Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) (21 page)

“Hold on,” Paul sat up and
removed his shades, squinting against his headache and the bright sun light.
“Do you seriously think I go to these parties just to get laid? I don’t need to
be with any of those girls anymore, I have you, I want to be with you but
equally, I like to kick back and relax with my friends, come September most of
them will be going to college and I won’t see them again until Christmas so how
about you just chill over me going to parties and make the most of the time I’m
here?”

“I know you, you can’t help
but flirt, you like to spread yourself around,
I
don’t
believe it when you say you aren’t sleeping with these girls. What exactly is
there to stop you?”

“There isn’t anything to stop
me.” He agreed “Apart from the fact that I’ve realised sex with them is a brief
in and out, over and done, whereas with you it’s mind blowing, why would I want
to ruin the chance of being with you by having a five minute bang with one of
them?”

“Everything that comes out of
your mouth is bullshit,” she hissed “You criticize me when I try to teach you
new things....” she started.

“That’s because you’ve
stopped teaching and started giving me orders,” he cut her off and jumped to
his feet “I get enough of being told what to do from my old man; I don’t need
it when I come here as well. I think the age gap is beginning to show and
perhaps we shouldn’t see so much of each other.”  He grabbed his shirt and
pulled it over his head. “You need to learn to trust me.”
Was
his parting shot.

Paul returned five days later
only to announce that he would be attending yet another party that Saturday
night and he would, if she preferred, spend the night at her house rather than
going home to prove that he wasn’t sleeping around. He offered no apology for storming
out and not contacting her earlier.

Carmen was still angry with
him and refused to answer any of his questions but she had missed him and made
no move to ask him to leave, she moved around him as she carried out her house
work only protesting when he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, holding
her fast against him, her protests being silenced by his persistent mouth and
hands as he lifted her and laid her on the living room floor, she responded by
digging her nails into his flesh, ignoring his protests but smiling every time
he complained, she abruptly told him to shut up, she was making the point that
she was in control of this relationship and marking his body in case he decided
to cheat on her therefore making the other party well aware that he wasn’t
entirely single.

He stayed with her until the
early hours of the morning only to receive a stern reprimand from Monica on his
return home, he just managed to talk himself out of a weekend grounding by
turning on the charm and when that failed, begging his mother not to tell
Michael of his late arrival home and pleading her to let him attend the party
the following night at the same time as informing her that he and Matt would be
staying out Saturday night.

Carmen was surprised when she
heard Paul’s knock on her door shortly after one in the morning the following
day she had thought he would have been home much later than that. Opening the
door, she was dismayed to find him leaning on her porch, supporting the weight
of his brother.

“What is he doing here?” She
asked as Paul hauled an inebriated Matt into the house.

“He’ll have to stay here if
that’s ok, he can’t go home without me and he’s far too drunk to stay at the
party alone.” he replied, stifling a hic cup.

“You’re drunk.” She stated.

“Oh yeah.”
He grinned.

“Gonna be sick.” Matt
mumbled.

“Quick, get him in the
kitchen.” Carmen moved out of the way in time for Paul to shuffle his brother
into the kitchen. Matt didn’t make it to the sink.

“Ah, gross.” Paul dropped
Matt in the closest chair and backed away.

“Help me clean this up.”
Carmen shot at Paul.

“Can’t.
Puke makes me want to add to it.” He covered his
mouth with his hand, standing as far away from the mess as possible without
actually leaving the kitchen.

Carmen scowled at him but
grabbed a bucket and sponge and cleaning up the mess. She had to stop several
times as Matt staggered to the sink and continued to vomit. Looking to Paul for
support, she realised that he had disappeared. She found him passed out across
her bed still fully clothed.

Returning to the kitchen, she
found Matt once again hanging over the sink, his stomach now empty, he was dry
heaving in-between apologies not only for his sickness but also for his
presence.

“It’s ok Matt.” She told him as
she made herself a cup of tea and handed him a glass of water. “Once you are
sure you’ve stopped puking, I’ll show you to the spare room.”

“Thanks.” Matt sipped his
water “Paul thinks the world of you although I doubt he’ll ever tell you that.”

“Does he really? Did he tell
you that?”

“Not in so many words but on
the odd occasion he utters your name at home he can’t help smiling and his
whole demeanour changes when he talks about you.”

“I didn’t realise he liked me
that much.” She smiled.

Matt nodded “Even if he
didn’t talk about you, the fact that he spends so much time here speaks for
itself, he usually just gets what he wants then leaves and forgets about the
girl he’s been with and he rarely goes back for seconds.” He finished.

It was a little while later
that Matt assured her he was no longer going to vomit and she escorted him to
her spare bedroom before closing the door on her own. Paul, now flat on his
back, stirred when she walked her fingers up his torso over his shirt and
placed a kiss on his slightly parted lips, her fingers easing the buttons open
on his dark blue shirt.

Paul woke when he felt
Carmen’s cool hands stroking their way down his body, his head was beginning to
ache already which dismayed him as he hadn’t actually had that much to drink.
He sat up and wrenched the shirt from his shoulders, throwing a sheepish smile
at the woman sitting beside him.

“Sorry I
bolted,
I can’t stand to see someone throw up.” He mumbled.

“I gathered that much when I
found you passed out across the bed.” She ruefully replied

“I need some water, my head
is pounding and my mouth feels like Ghandi’s flip flop.” He climbed off the bed
and headed for the bathroom, she had a glass of water and a pain killer waiting
for him when he returned. “You are so good to me.” He smiled as he slipped
under the covers.

