Thanks for the those who have left reviews for Chapter 1. Hope you enjoy Chapter 2 very much.


Peter Kay's Car Share: How Deep is Your Love?

Chapter 2

"Forever FM in the evenings with Boris 'the Toffee Nosed' Norris, start sending in your requests now and Boris will read out as many of your requests as possible."

"Well I won't be. Song requests are a bloody waste of time if you ask me. Too much yip yapping before you start playing them. Best way to tell someone how you feel is face-to-face, perhaps what I should have done with Kayleigh in the first place. " John quietly tells himself. He's pretty much accepted the fact, he shouldn't have bothered with sending a text to Forever FM.

That next evening, John was driving through Bury, on his way to pick up Kayleigh from Mandy's house. He feels he's know this part of Bury well enough, like the back of his hand.

There was no mistaking the fact, he had put a lot of thought into dressing very smartly for his date with Kayleigh and for a change he didn't look as nervous as he thought it might be. No doubt Steve would start call him something like 'Watch out folks, the North West's answer to James Bond is getting his licence to thrill'. John had to make the effort to treat to her to the best evening she had ever experienced and to tell he was sorry for everything that happened in the car.

Roxy Music's Take A Chance with Me plays on the radio briefly before fading into the background as John's Fiat pulls up outside Mandy's house.

Steve's gazebo was up once again on full display, honestly the man needed to discover a new and better hobby soon rather than continuing to obsess over that bike of his, everyday.

John did a few breathing exercises before choosing the right moment to give a quick beep on the car horn. He glanced over at the front door only to find she hadn't appeared quite yet, well she certainly did like to keep him waiting a little while longer. He remembers this because of the previous times where he had been made wait outside, after arriving to picking her up from her old house.

Perhaps she's having second thoughts and was now coming to some sort of conclusion, that he should just accept her handwritten notice and let her go from his life for good. Except he wasn't considering this at all, no he couldn't afford to make another mistake with Kayleigh, not a costly one. She was the best ever thing that happened to him and annoyingly it had taken months for it to dawn on him, the truth regarding this.

Kayleigh suddenly appears as if by magic, she's waiting for John to acknowledge her standing there. Once he does, his face spontaneously lights up as soon as he sees her and smiles like a lovestruck teenager because he's completely blown away by how beautiful and amazing she looks in her Madonna inspired glittery dress. She had clearly outdone him in making the best possible effort ever, of dressing to impress.

"Evening Madonna. Fancy a lift?" John asks her, as he winds down the car window.

"Aww John. You don't need to pretend you've come rolling up in your car and spotted me. Of course I want to get in the car with you and have a catch up with you." She wants him to know, she's perfectly fine with keeping things like this. She relaxes well in the passenger seat, once she's got into the car.

"You know I've actually been looking forward to us having a catch up since last night. There's so many things I want to get off my chest with you." John isn't afraid to admit, he wants to put things right with her during the evening they will be spending together.

"Like what? You've become a bit dreamer?" She's curious to find out what exactly he's thinking at that moment. Christ it's only taken five minutes and she's already prcatically started asking two questions in the same sentence.

"Right where do you want me to start?" John smiles as he tells her. He's struck by the obvious realization of how much her presence has quickly filled in the missing gap in his life once again.

"Surprise me then." Kayleigh smiles back at him.

"How sorry I am and how want you to know, you've got every right to be annoyed with me because of the rubbish way I treated you last week." John quickly gets two important things off his chest. It's not surprising at all to see he isn't looking like a bag of nerves, as he begins to make amends with her.

"John you don't need to tell me you're sorry. Look I know I put too much pressure on you while we were stuck in a traffic jam, probably not the best timing. Our Mandy keeps telling me I've got bad timing with people. I ask one too many questions and that doesn't end up going down too well with people, maybe she's right."

John drives them away from the view of Mandy's house.

Kajagoogoo's Too Shy plays on the radio, as the Fiat passes by five young lads dressed as One Direction. The Zayn Malik lookalike gets chased down the road by a Labrador, who seems to be stalking him.

"Oh I love this song. Coolest music video ever. I remember the first time I watched it and straight away I knew I wanted to have my hair styled like Limahl's"

"Really?!" Kayleigh asked, she reckons he must have had a bucket load of daft ideas when he was younger.

"Yeah. I managed to grow my hair long enough but mum wasn't having any of it. She told my dad 'I'm not having our John going to school, making himself sporting a hairstyle like a pop star. My dad encouraged me to try it out. I've got a picture in my house somewhere, of how I did my hair back then. I'll show you it sometime." John is soon left to wonder; was telling Kayleigh about his dodgy hairstyle past, such a good idea or not?

