In The Heat Of Passion - Unfinished by Sophie J Brain (fun books to read for adults .TXT) 📕

had been said.

Had there been someone else? And if there had why wasn’t he with that person?

Tom had always been a womaniser and Chris had always been the one who wanted to settle down. It seemed that recently their roles had shifted; Chris went home with more women than Tom did. It was more than concerning, not because it was impossible for people to change, but because the change in question was so unnatural.

At least with Chris in Didcot over the New Year, Tom could go out without worrying about him. Besides he hadn’t forgotten that it had been two years since his first kiss with Chelle. Their stupid fight in the kitchen, what had he been thinking? He should never have kissed her, no that wasn’t true, he should have told everyone the truth about them at the time. If he had then they wouldn’t have broken up, but it was too late for what ifs, Chelle was married and that was that.

“I can’t change your mind?” Chris asked.

Tom shook his head, and against his better judgement murmured “give Chelle my love.”

 

Michelle looked out at the children playing in the local park as she walked home from the gym. She smiled softly and patted her pathetically thin stomach. She hated going to the gym, it just reminded her of how slim she was. Not that being slim was a bad thing, generally it was what people wanted. It was usually what she wanted, but not so much anymore. What Chelle really wanted now was a baby, was that too much to ask?

She sighed angrily to herself as walked into the town centre. It seemed like it was too much to ask of her husband, who insisted they were still too newlywed, but she wanted a baby.

She didn’t care that social conventions says that they should wait or that she was still quite young. She wanted a baby so much, she felt like she had been ready for years. Paul said he didn’t know when, if ever, he would want a child. Perhaps it’s something that they should have discussed before getting married.

She hadn’t been too bothered when they had got married but it had suddenly hit her a few months back like a thunderbolt. She wanted a baby, she couldn’t explain why. There was no point discussing with Paul though, she knew he wouldn’t be interested. They had had more than one argument about it. She couldn’t be bothered to keep having the same fight.

Maybe she was being unfair to Paul, just because she was ready for a child it didn’t mean that he had to be as well. She was only twenty six; there was lots of time for her to have a child.

She popped into the supermarket and grabbed a few bottles of wine for that evening. She was going to her parents’ house as was tradition but she always tried to bring something with her. She groaned as she caught her reflection in the shop window, she looked terrible. She wasn’t sure when it had happened but since getting married she didn’t seem to take as much notice of her appearance. She knew didn’t look dreadful but there was a certain flare to her that had gone. Why she was so bothered about it nine months after getting married she had no idea.

Michelle paused to look at herself again, or maybe she did have an idea but didn’t want to admit it. She hadn’t seen Tom more than briefly since the wedding but he was probably going to be there that night. He always came to her family’s New Year’s Eve parties.

She thought back to three years before where they had had their first kiss and smiled. She had never felt passion like it with anyone else, not even with Paul. She shook her head, knowing she was being unfair, and walked the rest of the way home.

 

Hours later the party was in full swing, Michelle had done herself up better than she had in months and she was feeling good. She sat down next to Chris and looked at the clock with a frown, it was getting late, when would Tom get there? There wouldn’t be much of the party left if he was much later.

“What are you looking at?” Chris asked.

She snapped her attention to him and tried to act causal “just wondering if Tom is all right, he should have been here by now.”

Chris raised his eyebrows “I thought you knew, he isn’t coming tonight.”

Michelle blinked “he isn’t, but he always comes.”

“I don’t know what to say” Chris shrugged “he said he didn’t want to come. Why are you so bothered anyway? I didn’t know you were close friends.”

Michelle smiled “well, we aren’t really, I was just thrown as he comes every year.”

“Well, I guess he is getting older now, he needs to do his own thing” Chris murmured with a shrug before walking to speak to a friend.

Michelle turned to look at the clock again, how could Tom not be coming? She had been looking forward to clearing the air. She missed the old friendship they used to have and she wanted to find a way back to it. Tom had been part of her life for so long it felt odd for them not to be speaking.

“What you doing skulking in the corner?”

She looked up and smiled at Paul as he sat down beside her “I’m not skulking just thinking.”

He sighed “is this about the baby?”

“I didn’t know there was one” Michelle replied angrily as she stood and walked to the kitchen.

Paul followed her “you know what I mean, we have discussed it over and over.”

