Mark and Jayne both stared at her aghast at having been found in bed together in the middle of having sex. "Kate!" Mark warned as he hurriedly withdrew from Jayne. "Josh is asleep so please don't shout," he warned as he hurriedly tried to put his underpants on.
"So now you think about our son?!" Kate spat. "You disgust me. Both of you," she continued as she turned on her heel and headed down the stairs. She half toyed with the idea of taking Josh with her, but he was fast asleep and she didn't know where she was going to to go or what she was doing. She just had to get out of the house.
"Kate! Wait!" Mark ordered as he rushed down the stairs behind her. He caught up to her as she was opening her car door.
"What?" Kate asked angrily.
"I…" Mark started to reply.
"Actually I'm not interested in anything you have to say," Kate interrupted before getting in the car and driving off.
She drove around the empty streets for a while as she wondered what she was going to do. Eventually she wound up in a Tesco's car park, where she parked the car. Once the engine was turned off she sat in silence before the tears started to fall. Despite their marriage not being the best recently, she had never expected Mark to do this. It had been a complete shock finding him in bed with Jayne.
The weather was reflecting her mood by the time she had cried all her tears and was wiping her eyes. The rain was lashing down and she couldn't see out her windscreen with the amount of water present. The sound of the heavy drops hitting the roof made it hard to hear anything else. It was starting to get cold and Kate realised in her haste to leave the house she had forgotten to pick up her coat and bag which she had left on the bannister. She berated herself for her forgetfulness.
If she had stayed long enough to pack some clothes and even a sleeping bag she could have stayed in her car for the night. She hadn't done that though and as she shivered in the cool night wondered what she was going to do without any warmth or money.
Her mind kept giving her one solution to her problem. Steve. She was reluctant to go down that path though as she hardly knew him and god only knew what he would think if she turned up unannounced on his doorstep and dumped all her problems on him.
Eventually however as her shivering got more pronounced she swallowed her pride and put his address into her satnav and set off carefully through the pouring rain.
Steve was collapsed on his sofa, nursing a bottle of beer pretending to watch the film that was on the screen. He was only half concentrating on it as he was going over the case they had just closed. Actually he was thinking more about his new partner. Hastings had told him to find a girlfriend now he was in a new town, but he had a feeling he had meant anyone but Kate. He was in trouble. He'd fallen for her the moment he'd set eyes on her. Then he found out they were partners and that she was married with a son. Although he wanted her badly, Steve would never break up a marriage and family. It would be hard and he had no idea how he would do it, but he was going to have to try and get over his feelings and settle for being her best friend instead. Best mates.
He just hoped he hadn't blown that plan as he could tell she hadn't been happy with going along with the story of how Tony Gates had died. He would talk it over with her tomorrow. Make her see it had been the best thing to do.
His doorbell disturbed him from his thoughts. As he wandered to the front door he wondered who could be visiting at this late hour and what on earth they were doing out in the pissing rain.
Opening the door cautiously he saw it was the person who was consuming his thoughts at the present time, completely drenched and very upset. "Kate?" He said in greeting, wondering what had happened to her since they had parted. The last time he had seen her she had been telling him how excited she was to be surprising her family, particularly her young son, with her arrival. "Come in," he added, remembering his manners.
"I've just found my husband in bed with a friend," Kate sobbed before Steve could close the door behind her and ask her what she was doing at his place.
"Shit! I'm sorry Kate," Steve said as he gathered her into a hug. As he stood there holding her whilst she cried again over her husband's betrayal, he noticed how perfectly she fit in his arms. Just the right height to tuck herself under his chin. Like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Don't go there, Steve, he told himself. She really just needs a friend right now.
She was freezing and Steve could feel her shivering in his embrace. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes," Steve said, before realising how that sentence could be interpreted. "Shit! That didn't sound good," he said before Kate could get the wrong idea. "I didn't mean it like that. I would never say anything like that to you….not that I'm not saying you're not pretty or anything," Steve continued rambling.
