Yours Remotely

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

A week later, I went on my postponed date with Paul. We stuck to our original plan and went to the cinema. The film wasn’t the best choice for a first date - few men are a match for Johnny Depp, and Paul was no exception.

After the film, we went to a bar that we both regularly visited. If I hadn’t known it before, it was at this point that I realised we had nothing in common. Paul was into mountain climbing, I wasn’t. I was interested in music, Paul wasn’t. Paul preferred to eat in traditional steak and chips restaurants while I liked Italian and Mexican. I liked city breaks, Paul active sports holidays. We had nothing in common but s*x, or more to the point, the lack of it.

At the end of our date, Paul politely walked me to my door and didn’t even ask to come in. A couple of days later, he texted me, then a few days later he sent a couple more texts, and a few weeks later I did not hear from him again.

Soon after that, Sinead and Miguel’s three-month relationship came to an end when Sinead found out that Miguel had been seeing some Spanish girl behind her back. I spent the next couple of weeks comforting my heartbroken friend.

Around this time, Suse met one of her father’s business acquaintances. His name was Jonah, and from what I heard, he was an extremely talented young architect. Suse and Jonah’s relationship was passionate and loud, and I was glad that they spent most of their time in Jonah’s apartment, which he owned and was apparently very beautiful.

I had plenty of time to sit at home in front of the TV. I tried my best to avoid The Remotes’ songs both on the radio and TV, but as time went by, it got harder and harder. Once spring arrived, they released a new video, ‘Rushing Forward’, which preceded the upcoming album. The song was an instant hit. It was not as melancholy as ‘Jetlag’ nor as aggressive as ‘Liar’ but very catchy. The future seemed bright for The Remotes. My own only looked harrowing.

I had not told anybody about the events at the Victoria Hotel, not that I had much to tell anyway. I had lain low after it and blamed it on Paul. Sinead believed me because she thought I had been seriously interested in him. Suse had never even heard of Gary, so she swallowed my little white lie, hook, line and sinker.

These were the circumstances when I sat in the sitting room one Tuesday night. I had a cup of tea beside me on the table, and I had curled up on the sofa to read a women’s magazine that Suse left lying around. The sun was setting, and it was getting dusky in the room. I had left the radio on instead of the CD player, and the presenter was reading the seven o’clock news. The static of the radio told me that my phone was about to ring, and I grabbed it at the same time as the first tones of my ringtone blared out. The screen showed a private number. I still answered the phone without introducing myself. If someone was calling me, surely they knew who I was?

“Lea?” I heard a man’s voice at the other end. I was picking my brain for the name that I should have associated with the voice.

“Yes,” I said stupidly. Most people would say ‘speaking’, but not me.

“Lea,” he said again, sounding relieved. “Gary here.”

I dropped the magazine on the sofa and sprang to my feet. My heart was beating so fast it sounded like a herd of buffalo. How many Garys did I know? Ben had gone to school with a Gary. Sinead had a cousin called Gary. Lately, though, Gary had only meant one person to me. I was desperately trying to think of a response, which, luckily, he wasn’t expecting.

“Lea, will you let me in?”

He kept repeating my name; he must at least know who he was calling. Or maybe he was thinking about a different Lea, or thought somebody else was called Lea? What did he mean let him in? Let him in where? Where was he? What did he want?

“Are you going to let me in?” he repeated with a laugh.

“Yes, I… Hold on.”

I started running towards the door but then changed my mind.

“Hold on.” I didn’t know what I was doing. “Apartment 307.” I silently congratulated myself for saying something intelligent. Or had I? Maybe he wasn’t downstairs at all. f**k…

“307,” Gary repeated.

“Yes, hold on just one sec.”

Then I was stupid enough to hang up the call. I ran into the hall and pressed the button to open the front door. I ran back to the sofa and hid the magazine underneath. I grabbed my teacup and took it to the kitchen. After rushing back to the hall, I stopped in front of the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair. My t-shirt and jeans were OK, and my hair wasn’t too bad either, but I could feel my hands shaking. I took a deep breath and turned to face the door. My hands kept slipping on the safety latch - I hadn’t expected Suse back that night - and I turned the lock. Heart thumping, I pulled the door open.

It really was Gary Rock All behind my door. His left hand was leaning on the door frame, and his other hand was in his jeans pocket. He was dressed in a denim jacket with a grey t-shirt underneath. He looked like he was posing for a photographer, for a Top Ten Sexiest Men in the World feature in some women’s magazine. I realised I had stopped breathing.

“This won’t do at all,” Gary said, straightening up.

I was about to ask what he meant when he stepped towards me and said the same thing again, more to himself this time. Then he grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me against the wall. His lips were on mine, and I felt the cool wall behind my back. The door closed with a bang that echoed in the staircase outside. He must have kicked the door closed because his hands hadn’t left my shoulders for a second. His weight had me pinned up against the wall. His hands moved up beside me, and his curious tongue made its way into my mouth. When I recovered from my initial turmoil, I put both of my hands on his back. I decided to enjoy the moment while it lasted; Gary was not in the habit of sticking around.

