Gaby Book 20 ~ Express ~ Chapter *31*

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*Chapter 31*
Panic Stations

 

When Max surfaced the only expression on his face was one of tired over indulgence, there was no hint that we’d been, well intimate.

"Morning.”
"Its nearly afternoon,” Jules observed which got a chuckle from Boris,” there’s food in the oven.”
"Oven?” he shrugged and headed for the kitchen.
"You guys coming up to ours?” I asked.
"Dunno, Bo?” Jules queried.
"Guess so,” he agreed, "We need some shopping though.”
"Okay, me and Gab can do that while you two do some ‘bonding’.”
Bo gave her a strange look before shrugging, "Whatever.”
"Come on sis, stuff to do.”

 

"How you feeling?” Jules asked as we descended to street level.
"Still a bit hungover,” I admitted, "What time did we get back to the flat?”
"Dunno, two, half past,” she suggested.
"Urgh. So where are these shops?”
"In the next street, we can get you know what in the Apotheke while we’re free of the boys.”

Yeah that, after everything I've said, I'm gonna join Bern as another teen statistic.

The shops, a small Penny, a bakery, ladies hairdresser, slot arcade and the Chemist occupy the ground floor of a modernish block containing some sort of health centre and other stuff above. I trailed my sister around the tiny food market as she shopped for the stuff on her list, I wonder how they manage for money? I picked up a bag of comfort food and dropped it into her basket.

"I'll give you the money,” I hurriedly told her raised eyebrow.
"Didn’t think you were still into them, there’s a factory shop down Godesberg somewhere, I think Bo knows where it is.”
"Just need a quick fix.”

A few minutes later and we were waiting to be served in the Apotheke which unlike the British largely self service format was typical German counter serve pattern. Give me good old Boots®2 any day, we could’ve picked what we need off the shelf, paid and out of there, minimum embarrassment. No, instead we have to queue and ask for what we need.

"Morning ladies, how can we help?” the Apothekerin enquired as we shuffled to the counter.
"I erm,” I mumbled.
The Dark One sighed before addressing the woman, "My sister needs a test kit please.”

Talk about mortified, it might be the truth but nevertheless its not something you want broadcasting to half of Bonn. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean, everyone’ll know I've had s e x. the woman’s expression didn’t change although I'm sure she was judging me.

"We do a single for five euro or a two pack is seven.”
"Best have the two,” Jules decided, "Be prepared eh?”
"Jules!” I complained under my breath.

 

"No point doing this today,” my sister advised reading the packet as we walked back to the flat, "It takes a week or so for anything to show.”
"I've got to wait a week?” I almost wailed.
"Its not gonna make much difference is it?”
"But if I'm pregnant it’ll ruin everything!”
"Its hardly the end of the world.”
"Not for you maybe,” I snatched my pack of sweets and started a gummi bear binge.

 

"You were a long time,” Boris opined when we got back to the flat.
"There was a queue,” Jules supplied.
"You want a drink before we go?” Bo offered.
"I need one,” my sister suggested, giving me a Paddington stare.
"I'll sort my bag,” I mumped heading for the room I shared with Max last night.

"You alright Gab?” Max asked following me through.
"Shouldn’t I be?”
He shrugged, "Guess not, some night eh, Boris said we can come up again if we want, maybe just go clubbing.”
"Whatever, you seen my tights?”
He glanced about, "By the dresser.”

They were indeed, why they were over there, on Max’s side, I've no idea. Why isn’t he saying anything? I mean, I can hardly bring the subject up, ‘did you enjoy the sex Max’, grr, how can he be so casual about it?

 

It was after twelve by the time I climbed out of Bo’s dilapidated Polo at Schloss Bond having come the long way round to avoid the climb out of Bonn. Even then the asthmatic thing struggled to get much above fifty kph. I'm not complaining, its saved an hour and two trains – well okay time wise it hardly made any difference but it has been door to door.

"You staying?” Dad enquired when Boris pulled, he was armed with a hose and brush, I guess cleaning the dripping camper behind him.
"We don’t have to,” Jules replied, "I've brought cake?”
"I was just going to suggest you park up by the garage,” Dad mentioned in riposte.
“’Kay.”

Boris coaxed the car up the drive and once stopped I wasted no time pulling my bags out and heading inside.

"Gabs! Good time last night?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice, "Geez Mand, don’t do that.”
"Soz, you want coffee?”
"My room, stat.”

To be honest I'd forgotten Mand was back, other things, well one other thing has been distracting me today. Once up in Gab’s eyrie I closed the door before crashing onto my bed.

"What’s up?”

