Chapter 3

“I fucking don’t believe it.” Adrian scowled at the sporty looking blue hatchback blocking him in.

The carpark was full, the cars all tucked in tight, but whoever the owner was, they hadn’t given a damn as they’d parked up behind him, the car at an angle as though it’d been abandoned. He stomped back towards the pub; he didn’t give a toss if the owner had their face stuck in a pie, they were going to come out and they were going to move their car now.

Adrian shouldered his way to the bar, where he found Eva.

“You back to finish off your dinner, Adrian?” Eva chuckled, causing the piled high mass of lemon and lime curls to wobble.

“I’m blocked in. Can you do a call out for the driver, please?”

“I’m sorry about that, my love. Happens most Fridays. We’re trying to get permission to extend the carpark.”

He wrote down the registration number for her, but didn’t wait around to see who owned up to being a thoughtless twat.

In just the couple of minutes he’d been inside the pub, it had started to rain and Adrian waited in his battered, mud splattered Land Rover. There were a few cars like his parked, working vehicles belonging to local farmers like himself, but most were sleek and high end, much like the car blocking him in, yet more clear evidence of the influx of monied former city dwellers. Adrian huffed. Affluent newcomers had brought lots of benefits to the village, but this wasn’t one of them.

He glared at the clock on the dashboard. Almost ten minutes had passed since he’d asked Eva to call out the registration. He swore under his breath, ready to dive back into the pub, when the back door was pushed open as somebody dashed out into the shadowy carpark, and rushed towards the blue hatchback.

Adrian jumped out of his car, every part of him bristling with irritation — and froze.

“I’m terribly sorry for keeping you waiting. Oh. That really is a spectacularly bad bit of parking on my part. I’m not normally so awful. Or not usually. I’ll get it moved right now.” The fair-haired guy from the pub offered up an apologetic smile as he pressed his car key fob. And pressed it again. And again. The car remained stubbornly silent.

“I’m sorry. I think the battery’s going.” He jabbed at the key again, and the car’s lights flashed as the door unlocked with a click.

“If you’re going to make a habit of double parking and boxing other drivers in, you might want to at least make sure you can get your car open.”

The guy jerked back, his eyes wide; his mouth fell open for a second, before he clamped his lips closed and ducked into the driver’s seat.

Adrian got back into his own vehicle. “Fucking hell,” he muttered to himself. The guy had been the last person he’d expected to come out. Perhaps he’d been too snappy, but then the guy should have thought about what he was doing when he’d decided to park any old how.

The rain had turned from a drizzle to a downpour. Adrian flicked on his wipers, and watched as the guy reversed, then edged forward, then reversed again. He leant forward, resting on the steering wheel. Christ, could he even drive? The guy was making a hash of trying to get clear, but with other vehicles parked up close, he’d only succeeded in making the situation worse.

Adrian climbed out of the Land Rover, slamming the door hard behind him. He hammered on the driver’s side window, which silently slid down.

“What the hell are you doing? Did you learn to drive by watching YouTube videos? Or did you buy your license from some dodgy site on the internet? The mess you’re making, I can’t believe you ever passed your test.”

“I beg your pardon?” The guy stared at him, his eyes bigger than ever in a face that was quickly turning a shade of red that, even under the weak lighting in the carpark, was impossible to miss. “I apologised for blocking you in, but I’m blocked too. Or partially. It’s going to take me a couple of minutes to get clear.”

The window began to wind up; Adrian pressed his hand down on it to prevent it from closing.

“Take your hands off my car.”

“Get out and I’ll do it, because if I leave it up to you we’ll be here all night.”

“I’m quite capable of moving my car and getting out of your way.”

Adrian felt the push on his hand as the guy attempted to again close the window.

“Clearly you’re not. I’ll have this car clear in less than thirty seconds. Then I can go home, you can go back in the pub and bitch to your mates about the stroppy local.”

The guy’s jaw moved, as though he were grinding his teeth together. He probably was, but as Adrian was now soaked to the skin and beginning to get cold, he didn’t give a damn… but, maybe, he had been a little too harsh.

“Look,” he said, modifying his tone, “it’d be best for us both?—”

The driver’s door flung open, hitting him hard and making him stagger back.

“Fine. Okay. You move it. Thirty seconds you say? I’ll be timing you.” The guy got out and stood aside, his arms crossed over his chest as the rain beat down.

“Sit in my car for a minute, there’s no need?—”

“No. Just get on with it. And a minute? What happened to your brag of less than thirty seconds?” The guy glared, his chin tilted up in challenge.

Adrian climbed into the car, the aroma of the guy’s cologne enveloping him. It was lemony, clean, crisp, and classy. Just like the guy. He glanced out at him before manoeuvring the car out of the way. Or, like the guy had been in the pub, rather than the rain soaked version he now was. Makes two of us…

A few turns of the wheel, and the car was clear with seconds to spare. He got out and grinned. The guy’s expression was unreadable.

“Thank you.” His tone was clipped and frosty. “You’re now free to leave, and I’m free to continue with my meal. Even though I’m soaked to the skin and will no doubt end up with pneumonia.”

“Something of an exaggeration. It’s warm enough in there for you to dry out. And I offered you my car to wait in, which you declined. It’s your fault you’re wet through, not mine.”

“Good night,” the guy said through gritted teeth. “I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure meeting you, but it would be a barefaced lie.”

Adrian laughed. The guy was sparky, he’d give him that much.

The guy’s jaw twitched, before he turned and began to stride back to the pub.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed and he called out to the guy’s retreating back. “Might be a good idea to stop watching those videos on how to drive. There’s an instructor in the village, and she’s good from what I’ve heard. Do yourself a favour and book some lessons.”

The guy paused, just for an instant, his back ramrod straight, before he carried on crossing the carpark, and disappeared inside the pub.