Simon, Peter, Leanne and Kal were all stood inside the bowling alley waiting for Carla to arrive. They had chosen to wait opposite the entrance so they would easily be seen, where various people were sat on sofa's changing in and out of their bowling shoes.
"You don't mind too much do you Si?" Leanne said to her son, she had begun feeling a little dodgy in the cinema as they watched the movie but she was now feeling terrible. She felt like she could barley stand let alone bowl. Simon shook his head at her sympathetically
"You're not well Mum, it's fine" he said honestly, Peter nodded along with him
"We'll have a great time with Amy and Carla, won't we?" He said, Leanne nodded at him with an eyebrow raised
"Yeah I bet you will" she said, thinking Peter was secretly glad to be spending some time with Carla and even though Amy was due to arrive soon, they would practically be alone together as the only adults there.
"Right make sure you have a good time won't you, I'll take your Mum home and look after her" Kal said patting Simon on the back, he nodded and hugged Leanne tight
"I hope you feel better soon" Simon said as Kal and Peter nodded goodbye at each other.
"Take care Lea" Peter said concerned, Leanne smiled weakly at him and Simon, and then her and Kal began to leave the bowling alley.
Simon sat down in the sofa behind him, Peter glanced at his phone to see the time, it was half past eight, the exact time that Carla was supposed to be meeting them, he almost began to wonder if maybe she had second thoughts about coming. Simon watched his Dad and nudged him in the side
"She'll be here Dad" he said knowing exactly who Peter was watching his clock for, Peter shrugged
"Not sure what you mean son, I'm just looking at the time that's all" He said,
"Sure you are." Simon smirked "Trust me, I know Carla and she'll be here any minute" Peter chuckled at him
"Oh you know her do ya?" Simon nodded and grinned at Peter "How could I forget, you two are practically best mates" Peter said a little dryly
"You know, you sound jealous Dad" Simon said as he saw Carla make her entrance to the bowling alley, She was smiling albeit a little nervously as she made her way over to them both.
"Hiya" she said brightly although she couldn't seem to shake the crazy butterflies that she had in her stomach, she couldn't understand why she was so nervous when she'd been out with Simon and Peter a thousand times before.
"Hi Carla" Simon beamed, like he was genuinely happy to see her, he jumped up and hugged her tight, Peter got up too and then looked Carla up and down, twice before saying
"Hey" he grinned at her
"What?" Carla said suspiciously wondering what was going through his head
"Nothing" he said choosing not to tell her that he loved the outfit she had chosen, especially the jeans. Carla shook her head at him a little and then turned to Simon
"Listen Si, I'm sorry but I forgot your card and present, I'll pop it round your place on Monday okay" She explained to Simon, wishing she hadn't been so forgetful, he just continued to smile at her and nodded
"That's cool. I don't have any where to put it anyways." he said, Carla grinned back at him and then she realised that it was just the three of them that was stood there.
"So where's everybody else?" She asked now frowning, Simon explained that Leanne had fallen ill and had literally just left the alley with Kal.
"Oh okay" Carla said feeling even more nervous now she practically had Peter all to her self. "That's a shame" she said as Peter's phone began ringing, Simon shook his head
"Nah it's alright, we're still gonna have a great time. Me mums rubbish at bowling, she always just gives up by the end" he said, Carla smiled as Peter answered his mobile
"Yeah I'm not sure that I'm much better me self Si?" She admitted, She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone bowling but she knew that she had come last place.
"Me Dad's well good, he can teach you some moves" Simon said as Peter hung up, Carla smirked
"Eh did you hear that Peter, Simon reckons you could teach me a few moves... Bowling wise that is" she said, Peter grinned back at her. He had a thousand different innuendos that he could have replied with but he chose not to say any of them in front of his young son, instead he said
"That was Tracy, She's not bringing Amy because and I quote She's got a terrible migraine from this party Amy was at this afternoon and if she moves her head might just explode" Simon sniggered whilst Carla tutted
"Well that's all a bit last minute isn't it? I could have brought Amy if Tracy had of asked?" She said, she rubbed Simons arm apologetically "This is not going well is it mate?"
"It's perfect, Amy's such a pain I only invited her to be polite" Simon said thankfully, Peter and Carla both laughed
"Fair enough" Peter said "It's just a good thing we didn't book it online like we were gonna" he added glad he didn't have to pay for three people who weren't even there.
"Come on then let's go and pay" Simon said eagerly as they made their way over to the tills. As it was a Saturday night the man behind the counter said that they would probably have to wait a while for their lane. Peter nodded and paid anyway whilst Carla and Simon chatted about something behind him.
"Right our lane isn't ready until nine pm so how about we amuse our selves in the arcade until then?" Peter suggested knowing that Simon would jump at the chance to play some video games, Carla nodded along
"Sounds like a plan" she said and they made their way in to arcade part of the bowling alley. The arcade was dimly lit but the lights from all of the video games that surrounded them made it very easy to see. The carpet beneath them was black and had neon planets and stars on it and they glowed in the dark brightly. Simon looked at all the different video games in awe, he didn't know where to start but he held his hand out in front of Peter and smiled
"Money please" he said sweetly Peter tutted and smiled
"Anyone would think it was your birthday" he joked handing Simon a ten pound note, Simon took it appreciatively and ran over to the change machine, Carla and Peter followed him and as the pound coins dropped into the space for change Carla caught Peter's eye and smiled sheepishly at him.
"Do you need some change Madame ?" He said putting some money into the machine after Simon, Carla shook her head at him
"Nah I'm good thanks" she said with her head on one side, Peter frowned and went to hand her five pound coins anyway.
