Love Drunk: Chapter Nine

Lainie Robertson has found a nice guy, he's sweet and funny and doesn't grump and groan at her for no reason! So why is Dexter Maloney flooding her thoughts? The thirty somethings are struggling with love and life, so it's only natural that some maternal advice is needed...

Avril Maloney was a mother of two very handsome, very smart and very sweet boys! She lost her husband ten years ago, heart attack...unexpected...devastating...the end of her world!!! Her youngest son, Dexter would visit her once a week and give her all the news about his paintings and his band, how his older brother Ashton was doing in the fire service and what inventions their friend Drew had brought home that week. But for the past three weeks, Avril hadn't seen her son! He hadn't stopped by! She had called him and he said he was fine, just busy! But she knew him better than that, she knew there was a girl, a pretty blonde who ran a diner. She'd captured his heart and his soul, and now he was love sick...love drunk even!

  So on a cold Monday night, Avril could take it no longer, she had called up Ashton to find out what was going on with his brother. He agreed to come over the next day and have a chat with her, put her mind at ease!

  He was true to his word and appeared that morning after a call-out. "Dex is still fast asleep, I have to go and wake him mum and then..."

"You're in love too!" she exclaimed as Ash began to blush.

"WHAT? Ha, nonsense!" he laughed nervously.

"Oh Ashy, do you have a girlfriend at last?"

"No of course n..." Avril interrupted.

 "Look you don't have to discuss such things with your old mum, you're 36, a grown man! But...do tell me about your brother. Is he eating properly? Is he looking after himself?"

"Mum, he's fine he just..."

"What?" Ash breathed heavily and looked his mother in the eye,

"He has a lot of paintings to work on that's all!" Avril knew her son was lying, she needed to know her baby boy was alright!

 "I can feel you watching me!" Lainie murmured sleepily. Dexter chuckled softly and stroked her cheek,

"Is watching you a crime?"

"I'm trying to sleep Dexy!" she huffed and wrinkled her nose as a tiny strand of hair tickled her face.

 "I just wanna look at you forever!" Dex smiled broadly and continued to gaze at her, she was really his! Nobody would ever come between them ever again! This time they belonged to each other.

"Dexy?" Lainie whispered.

"Yes freckles?"

"I think you should..." her voice trailed off as another, deeper and more masculine one replaced it.

"Lainie?"

 "I think you should get up now Dex!" A deeper voice ordered him as Lainie disappeared completely.

"Huh?"

 "DEXTER WILLIAM MALONEY!!! GET UP!"

 "Okay okay! No need to yell jeez!" Dexter yawned loudly and sat up slightly, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

 "What are you doing asleep at this time of day?" Ash demanded as he towered over him.

"I...must have dozed off...or...something! What day is it?" Dex replied quietly stifling another yawn.

 "Tuesday dude! I've just been to mum's and she is worried about you! Give her a phone sometime eh? What were you smiling about then huh?" Ash chuckled as Dex coughed nervously, still rubbing his eyes like a little boy...

 "Oh you know! A dream...just a dream!"

It had been a slow morning in the diner, Lainie received a visit from David and decided to shut early. 

"So, how about a movie at yours since it's such awful weather outside?"

"Sounds great David! What do you want to watch?" David squeezed Lainie's hands playfully and replied,

"Lady's choice!"

 "Go on up, I'll just need to finish here. I choose...Shallow Hal!" Lainie giggled and pulled her hands away gently.

"As you wish!" David smiled and headed upstairs to the flat.

 "Roxy?" Lainie murmured.

"Yes dear?"

"Do you think I should have kept Dexy's painting in here? Was I being too sensitive?"

"Yes dear!"

"Thought so!" Lainie had been rather self conscious about the painting Dexter had made of her, so she asked him to keep it in his flat for now. She could see he was a little hurt and insulted, but she got nervous at the thought of customers ogling it! Little did she know, Dexter had it in his room...and he said goodnight to it every night! Which was probably the cause of his dreams about her! She was ushered upstairs by Roxy who offered to clear up on her own so that Lainie could be with David. So she took up the offer and skipped into the lift, a movie with a handsome man...heaven!