 

"You sure you did it?”
"We must have, we were in bed together.”
"And Max never said anything?”
"Not a word, I got these,” I pulled out the testing kits to show her, "But they won’t show anything for like a week.”
"Can’t you get like that morning after pill? You know from the doctor?”
I did a head slap, "Why didn’t I think of that? But they’re not open till Monday.”
"I'm sure you don’t have to take it literally in the morning,” Mand suggested.
"I'll go Monday morning,” I decided, "So how was Croydon, did you get everything sorted out?”
"How long you got?”

 

We actually returned to the kitchen to make that coffee for everyone before I got the lo down on Mand’s fortnight at home south of London. Clearly it had gone better than Christmas when she came back to Dernau a week early, she hadn’t had a blazing row with her mother this time. In fact it sounded like she enjoyed herself even riding a couple of local evening races at Crystal Palace and doing quite well.

"So what was all that about, before Yorkshire?” I asked.
"Me being daft.”
"About what?”
"Everything?”
"Like?” I prodded.
"Well you were getting up close and personal with Max, I mean really going on about it.”
"Soz,” I allowed.
"I probably would be too,” she admitted before going on, "Anyhow it sort of came to a head that week you went to the comic thing.”
"You went to Bonn?”
"Yeah and got dumped.”
"Dumped? I didn’t know you were even seeing anyone, you never said anything, we coulda double dated or something.”
"Yeah well its not quite that simple.”
"What is?” I bemoaned, "So what happened?”
"Well if you remember I rode the train up to Bonn with you guys….”

I listened agog, well listened anyway to her tale of desire, lust, stolen kisses, furtive phone calls over the best part of six months.

“….Parents didn’t exactly approve of me, guess it got too much. So anyway we went to the cinema, you know the one on Markt?”
"Think we went once,” I confirmed.
"Anyhow we got the tickets then we got in a fight over popcorn and she just stormed off.”

Yeah She, Mand’s kept that under a bushel, I really thought she was into boys, not that she’s ever really said she fancied anyone, guess she was using it as cover.

"So anyway I catch up to her and she went off on one, said it was all over, she was just experimenting or something and she was seeing Phillip Barnes Hansen anyway.”
"You okay?” I asked resting a hand on her arm.
"Yeah, it really hurt though, I just wanted to die there and then, I really thought she was the one, you know like you and Max.”
"Huh! So you came straight back then?”
"You kidding, I paid for those tickets and the popcorn, I went back inside and sat through Final Destination 3, which by the way was terrible and badly dubbed, on my own, sobbing into my popcorn.”
"Eurgh, soggy popcorn.”
"I wouldn’t recommend it.”
"Why didn’t you say anything?”
"I was embarrassed and angry, you were all lovey dovey with Max, I wanted to talk but there was never a good time so I lashed out. Then your dad suggested I visit home and I thought I'd make a clean break from Sarah, from Germany, from everything.”

By now I was holding her tight and my tears were joining hers.

"So what changed your mind?”
"You did, well you and the girls, when we were in Yorkshire.”
"I, we did?”
"Yeah, I realised that the people I want to be with are here, well that and I don’t think I could give up the racing,” she allowed with a forced chuckle.
"Does Dad know all this?”
"Yeah, well the bare bones at least.”
"He never said a word.”
"I asked him not to, do you forgive me?”
"For what?”
"For being a moody cow, and a lesbo.”
"And I'm not,” I replied, "Well moody cow, not the lesbian bit of course.”
"So?”
"Course, nothing to forgive as long as you don’t go all butch on me.”
"No chance, I might like girls but that doesn’t mean I want to be a man!”
"Well that’s that sorted, we’ll just have to find you a nice local girl to hold hands with.”
"Think I'm done with romance for now, you and Max provide enough entertainment without adding my own drama.”
"Huh!”
"So apart from sleeping with lover boy how was your visit to Bonn?”
"Oh right, I never told you about the gig did I? So Glo dropped us off at Boris’ flat….”

And so I started the story of the BlauHase gig and the evening that followed.

 

Maddy Bell © 29.05.17

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Comments

So now we know.

Podracer's picture

It's great that Mand finally opened up to her friend. Keeping that to herself could have cost her dearly.
Mr.B. is a cool dad - Mand can see that.

"Reach for the sun."

So Sarah

Is a LUG. AKA Lesbian Until Graduation, as we call it here in the US. Kinda the female version of "sowing your wild oats". Just some experimention, not a lifestyle change. As much as it hurts, its best that Mand found out sooner than later.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Again, thinking the worse before gaining knowledge

Jamie Lee's picture

Gaby always think the worse before she gains any facts about the situation. In her strange mind, if he and she sleep in the same bed they always have an intimate encounter. It never occurs to her that the boy and girl might just happen to sleep in the same bed without the extra activity.

Gaby and her QED have been wrong multiple times in the past, but she learns nothing from those times. Because she's panicking now shows she needs a good course on the birds and bees.

Others have feelings too.