Chapter 6: New People
My phone was vibrating like crazy with Karl prancing around the place, flashing his biceps at every large box and winking at me whilst I admired said biceps. This wasn't going to work.
"Karl?"
"Yes, give me a sec. Let me haul this last beast in and your moving is done".
I patiently waited for him as he dumped the box in the house and slowly strolled back to me.
"Lunch date is definitely cancelled because it's nearly 5 o'clock". As soon as I said that his face fell. "But, we can do dinner instead at 8?"
"I'm all yours darling, got nowhere to be. What do we do until 8 then?"
I nudged him. "Funny you've included yourself in my plans till 8".
He did his best puppy eyes and I relented.
"See these cameras that are everywhere? Well, my dad's spying on us. That's also why my phone won't shut up, I know a bit about tech but my cousin is a genius so he can take away their access and I can get my peace and quiet".
Karl whistled. "I can imagine how much he hates me right now".
"That's right".
"Actually, you having an overprotective dad is good for me. I should thank him".
"What, why?"
"It means I have a chance", he winked at me.
"I never said I was single".
"Please, what guy would let his girl go off and stay at home far, far away from her where she might have a good-looking very single neighbour".
"Oh? I thought the other neighbour was an old lady. My non-existent boyfriend would have nothing to worry about".
He clutched his chest in fake pain. "Wow, so cold-hearted. My self-esteem has dropped to 0".
I laughed and flicked his cheek, "Well, you're not that bad to look at".
"Just not bad?"
"That's all you're going to get for now. Come, let's get the camera situation sorted".
---
It took several calls for my cousin to pick up but it was worth it. Within an hour he managed to cut my parents off completely and I was now completely stress-free.
Spritzing on some perfume, I put my shoes on, blew KK an unwanted kiss and headed out to where Karl was waiting for me in his car. As I slid in the passenger seat, he smirked at me.
"You ever rode a horse before?"
"Yeah, when I was younger. Not sure if I remember how to though".
He pulled out of the driveway and headed towards his dad's inn.
"Pretty much everyone here rides a horse. It's more convenient to get around and there are stables pretty much everywhere that anyone can use. Like free parking", He looked at me and smirked. "I can teach you to ride if you like".
What -
"Yeah, sure if you don't mind", I replied nonchalantly. "But, you're going to have to drop the cringey lines".
"Just so you know, my 'cringey lines' have a 100% success rate", he fired back as he flashed another smirk at me.
"If you say so," I stuck my tongue out at him. "What do you do for work?"
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain but I do the managing, organising, and sometimes bartending for Meyer's inn and Luka does all the accounting and the maths stuff".
As he said that, he pulled up outside the inn and suddenly leaned over me, his arms trapping me in. His face was dangerously close to mine and I could see the little coloured flecks in his blue eyes and the stubble on his very fine jaw. His hair fell forward onto his forehead, brushing on my face and he just looked at me. He picked up a piece of hair that had come loose and tucked it behind my ear. What the flip was he trying to do?
"Is my seduction working?" he whispered.
"Not really. In fact, it's a little creepy", I whispered back.
"In that case, I wasn't trying to seduce. I was only undoing your seatbelt". The 'click' of my seatbelt echoed throughout the car.
"Last I checked I was able to do that myself. Also, you need a breath mint", I replied - still whispering.
He suddenly pushed away from me and slumped back in his seat. "Really?" - His face was bright red.
"Not really, I was just messing with you", I patted him on the shoulder and got out the car. "When your face has returned to normal colour, meet me in the inn. I don't want people to get the wrong idea". I winked at him one last time and headed inside.
As soon as I entered I was hit with the scent of baked goods and my mouth started watering. The place was pretty packed out for such a small village during the middle of the day. I could feel people staring at me - not unkindly, but enough to make my face heat up a little bit - as I made my way to the front where I could see John talking to a woman who was brandishing a rolling pin.
I slid into the seat and coughed slightly to get their attention. John whipped around and a huge smile made its way on his face.
"Look, Jay, this was the girl I was telling you about, Arya!"
The woman narrowed her eyes at me and seemed to scan me from head to toe.
"Hmm", she pursed her lips. "When you said there was a new pretty girl, you should have mentioned that she is young".
"What are you on about?"
"She's just a girl, I thought she was older and that your eyes where roaming where they shouldn't be".
"Is that why you have been mad at me? Why are you jumping to conclusions?"
"You should have made that more clear", shrugging her husband off she turned to me and smiled at me, offering her hand. "Hi, Arya, I'm Jada, this oaf's wife. You can just call me Jay".
I shook her hand. "Hello, Jay. Nice to meet you".
"Ooh, she's very polite", Jay nudged her husband and grinned, her closed-off aura completely gone. "I like her already!"
At that moment, Karl decided to stagger into the bar, waving to everyone.
"That's my son, Karl -", before Jay could finish off, Karl made eye contact with me and made a bee-line to the bar.
"Hi Ma, Pa. Thanks for waiting for me Arya".
"You already know each other?" John looked confused.
"Yes, we are neighbours", I responded.
"Poor soul, imagining having to live near Karl", Jay reached out and grabbed my shoulders lightly. "If he does anything weird, don't hesitate to come and tell me and I'll give him a good beating".
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to do exactly that", I grinned at her. She seemed to be a no-nonsense person - my kind of person.
"Well, I'm not 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 bad, anyway Ma, I am going to go introduce her around to everyone before you can embarrass me anymore". He grabbed me by my hand and started to pull me away to the tables where people were seated.
"Arya, pop down anytime you want, even to just say hi and I can whip something up for you!"
"I thought I was going to introduce her to everyone?!" John called out.
"Thanks, Jay, I'll definitely come. Also, sorry John". Karl pulled on my hand again and I waved at them.
"So everyone this is Arya, Arya this is Mrs Carter, Mr Carter, Elise, James..."
After pretty much showing me the whole village, I was fatigued and honestly wanted to curl up in bed, hopefully, with KK even she felt generous enough to show me affection. Plus, I had been on the road for a few hours to get here and I was desperately sleeping deprived. Poor Karl who had been waiting for dinner ended up dropping me off at my house and taking a rain check.
I barely managed to pour out some food into KK's bowl before collapsing in my bed, exhausted.
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