Earn My Trust

Chapter 11 - Start How You Mean to go on...

Greg was quick to agree with Hannah that she should go home and rest up, telling her to miss out tomorrow as well as it was Friday. She never called in sick as she was paid by the hour, so if she said she wasn't feeling well, he figured it must have been bad.
Hannah felt guilty for calling him and lying about feeling ill, but working things out with Ethan had taken over her priorities.
She now had a good few hours with him before she had to leave to get Bea. She was going to take advantage of every single second, and she was definitely going to invite him around tomorrow, too!
When she had seen him out of the window, wandering along the path looking defeated and lost, she felt her chest tighten, making it hard to breathe. She had been catching sight of him every day for a few weeks, and every time she saw him, the yearning to hold him close and tell him she loved him overwhelmed her.
She had seen the opportunity today and grabbed at the chance, not willing to wait for any more opportunities to pass by only to disappear over time.
She put the phone down, unable to stop grinning with excitement for the next few days and looked up to see Ethan picking up the final bag of rubbish to be put in the hallway, ready to be taken down later.
"All done." She said brightly, sitting on one of the kitchen counter stools in his huge, now gleaming, black and white kitchen.
He reflected the excited grin straight back at her before disappearing round the corner for a moment, returning and rubbing his hands together.
"Alright, let's see what I can whisk up for you."
He looked eager to show off, and she couldn't help but notice how he was proudly showing her the little things. Although he was horrified that he had let her walk into his flat for the first time and she had seen it in such a disgusting state. This was his chance to redeem himself.
He opened the fridge and grabbed some eggs, bacon, and asparagus. He then grabbed some pots of herbs along with a pack of baby tomatoes after he shut the fridge.
She laughed before she could stop herself. "Are you making me an omelette?" She teased, giggling harder.
He gave her his signature grin over his shoulder. "Hey, if I'm not allowed to buy you luxuries, you get whatever I bloody give you whenever I cook you something." He jested back.
He took out a roasting tin and lined it with baking paper, grabbing an expensive looking olive oil and splashing some on the empty lined tin before grabbing the asparagus.
She watched him, entranced, as he set about making her lunch. He turned on his barely used looking oven and allowed it to heat up while he got out a saucepan and frying pan.
"I don't know why I expected you not to have any food in the house." She mused, taking in the glorious view on offer as he bent down to hunt for something in a bottom cupboard.
"I always have things in, but only my fail safe options. This will take half an hour to finish, and I can guarantee you that this is going to be delicious." He stood up straight and flashed her a winning smile again.
"You're very confident." She smirked, resting her chin on her hand as she leaned on the counter. "I have high expectations."
"You better believe it." He furrowed his brow as he set about putting some water in the saucepan on the electric hob built into the counter to boil while frying the bacon.
"So, Greg advised I should take tomorrow off so I could get back to normal quicker..." she lingered a little as she enjoyed watching his eyes flash with amusement that she'd lied to her boss so she could be with him. "If you're free, maybe we could go on a date?"
Her cheeks flushed at her boldness, but she held her ground, seeing him look back over his shoulder at her.
"You really want to do this?" He asked seriously. "You know we will be watched."
She nodded. "Absolutely. I loved Robin, so I'm sure I can fall in love with you. I mean, you're the same person after all."
"But, Bea..."
"We will sort out other arrangements when we involve Bea." She decided firmly. "Maybe that can be when Robin will make an appearance?"
He chuckled and cracked the eggs into the boiling water, quickly picking up a spoon and stirring rapidly.
"But you don't have a disguise, Hannah!" He stressed. "That's the point! If they see you with me on a date, they will target you. Follow you everywhere you go!"
She bit her lip but still held fast with her decision.
"I promised Mum and Lisa that I would give whoever I matched with a chance when we first got your message." She told him simply. "Admit it. The match was a good one. We had something Ethan, and I really want to carry through with it."
He still looked reluctant, so she got off the stool and approached him, looping her arms around his waist from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Whenever we were together, I could almost see our future in front of me. This right here was what I could see. Both of us, in the kitchen together. Of course, I assumed I'd be the one cooking, and you would be where I am, behind me, and hugging me. Bea would be sitting at her table, drawing her unicorns, and we were happy. Laughing and joking. A family."
He continued rapidly stirring the eggs in the boiling water in silence, his brow creased and looking emotional.
"So could I..." he whispered, removing the saucepan from the heat and safely putting it on the sink rack. He turned to her and pulled her to him, holding her tightly as the tears brimmed in his eyes. He closed his eyes to trap the tears before they fell. "I could see it too. I wanted it so much!"
