The Mighty Storm

Chapter Eight




Will’s at the door with a bottle of wine in his hand, looking as handsome as always.
“Hey,” he says pulling me into his arms, he kisses me firmly on the mouth.
“Hey yourself,” I smile up at him.
He releases me and I walk back down the hall and into our living room. Simone’s out with her work colleagues tonight so it’s just me and Will, and I have big plans of seduction for him, and then to tell him about working for Jake and the tour.
“Are you ready to eat now? Dinner’s ready.”
“Definitely, I’m starving .What are we having?”
“Lasagne,” I answer heading for the kitchen.
Will follows me into the kitchen and sets about opening the wine, while I dish up the lasagne.
I carry both our plates through to the living room, putting them down on the coffee table, while Will brings through the wine.
I sit down on the floor and Will sits opposite me.
I take a sip of my wine, watching Will as he tucks into the lasagne.
“This is good,” he says. “You make the best lasagne ever.”
“Thank you, baby.”
Seeing as though he’s happy with my culinary skills I decide to tell him about the tour now.
I spoke to him this afternoon on the phone, he’d called when I was out at lunch so I called him back. For some reason I didn’t tell him I’d had lunch with Jake. I think mainly it was because I would have had to tell him about the tour and I wanted to do that tonight. He did quiz me about my night with Jake though, naturally, which I also downplayed quite a lot.
He scoffed when I said we’d been to Pizza Hut. It really annoyed me to be honest, he can be such a snob at times, so I didn’t even bother to explain the relevance of it to Jake and me.
“So I was … um … offered this amazing opportunity at work today.”
“Oh yes?” he says, forking lasagne into his mouth.
“Well … Jake … Wethers has asked the magazine to cover his official biography … and well … he’s asked me to write the bio.”
“Really? That’s wonderful news,” he says.
“Yes it is. But … um … the other thing is that to do so I’ll have to go on tour with the band, you know to follow Jake around, write about the tour and the band. Especially as it’s their first tour without Jonny.”
Will’s brows knit together. “So you’re going on tour with Jake Wethers?”
“Yes, and the rest of the band.”
“So my girlfriend – my very beautiful girlfriend is going on tour with a bunch of musicians, one of whom is Jake Wethers, the notorious womaniser.”
“Yes,” I say, mildly. “But what Jake is or isn’t is, is of no relevance to me.”
“Even though you used to be best friends growing up.”
“Which was twelve years ago.”
But doesn’t feel like Jake and me have been apart at all, we’ve fallen back in line with each other with such ease. I omit that though.
“And if I said I didn’t want you to go …”
“Well I kind of hoped you wouldn’t want me to go but…”
“You’d still go anyway.”
“Yes. It’s an amazing opportunity for me, Will.”
“Hmm.” He nods. “So how long would you be gone?”
“The tour’s for seven weeks in total, with a two week break after the first three in Europe. Then it’s four weeks in the US and Canada, then done.”
“So you’ll be gone for three weeks to start with.” He sounds unhappy.
I nod. “But I will do my best to get home if I can.”
“And you’ve already said you’ll definitely do it?”
“Yes. The magazine really needs this. And this is a published book I’m talking about here, writing a book on a band like The Mighty Storm will be huge for my career. It could open up all kinds of doors for me.”
“But why ask you? You’ve never wrote a book before.”
Wow, thanks for the support.
“No, but I have been writing for a long time, and there is first time for everything, Will. You know maybe Jake actually thinks my writing is good, and he’s a good friend so he thought he’d help me out by giving this opportunity to me. You know supporting me in my career – which was what I was kind of hoping you would do.” I drop my fork onto my plate with a clatter.
“Sorry,” he backtracks. “I am supportive and I’m pleased for you, it’s just a little out of the blue, and I’m sad that I’m going to have to be without you for such a long time.”
Sighing, I get up, and walk around to him and sit in his lap. He puts his fork down on his plate and wraps his arms around me.
“The time will fly by, baby,” I say, kissing his cheek. “And then I’ll be back home and everything will be back to normal. Except I’ll be writing a book.” I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
Will touches my face, brushing my hair back. “I am really pleased for you, darling. I’m just going to miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
He leans in and presses his lips to mine. He tastes of red wine and lasagne.
I wrap my arms around his neck kissing him back. I part my lips and his tongue moves in my mouth.
I turn in his lap so I’m straddling him, kissing him still. He groans in my mouth.
Normally when Will makes that sound it really turns me on, but for some reason I don’t feel as turned on.
I push myself closer to him, trying to ignite a fire in my belly.
I feel Will get hard beneath me. He puts his hands on my ass, and pulls me hard onto him.
But still nothing is happening for me.
I’m probably just tired, and overwhelmed with everything that’s happened over the last few days. I’ll get turned on any second now, I’m sure of it.
But I don’t feel any different when he’s leading me into my bedroom, and undressing me, and making love to me. And I can’t for the life of me figure out why not.


It’s half ten when Adele starts singing, telling me I have a text. I must change my ring tone.
Will is already asleep. He fell asleep pretty much right after we made love, but I’ve been laid here for ages unable to sleep watching the TV in my room with the sound low.
I whip my phone up off my nightstand, silencing it. Then I see the text is from Jake. My heart jumps in my chest.
With nervous fingers, I open up the text:

So I’m sitting here bored shitless and I was thinking about that time when we blew off school, when it was that mad heat wave that one summer, and we took the train to Hebden Bridge so we could go swimming in Lumb Falls … do you remember?

Smiling at the memory, I climb out of bed, pulling my dressing gown on and I go into the kitchen, taking my phone with me. I put the kettle on to make a tea. While it’s boiling, I type a text back:

Of course I do! That was such a fun day, well until you dared me to jump off the high rocks, and I did and when I resurfaced I’d lost my bikini top and you had to go diving for it!

Laughing to myself I press send. I put my phone onto vibrate so not to disturb Will, then get a cup out of the cupboard and drop a teabag in it. My phone vibrates in my hand:

That’s what I was remembering ;)

My face flushes red. Is he flirting with me? I instantly type back:

Perv! I was only thirteen!

My phone vibrates immediately:

So was I. x

He put a kiss at the end. I grab the milk out of the fridge and type back a reply.

You’re still a perv ;) Seriously though, I did just want to say thank you again for lunch. I’ve never quite had a lunch like it before.

I hover my finger over the send button. Then I go back and add a few kisses then press send.

Me either. I’ll miss u while I’m gone. Be good. x

He’ll miss me? And he’s telling me to be good. When am I never good? I hold the phone to my chest, contemplating texting him back.
Unable not to, I quickly tap out a text:

I’ll miss u 2. And fyi, I’m always good. It’s you that needs to learn the meaning of the word. x

It’s a minute before he replies:

I’m starting to. x

I stare at my phone for a while, confused, until the kettle boils bringing me round.
I make myself a cup of tea and take it back to bed with me. I climb in bed beside Will. He groans and rolls over in this sleep, facing me.
I look at him and sip my tea, then it hits me why I didn’t feel turned on before with Will.
Because of Jake. Because I can’t stop thinking about him.