Chapter 15 

A couple of days passed without hearing from AJ again and I began to think I’d imagined the whole thing.  It was easy to think that way now that I was back home in England and back to reality.  AJ was like a distant dream. 

I thought a little more about my list, there were still quite a few things on there that I’d not accomplished yet. 

“Well, I can soon change that” I said to myself and decided to go and visit a couple of Estate Agents and see if I could cross number two off my list sometime soon. 

I drove to the more up market area of the city and parked my car outside of an Estate Agents office.  I decided that before I went in, I’d have a quick look at some of the houses advertised in the window, to see if anything caught my eye.  There were a couple of very promising looking houses.  I didn’t want anything too big seeing as I’d be living there alone, but I knew I wanted something with a garden and decent sized rooms…oh and a garage. 

“Seen anything you like?” said a strangely familiar voice and I turned to come face to face with none other than Jason Orange. 

“Jason!” I said, my voice full of surprise. 

“Hi Steph, I thought it was you” he said “what a coincidence seeing you here, I was going to call you later to see if you still fancied going out” 

I bit on my bottom lip guiltily for a moment.  I felt torn.  Would it be so wrong to go out on a date with the man I’d admired from afar for so many years?  Did it matter that technically I was a married woman?   

Fuck it!  Go for it Steph, it’s Jason Orange for god’s sake!  You’ve fancied him since you were a teenager.  Do it! 

I listened to the devil on my shoulder and replied “Of course I’d love to go out with you Jason” 

“Great” he smiled “are you free later?” 

“Later would be perfect” I smiled back “I’m just looking at houses right now as I’m thinking of moving” 

“Oh yeah?  You thinking of living around here?  I only live around the corner” he pointed off into the distance. 

“So we could be neighbours one day” I said shyly and looked up at him from under my eyelashes. 

“Hmm yeah” he said “so, about tonight, I know this lovely little Italian place ‘Casa Mia’ –“ 

“I know it” I said 

“Great, I’ll see you there about eight?  Is that OK?” he asked 

“Perfect” I said “I’ll see you then” 

“OK, I’ve gotta dash, so much to do and so little time” he said and then was gone. 

Well that was a little abrupt! 

I got myself together and walked into the Estate Agents, although my mind was now all over the place and Jason was to blame. 

“Can I help you?” asked a snooty looking woman from behind her desk. 

“Erm…yes.  Could I get the details for number 126 Springfield Road and 45 Easterly Way please?” I asked 

“Do you have anything to sell?” she asked 

“No, I’m renting at the moment” I replied 

“And what is your budget?” she asked, looking at me as if I was a complete time waster, you know the ones who just want to look around posh houses for something to do on a Saturday afternoon. 

“I don’t have a budget in mind, but when I find the right house, the cost won’t matter” I said confidently. 

“Well then, here you go” she said and handed me the printed details “if you’d like to arrange a viewing then please do not hesitate to contact us” 

“Thanks” I said and walked out the door.  “Stuck up cow” I said under my breath. 

I sat in the car and looked over the house details.  I immediately discarded one of them, the photos depicted a house which would need a lot of renovation, and they were asking a ridiculous amount of money for it too!  The other one, the one on Springfield Road, looked quite promising.  I decided to drive by before making an appointment. 

“Nice” I said to myself as I looked at the outside of the house.  It was in a nice area, was well kept and the neighbouring houses also looked in good order.  This could be the house for me. 

That evening I took my time getting ready for my date.  I wanted to look my very best.  This was Jason Orange after all.  I’d had posters on my bedroom wall of him whilst I was a teenager, and now I was actually getting the chance to go out with him on a date.  This was the kind of thing dreams were made of. 

“You’ll do” I said to myself as I looked in the mirror.  I dabbed a bit of perfume on and checked that I hadn’t got lipstick on my teeth, then grabbed my bag and keys and was out of the door and on my way to meet Jason. 

I arrived at the restaurant at a few minutes to eight o’clock and was shown to the table.  Jason hadn’t arrived yet, so I ordered myself a drink and sat there nervously waiting for him. 

What if he doesn’t show? 