 Charlotte had agreed to help Drew with a weather machine, so when there was a knock on her door, she assumed that he'd arrived a little earlier than promised...but it wasn't Drew! It was someone Charlotte would rather not deal with at that moment in time...

 ...her mother! Without even saying hello or any other kind of pleasantries, she dove straight in and to the point,

"Clear the spare room Lottie! Mama needs a place to stay for a couple of...er...weeks! Sterilisation month at the cattery, you know how it is! So I'll just get my bags and be here in a lickety split! Where's your brother by the way? I have something I need to tell you both! Stick the kettle on and we'll have a good ol' chin wag eh? Hang tight jelly bean, there's only six of them!" Charlotte blinked and asked, 

"Six of what mother?"

"BAGS! Pay attention girly!"

 As Temperance Kennedy hot footed it down the stairs and off to get her bags, Charlotte began to panic...a couple of WEEKS??? Temperance Kennedy was ten times more kooky than her daughter, she owned the cat sanctuary that Charlotte worked in and was estranged from her father. Arthur Kennedy owned his own construction company and was worth millions. Temperance left him when the twins were 2 years old and banned him from seeing them. It wasn't until Charlotte and Rob were 18 that they tracked him down and got to know him. Things were strained between Charlotte and her mother since then. But Arthur was kind to both his children, buying Charlotte her flat when her marriage broke up, giving Rob a job in his company. Temperance took this as betrayal, her children had betrayed her. To this day Charlotte could never understand why.

 Charlotte's panic began to subside as she spotted Drew come out of his own flat and approach her with a huge grin, "Char! I made the sun shine, look!" Charlotte could only stare off into space as Drew shouted "HELLLLOOOOO!" at her.

 Drew waved a hand in front of Charlotte's face and frowned, "Char? What's up?" Charlotte continued to stare straight ahead and grumbled,

"My mother Andrew! That's what's up!"

 "Oh! Here? Now?" Drew gulped and looked around the lobby.

"No she was here, she'll be back...with her BAGS!"

"Is this...good or...er bad?" Charlotte finally looked him in the eyes and let out a little, frustrated sigh,

"Ohhhh it's bad! Bad bad bad!"

 "Oh my God! That is dire my dear little bro!" Ash shouted over Dexter's morbid and depressing piano playing.

 "Ohhh Lainie! Can you blame me? I'm pining for you like a lost soul! I see you with him and it kills me inside! It really should be me you're lying beside..."

 "My ears...are literally bleeding! WHAT was THAT???"

"It's...just me venting! I know it's crappy!"

 "Look I have to pop to the station and do some paperwork so...look if you really love her then do something about it! Don't lie down and take it! She's not officially his girlfriend yet...you can still win her over!" Dexter stood up from his keyboard and headed to the door.

 "What if I painted her? Like for real this time? That would mean spending oodles of time with me right?" Ash nodded and folded his arms, not sure where this was going but going with it anyway.

"Right bro! I'm outta here!"

"Yeah, paperwork! I'm going to see my freckles!"

 Ash didn't have any paperwork at all, he had Erin work! Still not content unless he saw her at least once a day, Ash was running out of excuses to tell his brother and best friend!

"Well, I really need help getting my fold-up bed down, it's ever so heavy for a little thing like me!" Erin pouted as Ash smiled and flexed his muscles. Erin laughed and punched his arm playfully.

"What do you need the bed down for? Huh?" Ash winked and tried to stop the wide grin from forming on his face but failing miserably. "You er...you wanna snuggle?"

"Why Mr Maloney! I simply needed you, a big strong fireman, to pull down my bed for me...is that too much to ask?" she was toying with him now, and he loved it!

Ash looked Erin in the eyes and in a deep voice replied, "No problem little lady, I got this!"

Ash had in fact NOT got this! Trapping himself inside the bed was one thing, but to struggle to keep it down was another, Erin found this highly amusing as he grunted to prop it in the right position.

 "Are you going to leave me here all alone? Or are you coming to give me a massage after my very traumatic experience???" Ash called to her as she still stood, in a trance.