"I know what you meant," Kate reassured him, mumbling into the thick sweater he had on. Despite everything that had happened to her that evening, she smiled a little at his awkwardness. It was hard to think of an ex anti-terrorism cop stumbling over his words, yet she seemed to have this affect on him.
"I meant to say that maybe a shower might help you warm up. I can wash your clothes you're wearing as well so they're clean and dry for tomorrow,".
"Shower would be good," replied Kate through her chattering teeth as she realised how cold she actually was.
Steve led her to the bathroom and got her a clean towel. "Help yourself to shampoo and body wash," he offered. "Afraid it's only the stuff I use,". Kate looked and saw it was all male scented things.
"It's fine," she reassured him.
"Ok. Can I get you a drink. Coffee?".
"Tea would be good," Kate replied, expecting Steve to leave her alone to shower, but he just stood in the bathroom. "Are you planning on watching me shower?" She teased.
"Oh god. Sorry," Steve apologised, flushing bright red with embarrassment. "Shout if you need anything," he said as he disappeared.
Kate gladly got out of her cold, wet clothes before stepping under the hot spray. She still had a lot to learn about Steve, but judging from the expensive brands of toiletries on display in the shower, he was a man who liked the finer things in life. They did smell good though she thought as she used them.
Turning the shower off and opening the cubicle door she realised she may have been under the hot water a little too long, judging by the amount of steam in the room. Carefully she stepped out and wrapped herself in the towel Steve had given her before drying herself down. She rubbed some condensation off the mirror and stared at herself. She couldn't help but notice her red puffy eyes from all the crying she had done that evening over her bastard husband.
Refusing to spend anymore tears on him, Kate prepared to leave the bathroom only to discover a minor problem. She had nothing to change into. She didn't really want to go out in just a towel. Glancing in the mirror she caught sight of Steve's brown dressing gown hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She would wear that. It swamped her but was lovely and warm. Gathering up her wet clothes she headed back out to Steve.
"Hope you don't mind, but I've put your dressing gown on," she said, announcing her arrival back in the living room where Steve was watching the TV again.
"Of course not," he replied, realising she looked really good in his clothes. He wished he could be his dressing gown right now, wrapped around her naked body. Get a fucking grip, he told himself. She is your partner who has just found out her husband has been cheating on her.
"Did you say something about clothes washing?" Kate said, breaking him from his thoughts.
"Err, yeah," Steve replied. "I'll take them," he said as he held out his hands to take the sodden items.
"It's ok. Just tell me where the machine is and I can do it,".
"Kate, it's no problem," Steve urged. "It doesn't take much to put them in a machine and press a few buttons," he countered. He looked down at the clothes on offer and saw her underwear on top. Delicate white lace. Kate saw that Steve had seen them and was a bit embarrassed.
"I think I'd known Mark longer than I've known you before I showed him my underwear," she said, trying to make light of the situation.
"I'm honoured," Steve replied, following Kate's lead before heading to the kitchen. Once alone he closed his eyes in despair. He usually had no trouble talking to women, but for some reason it wasn't happening with Kate. Maybe mates would be best if he was going to be so tongue tied around her. "You still want tea?" He shouted out to Kate as he put the washing machine on, "Or can I interest you in a bottle of red?".
"Don't tempt me," Kate hollered back. "Regretfully I think I'll stick with the tea. A hangover is not what I need tomorrow. Just milk, please," she requested.
As she heard Steve potter about the kitchen, Kate took the opportunity to take in her surroundings and see if she could learn some more about her new partner. Steve appeared to have typical bachelor taste's. Minimalist decor. Impersonal with no photos on display. Very neat and tidy.
She took a seat on the plush sofa and waited for him to join her with the drinks. It wasn't long before he arrived and took a seat next to her. "So what happens now?" He asked her.
"Honestly, I don't know," Kate admitted.
