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your mum up to bed now, love. She can barely keep her eyes open, but was determined to stay awake to make sure you were OK, Jason,’ he said, his voice laden with sarcasm.

      Donte and Shay were already in bed, so as soon as Carol and Melissa left the room, Johnny stood up and kicked the door shut with his Dealer boot. ‘Where’s the ring?’ he barked.

      Jason took the box out of the carrier bag and opened it. He handed Johnny an envelope. ‘The receipt and a grand is in there. I looked at dearer rings, but thought Mel would like this one more.’

      Johnny stared Jason in the eyes. ‘I am warning you one last time. If you do have other bits of skirt on the go, you need to sack ’em off. Because if I find out you are cheating on my daughter, I will not only cut your cock off, I’ll ram it down the back of your throat and get great pleasure in watching you choke to death. Now, do we understand one another?’

      Jason Rampling could not sleep. He had got himself into such a predicament and Johnny’s threat kept swirling around his brain. He did love Darlene, but they were hardly the next Romeo and Juliet. He supposed, in a way, she was the mother figure he’d never had. He’d always felt safe at her home, loved and wanted. All the things he’d never felt with his own mother.

      Sighing, Jason turned on his other side. Darlene was becoming more clingy of late, which was worrying. She didn’t seem to give a shit if the neighbours heard them arguing, whereas in the past she’d always turn the music up. And she’d threatened to tell Andy about their affair last time she’d caught him cheating on her. Jason doubted she’d ever carry out that threat, but he’d hate Andy to find out. They weren’t as close now as they’d been at school, but Jason would still feel guilty for betraying his one-time best pal in that way.

      Juggling a double life was not going to be easy. As Jason twisted and turned the night away, he weighed up his options. Darlene was eighteen years older than him, fast approaching forty. Would he really yearn for her in ten years’ time? He doubted it. Women didn’t age as well as men. He would always want her in his life though, and that was where the problem lay. Darlene was as much as a drug to him as he was to her. He could not live with her, but living without her seemed almost unthinkable.

      But, on the other hand, this was a big opportunity for him. No way was he destined to live the rest of his life on a council estate, he had too much going for him. Melissa might not be Miss World, but she was a path to a better future. Love or money? That was the choice he had to make right now. His heart told him Darlene, but his head told him not to be so stupid.

       CHAPTER NINE

      ‘Feast your eyes on these beauties, Jase. Straight off the back of a lorry heading for JJB Sports. A score a pair I want, but you can get forties on ’em all day long.’

      Jason glanced at the trainers. The bulk were Nike and Adidas, which always sold well. ‘I’ll have a think, got other stuff on at the moment.’

      Terrence Arnold looked at Jason quizzically. He was ten years older than the lad who ran the shoe stall on a Sunday for him. But they were good mates and he’d never known Jason to look a gift horse in the mouth before. Terrence, or Tel as his pals called him, often received hot property and as a rule Jason was salivating at the mouth to flog it. ‘What’s up with you?’

      ‘You really don’t want to know, mate. Listen. I got to dash. Will bell you about the trainers later.’

      ‘When we having a girlie night out? Don’t want to know me now you’re all loved up,’ Tracey Thompson taunted. She and Mel hadn’t had a night out since Melissa had met Jason, and Tracey had no other real friends to hang out with. Tracey had just been dumped by a local villain, Barry Higgins. She was heartbroken, loved the glamour and attention of being on his arm. Now he was history, no one gave a shit about her.

      Melissa picked up the menu. She and Tracey were having lunch in Romford. ‘We’ll arrange a night out soon, I promise. It’s a bit awkward at the moment, with Jase and Shay living at my mum and dad’s. I can’t just sod off out and expect my mum to look after Shay and Donte.’

      ‘I still can’t believe your parents allowed him to stay there. So, have you done it with him yet? He must’ve tried it on by now, surely?’

      ‘He has tried it on, but just as we were about to do it, my mum and dad came home,’ Melissa fibbed. No way was Mel admitting Jason had been unable to perform. Tracey would dine out on that bloody story for years.

      ‘I don’t wanna piss on your parade, mate, but something definitely ain’t right. Any normal bloke would’ve shagged you senseless by now. Barry tried it with me on our third date. That’s what normal men do. You sure he’s not seeing someone else? Is his phone switched on or off when he’s with you?’ Tracey was still baffled why Jason picked Melissa over her and alarm bells had started to ring. Was he a con man? He obviously had the gift of the gab to worm his way around Johnny Brooks. Mel’s father was an ogre when he wanted to be.

      ‘He has his phone switched off most the time. But he does turn it on to call people when I’m with him.’

      ‘Men are men, Mel. They think with their trousers. If he isn’t pestering you for sex, then he must be getting it elsewhere. Switching his phone off is well dodgy. I tell you what, next time he plans to go out of a night, ring me beforehand and I’ll follow him for ya.’

      Melissa suddenly did not feel hungry any more. She’d been in such a bubble since meeting Jason, she’d chosen to ignore his lack of physical interest in her. They hadn’t even kissed properly for weeks. A squeeze of the hand or peck on the lips was as intimate as they’d been. And why did he always switch his phone off when he was with her? He said it was because his battery was on the blink. But was that the truth? Or was he lying?

      Melissa arrived home with a new outfit, only to be told her mother wasn’t well enough to go out tonight. ‘She had a headache this morning, love. Was sick and now wants to spend her birthday at home,’ Johnny explained.

      Jason was in the lounge playing with Donte and Shay, and when he stood up and gave her the briefest of pecks on the cheek, Melissa could not help but think of Tracey’s words. Her friend was right, something was definitely amiss.

      ‘I need to pop out for a bit to pick your mum’s present up. The kids can come with me. Be nice if they chose a present for her too. She’d like that,’ Johnny said.

      As soon as her father’s car pulled off the drive, Melissa chose to confront Jason. ‘You’re seeing someone else. I know you are.’

      ‘Don’t be daft. Course I’m not. Your mate Tracey been putting silly ideas in your head again, has she? Surely you can see she’s jealous.’

      ‘This has got nothing to do with Tracey. I’m not stupid, Jase. You don’t even act like you fancy me.’

      ‘Of course I fancy you, ya nutter. What bloke wouldn’t? I just want our first time to be special, ya know. We can’t be having sex while your mum’s ill in bed upstairs. That’s disrespectful.’

      ‘Excuses, excuses. I think it’s odd how you switch your phone off when we’re together an’ all. I’m not being taken for a fool, Jase. Perhaps we should call it a day?’

      Jason tilted Melissa’s chin, forcing her to hold his gaze. ‘I’m not mugging you off, ya doughnut. Got a surprise lined up for you. A big surprise. You’ll see what you mean to me then.’

      ‘What is it? Tell me.’

      Jason silenced Melissa with a passionate kiss. Aware of his erection rubbing against her, all Melissa’s worries were temporarily forgotten.

      Later that evening, Jason Rampling felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter as he followed Johnny Brooks into the kitchen.

      ‘Ready?’ Johnny asked.

      ‘Erm, no. I think it’s best I put Shay to bed first in case Mel says no.’

      ‘OK.

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