"Then it's time for you to give us a chance now." She mumbled against his chest as she cherished his hold on her. "Let's figure out a way of doing this together."
He held his breath, half expecting to wake from a dream. His flat was going to be back to being a shithole. She wasn't going to be here with him, and he was back to being miserable and utterly, utterly alone.
But she stayed when he opened his eyes again, and he pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes.
"Ok... we will give this a go!" He gave her a stretched smile.
Twenty minutes later, he finally dished up her meal in front of her at the counter.
"Oh my god, it smells amazing!!" She drawled as she watched the roasted, seasoned asparagus being laid out on their plates, topped with two perfectly poached eggs and thick, crispy, fried bacon, then sprinkled over with some chopped baby tomatoes and herbs.
"Bon appetite, mademoiselle." He grinned widely and sat beside her, picking up his fork.
She grabbed hers less elegantly than him and eagerly stabbed an asparagus with it, bringing it to her mouth for the first taste.
She moaned in delight and tilted her head back at the flavour.
"You know..." she muffled through her mouthful happily. "I've hit the jackpot! I've got a gorgeous man who is kind, loving, and funny. Who draws amazing art and can cook like a Michelin star chef!" She twisted her neck round to beam at him. "This is incredible!"
Ethan was stuck in a stupor.
She hadn't included his money at all! Had she left it out by accident?
"I'm glad you approve." He finally managed to say, smiling to himself as he cast his attention back on his meal.
They finished eating in comfortable silence, Ethan slipping his hand into hers and resting their holding hands between their plates.
"That was the best lunch I've ever had!" She told him honestly as he picked up their plates and began to clean up.
"And you didn't have to spend a penny." He reminded her, smirking.
She looked at the time on her phone. "I have to leave to get Bea in an hour." She sighed. "I don't want to leave."
"I'll go with you." He suggested. "If we're going to give this a chance, let's start how we mean to go on."
Her face lit up. "Oh, she would love that!"
"Great!" He dried his hands after washing the dishes and turned round to face her. "I'll quickly get changed, and we can head to..." he paused, catching himself before he said the car, remembering he didn't have a licence at the moment. "Oh yeah, I don't drive anymore. OK, fine, train it is."
She tilted her head and got off the stool to wrap her arms around his waist. She felt like she craved his warmth. There was a need to always be close to him.
"You'll get your licence back." She assured him, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.
He turned his face towards her so he could return the kiss to her lips, quickly falling back into a heated frenzy like they had been back in the lift.
She moaned against his lips, and the sound travelled straight to his groin. He lifted her up and placed her on the electric hob, his hands travelling down her thighs and pushing himself in between her legs.
She moaned again, swiftly followed by another stronger moan before suddenly jumping off the hob and crying out.
"Fuck, that was still on!" She exclaimed, rubbing her behind. She was relieved to find it hadn't burned through her skirt and tights.
"Oh shit!" He quickly switched them off, turning back to her with wide eyes of concern.
She looked at him for a moment, both staring at each other, shell-shocked at what just happened before they both descended into laughter. They clutched each other as they both tried to keep the other standing amidst their chortling.
"Oh, for fuck sake!" He exclaimed comically once they'd started to calm down. "I'm a fucking disaster!"
She snickered and nudged him. "I can't say anything, I kicked a bollard with no shoes on."
He roared with laughter again, holding his stomach from it hurting so much.
"Oh god it hurts." He wheezed, stumbling slightly towards the bedroom. "I better get changed. Dont disappear, ok? I won't be a second."
She tried to calm herself too, watching him disappear into the bedroom and close the door before moving to sit on his huge modern black sofa.
No sooner had her still tingling bum  the seat, there was a loud obnoxious knocking at the door.
She hesitated for a moment, watching the closed bedroom door to see if he would come out, but he seemed not to have heard anything. Sighing, she got back to her feet and went to answer it.
"Why haven't you..." Martin began to argue but fell abruptly silent when he saw who had answered the door.
He stared at Hannah in the doorway, stunned beyond words.
"Hannah..." he whispered, then the excitement began to build. "Hannah, you're here!"
She grinned at him. "Yes, Martin. I'm here."
"He finally did it!" He celebrated, waltzing into the flat like he owned the place. "I've been nagging him for weeks to call you, and he finally got the balls!"
"Um, actually..." she started to say but trailed off when Ethan came out of the bedroom with a plain black t-shirt and jeans on.
He grinned widely at her, starting to approach her, when he caught sight of Martin. He faltered.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" He demanded, pissed off that Martin let himself into his place while his girlfriend was here.
Martin grinned happily back at him before wincing in realisation. Ethan had just come out of the bedroom, and Hannah had answered the door. Ethan now looked like he was ready to kill him.
