The Wrong Woman

I had been so busy working at the office and on my music that I hadn’t really sat down to think about what had happened between Felicity and I and what the consequences would be.

I liked Felicity and I liked the way she made me feel. And I also liked Maddie and I liked the way she made me feel too.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised how much Maddie had changed since I first started seeing her. The more I got to know her, the more I realised that that the sweet and innocent girl I had met months ago was hiding secrets.

I spent Saturday night with Maddie, and we both sat around watching DVDs. We kissed during the boring bits and it felt nice spending time with her alone, without the distraction of her friends or even her Father. I didn’t know where Felicity was, but I didn’t see her the entire time I was there. I only briefly bumped into Campbell who informed me I had more deliveries to do the following week.

When I asked Maddie where Felicity was, she shrugged.

“Daddy and her had a fight… she left this morning.”

“A fight?” I prompted, dying to know more.

“Yeah.” Maddie said sounding bored. She seemed more interested in the movie than about her Dad’s relationship problems.

“Does that happen a lot?” I asked curiously.

“Sometimes.”

“What was it about?”

“I don’t know.” Maddie said suddenly turning to look at me. “I don’t really get involved with what happens.”

She gave me a strange look as though she was trying to figure out why I was so interested, so I cleared my throat and faced the television.

The only tense moment of the night, was when I asked her about quitting Louis’ after school class. Maddie squirmed in my embrace and avoided my eyes by staring at the television.

“So you’re not going back?” I asked.

Maddie shrugged and then shook her head.

“I don’t think so.”

“He didn’t try anything, did he?” I persisted.

“No.” Maddie said monotonously. “I just think it’s better if we took a break.”

“No, not a break Maddie.” I told her. “Cut yourself off from him. Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Nothing ever happened.”

“I don’t trust him.” I said.

It annoyed me that she just didn’t get it. It was one of the only things we argued about. We no longer really talked about the sexual aspect of our relationship. I didn’t push it and Maddie never brought it up. We went as far as kissing and touching each other and that was it.

I was strangely okay with it.

But maybe that had something to do with the fact that I knew Felicity was around. The knowledge that she was there for the taking was enough to make me go hard.
The following week I watched as Felicity photocopied a few documents. I couldn’t help but smile as I sidled up to her and gently pinched her side.

“Hey.” She said jumping in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“You know what I’m doing.” I said lowly, hoping against hope that nobody would barge in and catch me. Felicity eyed me from the corner of her eye as I pinched her again.

“You should probably stop doing that.” She said quietly. I shook my head as I placed my hand on her hips and pressed her against the photocopier. I heard her breath hitch at the speed of which I had manoeuvred her and smiled when I saw her eyes focus on my mouth.

“Go on.” I whispered.

She half smiled, her eyes flitting over to the open door, when we suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of Campbell talking as he made his way down the hall and into our office. I quickly loosened my grip on her and awkwardly bumped into her as I made my way back to my desk. I looked over my shoulder to see Felicity straighten her skirt and then return to her photocopying, just as Campbell walked through the door.

“How late?” He said to the person he was speaking to on the phone, his eyes firmly clasped on Felicity, as if he was speaking to her too. “Well, we’ll try our best.”
Felicity and I exchanged relieved looks, before returning our gaze to Campbell.

“I need you to chase up a shipment.” He said.

“A shipment?”

“Yeah… I just had Col on the phone and he’s not happy.”

“I’m busy… why can’t the Shipping Department deal with it?”

“I want you to deal with it.” Campbell’s voice was firm and final. He handed her the details and briefly explained the situation before leaving abruptly.

“What a prick.” I couldn’t help but say.

“Shh.” Felicity said unhappily.

“Well he is.” I retorted. “Making you do all the shit work… you shouldn’t even be working in this shitty place.”

“Where do you see me working then?” Felicity said tensely.

“I don’t know… some place that appreciates you, maybe?”

“Oh Harry… you have so much to learn.” She shook her head with an amused smile.

“Come over.”I said suddenly.

“What?”

“I said come over.” I said, feeling a little self-conscious.

Felicity paused, as if she were considering my offer.

“I don’t know Harry.” She said finally.

“Just to hang out.” I said quickly. “We can just talk… I don’t feel like we can talk here, you know?”

“Maybe.” Felicity said.

“I’ll be home at 6.30.” I told her.

“I know that Harry. We finish work at the same time, remember?”

I looked at her from the corner of my eye and smiled.

X

I hung around till 7pm for moral support, while she spoke on the phone, trying to resolve the problem Campbell had kindly dumped on her. She eventually covered her earpiece and looked at me apologetically.

“You might as well go… it looks like I’ll be here for a while.”

“You still coming over?” I said.

