“Ladies, Gents….& Kerrbox” he started. Everyone laughed “I know Whip over there has thanked these gorgeous two girls over here for tonight. Thanks ladies” He looked over at me & Charlie stood at the side of the stage.
“In fact” he continued “I just wanted to add something. Alex, will you join me for a minute” He held out his hand and motioned for me to walk over and join him at the front of the stage. My heart was pounding. He took my hand in his
“Alex, I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. You are an amazing woman. I’ve laughed with you and I’ve cried with you. You astound me every single day and I’m so glad that you agreed to be my girlfriend. I’ve never felt like this about anyone and until recently I didn’t realise how much a part of my life you’ve become. You are the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thing on my mind at night. I want to wake up with you by my side every day. I wanted to tell you – in front of all my closest friends – that I Love you Alex”
He raised my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckle. Tears were streaming down my face. My heart was pounding, for a second I thought he was going to propose. He pulled me close and kissed me. Twirling me round on the stage. I could hear the cheers and whistles from the crowd but the faces were all a blur. Whippet took back the microphone and brought the evening to a close. It was finally time for me & Charlie to be off-the-clock and start to enjoy ourselves. Mouse had a bottle of Champagne on order chilling behind the bar. We all walked over and began the celebrations, there was a disco on with a DJ so the partying went on into the early hours.
The next morning, I felt like death but there was a warm feeling in my heart. The combination of too much champagne, the dancing and the relief that the night was a success had clearly gone straight to my head. I’d never had someone declare their love for me in front of such a crowd. My ex had been totally un-romantic – I was lucky if he bought me flowers for Valentines. Declaring his love in such a public display would never had entered his head. I laid in bed, scared to lift my head from the pillow for fear of the sledgehammer knocking it back down. I opened my eyes and saw Itchy fast asleep beside me. It wasn’t often that I got to watch him sleep. It was a rarity that he wasn’t working or training early so I just looked at him. He looked even more adorable this morning – or maybe that was just the champagne goggles?
“Morning, gorgeous” he said as he opened his eyes.
“ha ha Not really feeling so gorgeous this morning” I giggled “my head is killing me”
“I wonder why” he winked “you’re still beautiful. Do you want me to get you some painkillers?”
“oh babe, that would be awesome. And if you can kindly arrange for the marching band to leave my head at the same time”
I buried my head in between 2 pillows as Itchy went to get me some painkillers from the bathroom cabinet.
“I don’t actually remember getting home” I said as he passed me the tablets and a glass of water.
“I’m not surprised. You’d drank a bottle of champagne to yourself and had quote a few shots as well. You’d jumped up on stage and tried your best to outdo every female singer the DJ played. Oh.. and you stripped and ran round the club naked”
“WHAT???” I sat bolt upright in bed.
“I’m kidding, well the last bit – about the stripping but the champagne and the singing. That’s all true. Me & Mouse had to carry you home while Charlie carried your bag & shoes”
“Oh godddd” I flopped back down on the bed “that’s it I’m never leaving this apartment again. Your girlfriend is now officially a hermit”
He laughed.
After swallowing the painkillers and hauling myself off to the bathroom for a shower I stepped on the scales and realised I’d put on more than a stone since I’d arrived in Australia. I’d started to notice my clothes were a little more snug than they should have been.
“That’s it” I said to myself “I’m joining a gym”
I’d always been fairly slim and hadn’t needed to work out much to maintain my weight. But the round of parties and events that I’d attended had started to take their toll. Being around all these fit healthy athletes all the time didn’t help – it always made me feel a little more self-conscious.
“What?” Itchy overheard me muttering to myself in the bathroom “You don’t need to join a gym”
“I do, I’ve put on a stone with all these parties we’ve been going to. I have to get back in shape if I want to fit into my party dresses over the festive season” I told him.
“You look perfect to me. But if you want some expert advice Whippet has a gym and does personal training sessions. I’m sure he’ll be happy to help you. I’ll speak to him at work tomorrow if you want”
I pondered the thought for a minute and decided that was what I needed to kick my body back into shape.