No doubt she would obviously enjoy having some fun at his expense during the rest of their evening together.

"I promise, I won't even try to take the piss out of you John...or maybe I will when you least expect it." Kayleigh seizes an opportunity to playfully tease him.

"Wish I hadn't said nothing now." John feels moderately embarrassed. Kayleigh acknowledges the look of embarrassment on his face, which she actually thinks is adorable and fun to see.

"Don't let Elsie hear you saying that. If she did, she'll only be trying to flirt her way into your love life, while teaching you lessons on how to say nothing about other people's love lives." Kayleigh further teases him. She seems to be succeeding in doing so.

"Bollocks to that happening. I've done well enough to keep my distance from her for a fortnight, so I don't want to go and ruin this good run I'm on." John didn't want to end up being stuck with her again, Janet had been stressful enough to deal with yesterday morning.

"I was only messing with you. You're even more easier for me to tease than Our Mandy" Her approach is lighthearted, affectionate and pleasant, as she find the funny side of what John and Elsie would be like being stuck with each other.

John gave Kayleigh 'a dream all you like but I'm running a mile from Elsie' look. As a matter of fact it hadn't taken him long, in coming round to seeing things from her point of view.

xxx

The night-view across the city was magnificently beautiful that very night. It was even perfect for John's planned outside date with Kayleigh. She really had no idea what marvelous surprises laid in store for her. John remained determined to make the strongest effort possible, by showing Kayleigh he wants them to be more than friends.

Soon they're back to doing what they enjoy doing best, belting out tunes together and not caring who hears their terrible singing.

John raises his eyebrow curiously, as the sound of a present being unwrapped can be heard on the radio. "Sounds more like the DJ's doing a striptease than unwrapping a present." He was the only one who thought this.

"Now here's David Bowie with Let's Dance on Forever FM"

Kayleigh swaying herself back and forth in time with the music, as she concentrates on listening to the meaning of the lyrics. John watches her with fondness as she singing the lyrics aloud.

Let's dance
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let's dance
To the song they're playin' on the radio
Let's sway
While color lights up your face
Let's sway
Sway through the crowd to an empty space

If you say run
I'll run with you
And if you say hide
We'll hide
Because my love for you
Would break my heart in two
If you should fall into my arms
And tremble like a flower

Let's dance
Let's dance

"How come you weren't singing along? You know it's not a Carpool Karaoke without the two of us singing." Oblivious to the real reason why John hadn't joined in with her on the next round of singing, Kayleigh questions him, on why he had decided to stay quiet and let her sing along on her own.

"Me not singing along." John chuckles. "I never stood a chance, what with you going all Mariah." He states the obvious, surely she knows her enjoyment for singing, made for unsurprising yet fun viewing.

"Sorry about that. Don't know what came over me." Kayleigh apologizes. Her cheeks flushed with a rosy, brightly blush.

"A lot things by the looks of it." John shares one answer with her while she's busy trying to compose herself. He can't keep a straight face even while he's on driving duties.

"Cheeky sod" She giggles. She convinced he's only saying what he said because he wants to make her laugh and make her feel as comfortable much as possible around him again. Well from the look on her face and relaxed body language, the John Redmond charm had worked it's fine magic on her remarkably well.

"Me a cheeky sod? you're a right one to be having a go at me, you cheeky mare." John laughs louder. Kayleigh smiles to herself, she knows he deserves to be called something funny back but feels she shouldn't push the boat too much. She decides to wait until another opportunity presents itself for her to do so.

The Fiat drives past a road sign that has been graffiti'd with the words "Kiss my kneaded dough balls Every Wednesday at 8pm down Hollywood Road."

Thankfully John had driven them to more quieter part of the city. They passed by two beautiful looking cottages and a nearby park named McGuinness Park.

"Right we're here." John soon makes the surprise announcement, that this quiet secretive area overlooking the bright lights of Manchester beneath them, is actually their specially chosen outdoor spot for the evening.

"Isn't this a bit risky?" Kayleigh asks, as she studies this new and unfamiliar surrounding her, with intrigue and fascination.

"Risky? What utter bollocks. Our Paul said this is one of the best places to be, you know when you want to clear your mind. He even proposed to his girlfriend up here too. Plucked up the courage to propose to her after my dad told him 'If you're ready to show you love her that much, you ought to propose to her'." They've been married for 14 years now."

"Aww how romantic." Kayleigh thought it was rather sweet and touching to learn about how John's brother got engaged.