I was right. He put some distance between our lips but didn’t move his hands or himself. I was still stuck between him and the wall – not that it felt like a trap to me at all.

“Where’s the nearest bed around here?” he asked, finally moving his right hand. His index finger followed the line of my upper lip.

If anybody else had said that, I would have laughed or possibly given the man a slap, but I found myself unable to do either. My hand crept around the corner to point at the door to my room. He nodded and nudged me towards the steps. I walked along the wall into the room, aware that Gary was only a step behind me. I stopped in the middle of the room and wished that it looked somewhat tidy. I heard the door click shut, more discreetly this time.

Gary stepped over to me. He looked into my eyes for a long time, so long that I wanted to look away but couldn’t. When he finally spoke, it was so quiet and in such an enticingly low voice that I wanted to scream.

“Lea, I’ve wanted you ever since I first saw you.”

I didn’t know what to say. It would have been a compliment from anybody, but I was not used to hearing it from up-and-coming rockers, and I had never heard it from anybody that I had wanted so badly. My knees felt weak, and I was unable to speak. Gary pulled me towards him and passionately kissed me again. Then he turned me around and wrapped his arms under my breasts, kissing my neck. Little by little, his hands made their way under my t-shirt, and in an instant, he had pulled it over my head. He threw it into a corner of the room where it landed on my dressing table, dangerously close to the vase with artificial flowers in it.

He turned me towards himself again and kissed me. Then he grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. The denim jacket was nowhere to be seen, but I wasn’t willing to take my eyes off Gary to look for it. He really was a sight for sore eyes. His body was perfect to my taste - slim yet muscular with a smooth chest. A tattoo of a roaring lion decorated his left shoulder. A dog tag hung from a silver chain around his neck.

Gary was quick in his movements, and soon, he had undone my bra and was pulling off my jeans. When he had got them off me, he threw them into another corner of the room, this time, treacherously close to a photo frame. He said nothing but guided me towards the bed where he gently pushed me to sit down and then towards the centre of the bed. Judging by his determination, he had decided to have s*x with me that night, whether I liked it or not. He didn’t need to ask.

* * *

It was dark in the room when I opened my eyes. Through the uncovered window, I saw a glimpse of a dark night sky. I shivered from the cold, and my sleepy brain realised that I was still naked. I started to remember the earlier events, and thinking them nothing but sexy dreams, I turned to look to my right. Gary was on his side, face towards me. His hair was spread on the pillow around his head, reminiscent of the lion on his tattoo. He looked so peaceful and relaxed. I had never believed in pinching to wake up from a dream, but for once, I thought it might have been a good idea.

Instead of pinching myself, I got up and pulled the blind in front of the window. The room went pitch-black, and I hit my thigh on the edge of the bed when trying to crawl back into it. I sensed more than saw Gary wake up. I got back into bed, and a few seconds later, he seemed to remember where he was.

“Do you want the light?” I asked, feeling silly.

“Why not,” I heard from somewhere beside me.

I fumbled around for the switch, and the room was filled with pallid light.

“I mean, I have something beautiful to feast my eyes on.” Gary had raised himself to lean on one elbow and was looking at me unashamedly.

For a while, neither of us said anything, but eventually, I had to speak.

“So, you didn’t expect me to turn you down then?” It was a question rather than a statement.

Gary laughed and ran his free hand through his hair. “Do you know what makes a man good in bed?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

I could think of a number of things that made a man good in bed, but nothing stood out.

“I’m sure I couldn’t give you the answer you want to hear.”

“I’m sure you couldn’t.” Gary paused for a moment, as if making me wait for his response.

“What makes a man good in bed is that he knows she wants him.” He looked at me expectantly.

“I didn’t say you were good in bed,” I objected.

“But you just said I hadn’t expected to be turned down.”

I realised that I had lost.

“That’s your definition, not mine,” I said with a shrug. Gary snorted dismissively.

“What are you doing here anyway? Apart from seducing women?” I asked after another short silence.

“A woman,” Gary replied, putting emphasis on the singular. “We have some time off. The album is almost finished, except some minor disagreements between the producers. They don’t need us for that, unless something needs re-recording. If something does have to be re-recorded, we’ll be notified immediately and we better get there and fast.” He paused for a moment. “To answer your question, there are two reasons. One is you, and the other one is Mick. Mick, not for the same reasons as you.” Gary grinned with a glance in my direction. “Mick’s my cousin. I’ve always spent a lot of time at his.”

“And what’s next? I mean, for the band?”

Gary sighed and threw himself onto his back.

“First get the album out, then a few small gigs, then probably our fourth single, then off to Europe for a while, then a proper tour after Christmas. Hopefully, that depends on the album sales.”

“Sounds tough. How do you deal with that?”

Gary crossed his hands on his chest and stared at the ceiling.

“This sounds like a cliché, but you deal with it when you’re with good friends and doing what you’ve always wanted to do.”

“And how long have you wanted to do it?”

