The Plan

2. Simon

SimonAfter a busy afternoon I was pleased with progress on the unpacking, but less impressed with myself for my regular glances back to that picture while I did it. Still, doing the work helped keep me occupied until it was time for dinner with my new neighbours. I managed to find a bottle of wine to take with me, and headed next door looking forward to the company and not having to cook. It turned out that Charlie was just as friendly as Mark and I instantly warmed to the pair of them. Mark was indeed a little older than me, and dark haired with a wicked sense of humour and ability to bring any conversation down to the lowest possible level. Charlie was blond and a bit younger, and also not only a fantastic cook but the far more mature and sensible one of the pair, although I got the distinct impression that his chiding of Mark for his risque jokes wasn’t all that serious.

The only downside I guess was their ease around each other and how happy they were. It reminded me of how that had been taken from me. They made every effort to include me and not be couply, but I couldn’t help remembering what had been and thinking how much I wanted that again. Of course then the picture of Greg floated back into my head and I had to stop myself drifting off yet again. The others noticed when I became distracted, and Mark finally asked me about it.

‘Sorry, I’m just thinking about work on Monday.’ Not a total lie, but it wasn’t the work itself that had my attention.

‘It must be a bit weird moving somewhere new then starting a new job straight away.’ replied Mark.

‘I don’t think I’ve got my head around it all yet. But I’m determined to have this as the start of my new life, no Ken and definitely no Pete, starting afresh. I just need to settle in and I’m going to need to empty all those boxes and get a few days at work under my belt before it will start feeling like home. I just hope I can cope with work.’

‘When you talked about it it sounded like you were doing something very similar to your old job, so I’m sure you’ll settle in fine. It’s more about meeting the new people than anything else.’

I went red without even realising. It was definitely the meeting new people bit, and the part of that (or possibly part of me) that was going to be hard was still weighing on my mind. Mark and Charlie looked at me puzzled. ‘I saw photos of my new colleagues earlier.’ I started to explain.

‘And they looked like some sort of swamp creatures?’ asked Charlie, laughing.

‘Most of them looked pretty normal, couple of obvious computer geeks. Only one really caught my attention. I think someone is playing a mean trick on me, because he looks like a living version of my best ever wet dream.’

They both started laughing at that, hopefully with me not at me. Mark chirped up first.

‘So you reckon working with the real thing is going to be pretty hard?!’ The emphasis on the word hard was not lost on me.

‘I appreciate your support! But seriously, yes, I am worried. If he looks that good in a photo I’m going to be drooling over the reality. I’m supposed to work with the guy, and all I’m gonna want to do is strip him naked. It doesn’t help that it’s been a while either.’

Charlie patted my back in a kindly gesture. ‘It will be okay once you meet him. You’re just working yourself up with nerves over the whole thing, and this is just one more idea your brain is putting out there to f**k you up.’

Mark spoke up then. ‘Why don’t we do what we said and go clubbing at the end of the week. Then you’ll have something to look forward to, and maybe ogling the guys there will help get your mind off anything else. And if you’re really desperate for a release I’m sure you’ll find someone there who takes your fancy.’

I pulled a face. ‘I’d love to go to the club, but random s*x isn’t my bag any more. Been there, done that, and although looking would be good, I don’t want to get into something that isn’t going to at least be an attempt at a relationship. I must be getting old!’

We all smiled at that, the two of them sharing a look that again made me ache for the connection you have to someone you love. Christ, it had been months, what was I doing still getting worked up over Ken? I hoped it wasn’t Ken himself, it was just the companionship (and of course the rampant s*x) that I missed. I guess I had lost that long before I even knew it because he was already sharing it with someone else.