 Ash stood up from the bed and sighed, "Okay, what's up babe?"

"It's...it's something...you're not gonna like it Ashton!"

"Try me!"

"I want you to tell your brother and friend about me...or it's over!"

Lainie and David had spent the entire afternoon watching films together, she'd never met a guy so happy to sit and tolerate her slushy choices. Usually it was slasher movies and Sci-fi with Dexter, but lately she was in a romantic, sentimental mood. And even though she would bury her head in Dexter's shoulder if a particularly gory scene came up, she felt that with David...that would just make things more serious! And something was stopping her from going there!

As they watched The Truth About Cats And Dogs, Lainie was aware of David looking at her and not the television. She finally turned to face him and asked him "What's wrong David? We can change the film if..." she began but stopped at the sight of David's blonde hair flailing around as he emphatically shook his head.

"No, no! I just...it wouldn't matter what was on I wouldn't be able to concentrate!" he scooted closer towards her and draped his arm over her shoulders.

"Lainie, I believe we're getting along really well right?"

"Right, why?"

"Well, I just want to be honest and tell you that...I enjoy hanging out with you. I like looking at you, I love talking to you...I want to do it more often! Would that suit you?" Lainie could see beads of sweat spotted all over his forehead and his warm hand on her shoulder.

"Yes David, it really would!" his face lit up as soon as she confirmed that she too enjoyed hanging out with him.

"Well I..." just as the words escaped his lips there was a knock on the door.

Lainie sighed and leaned into him, squeezing her eyes shut she muttered, "Ohhhh, look I'll go get rid of whoever that is and...I won't be long!"

Lainie answered the door in a bit of a mood, she was actually getting somewhere with David and...oh...it was Dexter! Had she known that this very nervous boy had been pacing the hall outside her door for over an hour then perhaps she wouldn't have been so annoyed with him. "Dexy! What's up?" she tried to sound upbeat but truthfully she just wanted him to go away!

"Hey freckles!" but as soon as he called her freckles, she melted! Only he could ever call her that and make her want to get lost in his arms forever.

"What?" her mind was foggy, she was beginning to blur David and Dexter together and her head hurt.

"I...er...I would like to paint you!"

Lainie's frustration was hitting boiling point as she fought back the urge to kick him where it hurt, "You what? Didn't you already do that? And it's a little risque to put in the diner so..."

"Yeah but...this time...I want you to pose for me. Like for real, we can...hang out!" there was that word again, "hanging out"!

"Um...why?"

"Lainie I miss you! We don't really spend much time together anymore and...I just completed my Saw collection with nobody to get terrified with...I just miss you, plus I need a pretty girl to paint!" Lainie's heart was about to explode, the way he cocked his head to one side when he said he missed her!

"Well, there go my ovaries!" she muttered. Was that just a line? A pretty girl to paint? Surely with his credentials, being a singer in a band, he had his pick of prettier girls that her!

"Huh?" Dexter frowned and wrinkled his nose.

"Never mind, so what day and..." Lainie was talking, but all Dexter could focus on were her lips, so round and soft looking, so inviting, so...

"Dexxxterrrrr????"

 "DEXTER!"

"Huh?" Dex shook his head, he'd been fantasising again...right in front of her this time!

"I said what day and what time do you want me to come over?"

"I wanna start this sooner rather than later! You're my muse!" Lainie laughed at the word "muse", but this didn't put Dexter off, "You inspire me!" he smiled and headed for the stairs but called to her "Tomorrow night, after closing time!" and sprinted up, two steps at a time.

Temperance Kennedy had talked Charlotte into hauling all six of her bags up the stairs (and a Ficus tree) and into her daughter's very tidy flat. If she had anything to do with it, it wouldn't be tidy for much longer! "Lottie? LOOOOOTTTTIIIIIEEEEEE!!!"

Trying to get a breath alone, Charlotte ignored the yells of her mother only to be joined by her in the hallway. "Lottie! There you are!"

"It's Charlotte mother!!!" she snapped irritably, it had only been a matter of hours and her mother was annoying her already!

"Oh dearie, I've called you Lottie since you were born! Look I can't wait for your brother so I'll just come out and say it! Will you come inside please?"

