The Story Of Us - Jones Lesley. Страница 32

“Oh my God, I forgot to ask, how did your date go?” Jim squealed from her spot on the floor.

Bailey turned my head with his hands so that I was looking up into his face. “You finally back in the game and dating George?” I shrug and blush.

“Who was your date with G, anyone we know?”

“I told ya, she had a date with the bloke from the wine bar,” Jimmie replies to Len.

“What wine bar did you meet him in?” Bailey looks down and asks me.

“The one he owns,” Jimmie piped up again, I sat up straight.

“Fuck me George, you said that without moving your lips,” Bailey joked.

“Get you, going out with a bloke that owns a wine bar.”

“It’s a wine bar Len, not a rock band.”

Len raised his eyebrows at my remark. “I wasn’t being sarcastic George.”

I shrugged, I don’t know why I’d said that out loud but it was true, it was just a wine bar, nothing to do with a rock band.

“Which one?” Bailey asked. “Which wine bar does he own?”

“Kings,” I reply.

“You’re dating Cameron King, seriously, fuck George, does the old man know?” Lennon asks. How does he know Cam I wonder?

“You are kidding Georgia; you aren’t seriously dating Cameron King are you?’

“Yes, well no, I went on a date with him last night, he took me to dinner. How do you two know Cam?” Bailey is standing up now and standing over me and I don’t like the way this conversation is going.

“Georgia, everybody knows Cam, you do know who he is right?” I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. “Cameron King owns half of London and most of Essex, he’s partners with us in Kings but only because his wife’s sister sold us her share and he couldn’t do anything about it. Does Dad know? He’s dangerous George, I mean it, he’s fucking dangerous.”

Baileys pacing the floor in front of me, I don’t understand what his problem is; Cam’s a nice bloke, from what I know of him. Why didn’t he tell me he was in partnership with my Dad? Why the fuck didn’t he tell me he had a wife?

“He’s married?” I swear Jimmie could read my mind.

Bailey shook his head. “He was she’s dead.”

What the fuck?

“What, how did she die?”

Bailey scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “I don’t remember all the details, she was pregnant and it all went tits up, her and the baby both died, he was a mess, he was completely fucked up by it all, he’s only sorted himself out this last couple of years. Did you not know none of this?”

No I didn’t, he’d mentioned that he knew my Dad; surely he must have guessed that I would find out. Did he want me to find out like this? I felt a little hurt but then at the end of the day, I hadn’t been exactly forthcoming with the details of my past.

“It was our first date; it’s not exactly first date conversation is it?”

Bailey stops pacing and looks at me. “No sorry it’s not. Look George, I know this is bollocks but you really do need to stay away from him, he’s bad news, Dad will go mental and he’s way too old for you anyway.”

“How old is he?”

“You went out with him and you didn’t even know how old he was?”

I shrug and shake my head again. “Just tell me Bailey, how fuckin’ old is he?”

“I’m not sure, he’s older than me, I think he’s about thirty-five, thirty-six, too old for you and Dad will not be happy when he finds out, I’m not happy George.”

“What’s Dad’s problem with him?”

“Our paths have crossed his a few times, he owns a few bars and clubs, and he’s got quite a lot of fingers in quite a lot of pies. He owned Kings with his wife, and when she died it went to her sister, I forget her name but she’s a right bitch, hates him with a passion, and blames him for her sister’s death. Anyway, she got her sisters share of the club, King wanted to buy her out but she wouldn’t let him, she wanted to sell to anyone but him.” He shrugs. “She just wanted to fuck him over, we heard she was looking for a buyer, put in an offer and she took it but as part of the deal, we can’t sell on to him for at least ten years, he offered Dad all sorts but the club does well so why wouldn’t we want in, he made a few threats at first but he was such a mess at the time that we didn’t take them seriously. Anyway, he has nothing to do with the place, it’s his in name only, pretty much the same as us, we own it but the club runs itself. We have people we trust in there and no doubt so does he but I’m telling you now George, Dad won’t be happy if he finds out you’re seeing him.”

I don’t believe this, my brain is running in slow mode, I’m too stoned to think it all over right now, I slump back down into the sofa and let out a huff, Jimmie throws herself down next to me. “Well that’s fuckin’ bollocks, do you like him G? You seemed excited yesterday, about your date I mean.”

“Excited is pushing it a bit Jim, I fucked it all up anyway, he asked about what Lennon and Marley did for work and I went into meltdown.”

Jim takes my hand in hers. “Oh George, I am sorry, all this time. I really wish you’d talk to him George, you’re both so unhappy, if you’d just talk, even if you don’t get back together, you might at least sort out some of your issues so you can both move on.”

I look down at where our fingers are laced together; my other hand is at my necklace. “How is he Jim?” I’d never, not in almost four years, no matter how desperately I wanted to know, asked her this.

“He’s sad George, he gets on with his days, he writes songs that are so obviously about you, he drinks too much, he snorts too much Charlie, he smokes too much weed, he fucks too many women but all just to try and forget you.”

Lennon is listening to what we are saying, he passes the joint to me that he’s just fired up. “I really wish you two would talk before the wedding Porge, I don’t want the pair of you not enjoying the day because you’re worrying about the other one being there.”

“I’ll be fine.” I shrug. I won’t, I’ll be far from fine but I didn’t want Jim and Lennon worrying about how I’d be handling their big day.

“You’ve been sayin’ that for nearly four years G and look at ya, you’re skinny as fuck and still can’t bear to hear his name mentioned, this whole thing between the two of you is seriously fucked.”

Bailey is lying on the floor with his long legs stretched out in front of him and his head resting on the bean bag. “I’m sorry George, I didn’t realise you were still such a mess over Sean.”

“Shush!” Jimmie glared at Bails. “We don’t say his name when Georgia’s here.”

“You’re fuckin’ kiddin’ me right?” His eyes looked between all of us, I shook my head.

“We don’t say his name, we don’t talk about the band, and we don’t play music.”

Bailey was sitting up now with his elbows resting on his knees. “Why Porge, why?”

My eldest brother hadn’t been around to witness how close Sean and I had become over the years; he had no idea how deep our love had become. “Because I love him so much Bails, because it still hurts so fuckin’ much, because I am still, just barely hanging on.”

“Oh Georgia, I’m so sorry, I had no fuckin’ idea, I’m your big brother, I should’ve been here instead of letting Donna keep me away, I’m so fuckin’ sorry baby girl.” He pulls me down onto the floor, into his lap, everyone in the room is crying, everyone except me.

“What the fuck is that?” I ask as I hear a rumbling sound coming from outside, Bailey frowns.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh fuck.”

Lennon stands up and looks from me to Jimmie, she shakes her head slightly at him and they both sit down on the sofa. “Ha, it’s a bike, it must be Marley, fuck I can’t remember the last time we were all together.”

“Marley has a bike?” I ask, I know nothing about the life of the brother I was once so close to, I didn’t even know that he was in the country. I really need to start building bridges with him, there were less than three months until the wedding and I didn’t want any kind of an atmosphere between us on the day. I’d been thinking about this for a while now and if he was here now, well today was as good a day as any to make a start. The sound of the engine had gone quiet.