"Mum's nagging me all the time; I should start finding myself a lovely girlfriend otherwise she'll play matchmaker for me. I'm beginning to think she enjoys getting on my nerves, reminding me that I've been single for too long. " John drops a few hints to Kayleigh, he doesn't require his mum help with finding love for him, fate had already played it's part in helping him with this.

They got out from their sides of the car, Kayleigh first and then John. "Your mum sounds Shamazing." Kayleigh says wants to ask him, if John could introduce his mum to her sometime.

"Thanks I'll make sure I let her know, you told me to tell her that. She loves anyone who compliments her" John gave her a half smile and a reassuring wink, he's certain Kayleigh's compliment will make her popular with his mum.

"See told ya, your mum's the ultimate Shamaze Queen." Kayleigh felt butterflies in her stomach, as she replayed the wink he had just given her, in her mind.

Thanks I'll tell her you said that an' all." John pretended to know what she means but honestly he didn't have the faintest idea as to what Kayleigh meant by 'Shamaze Queen'. Anyway, not willing to waste precious time standing around chatting, John soon opts to retrieve a few items from the back seat of the car.

John leans forward onto the back seat perhaps a little too forward and soon he finds himself laid out on his chest, with his legs dangling high up in the air, much to Kayleigh's amusement.

"Oh John...I know you like to make me laugh but this is getting a bit silly now." Kayleigh giggles, she immediately regrets laughing at this hilarious misfortune which had befallen him.

"Don't just stand there, help me out Kayleigh!" John begs her. "Oh shit. I think I've gone and squashed the muffins." John begins to blush with embarrassment, so far their date wasn't go according to plan

"I'm sorry for laughing, I just can't help myself, seeing someone do something that I find funny." She makes a sincere apology for giggling the way she did.

"Apology accepted." John knows, an apology wasn't required from her right at that moment. Besides she was free to express her happiness, delight and emotions the way any woman would, in whatever situation they found themselves involved in.

"Stay still. I'll pull you up and out slowly" She promises, with a bit of cheeky humour.

Kayleigh grabs hold of his legs and starts to pull them towards her, which doesn't work the way she had hoped it might. John's yelling didn't help matters either.

"What are you doing?! I'm not a crash dummy Kayleigh! Roll me over and I'll wiggle myself out!" John's voice gets louder, the more he cries out in agony.

"Keep still. You're worse than Our Kieran when he has one too many Cheeky Vimtos." Kayleigh is far from impressed, by having to deal with John's constant fussing and wiggle around, once he had made sure he was now lying flat on his back.

She's able to readjust the car seat that's jammed John onto the back seat. As she tries again, her latest attempt is to lean inside the car, scoop her hands around his broad shoulders and push him forward. Unfortunately this barely helped in improve any chances of getting him out. As she leans over closer to him, she suddenly loses her footing and ends up embarrassingly landing on him.

"Shit. Are you okay John?" She apologizes to him again while her nose is currently pressed up against his chest. Thinking he hadn't heard her apology, Kayleigh moves herself up to face him. Surprisingly as they laid still where they were and quiet for a few moments, she could feel John's heart skipping a beat as he gazes up at her. He smiles at the sight of seeing her laid across him. It's clear as daylight what's on his mind at that exact moment but Kayleigh still hasn't put two and two together, as to why he's suddenly given up on making a fuss.

Foreigner's Waiting For A Girl Like You plays on the radio, while they remain as they are for the time being. Kayleigh slowly begins to acknowledge why he's not said a word to her. She brushes his cheek with her hand, smiling down at him as she does so. John's eyes linger on Kayleigh's until he finally remembers he hasn't said a thing for 15 minutes.

It feels so right, so warm and true

I need to know if you feel it too

Maybe I'm wrong
Won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong
This heart of mine has been hurt before
This time I want be be sure

I've been waiting for a girl like you
To come into my life
I've been waiting for a girl like you
A love that will survive
I've been waiting for someone new
To make me feel alive
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you
To come into my life

"I'll let you know once I'm able to find a feeling in my back and legs ." John doesn't hesitate when it comes to providing her with an answer. His mind is having a right go at him, telling him to confirm his love for her with a kiss but he's still unable to get up properly.

"Okay. Well, don't leave me waiting too long." She strokes his cheek. She wants to do the same herself, yet she doesn't know when to find the right moment to act on her gut instincts. In the past Kayleigh had never been too good at jumping at the chance of showing what she was made of.

Regardless of whatever nerves he felt eating away at him, John bravely steps up to the mark. He had to tell her there and then, those 3 important words he thought she ought to hear coming from his lips. "Kayleigh I lo..."

