Page 32 of The Rest is History

Charlie

‘ I think I should tell her,’ Elodie says as we walk along the corridor to the History office.

It’s Monday morning and we’ve arrived at school together.

I drove her back to her sister’s house to grab some clothes after we left her family last night.

Because, while I know I have no long-term future with this woman, I’m extremely clear on the fact that in the near term, I can’t let her out of my sight.

Or my bed.

‘That’s fine. I’ll leave you to it and go talk to Phil.’

I may feel hopeless on the outlook for us as a couple, but while I’m romantically involved with Elodie, I’m intent on doing this by the book, and that means alerting Phil to our relationship status.

I look behind us to check we’re still alone and slip a couple of fingers inside the collar of the blouse I got her. God, it turns me on knowing I can get it off her later. Pull on that bow like I so desperately wanted to last week.

I may have done a few test runs on the pulling front this morning as she was getting dressed, sliding my hands inside the silk and around her neck as I kissed her hungrily.

My heart sank this weekend every time I thought about going back to school and to the working week, but I’ve fucking loved this morning.

Bringing her an espresso in bed.

Taking it outside with us to watch the sunrise from my terrace. Turns out, we’re both naturally early risers.

Showering with her. Yes, there were happy endings all around.

Watching her get dressed in my bedroom, and getting in the way of said dressing process.

Driving her to work in my car.

It felt normal. Like this was what we did. Like we were a couple.

I had no idea normal could feel so good.

I pull her in and kiss her on the cheek. She turns her face so our mouths brush. ‘This weekend was the best ,’ she whispers.

My stupid heart gallops behind my ribs. ‘It really was.’

I release her and gesture for her to walk through the office door.

Zara’s beaten us to it, which is unheard of, though it’s also unheard of for me to have a beautiful woman to unwrap in my bedroom, bringing new potential to the phrase early morning workout and inevitably delaying my arrival at school .

‘Hey, guys.’ She twists around in her chair and smiles brightly. I pretend that Zara’s relentless chirpiness pisses me off, but thank God for her. The past few months would have been brutal for Elodie if she’d been alone with me and my dark moods and relentless sexual frustration. ‘Good weekend?’

Elodie and I exchange glances.

‘Yeah, thanks. Lovely.’ Elodie makes her way over to her desk and drops her bag. ‘You?’

I clear my throat and raise my eyebrows pointedly at Elodie. Zara’s brow creases in confusion.

Elodie sighs. ‘Zara, I?—’

‘Elodie and I are seeing each other,’ I blurt out. ‘Romantically. Obviously we’ll ensure you don’t feel uncomfortable, Zara. But we don’t want to discuss it. I’m off to see Phil now.’

Elodie’s gorgeous pink mouth twists into a you just can’t help yourself smirk.

And God help me, she’s right. The way I’m feeling at the moment, there’s a good chance I break onto the podium at this morning’s upper school assembly, wrench the mic from Phil’s hands and declare my undying love for her in front of hundreds of pimply, judgemental teens.

Zara, meanwhile, is dumbfounded. ‘You two.’ She points an index finger, and it veers between the two of us. ‘You’re dating? I knew it! I fucking knew it. Didn’t I tell you, Elodie?’

I round on Zara. ‘Tell her what?’

‘That every time her back is turned, you look at her like you want to rail the living daylights out of her.’

My hand slides protectively to the silk at Elodie’s neck. ‘I don’t know what rail means in this context, but I can guess.’

Elodie turns her face up to mine and smiles at me, and holy fuck. I will never tire of this woman’s smile. She is fucking everything. And the way she’s smiling at me, she knows exactly what Zara means.

‘That’s it!’ Zara points at me. ‘That look. I knew you had a thing for her.’

I press my lips together. If I’ve really been giving Elodie this look all this time, no wonder Zara picked up on my desire.

‘I look at her like she’s a beautiful woman, but I would never have objectified her or wanted to make her feel uncomfortable?—’

They both laugh.

‘Bollocks,’ Zara says. ‘Every woman wants a hot guy to look at her like that. Not that I’m saying you’re hot, Charlie.

I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction. And you’re way too uptight for me.

All I’m saying is, I called it. I’m totally unsurprised by this newsflash, and I’m very happy for you both. So there.’ She gives a little nod.

Well. That was nice of her to say.

‘Thanks, hon,’ Elodie tells her. ‘And I like this week’s nails.’

‘Ta.’