“Then why do you need to bring it up again?” she snapped “I want one, you don’t, what else is there to say?”

Paul sighed “I just don’t understand your urgency.”

“I just want a baby, a child, that’s all” Michelle sighed “I can’t explain it, I just need it.”

Paul sighed again, “well, why don’t we start trying and see what happens.”

Michelle knew she should be happy, it was what she wanted and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was doing it for her. What if they had a child and Paul didn’t want anything to do with it? What if he abandoned her or resented her for pushing him into a decision he wasn’t ready for.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

Paul nodded “all I want is for you to be happy.”

 

Tom looked around the pub as he tried to find the right woman to pick up. He had been there for way over an hour but no one had really stuck out to him yet. Maybe he just wasn’t that interested deep down. He couldn’t get his mind of Chelle.

Was she asking about him? Was she upset that he hadn’t gone to the party? Could he still get there?

Well he knew the answer to the last one, had had way too much to drink to drink and he didn’t think there was a bus.

He sighed, he should have just gone to the party, and they could have cleared the air and moved on. So he had declared his love and she had shot him down, maybe they could go back to being friends.

As he turned back to the bar a girl took his eye, she was sat alone with a bottle of wine but there was only one glass.

She had black hair that looked soft but was slightly out of place. He imagined that she always had trouble keeping it from falling out. She looked up and caught him looking at her, damn he would have to go over now. He waved and walked over to her.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked “hard to find a table, it’s a bit cramped.”

She smiled “you didn’t seem to mind for the hour or so you have been here, but all right.”

He raised his eyebrows as he sat down “well done.”

She licked her teeth “I know the game you are playing, should I be happy that I won?”

He laughed, there was some spark this girl. “what’s your name?”

“Do you care?” she asked “surely I will be just a forgotten face tomorrow?”

Tom knew she was joking but he couldn’t get the serious note from his voice as he replied “I never forget a face.”

She heard the tone in his voice and replied “likewise.” It was just one word but there was a world of history behind it.

“I’m Tom Robson” he murmured.

She blinked “have we met before? I swear I know the name.”

“I would have remembered” he smiled.

She smiled back “yes, I suppose I would have to.”

He grinned as he sat back in his chair “so what brings you out on your own today?”

“Honestly, I didn’t want to be at home, my parents are upset about a friend of theirs, who passed a few months back” she replied “I did not like him, so I had to escape.”

Again there was a world of history behind her words “and what is your name?”

She flashed a smile “wouldn’t you like to know, so what brings you out tonight?”

“I was invited to a party that I didn’t want to go to” he answered “well I didn’t want to see some of the people who would be going.”

She raised her eyebrows and murmured “someone you love?”

Tom smiled weakly, he hadn’t been prepared for a long discussion about his love life. He had only sat down with her to try and take her home; he didn’t want a deep conversation.

“Sorry” she murmured “I could tell by your words, there is someone I wouldn’t want to see either.”

“So, who do you love?” he asked.

“Loved” she replied “well at least I think it’s past tense, it was years ago at least, how long have you loved her?”

“Years as well” he answered “what will you do with the rest of your evening?”

She shrugged “I will have to go home at some point, don’t want my parent’s worrying.”

“Can’t tempt you to keep me company then?” He had to ask, even though he knew her answer.

She smiled and stood up “I had better not, see you around maybe Mr. Robson.”

He watched her leave, finished his pint and slowly walked home. He spent the rest of the evening alone with a bottle of whiskey.

Chapter Ten

 

Chapter Ten

24th October 2011, 10 months later

 

Tom looked at his watch and sighed, Chris was late again. That made it the sixth Sunday in a row where Chris had been late to meet him. Usually it wouldn’t be worth commenting on except that Chris tended to be freakishly early. Truthfully he had been worried about Chris for a while now, his drinking had increased drastically.

Chris had always been the sensible one and Tom had been wild, now the roles seemed to have reversed. Chris had been on a slow decline since ending his engagement three years prior but Tom hadn’t really noticed it too much until now.

There was something Chris wasn’t saying, Tom knew there was but he could only question so much. The engagement to Maisy had been years in the making and its abrupt end was puzzling. There had been some talk of someone in Crowmarsh but Chris hadn’t been overly forth coming.

Tom watched as the door of the café