The sound of his stomach rumbling put paid to his attempt to confess his feelings. Kayleigh giggles infectiously, she hadn't heard a sound like that before.

"Don't you laugh missy! I haven't ate a bloody thing since this afternoon."

Kayleigh soon manages to roll herself off John and climb out of the car and rushes round to the other side of the car to open it's door.

"Give us your arms" She gestures for him to position both of his arms out towards him.

"My arms?! Kayleigh don't even think about it!" Remembering that she had recently become quite an expert, in pushing a container full of items around the shop floor at work. John pleads with her, not to go and do some serious damage to his arms. She crouches down and grips his wrists.

"Think about what? You dressed up in drag? Now that would I actually love to see you do for real." Kayleigh revels in teasing him.

"Never gonna happen, not even at one of our staff parties." John was adamant, his mind wouldn't be changed.

"Aww John, don't be a meanie." Kayleigh pulls a slightly disappointed face.

"No, I'm serious Kayleigh. The last time I did, our Paul told everyone at my Nana's birthday party I was trying to be Sharon Osbourne and that I wanted to enter a lookalike competition dressed as her." John reveals the real reason why he didn't like to consider the thought of dressing up in women's clothes.

"Oh okay. Still something worth me fantasizing about." Kayleigh smirks. This situation reminded her of her favourite scene from the first Spiderman film, where Spiderman shared a kiss with Mary Jane. Now she found herself in this position with John. She thinks to herself, him in the Spiderman costume might be quite fun though.

"Kayleigh are you pulling me out or not?" John asks her.

"Oh sorry. Come on then." She blushes, as she realizes she let her mind wander off into daydreaming land. She carefully pushes him out. "It's like something off One Born Every Minute." She jokes.

xxx

John and Kayleigh are sharing a picnic on one of the outdoor benches with the stars glowing up above them in the sky. "Well tonight's been eventful for me and you, to say the least." Kayleigh sums up the evening's events so far perfectly well.

John feels ready to open up to her "Yeah it has. You know, one thing it's done, it's bought us together." He tells her, only to find she's mostly stargazing than listening to him. "Kayleigh?"

She finally focuses her attention on him. "Bet you thought I wasn't listening to you just then, didn't you? Of course I was listening to you, you daft clown. I can only ever stargaze for 10 minutes before I get bored of doing it." Kayleigh informs him.

"I'm glad we're speaking again. Means a lot to me. Don't know what I would have done without you John, not being here with me making me laugh or smile. " She's really enjoying spending time with him outside work and how relaxed and happy they're behaving around one another.

"Me too." John's eyes study her carefully, he takes a deep breath before he starts telling the honest truth. "There's something that's been bugging me since you asked me a few days, you asked me what are we, me and you?" A huge sense of relief came over John, knowing he had managed to get something else off his chest.

"Yeah I did." Kayleigh raises a curious eyebrow. She's not sure what to think right now, given that he had been constantly giving her mixed signals on and off during the duration of that evening.

He entwines his fingers with hers and squeezes them as a way of reassuring her, he wasn't going to shy away anymore. It dawns on Kayleigh what he's not far from telling her. "Well...from what I can tell you, I don't see us as Car Share buddies anymore because I think we've gone past that stage. I think we know we're both...in love with each other."

"John..." Kayleigh's face lit like a switch on of a Christmas tree. She scooted closer to him on the bench.

"Look I know I said I wanted to stay away from love altogether, well bollocks to that. Haven't been able to get you out of my head since you left my car. " John couldn't stop grinning, he was the happiest he'd ever felt in his life and that was thanks to Kayleigh being properly back in his life.

John could feel his heart skipping another beat. He couldn't bear to wait a second longer and so he decides to leave having another bite of his chicken sandwich until later. He wraps it up in tissue paper and puts it away in his lunchbox. Their date had now taken a turn for the better and helped to boost his confidence.

Before they knew it, the pair suddenly found themselves sharing their first kiss and snuggling up closer to each other. Kayleigh's arms were flung around John's neck. Their kiss certainly exceeded expectations and left quite a lasting effect on Kayleigh once she pulled away for a few moments, for air.

John couldn't quite make out, why she was now looking faintly and slurring a few words in a Scottish accent. "Joohn...I..loove you" She then passes out in his lap momentarily, much to John's surprise.

When she wakes, she realizes he's cradling her face with both hands and he's looking awfully concerned about her.

"Finally you're awake. You didn't half give me a fright Kayleigh." John tells her.

"Guess your lips are devastatingly good to kiss." She thinks it's pretty obvious the sweetness of their kiss, caused her to pass out unexpectedly.