"That's it? Come inside?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? No silly girl, I'd rather discuss this inside!"

"Anything you have to say, you say it right now mother!" Charlotte snapped, she really didn't like this side of her that her mother brought out.

"Well...okay then! It's about Arthur, your father. Only he's not...your father! Truth is I have no idea who your father is dear. I did a lot of herbal medicines in my youth and...Arthur was good to me but I could no longer live the lie so I left." Temperance could hardly look at her daughter.

"Mother why are you telling me this now? After 35 years?"

"I don't really know, it just felt like a good idea!" Charlotte felt like wrapping her hands around her mother's neck and squeezing with all of her might as she shrugged and her big eyes blinked. "So...what's for dinner?" A shrill scream reverberated inside Charlotte's head as she contemplated throwing her mother out of the window!

Drew had got out of there sharpish when Charlotte mentioned her mother's presence. He wasn't ready to meet her yet, not while he was getting along so well with Charlotte! Drew was waiting for Ash to return from a call-out. The fact that he lied about where he was going was still on his mind, he'd watched Ash over the past few days being secretive and guarded. Lies spilled out of his mouth so easily, what was it? Drugs? Alcohol? Petty crime? Now he was just being stupid! A female voice echoed at the bottom of the stairs as he tried to put all these silly notions out of his mind.

"Hey!" It was Roxy from the diner, Lainie's friend. She had a thing for him and it scared him. He'd never been good at interacting with females but with Charlotte it came so naturally, probably because she was so innocent and so nuts at the same time.

"Oh, hey Roxy!"

When she reached the top she could tell he wasn't that interested in her presence, "How's it going? You told Dex about that video yet?"

"Oh, no. I don't think it would be the right time."

"Well don't leave it too long eh? What are you doing out here in the cold anyway?"

"Waiting for Ash to get home from a call-out." There was an awkward silence until Roxy made a move.

"Well, I need a shower. See you later!"

"Roxy wait!" Drew felt he needed to clear the air, let her know it wasn't her, he just...liked someone else!

"Yes Drew?" 

"I...think you're a really nice, pretty girl! The truth is I'm kinda seeing someone so...look I just wanted you to know that it's not you, you're gorgeous! You can't help who you fall in love with though eh?" Roxy smiled sadly and tried not to cry.

"No, that's true!" she replied cheerily, a little too cheerily.

"I'd appreciate it if you...well you're the first and only person I'm telling right now so...can this be our secret?" Roxy felt a warm buzz inside of her, being entrusted with this, it was an honour. Albeit a bittersweet one.

"You can trust me Drew, goodnight!"

"What are you doing out here?" Ashton's voice cut through Drew's thoughts...

"Waiting for you!" he replied flatly, "Call-out?"

"Yup!"

"Again?"

"What do you mean?" Ash demanded, rather defensively.

"Oh nothing I just meant that there are a heck of a lot of fires here in Moonlight Falls as of late!" he gave Ash a faint smile and waited for his reply.

"And your point is?" was all he could say.

"Well, the thing is Ash...Charlotte's cat getting stuck in the dryer?"

"What about it?" Ash felt his cheeks glow red as he clenched his fists.

"Oh nothing, just that...I went over there that night and she hadn't a clue about that! And you had never been there at all! Care to explain elder Maloney?"

"Explain what?" he just wasn't going to give in!

"Where are you going? What are you up to..."

"...why are you lying to me and to Dex? Is it bad? Ash? Ash!"

Ash shook his head roughly and snapped back into reality, "...drugs?" Drew continued, "Because if it is, then we're here for you man!"

"No, nothing like that! You have your secrets, I have mine okay? Where do you sneak off to when you're lying to us? Huh?" Drew didn't answer, blinking in surprise, realising that perhaps they had the same type of secret, did Ash have a girlfriend at last? He decided to let it go...for now!

Avril Maloney, still in search of her youngest, took a trip to the club where their band played most of their gigs. And there he was, sitting alone and looking lost. Her instincts told her to run to him and wrap her arms around him, but her common sense told her not to embarrass her boy, her boy who was now a man! "There you are, you know Dexter you're a hard man to track down!"