“I know I am.” She told him
“Just you remember that the next time you decide to throw a strop.”

Summer sped by and Carmen
watched her young lover’s skin darken in the sun, she watched him grow broader
and taller and far more confident and mature and their relationship took on an
easy, comfortable air although she often worried that he would outgrow her even
though he had so far not shown any signs of it and appeared to be happy with
the way things had progressed.

As September approached,
Carmen readied herself for her return to school and also began making plans for
Paul’s fast approaching sixteenth birthday. She announced that she had been
invited to a friend’s wedding the weekend before she was due to return to work
and once again found herself explaining to Paul why he couldn’t come with her
and wishing he was older. Paul walked out of her house while she was packing to
leave, telling her that he wasn’t angry that she was going but equally, he
didn’t want to watch her leave; he kissed her passionately and left.

Carmen returned home in the
early evening of the following Sunday to find Paul in her living room watching
television. His face lit up when he saw her and he rushed across the room to
wrap her in a hug, easing her down onto the sofa and attempting to wriggle his
hands under her clothes.

“I’m too tired.” She
protested. “And I could murder a cuppa.” She sighed as she relaxed back against
the soft fabric. Paul left her for a short while, returning with tea and
crumpets on a tray. “I take it you missed me?” she asked, amused by his
attention.

“Of course”, he stroked her
arm.

“You’re making me suspicious,
what have you done that you feel you need to atone for?”

“I have nothing to feel
guilty about.” He told her. “But I did do something for you.” He stood and
reached for her hand. “Come with me.” He said as he began to lead her up the
stairs

“Paul,” she protested “I’ve
already told you I’m too tired.”

“Trust me.” He replied and
reaching the top of the stairs, he turned towards the closed bathroom door.
“You’ve been so kind to me and patient when I decide to sulk so I thought I’d
do something for you for a change.” He pushed open the door to reveal a
gleaming white, brand spanking new bathroom suite.

Carmen stood on the
threshold, speechless, admiring her beautiful bathroom; everything had been
replaced even down to the flooring and the wall tiles. Her bathroom had always
been a bone of contention for her. She had loved the house on her very first viewing;
the only thing that had made her hesitate in putting in an offer initially had
been the hideous avocado coloured bathroom, however, the large kitchen and
pretty garden had swayed her and she had purchased the house despite the
bathroom.

Paul’s smile broadened as he
watched her take in her newly re-vamped bathroom. He had tried several times to
fix the leaks which occurred with alarming regularity only to discover that for
all his handyman skills, he most definitely wasn’t a plumber. Carmen’s weekend
away had given him the perfect opportunity to solve the problem once and for
all and when he had told her that he didn’t want to watch her leave, in reality
he was making plans in his head and re-allocating gardening jobs in order to
free up some of his staff for the bathroom re-fit.

It had proved to be a manic
weekend with three hulking great men crammed into the bathroom leaving Paul to
make sure they had a never ending supply of sandwiches and tea. The bath he had
purchased was larger than the existing one and able to hold more water
therefore requiring the bathroom floor to be strengthened to accommodate the
extra weight. The re-fit had been completed a mere forty minutes before Carmen
had returned home.

“The paint is still wet” Paul
told her as she took a further step into the room “That tub can hold at least
three people with ease, we’ll have to give it a try when you aren’t so tired.”
He smiled.

“Paul, this must have cost a
fortune,” she turned to face him “It’s beautiful and what I’ve always wanted
but it’ll take me forever to pay you back.”

“It’s a gift, I don’t want
you to pay me back.” he folded his arms across his chest.

“Don’t go getting all
defensive.” She warned “I’m overwhelmed that you’ve done this for me, at least
let me give you something towards it.”

“No, honestly Carmen, I can
afford it, I just wanted to do something nice for you. Up until now I’m the one
who’s done all the taking in this relationship; I thought it was about time I
gave something back.”

“You haven’t done all the
taking, you’ve fixed up my house and garden, I didn’t even have to ask, you’ve
done more for me than you could ever imagine.” She reached up to kiss him “Will
the floor withstand the weight of the bath when it’s full of water?”

“Of course,” he replied, his
arms fastening behind her back “Everything has been done properly. Do you want
to try it out?”

“I think it would be a
terrible shame not too.”

Carmen returned to work that
Monday, happy and content and eager to meet her new students knowing full well
that Paul would be waiting for her when she returned home that evening.

Paul had been spending so
much time at Carmen’s house that Monica had begun to question his whereabouts
each time he returned home.

“Nice of
you to show your face.”
She
commented as her youngest child breezed into the kitchen and kissed her cheek.

“I’ve been working.” his
standard reply.

“Twenty four hours a day?”
she questioned.

“Er, no.
I do have a social life Mum and it’s not like I don’t
let you know if I’ll be home or not.”

“Agreed, you are very good at
keeping in touch but where do you stay? Most of your friends have gone away to
college and even you don’t have in inexhaustible supply of them” she stopped
stirring the gravy for a moment to look at her son, amazed by how much he had
grown over the summer and at how breathtakingly handsome he was.

“I have a number of places I
can
stay,
usually one of the guys who works for me
will put me up if we have an early start.” He hedged.

“And the
rest of the time?”

By the time Monica got around
to asking this last question, Paul had usually managed to subtly back himself
out of the kitchen, today he was stopped by Tessa on a rare day off of work,
the result of a migraine earlier in the day.