"Haha funny." John pulls one of his usual faces. He helps her to sit up and rest back on the bench, which had an extra coat draped over it.

"No they must be. See John I'm good with selecting the right theory me. Learned from the best...Rosemary and Thyme." Kayleigh tries to describe why she knows she's right.

"Look if I kiss you again. Promise you won't pass out on me again or go rip my clothes off like a hungry lioness" He didn't want to see her getting any naughty ideas in her head.

"I promise." She reassures him, there's nothing else for him to worry about and now he should maybe try to consider what next steps they should take with their relationship. She personally doesn't want them to dive head first into a proper relationship just yet.

John can feel Kayleigh's hands cupping his face. Although she hadn't had any opportunity whatsoever of kissing a bloke for god knows how long; however now as she kisses John for the second time that evening, Kayleigh feels her heart fluttering. John's surprisingly gentle effect on her is still doing enough to leave a remarkable mark on her.

Kayleigh rested her forehead against his for a number of minutes. The art of expressing their feelings through kissing had almost certainly left them both breathless.

xxx

"After Hours on Forever FM. Smooth as chocolate, smooth as silk, smooth as one of our many luxury unused bathtubs and kitchen sinks. Find your nearest store in the North West or check out our website. Smooth and Shine the perfect combination since the England Euro 96 football team."

After everything that happened, John couldn't stop beaming even while he was meant to be driving Kayleigh back to her sister's house. Thinking Kayleigh's intentions had dramatically changed, John had genuinely believed she wanted them to be nothing more than friends. Paul definitely wasn't wrong about that patch of area, bringing you the best luck ever, even if the idea sounded bollocks.

The road ahead looked peaceful, free from traffic for many miles, thank god and as the car drove by two bus stops, nobody didn't appear to be hanging around them. There weren't even any dogging people sneaking around. John glances over at Kayleigh, he sees how tired she's looking and wonders whether he should make sure she gets to her front door safely.

"John has anyone ever told you, it's cheeky to watch someone trying to get some sleep in your car." Kayleigh catches him having a few sneaky peaks at her.

"No. Don't think I've heard that one before. Anyway, you don't mind if I help you to your front door, do you?" John asks her.

"Sure. Actually I wouldn't mind if you were cuddled me in my bed." Kayleigh reveals what she would really like them do the most.

"Oh sorry I can't make your wish come true tonight. I've gotta be at work, 6am in the morning. Dave Thompson wants me to be there for a delivery from Sweden." John wishes he hadn't been talked into getting into work ridiculously early tomorrow morning. He thinks it's time he said no to Dave for once.

"Sweden, why is Abba getting delivered to head office?" Kayleigh jokes with him.

"No, it's not them. It's some Scandinavian products I've never even heard of, which we've ordered from some big Swedish retailer in Stockholm."

They pulled up outside Mandy's house around 12.20am. There was no sign of Steve doing his usual repairs on his bike.

Electronic's Getting Away With It plays on the radio - as John is walking Kayleigh up to the front door, with his arm placed around her hip. Seeing as she didn't stand a good chance of opening the door properly, he even took it upon himself to politely put her key in the keyhole and turn it for her.

"Aww John. My man of mystery. My hero...My boyfriend." Kayleigh doesn't care which nosy neighbours hears, she wants everyone to know she's not a single lady anymore. She leaves her house keys on the table in the hallway before returning to the front door.

"Christ! keep your voice down...You'll wake your Mandy up." John chuckles, he gestures with a finger across the centre of his lips, for her to talk quietly.

"Okay I'll keep my voice down, only if you promise you'll give me a goodnight kiss." She badly wants to kiss him again and she can tell from the concentrated look he's currently giving her, he's thinking the same thing too.

"You never cease to amaze me Kayleigh Kitson." He leans over to kiss her. They lock lips briefly, their goodnight kiss is affectionate and charming.

A couple of minutes later, Kayleigh watches on as John is driving off in the Fiat. She sees his arm waving out of the window, so she responds by waving her hand. She knows she forgave him a little too easily for how he behaved towards her the other day. Despite knowing there was some truth in this, it didn't matter much anymore to her because she now knows he loves her.

She rummages for her phone in her coat. Once she finds which pocket it was tucked inside, she sends him a quick text, telling him she loves him.

John who is stuck at the traffic lights 15 miles away, takes a quick peak at his phone and sees her message displayed on it's screen. He feels he's finally rid himself of any remaining regrets he had at the start of the evening. He was finally in love and this time he knew it really was for real. He considers texting her after he gets home.

Hungry Eyes plays on Forever FM - John chuckled in thought to himself. Realizing it's one of the songs from Dirty Dancing.

The End

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