"Ohhhh, fuck. I interrupted again didn't I?" He cringed. "You know what? I'll give you your key back, no biggie."
Ethan was seething. "Don't you fucking knock?!"
"I did!" Martin assured him. "Look, after the last time I let myself in and caught you on the sofa, I took Sheldon Coopers' lead and knocked three times. That was fucking traumatising!"
Ethans face flared up maroon. He was highly aware that Hannah was standing there watching the both of them and hearing every word.
"Shut the fuck up!" He shouted furiously. "You can't just turn up uninvited all the time!
"Well, next time, give me a heads up that you have her here or want an evening alone with your hand!"
"YOU DONT FUCKING LIVE HERE, YOU DIPSHIT!"
Hannah burst out laughing. "Oh god, please! I can't laugh anymore. This is too much!" She bent over and put her hands on her knees, struggling to breathe.
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Just shut the fuck up! Don't make this any worse than it already is!" He warned Martin then had an idea. "Actually, now you're here. You can drive us to Bea's school so we don't have to get the train."
Hannah calmed herself down and made an impressed noise, straightening herself up and nodding. "Good idea!" She agreed.
Martin looked between the two of them, then sighed. "Fine! But you won't be sitting in his lap. I don't have a fancy car like him. He doesn't pay me enough."
"What do you mean I don't pay you enough?!" Ethan argued. "It's not my fault you prefer saving than spending!"
He looked at Hannah, hoping she would side with him. "I pay him over a hundred and seventy-five grand a year! Don't you think that covers it?!"
"You get paid how much?!" She cried. "That's almost seven times my wage!"
Martin realised his attempt for sympathy hadn't worked how he expected.
"But I have to deal with him every day!" He whined with puppy dog eyes. "He's a beast!"
She smiled sneakily at Ethan. "Stop giving me spoilers." She joked cheekily.
Ethan grinned at her and took her hand. "Let's go. It's the school called St Mary's Primary in Teddington."
Hannah noted he remembered where it was, even though he'd only been there the once, and the situation had been very awkward.
"Teddington?!" Martin complained and sighed. "Great, now I'm a chauffer! I suggest we hire a new one to replace the one you sacked!"
Ethan glared at him. "Seriously?!"
His friend shrugged. "I told you I couldn't blame him! You have no idea how persuasive they can be. They offered to triple my annual salary just to confirm you were heartbroken." He noticed the deadly look he was getting. "Too soon?"
"Go. To. The. Car. Now. Before. I. KILL YOU!!" His boss seethed, sparks of fury sparking from his eyes.
Hannah bit her lip and placed a hand on his forearm comfortingly.
It was becoming all too obvious to her why Ethan was so cautious. The more she heard about how he had been betrayed by people he trusted, she was amazed he was able to trust anyone at all!
She could sympathise that the chauffer had been given an offer he simply couldn't refuse, but it had come at a cost and hurt Ethan deeply.
"It's OK." She whispered, slipping herself under his arm and wrapping her arms around him. "He's just teasing, honey."
Ethan glared down at her for a split second before attempting to relax and taking a deep breath.
"Do you see what I have to deal with?" He said curtly.
She nodded sadly. "I do, but we will try not to let it happen again, ok?"
He sniffed, not looking entirely convinced but relented.
Martin tucked his lips between his teeth, holding back his smile of adoration at Hannah. He knew she was good for him! His instincts had never been wrong!
"Ok, let's get going." He quipped, gesturing to the door down the long hallway. "I suggest leaving the obvious jacket behind and buying yourself a new one ASAP."
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Fine! But I like that jacket. It was my dad's!" He grumbled as he led the way out, taking Hannah's hand as he went.
"Now, a few rules before we go." Martin stated boldly as they went down in the lift to the carpark a few minutes later. "It's my car, remember? So no canoodling in the back seat. No travelling hands and keep your clothes on!"
Ethan looked down his nose at him. "You've cleaned the car after the other week with Lisa, right?" He poked back.
Martin blushed and cleared his throat. "Windows aren't tinted, so you'll be exposed. Be ready to duck." He warned as the doors slid open to reveal the underground carpark.
He led the way to his clean Ford Fiesta and unlocked it. He opened the back door and stepped back, gesturing them to get in.
"Your chariot awaits." He smirked.
The rekindled couple got in the back seat together, and Ethan started struggling with his nerves.
"Don't worry, bro." Martin soothed, after he had shut the door and walked round, climbing into the drivers seat. "I got you."
He put the key in the ignition, and the car stuttered into life. Immediately, the car was filled with loud music blaring from the speakers.