Just a few minutes later, Jason strolled in looking drop dead gorgeous in a dark shirt and jeans.  I hoped my mouth wasn’t hanging open.  He had a couple of days worth of stubble which only added to his sexiness, and his hair was begging to have fingers running through it.  I’d have to control myself and not let the Take That fan inside of me ruin this. 

“Sorry I’m a bit late” he said as he took his seat “you look lovely” 

“Thanks” I replied “so do you” 

A waiter came over to us with menus and we occupied ourselves with them for a couple of minutes.  There were so many yummy looking things on the menu, it was hard to choose, but eventually I’d made up my mind. 

“Ready to order?” asked the waiter. 

“Yes” Jason replied and indicated for me to go first.  What a gentleman. 

“I’ll have the garlic mushrooms to start, followed by lasagna and sautéed potatoes” I said 

“Are you sure about that Steph?  There’s a lot of calories in that, wouldn’t you rather something a little lighter?” Jason said quietly to me and I hoped no one else could hear. 

I plastered a forced smile on my face and told Jason that that’s what I was going to have to eat.  He returned his attention to the waiter and ordered his food. 

The cheek of the guy!  Presuming what to order for me! 

We chatted whilst we waited for our food to arrive, but Jason was not very forthcoming with information about himself, not personal information anyway.  I was glad when the food arrived as conversation was a little on the thin side. 

“This is delicious” I said as I ate my starter of garlic mushrooms. 

“Think of how hard you’ll have to work out to work that off tomorrow” he smiled as he forked a mouthful of salad into his mouth. 

“I don’t care about the calories” I replied and I meant it.  I didn’t overdo it, but I liked to eat what I wanted when I went out.  What was the point in going out otherwise?  My weight had never been an issue. 

“Well, when you’re in the kind of job I’m in, you can’t afford to look anything less than perfect.  A few gained pounds and the papers try to make out you’ve got a weight problem” he said. 

There was no way anyone could accuse Jason of having a problem with his weight.  He was perfect in every way.  But I suppose I could understand his point of view.  I’d seen those very unflattering pictures in papers and magazines of celebrities not looking their best.  But really, was one night out going to do any harm?  I thought he was over reacting a little. 

When we’d finished our main course, our waiter offered us the dessert menu but Jason told him we didn’t want dessert.  I really didn’t think I had room for anything else, but I would’ve liked to have answered for myself. 

He insisted on taking care of the bill, which was one thing I didn’t mind him doing. 

“Would you like to come back to my place?” he asked “it’s still early and I really don’t want the night to end here” 

Yes!!!! 

“Yeah, that would be nice” I replied.  Maybe once we were alone, he’d open up and show me the real Jason. 

“Great, do you have your car because I don’t.  I got a taxi here” 

“I’m parked out the back, come on” I said and led the way. 

He gave directions whilst I drove.  I put on a CD (Foo Fighters) quietly as the silence in the car was a little awkward.

“Well, here we are” he said and I stopped outside quite an impressive looking house. 

Once inside, he took my jacket and hung it up and then proceeded to show me around.  His house was lovely, in a show home kind of way.  Everything was perfect, but it didn’t look very lived in. 

“And this…” he opened a door and ushered me inside “is my bedroom” 

I noticed that this room looked less stark than the rest of the house, but before I had chance to notice much else, I was being kissed and moved towards the bed.  

“Wait…Jay…stop” I pushed gently against him.  This was moving way too fast for my liking.  

“But this is what you want” he insisted and moved towards me as I stepped backwards. 

“No…this is not what I want.  I wanted to get to know you better first” I said. 

“And isn’t this getting to know each other?” he said and advanced again. 

“No, it’s not.  I didn’t come here to sleep with you” I said 

“Then why did you come here?” he asked and muttered “cocktease” under his breath. 

“I have no idea” I said “but I was obviously mistaken” 

I stomped out of his house, glad that I had my car and didn’t have to suffer the humiliation of calling a taxi and waiting out on the street. 

“Wait, Steph, you can’t just walk out on me!” he pleaded 

“Watch me” I said and carried on walking. 

All the way home I kept thinking what an idiot I’d been.  All these years and I’d just been in love with an image.  The man behind that image was a complete twat!