“As long as I can remember. Then, when I was 15 and Mick 16, we found out that we were both into music and played guitar. We’ve played together ever since, and, finally, Mick moved to London. Then Jamie came along - I’d known him for years - then Alex joined us. That was three years ago.”

He paused again and laughed.

“You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve explained that to different magazines.” Then he turned towards me and asked, “Please don’t start acting like a reporter, will you? I really don’t want to answer the same questions for the 600th time.”

I shook my head. I had no need to pry into things that Gary didn’t want to talk about.

“How did you find me?” This question had been on my mind since he appeared on my doorstep.

“That was easy. I found out your address and phone number on New Year’s Eve.”

I thought about his answer for a while and probably looked lost because he continued, “You remember how Alex had taken my bag and I had lost my phone and you rang it?”

I nodded.

“You really weren’t a hard catch at all.” Gary grinned. “Maybe you didn’t even bother playing hard to get.”

I had to admit - out loud - that I hadn’t thought it necessary.

Gary frowned. “What do you mean not necessary?”

I had to laugh. “It never crossed my mind that you’d be interested.”

Gary looked awkward and stared at the sheet for a moment. “Well, I guess I was trying not to act interested. It was a difficult time…” He paused. “When I met you, and for a while after, I was with someone… Things were bad. It was complicated. We had no future, but she didn’t want to break it off, and it just went on and on. And in the end, I had to finish with her.”

Gary looked wistful for a moment, then looked up at me and smiled. “And now you think that all that time I just wanted to get to bed with someone else. It wasn’t like that, and not just anyone’s bed, but yours.” He shifted closer to me. “Let’s not talk about that. How about we cut the chatter and up the action?”

He moved on top of me, and his n*****s searched for mine while his face inched closer to mine. My response was nothing but a mumble when he kissed me intensely.

* * *

I woke up to the bed quivering. I opened my eyes and noticed that it was getting brighter in the room. I sat up and looked at Gary sitting on the edge of the bed. He was tying his shoelaces with his back towards me. He noticed that I was awake and glanced at me over his shoulder before focusing on his laces again.

“I’ve got to go,” he said.

“But…” I started looking around for my phone or anything that would tell me the time.

“It’s half-past six,” Gary said, putting his foot on the floor. “It’s still quiet, nobody needs to know where I’ve been.” He stood up and bent over me. “Nobody needs to know,” he whispered, running his hand up and down my ribs. He kissed my lips and straightened up. He backed a couple of steps, eyes still on my face, and then turned towards the door.

The door snapped closed, and a few seconds later, I heard the apartment door close behind him, so much quieter than the night before.

* * *

Later that day, I was having lunch with Sinead. She had ordered a bottle of water and a baked potato with a green salad. No filling, no fat, and probably no taste either. She was glaring at my bacon and egg sandwich as if afraid it might attack her. To her horror, I had also got a bag of crisps and a cappuccino that was accompanied by a little piece of chocolate.

“You look as if you’ve swallowed a lemon,” Sinead said after we had consumed some of our meals in silence. “What’s up?”

I thought for a moment. Sinead was my best friend, and she had a right to know. On the other hand, she loved gossip, and I had kind of promised not to tell anybody… But if I didn’t tell anybody, I would go crazy.

“Well, it’s just…” I thought about it again, but I still decided that I would have to tell her. I just didn’t know how to put it. “I sort of slept with Gary last night.”

A look of disbelief crept up on Sinead’s face.

“You slept with him!” she shrieked out loud.

The other customers in the café turned to look at us, some disapprovingly and others curiously. My cheeks went red, and when Sinead realised how much attention she had drawn to us, she went red too.

“You couldn’t have said it any louder, could you? I’m not really supposed to tell anybody, and then you go and shout about it to a full café.”

“Sorry,” Sinead said, toying with her serviette. “It was just such a surprise. A shock even.” Then she waved her hands about in excitement. “Tell me, tell me everything!” She tapped the table.

In a voice as quiet as a whisper, I told her everything I thought decent - that he was a great kisser, had a great body and that we’d had a great time.

“Come on, spit it out, a little more detail.” Sinead wiggled her eyebrows.

“That’s as much information as you’re going to get. Only cheap women kiss and tell.”

Sinead looked disappointed but sighed submissively. “Alright then. Will you see him again?”

I shrugged. I had no answer. More than likely, Gary would have no time to see me in the near future - if ever.

“Lea, don’t take this the wrong way, but why you? Or do you think he has a woman in every town? Isn’t that how celebrities-” Sinead shut up when she saw my offended look.

“Can he not just genuinely like me?” I asked although I didn’t even believe it myself.

Sinead sighed and shoved a forkful of potato into her mouth. Then she waved her fork in front of her face. “Promise me something, Lea.”

I looked at her.

“Promise me that you’ll not fall for that man. s*x is s*x, but if you want anything more from him, I guarantee you that you’ll end up getting hurt.”

She didn’t expect a reply, which was just as well. I couldn’t have given her a promise I would be sure to keep.