Chapter 11

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 506.

At 6am, red-eyed but resolute, Andi gently eased open her front door, only to close it almost immediately as she caught the sound of voices from the next unit.

I'm obsessed she thought grimly, easing back the curtain on her corner window in time to see the guy from yesterday getting into a car double-parked in the street. Worse still was the sight of Gill, dressed in a sleep tee and shorts, waving goodbye till the car was out of sight. Any minute doubts Andi might have had about the situation vanished like exhaled smoke and she swallowed, trying hard to hold down the fury beginning to rise unchecked through her shaking body.

He had stayed the night! How f**king dare she! Damn all these game-playing straight gals to hell and back. Andi paced and raged as she tried to keep her temper under control. It was a battle she was fated to lose: all the anger and pain she had kept contained since Lana's betrayal bubbled to the surface like molten lava ejected from a volcano. Without consciously remembering how it happened, she found herself on Gill's doorstep, hammering on the door and yelling her name like a maniac.

The door jerked open and Gill stood there, her face registering surprise and then more than a little alarm, as Andi pushed past her into the room without as much as a by your leave.

“Andi, what on earth is going on? You said five pm last night but you never came home. I was worried,” she began.

Gill's anxious enquiries came to an uncertain halt as she took in the look of sheer fury on her lover's face. Next moment she was backed up against the inside of the front door and Andi's hands were gripping her shoulders shaking her violently.

“Oh, you were worried, were you? You must have fretted for all of ten seconds I'm sure. Long enough to decide that your little game with me had been fun but it was time to get back to the REAL thing! Couldn't you wait even 24 hours before you had a man in your bed? Did I mean that little to you?”

As she spat the last words contemptuously into Gill's face, the realization of what she was doing began to register and Andi's hands dropped to her sides. She took a step back and all the fury drained from her body, leaving her white-faced and shaking. The look of terror on Gill's face shamed her; no matter what had happened between them, verbal abuse and physical violence were never the answer and Andi knew it.

“I thought you were special,” she whispered, before turning abruptly and fumbling with the door handle which was hard to see for the sudden flood of hot tears filling her eyes.

“No, wait! Andi please wait!” Gill's voice was high-pitched and desperate. “For God's sake, you've got this all wrong. I tried to tell you this the other night but you fell asleep. Please let me explain. I had every intention of telling you about Jason, I just didn't expect to see him quite this soon.”

“No, obviously you didn't.” Andi sneered. “Tell me, just how did you plan on telling me? Were you going to wait till you had me really hooked then just casually interject the fact that you had another lover, a male lover, into the conversation? Let me guess, I should have known. He wants a threesome, so you have been playing up to the gay girl so he can have his little fantasy. What a pity that I saw you outside the house yesterday before you got him inside. I would have walked right into it. How pathetic do you think I am?”

“Lover? You think Jason is my lover? Oh my God Andi, are you crazy?” Now it was Gill who was yelling as she slammed shut the half opened door. “Sit down, now, and listen to me you bull-headed butch idiot!”

She could see that Andi was holding herself together by sheer force of will only; her body was still trembling with reaction to her angry outburst. But there was no fight left in her anymore and she allowed Gill to lead her to the couch where she collapsed; eyes fixed rigidly on the floor beneath her feet.

“Andi, babe, look at me, please.”

Gill's tone was soft and pleading and despite her misery Andi felt compelled to raise her eyes, surprised to see what looked like the beginnings of a smile hovering round Gill's lips.

“I honestly meant to tell you before, I should have and you will have the right later to forgive me or not on that count. What you need to know first off is that Jason-” Gill faltered for just a second, then took a deep breath and announced with obvious pride, “He's my boy. Jason is my son.”

Her son? Gill had a child? But, Andi thought confusedly, that didn't fit into the story Gill had told her - or did it? As if she were reading Andi's mind, Gill began talking quietly.

“I know it's a shock but I guess I wanted you to get to know me as a person first, before you found out I was a mom. My experience on this issue with Sarah Jane left me a little gun shy. You see, she wanted me to leave my husband and live with her, but she didn't want Jason. Everything I told you about my life was true. I just omitted the part about me being five months pregnant when I got married. Jason's eighteen now and going to UCLA in the fall. A buddy of his was making a quick trip up to Sacramento yesterday and he jumped at the opportunity for us to catch up, even if it was just overnight. ”

“He's your son? That great big six foot-something, broad shouldered lump of a man is your son?” Andi knew she sounded incredulous but her mind was awhirl with all this new information and her emotions had been pitched every which way in the past thirty six hours. First the highs of their night together, the absolute lows of seeing Gill in another's arms, the fury of seeing him leave this morning, her red-hot temper tantrum… Oh no, what had she done? She groaned inwardly. Would Gill want anything to do with her after seeing her so out of control? Andi's heart sank as she looked at the woman she knew she was beginning to love. Had she lost her already, before they had barely begun? She realized that Gill was asking her a question and forced herself to concentrate on the here and now.

“Can you forgive me, babe? I'm so sorry I upset you, it was never my intention to do that I didn't mean to hide anything from you; I just figured there was time. I was just scared of losing you before we had even begun”.

Andi let go a breath she hadn't even known she was holding, scarcely believing she had heard her own thoughts from Gill's lips and her heart said a silent thankful prayer that she had been given a second chance.

“It's me that should be asking your forgiveness.” Andi replied as she slid off the couch and knelt at Gill's feet, taking hold of both her hands and staring straight into those melting chocolate brown eyes. “I'm so sorry for scaring you and I promise never to lose my temper like that again. I just went crazy thinking of you with someone else. In case I haven't mentioned it before, you are very special to me Gill Hadley and I never want to lose you.”

Her answer came in the form of the gentlest of kisses and a smile that lit up the room. Then Gill laughed. “Get up off the floor you doofus, it's not a position that suits you. From the looks of your eyes you pulled an all-nighter, and I didn't get a heap of sleep myself. What with Jason being so tall I had to give him the bed and I slept on the couch. So here are your options. I can cook us some breakfast and you can ask me any questions you might still have and then we can slide under the covers and catch us some Sunday morning shut eye. Or,” she said, slipping her arms around Andi's waist and drawing their bodies closer, “We could always do it in reverse. What do you think?”

Andi grinned back at her “I think it must be your bad influence” she answered, “ but lately I seem to have lost the knack of doing things in the correct order. Lead the way babe, I‘ll be right behind you.