“I’ll see.” She said after a pause. Her attention was then diverted to the phone again, so I quietly slipped out.

On my way home I made a quick detour to the liquor store and stocked up on a bottle of wine. I didn’t usually drink the stuff, but I knew that she did. I crashed on the couch and watched TV until 10pm when the doorbell suddenly sounded. I opened the door to see a weary looking Felicity standing there.

“Did you sort it out?” I asked, letting her in.

“No.” She replied. “The time difference means I have to wait until tomorrow for an answer.”

“So what took you so long?”

“I went home first.” She said making herself comfortable on the couch. “We ended up arguing…”

“I thought I told you to come here straight after work.” I said, annoyed that Campbell was responsible for making her feel like shit. Felicity did not respond and I couldn’t help but sigh loudly. I made my way to bathroom and turned on the tap. As the water began to fill the bath, I quickly looked through the cabinet. I knew I didn’t have any bubble bath shit, so I grabbed my body wash and squeezed a little bit into the warm water. It bubbled up nicely, so once the bath was full I called out to Felicity.

“In here!”

Felicity appeared at the door, looking a little puzzled.

“Strip off and get in.”I said, half enjoying the surprised look on her face. “You need to relax.”
She paused for a few moments and looked at me uncertainly.

“Just you.” I said. “I’ll be outside.”

I left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, where I opened the wine. Five minutes later I knocked on the door and entered the room to find Felicity in my bath.

“Here you go.” I handed her a glass of white wine, which she gratefully accepted.

“What did I do to deserve this?” She said with a smile.

“After a crappy day at work, this is the least I can do.” I leaned on the doorjamb and was about to open my mouth to continue, when the buzz of my phone interrupted. I grabbed it from the couch only to see it was Maddie calling. I debated on whether to answer it, but in the end gave in to my first instinct. We spoke briefly and by the time I hung up, I felt a little deflated. I wasn’t sure why, but maybe it had to do with a naked Felicity in the bathtub.
I reappeared at the door and Felicity looked at me concerned.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it was just Maddie. She uh, just called…” I trailed off.

“I like the bubble bath you’ve used.” Felicity said, swiftly changing the subject.

“Yeah? It’s really my body wash.” I told her. “My Mum gave me this bath set thing last Christmas… God knows why.”

“Your parents live nearby?” Felicity asked.

“Nah… they live in the country. I moved out when I was seventeen… been on my own since then. They helped me out when they could, but I can’t ask for help all the time. They’re not that well off. Before my supermarket job I was really hard up… Zayn, Niall and my mates got me through it.”

I looked up to see her expression had changed. The bubbles had started to disappear and I could see glimpses of her skin under the milky bath water. Felicity stared at me from beneath her lashes, a hopeful look on her face, and I found myself shifting from one foot to the other.

“Want to join me?” She asked softly.

It was tempting. The bathtub was small and I could just imagine sinking into the water with her in a tangle of limbs and warm kisses. But I half shook my head before backing away.

“I’ll wait for you outside.” I said finally.

I didn’t know whether it was my conscience finally catching up with me or what, but I just knew I had to get some air. I escaped to my balcony where I smoked my last two cigarettes. Felicity joined me soon after, her damp curly hair in a bun and wearing her office clothes.

“I should have given you something more comfortable to wear.” I said. “I don’t have a bathrobe or anything like that though…”

“It’s okay. I have to get going soon.” She replied and I couldn’t tell if she was pissed off or not. We sat there for a while in the cool night air before she finally announced she was leaving.

X

I had just walked into Campbell’s office to pick up a parcel to deliver for him. He didn’t look like he was in the mood for any deep conversation, but I couldn’t help but say something that had been on my mind.

“Can I just talk to you about something?” I asked, trying not to sound as tentative as I felt.

“Yes?”

“It’s about Felicity.” I said.

“Out with it then.” He looked and sounded impatient.

“I think Felicity is wasted in the Admin department.” I said quickly. “She would be so good in Purchasing.”

Campbell regarded me for a moment, obviously not expecting my little outburst.

“Has she been complaining to you?”

“No, she hasn’t.” I insisted. “But I can see she’s not happy. She needs a challenge… she’s bored to death doing data entry.”

Campbell took a deep breath and shifted in his chair. He looked down at the documents on his desk before his gaze fell upon me once more.

“Instead of focussing on Felicity,” He began. “I suggest you focus on Maddie. Did you know about all those free tutoring classes she has been having?”

I stared back at him dumbfounded, unable to follow the sudden change of subject.

“Tutoring classes?” I said dumbly.

“With that Math teacher…”

“Maddie isn’t being tutored anymore.” I frowned.

“I fucking hope she is.” Campbell stated. “Otherwise I’m paying this Tomlinson fellow for nothing.”

Notes