The Date

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Kate

The room was designed in a Greece styled stone pool, there was white sofas and chairs around the room with candles and waiters handing out champagne to the guests. The pool was all around the room with shallow sides where the water gets deeper in the middle so as you walk around your feet are always in the water. I've never seen anything like it.

"So, you and my brother ha!" Lilly said laying on one of the beds with her eyes closed as soon as the therapist had finished putting the mask on her face.

"Yep" I replied. Without Jay here I didn't really know what to say.

"What is it that attracts you to him?" she asked just as Gemma laughed from the pool "Lilly!"

"What I'm allowed to ask that" she shrugged pulling herself up to look at us.

"There are a lot of things really. He's sweet and kind. He treats me right and makes me laugh" some of that was more true than others but they were the main attractions I imagined making girls want to be with someone.

"Jay makes you laugh? How?" Lilly looked puzzled.

"Lilly don't be mean about your brother" Sally said sitting on her chair next to Lilly. She seemed like a lovely lady but I wasn't sure what she thought of me. From stories people told the son's Mother isn't meant to like the girlfriend in fear of taking him away from her.

"Mother he's not here, you don't need to stand up for him. You know Jay isn't the funniest of people" she laughed drinking in her champagne. It was true Jay didn't say or do things that made to laugh. He wasn't the joking kind of guy.

"Don't you find him too serious sometimes?" Gemma asked laying on the shallow floor of the pool, looking up at us. I was quiet for a moment as I thought of something a devoting girlfriend would say.

"Sometimes... but I guess he's only like that when he feels pressured into being someone he isn't... at work" I said as everyone looked my way silently. "I think he feels like he always has to do that right thing and I guess I don't put pressure on him and he doesn't feel the need to be perfect around me. God knows I'm not perfect" A little laugher lighted my lips as I took a sip of my drink.

"It seems you know my son better than us all Kate" Silly said with a poker face expression. I couldn't tell if she was happy about that statement or confused.

"I'm not saying that..." I tried to say before she interrupted.

"Maybe you do know him like you say you do" I felt a 'but' coming, like 'but I know better or but I'm his mother' or something but nothing came.

Maybe I said too much or not the right thing but no one said anything. They all went back to relaxing around the pool as I felt like I was lying on a bed of nails.

I hope Jake was having a worst time than me right now, I could help thinking.

Jake

It was four o'clock and the sun was still high in the sky. The boys and I played golf all afternoon and I was exhausted. I was a big guy, I looked after myself pretty well because my job but you put an Irishman in the hot sun for more than four hours and he's going to need a drink!

"So Connor. How you feeling? You're looking a little tired there?" Chris said jokingly.

"Who me? No I'm fine but Karl here doesn't look too good, I've never seen a guy's head to be a red"

"It's just sun burned" Karl said a little out of breath making us all laugh. We were all passed out on the sofas in the hotel bar when the waitress came over with our beers, I've never seen all of us move so quickly to grab a drink.