wrapped an arm around Gavin’s shoulder
.
“It’ll be ok you know, everything will
work out
,
”

“I wish I w
as so sure...” Gavin stopped when
Novak’s phone rang.

“Gotta go
,
” Novak told his
friend
.
“We’ll pick
this up later
.
”

“Sure
.
” Gavin answered
and returned to his car.

“Mum?” Angel called as she reached the bottom of the stairs
.
“Would you mind dropping me o
ff at Gavin’s on your way to work?”

“No problem
.
” Linda replied
.
“Shouldn’t you call first and make sure
he’s home?”

“I want to surprise him. Someone will be home even if he’s not, I can
always wait there
.
”

“Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“I’m a bit sore b
ut I’m fine, I even found some
foundation that hides the bruises on my face
,
” she smiled
.
“And if I wear my baseball cap it’s
hardly noticeable that I’ve put my make up on with a trowel
.
”

“You really want to see him?” Linda laughed at her daughter’s descri
ption of her makeup.

“I really, really want to see him
,
” Angel confirmed
.
“He’s the one
,
” she said more quietly.

“I had the feeling he might be
.
” Linda hugged her daughter
.
“At least we
won’t have to worry about whether or not he’ll look after you, he’s al
ready proved himself more than capable of that.”

Pulling into the Jensen driveway, both women caught their breath at the
sight of the youngest Jensen male. In the middle of a session of wax on, wax
off on his car, the wire for his headphones stretching fro
m the rear pocket of his jeans up his naked back and into
his ears, Gavin was oblivious to their arrival and could be seen moving his
cleaning cloths in time to the beat that pounded through his head.

“Don’t take this the wrong way sweetie but he really is
a sight for sore eyes
,
” Linda blushed slightly.

“Mum!” Angel pretended to be shocked
.
“How could you?” she giggled
.
“He is pretty
though.”

“I can look
,
” Linda
protested, laughing with her daughter
.
“The girls at work have a manic preening session the ten minutes before
Gavin is due in, it’s most amusing
.
They all sit there and go
Hi Gavin
,
while fluttering their eyelashes and
pouting
.
H
e doesn’t even appear to notice their
efforts which is even more
amusing. They are
disappointed every tim
e he walks by them with just a Hello l
adies
.
”

“At least I know he isn’t flirting with anyone at work.” Angel leaned
over and kissed her mother’s cheek
.
“Thanks for the
lift, see you later.”

Walking up the side of
the Supra, Angel waited
for Gavin to notice her. He was waxing the bottom of the passenger door, bent
over, the skin stretched over his back, muscles moving with every swipe of his
cloth.

Rubbing off the wax that had dried to a haze, leaving a beautiful sh
ine, Gavin noticed a pair of bright red Converse. He
straightened up
,
a smile
spreading across his face as he removed his headphones.

“Hi
,
” he greeted
her, she stepped forward
.
“Don’t touch
me, I’m sweaty and probably smell a bit
,
” he warned. Angel ignored
him, placed one hand
in the centre of his chest and pressed her lips firmly to his before stepping
back again.

“Hi
,
” she grinned.

Gavin ran his tongue over his lips, tasting her
.
“Not that I mind in the slightest,” he
said
.
“But what was that for?”

“I jus
t wanted to show you that I’m grateful
for everything you did the other night and hopefully that also goes somewhere
near an apology for getting you arrested
.
”

“I’ve already told you that wasn’t your fault. I’m fine about it. How are
you?”

“I’m ok
,
I didn’
t bruise as bad as I thought I would. Is it ok if I hang
out with you today?”

“Of course
,
” he replied,
unable to stop smiling.

“Can I do anything?”

“You could grab my speakers from the garage and plug my iPod into them, I
think it’s about to die
.
”

“So I ge
t to grope your bum?” she jested, he
turned his back on her and stuck out his denim clad bottom.

“Grope away, I’ll try not to enjoy it too much.” he told her
.
“I’m nearly done here, I’ll have to
grab a quick shower then I’m all yours for the day.”

While Ga
vin was finishing his car, Angel coiled
the hose and put the Hoover and buckets in the garage, leaving him to put away
the rags and the wax.