Zara holds her hand out, fingers straight, to admire her manicure. I lean over and peer. Are her nails strawberries this week? I do believe they are.

‘So this will be cosy, won’t it? The three of us?’ she goes on. ‘Like you’re the parents and I’m the child. Can I call you Mummy and Daddy?’

Elodie sniggers.

‘Call me Daddy even once,’ I annunciate through gritted teeth, ‘and I’ll find a way to have you fired. Got it?’

‘Weird,’ Elodie tells her. ‘He loves it when I call him Daddy.’

Zara snorts. I squeeze Elodie’s neck a little more tightly.

‘Maybe we should have a code,’ Zara continues, unbothered by the threat of termination. ‘Like, we could get a Do Not Disturb sign for that door, so I know when you’re banging?’

I am deeply uncomfortable with this conversation.

‘There will be no banging , as you so crudely put it, on school property. Or any other funny business, for that matter. Elodie and I will be conducting our relationship strictly off the premises.’

Elodie clears her throat meaningfully.

‘Oh, I sense a story,’ Zara says. ‘Bugger off, Charlie, and go talk to Philly Willy. I need a chat with your girlfriend. ’

ELODIE

‘I am so happy right now,’ Zara says as soon as Charlie’s backed out the door, looking intensely unhappy at the prospect of leaving us to our gossip session.

‘But you owe me a major catch-up, matey. Last I heard, he’d given you that tentative little kiss at the palace.

Seems like you guys’ve come a long way.’

‘God, yeah. I really do.’ That kiss in the haunted passageway seems like it was forever ago. Was it really just a couple of weeks since it happened?

‘So, how’d it all come about, then? Let me guess. He took your hand one day at the palace and asked you to join him for a glass of wine, and then he took you across to The Mitre’s Whispering Angel Terrace and stiffly asked you if you’d consider going steady with him?’

I laugh. ‘Yeah, it went down exactly like that. If that’s what you want to believe.’

‘So surprise me.’

‘Remember the day he was sick, and I had to take his A Level class? And remember how excited I was about that lesson?’

She nods.

‘Well, he sent me some really angry messages that night and then the next day he dragged me into some back room at the palace and had a massive go at me. I’m not sure how it happened, but I ended up with my skirts around my waist, coming harder on his fingers than I’d ever come in my life.’

She’s up out of her chair like someone’s lit a rocket under her.

‘You are fucking kidding me.’ She clamps a hand over her mouth. ‘That is insane. Charlie, Charlie. What a dark little horse you are. Did you shag him?’

I shake my head. ‘No. Nothing else happened. But then we got into school on the Monday and he was so cold and, just, horrible.’

Zara nods sagely. ‘Quelle surprise. I mean, the guy has no idea of normal social etiquette at the best of times.’

‘But then towards the end of last week he sidles over to me in here—you weren’t around—and he’s all coy and smiley and like, hey, think this weekend is going to be more enjoyable than last weekend? ‘Cause last weekend was very enjoyable.’

She gasps. ‘Please tell me he didn’t.’

‘I know, right? So I had a huge go at him and told him I wasn’t some Tudor plaything for him and he should man up and make a move on me when we’re us and not Anne and Henry.’

‘Totally.’

I hesitate, realising I’m about to incriminate myself.

‘Elodie. Spill. Did he man up?’

I look away, my face burning.

‘Elodie.’

‘Fine. Yes, he dragged me into that stationery cupboard and locked us in, and let’s say he manned up.’

She grins delightedly. ‘ Fuck . He’s quite masterful, isn’t he? It’s one thing I worry about with Pete. He’s really hot, but pretty basic.’

‘Sometimes hot and uncomplicated is far better for you than dark and twisted.’

‘I know you’re right.’ She sighs. ‘Anyway, so you spent the weekend with your dark and twisted loverrrr , I assume? The way he holds your neck is quite Mafia, by the way. Just saying.’

I grin. ‘Very Mafia. Very hot. And yeah. The whole weekend.’

‘And he’s being nice to you? He’s not just ignoring you and then banging you into submission?’

I laugh. ‘He’s being really nice to me. Like, incredible. So affectionate and sweet. He even came to my parents’ last night for a barbecue because he said he didn’t want to be apart from me.’

Zara whistles. ‘Wowzers. Boy has it bad. Did your parents like him?’

‘He charmed the pants off my mum and talked to my dad about the best way to stake peonies for a weirdly long time, so yeah. He had them eating out of the palm of his hand.’