Dexter looked up, surprised to hear his mother's voice. "Mum?" Instead of running for cover he shot up and pulled her into a warm and loving hug.

"Oh mum! What are you doing down here? It's not safe in this end of the town!"

"I needed to find my baby! He's not exactly been easy to contact of late!"

Dexter let go of his mother and pouted, "It's been a bit hectic!"

"Why have you been avoiding me honey?" Avril's eyes penetrated Dexter's, the eyes she had passed down to him, so blue and bright and full of life! Her handsome son was hurting, she could see it in those very eyes! They told her everything she needed to know about both of her boys, Ashton with Jim's apologetic eyes, and Dexter...full of cheek and charm!

"I haven't been avoiding you mum I just..." Dex tried to give some sort of explanation, but anything he said would be a lie and his mother would know it! He had been avoiding her!

"Oh really? Well it sure as heck felt that way to me! You've come to see me every week without fail since your father...three weeks Dexter! Three whole weeks!"

"I'm sorry mum, I've had a lot on my mind. There's really no excuse!"

"Is it the girl you were telling me about?" Avril gave her son a knowing smile.

"Yes and no..." Dexter sighed and looked down at the ground.

"Well, let's have a seat and talk about it. How about that?"

"So..." Avril began, "...you gunna tell your old mama all about it or..."

"You were right, it is Lainie that's bothering me."

"The girl who runs the diner?"

"Yes! I love her mum! But she's seeing this other guy and..."

Avril let out a little chuckle and looked at her son with an amused expression, "Honey? How long has she been seeing this other guy?"

"Um, about a week now! Why?"

"Oh sweetie, anything worth having is worth fighting for! From what you've told me you haven't exactly come out and said you love her have you?" Dexter knew his mother was right.

"No, but I'm going to! Very soon in fact!" Avril sighed impatiently and shook her head.

"Dexter? How are you going to do that when you can't even ask her out on a date?"

"I'm going to paint her, and then she's going to get to know the real me and..." Avril shook her head again.

"Dexter! You have to tell her exactly where she fits in your life! Right now, she has no clue and she's dating another man. This was your doing, if you'd seemed interested she would be dating you right now! And your brother told me about the tantrums, you don't treat a girl like that Dexter, it's just not attractive believe it or not!"

Dexter felt a stab of guilt in his chest, "I know! I feel terrible! I don't know what came over me!"

"Love makes us do all sorts of crazy things. You were angry with her for letting another guy kiss her, only to discover that she was actually assaulted by this man, in a manner of speaking!You were punishing her for not working out how you feel when it really isn't her job to work it out..."

"...honey it's your job to let her know!"

Roxy headed straight for bed after her shower, thinking about how Drew had told her a secret that nobody else knew! It made her feel important, but it also made her feel alone!

She had poured herself into the whole Drew Mitchell fantasy, trying to forget Kevin Larson the no good loser!

She lay down and dozed off...

...safe in the knowledge that, although he might not feel the same way about her, Drew was a true friend!

Lainie and David had watched a total of five films and it was getting late. With Roxy in bed, and Lainie feeling a bit sick from all the ice cream she had consumed, it was time for David to head home. "So, what did Dex want earlier?"

Lainie was about to tell him, but something stopped her from doing it. She wanted Dexter to paint her, she really did! But she didn't want anyone to know about it...not even David! So she lied! "Oh, nothing, just wanted me to hang another painting in the diner!"

"I wish I'd seen the one he did of you! Roxy said it was amazing!" Lainie blushed and tried to change the subject.

"Oh...look at the time! I need to be up early to open the diner so..."

"I know, I'm just going! But before I do...I want you to know that I really am fond of you! And I hope you're fond of me too!"

All Lainie could do was smile, she did like David, but every time she tried to let herself go completely and be with him...Dexter got in the way! She needed to find a way to rid him of her mind or she would never let another man in her life ever again...and she was terrified of that happening!

Uh-oh, Lainie is torn! Are you? Chapter ten coming sooooon! Thanks for reading! ;)