Chapter 17

As Freddie awoke the next morning he was given a shock, a lovely but short sharp shock. He wondered why on earth Lindsey was sleeping beside him and how they had both got there.

"Lindsey, wake up" Freddie said as he gently shook her awake, he desperately needed her version of events to help him come to some conclusion of what had happened the night before.

"Oh god we didn't? Did we" she groaned as she sat up clutching her head.

"I don't know, I don't remember a thing" Freddie sighed in frustration.

"My head is killing me, we must have gone drinking straight after the meal" she said as she made an attempt to get off the bed.

"Stay in bed for a while, there's no rush. I've got to head to the garage anyway" Freddie added as he helped Lindsey get into bed.

"Thanks Freddie" she said as she fell back to sleep.

Freddie went for a shower and got ready for work, he couldn't believe how he had woken up this morning, he worried a little just in case anybody found out but he knew that if both he and Lindsey could keep it a secret then nobody would ever know. Once out of the shower he made his way to the garage Ziggy was already there working on one of the cars in for a service.

"What time do you call this then? We opened over 2 hours ago now" he moaned as Freddie arrived.

"Sorry mate! I overslept was a late one last night, I'm here now aren't I" Freddie said sounding annoyed at the tone Ziggy chose to use.

"That's no excuse, now come on give me a hand would you?"he said as he handed Freddie a spanner, he reluctantly took it from him and began working on the car.

Due to him being late, Freddie didn't have a lunch break so he just worked through till 5pm, then deciding to close an hour early, yes an easy day but it didn't bother him at least he had made the effort to come and he had allowed Ziggy to go home at 2pm seeing as he was the one to do the early shift. Just as he was about to close the shutters for the day, Lindsey came in looking slightly upset.

"Hey, what's wrong" Freddie approached her and pulled her into a hug.

"What we did was wrong Freddie, I'm with Joe and he's god knows where" she sobbed.

"We were drunk, we didn't have a clue what we were doing" he added hoping to take control over the situation.

"That's the point! That night could ruin our lives forever, we were irresponsible" she retorted.

"Nobody needs to find out about this" Freddie informed her.

"Joe has already caught us kissing, what do you think he would do if he ever found out about us sleeping together!" Lindsey said sounding really worried.

"What ever that would be, I would quite happily take it. Last night was one of the best night's of my life" he announced.

"The truth is I agree" Lindsey looked to the ground as she finished speaking.

"Wha what do you mean" Freddie enquired with a puzzled look on his face.

"I really enjoyed last night, and waking up beside you this morning. There I said it" she exclaimed.

Freddie was completely taken a back by this, he didn't expect her to agree with him.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked

"I don't know what I want, maybe we could try things out just until Joe gets back" she announced.

Freddie had a plan and he needed to make sure she was aware of this before they chose what to do.

"I say we make a go of things now, but any affection we need to keep a secret. We need to decide what we both want before we tell anybody. After all we may not work out, but Lindsey please promise me this, that whatever happens between us then you'll always be there for me. I can't risk loosing you, not now not ever" Freddie said as tears began to stream down his cheek, Freddie was a tough guy but when it comes down to people he loves he can't help but show emotion.

"I promise" Lindsey said as she rested her head onto his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, he then held onto her tightly and gently kissed her forehead.

"Do you want to nip to The Dog for a drink before we head home?" Freddie asked as they both naturally stepped out of each others arms.

"Yes, I'd like that" Lindsey said with a smile, all of her previous tears had now dried and her once upset looking eyes were now gleaming brightly with happiness.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Freddie teased as he quickly made sure that everything was okay in the garage, he then locked up for the day.

Once everything was sorted they both made their way to The Dog, both behaving like two excitable teenage lovers on their first date.

Before they knew it they had been in the pub for well over an hour, generally enjoying being around each other. Freddie tried his best to make Lindsey laugh and smile, he managed to do exactly that.

"I think we should probably head home now" Lindsey announced as she came to the end of her current glass of wine and had finally been able to stop laughing at what Freddie had been saying.

"I have an even better idea, how about we phone everyone and I'll treat them to some food at the hutch" Freddie beamed, generally looking pleased with himself.

"That sounds good to me! No offence to Sandy but anything is better than her cooking" Lindsey added as she started laughing again.

Freddie quickly took the glass away from her.

"Come on I think you've had enough wine" he said softly with a slight laugh.

"You're so funny Freddie!" she said as she made her way over to the bar requesting a glass of water.

Freddie phoned everyone and told them to meet him and Lindsey at The Hutch at 7pm, Robbie wasn't too keen about the idea but he agreed to come along anyway, it seemed that he was still worried about he and Freddie's little spat. As they made their way to the restaurant Freddie gently reminded Lindsey about the plan.

"Remember we're just friends for now, when everyone is around" he said gently

"Yeah" Lindsey nodded in agreement showing that she had understood.

"Don't worry about Robbie, I've got him sorted" he smirked

"How do you mean" Lindsey enquired

"Let's just say I'm buying his silence" Freddie announced

"Oh my god Freddie, that's awful you're not being serious surely" Lindsey really didn't seem very happy about him doing it but what other choice did he have?

"I am, if I didn't buy his silence then he would blab and I can't risk that, you've got to believe me" Freddie pleaded.

"I don't want to talk about this right now, I'll see you at The Hutch" she said as she quickly walked off leaving Freddie stood alone, right at that moment he realised that he shouldn't have told her but he hated lying to her and felt that telling the truth was a good thing to do. He slowly made his way to the restaurant giving Lindsey a chance to get there first, when he got there he realised he was the last to arrive.

"Hello sweetheart" Sandy said as she quickly gave Freddie a hug.

"Hiya Mum" he beamed as he kissed her forehead.

Ziggy, Jason, Robbie and Lindsey were already sat at the table choosing their meals, Sandy chose to wait for Freddie. As they made their way inside Lindsey gave Freddie a longing look, meaning she desperately wanted to sit beside him but she couldn't as she had already settled sitting in between Jason and Robbie and didn't want to raise suspicion.

Freddie sat himself next to Sandy and Ziggy just opposite Lindsey, he wanted to avoid looking at her as he thought he would draw attention to himself. He was beaming with smiles knowing he finally had a chance with the woman of his dreams, he knew it would be only a while longer before he could fully show any affection towards Lindsey out in public. Once everyone knew then Freddie realised that there would be no more sneaking around and he could make her feel like a queen all day everyday. Despite all of this excitement he still thought of Joe, he hated himself for betraying him in this way but surely Joe would want Lindsey to be safe and happy? With Freddie she would always be kept safe and she would be happy because he would make sure of that 100%. He needed to make sure he was okay and he needed to do that sooner rather than later, Freddie wasn't satisfied that Joe was alone in that awful cellar. He decided that he would go and tell the truth about him and Lindsey, he owed him that at least.

Once everyone had done at the restaurant Freddie made the excuse that he was going out for a few drinks with some mates, everyone made their way home and soon left him to his own devices, he quickly made his way to The Loft when non of his family were in sight, he walked up the thin metal staircase and walked inside. Again there was no sign of Grace, so he immediately went to the office to retrieve the cellar key, once he had the key in hand he rushed down to he opened the door, Freddie was greeted with yet another short sharp shock but this time it wasn't a very nice one.

Thank you very much to the guest reviewer who kindly pointed out that I had posted the wrong story. Here is the right one!