‘Holy shit. Charlie Vaughan in parent-dazzling shocker. Sounds like he’s a keeper, then.’

I brush my fingers along the back of my desk chair and nod slowly. ‘Yes. The man is most definitely a keeper.’

CHARLIE

I breeze into the school office. Rita, Phil’s gatekeeper and personal pit-bull, is already at her desk.

She’s one of the scariest women I know.

She adores me.

I give her a wink. ‘Morning, Rita. The big man around?’

‘Charlie.’ She fluffs up her hair. ‘Go straight through.’

‘Thanks.’

I give the door a cursory knock and walk straight through. ‘Mate.’

Phil looks up before standing to shake my hand. ‘Morning, Vaughan.’

I’ve known him for half a lifetime. We were at uni together.

He was a couple of years older than me, but we played cricket together and still do.

He’s a seriously good guy. Like me, he was in the City before turning his hand to education.

He’s focused and fair: as straight as they come and possibly too soft for his own good.

Never been married, which is a shame, though he had a steady stream of women in and out of his rooms at uni.

He sinks back into his seat and picks up his pen, gesturing to the chair across from him. ‘Have a seat, mate. Come to take me up on my standing offer?’

I laugh. ‘Nah. Thanks, though.’

Phil’s been after me for months to consider the deputy head role.

There are two deputy head positions at Hampton Park.

One is responsible for pastoral care and one for academia.

I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise if I clarify that it’s the academic role he has me in mind for. Pastoral care is not my strength.

Still, it doesn’t appeal. I like history far more than I like teaching it, which is to say far more than I like the pupils themselves. The idea of taking a role that takes me away from my adored subject matter leaves me cold.

‘It was worth a try. What’s up, then?’

‘This won’t take long.’ I straighten up. I feel so fucking proud to say these words. ‘I wanted to let you know I’ve entered into a relationship with Elodie Peach.’

A huge grin spreads across his face. He eyes me and taps his pen on the desk. ‘Well, well, well. Have you now?’

I nod, trying to keep the pleasure off my mug. ‘Yep.’

‘As of…’

I consider. ‘Officially, as of this weekend. That’s all you need to know, anyway.’

‘What took you so long? I’ve had to listen to your pathetic, lovesick whines for over two full terms now.’

I roll my eyes. He may have a point. There’s something about Phil that invites confidence, and I may have bored him with my hopeless crush over a pint or two this academic year.

‘You know what took me so long.’

He purses his lips sympathetically. ‘Yeah, I do. Well, I’m glad you’ve finally pulled your finger out of your arse and made your move. Assume you haven’t bullied her into it?’

I smirk, recalling Elodie’s extraordinary and totally fucking unexpected appetite for me. ‘I wouldn’t say that, no.’

‘Nah. Course you wouldn’t. Too bloody good-looking for your own good.’

‘Right back at ya, pal.’

‘Well, I’m thrilled for you. Just try to keep it in your trousers in front of the kids, all right?’

‘I’m confident I can do that.’ No way does he need to know about the stationery cupboard.

So.’ He looks down at his pen tapping a rhythm out on his desk. ‘Have you told Zara?’

‘Yeah. Just now, actually. She seems tickled. Apparently it wasn’t a surprise to her.’

‘How’s she doing?’

‘Zara?’ I frown in confusion. ‘Same as usual. Annoyingly perky. She’ll be insufferable over this. Why d’you ask?’

‘No reason.’ His eyes are still on the pen. ‘Is she seeing anyone, do you know?’

I attempt to recall the regular, vapid conversation that generally floats over my head in the History office.

‘Don’t think so. She’s been going on about one of the PE teachers, though.’

He looks up sharply. ‘Gibbs? It has to be Gibbs.’

‘That rings a bell.’ I narrow my eyes. ‘You interested, or something?’

‘No,’ he says a little too quickly. ‘Just like to know what’s going on in my school.’

‘Course you do.’ Interesting. I make a vague plan to tuck that nugget of information away to tell Elodie. Not sure if I’ll remember. After all, my brain’s a useless fucking swirl of love hormones right now.

‘Anyway. Tell Elodie she has my blessing.’ He grins at me. ‘You two will make a nice couple.’

A couple. Jesus Christ, how did I get so lucky? I nod my thanks and turn to go.

As I hit the door, he says behind me, ‘Just give it a chance, mate, okay? Do yourself a favour and don’t put your shit on her.’

I nod again, to let him know I’ve heard him loud and clear, and shut the door behind me.