"Oh go on" Peter insisted Carla smiled and eventually gave in, Peter held on to the coins tightly as Carla tried to take them off of him so they ended up having a mini tug of war for the money.
"Alright" she giggled "Hand em over" he let go of the coins grinning from ear to ear, Simon was oblivious to the obvious attraction between his Dad and Carla, he was too busy gazing around the arcade, he pointed to the left of them suddenly
"Mario Kart" he said eying up the two red racing car seats near to them "I'll race ya Dad"
Peter and Simon had a two races against each other which Simon won both, He then convinced Carla to race Peter and she won the race, much to everyone's surprise as she'd never played a game of Mario Kart in her life.
"I let you win" Peter lied as they both got up from the seats, Carla shook her head at him, the nervousness that had consumed her when she had first arrived at the alley, had gone.
"Oh as if" she said giving him a playful shove,
"That was shocking Dad" Simon exclaimed amazed that Carla had managed to beat his Dad, he pointed down at Carla's feet "And she was driving in heels!" Carla nodded smugly at Peter who put his hands over his ears childishly.
"Whatever" he said grinning as Carla rested her elbow on Simon's shoulder absent-mindedly "So what's next then?" Peter asked but Simon was already looking over at an air hockey game, he went over to it, bent down to see how much it cost to play and said
"You ave to pay for this one Dad, Seeing as you lost Mario Kart an all"
"Well since I gave you both the money that your holding in your hands, aren't I paying anyway?" he said putting two pound coins into the game, Carla and Simon looked at each other simultaneously and then shrugged.
Carla and Simon played the first game of air hockey which Carla won by two points, She cheered and applauded herself loudly but her celebration was short lived as Peter beat her on the next turn by four points.
"Oh I let you win" Carla smirked, Peter nodded at her sarcastically
"Very funny" he said as they began to wonder around the arcade again. Simon stopped at a dance revolution game, where two people were trying foolishly to copy the dance moves that were shown on screen, He smirked at Peter and Carla
"How about this?" He said to them. Peter looked at Carla and then they both shook their heads at Simon and said
"No!" Simon knew they wouldn't be convinced other wise and he wasn't too sure he wanted to see his Dad's embarrassing dance moves anyway so they explored some more of the arcade. They were doing so in silence until Carla suddenly pointed and shouted excitedly
"Ahhh I want a minion!" she was pointing at a claw machine with some yellow and purple characters from the movie Despicable Me inside it, Simon ran over to it and Carla followed him almost running herself.
"Really" Peter said almost forgetting that Carla had a secret weakness for kids movies, She nodded as Simon put some of his change into the machine, She watched him as he went for a purple one.
"No Si, Get a yellow one" Carla said watching what he was doing closely, Peter watched as Simon pressed the buttons to move the claw.
"I wouldn't spend too much money on that Si, These things are almost always fixed and the odds of actually getting something from it are slim" Peter said as Simon almost picked a toy up but he just missed it, Carla nudged Peter with her elbow
"This coming from a bloke who owned a bookies" She said, Simon ignored them both, he was in pure concentration mode as he took his second turn on the claw machine.
"Exactly, I should know what I'm talking about then shouldn't I" he said smugly Carla shook her head at him
"That's not true, I've seen loads of people walking around with a toy from one of these things" She said they were now looking at each other rather then at Simon who had successfully picked up a purple minion he took a deep breath as it made it's way towards the exit and cheered loudly when it dropped into the box.
"Yes!" He cried bending down and picking it up, Carla broke eye contact with Peter upon hearing Simon's cheer. She gave Simon a congratulatory pat on the back.
"Nice one Simon! Oh I want one too" Carla said wistfully and then she gazed at Peter irresistibly "Win one for me." she said fluttering her eyelashes at him alluringly, Simon nodded at him
"Go on Dad. I've still got one turn left" He said spurring his Dad on
"Why don't you ask him he seems like the expert" Peter said pointing at Simon who shoved him in front of the buttons.
"Cause I want you to win it" Carla grinned and poked him in the arm as she spoke. Peter found pleasure from the neediness in her voice, so he scanned the toys inside the machine, seeing which one would be the best one to go for, Carla spotted what he was doing
"I want Dave" she said Peter turned his head and looked at her blankly
"Dave?"
"Yeah Dave's the yellow one with two eyes instead of one" she pointed at the toy she wanted which was towards the back of the machine, Simon chuckled at her, even he didn't know the names of the almost identical characters.
"Sorry how old are you again?" Peter teased Carla poked her tongue out at him and then he begun to take Simon's last turn on the machine.
"No pressure Dad" Simon said as the claw moved over to the toy that Carla desired, he managed to pick it up but dropped it almost instantly, They all sighed
"Ahh nice try mate" Carla said disappointedly, Peter went into his pocket and handed Simon some more money.
"You better go and get some more change Si" he said not being able to stand the actual look of disappointment on Carla's face,
"Peter don't waste your money" She laughed as Simon went off to the change machine that was in the corner.
"You wanted one so I'll win you one" he said insistently, Carla smiled at him and nodded her head, he smiled back at her and they shared a moment of enchanting eye contact. Carla looked away first with a silly grin, Peter saw a young girl approach Simon out of the corner of his eye and looked over at him properly.
"Eh who's that Si is talking to?" He asked Carla turned her head to look at Simon and the girl. She looked as if she was around his age and had long dark brown hair with bright green eyes. Her skin was olive toned and she was wearing jeans and a black top. She was beaming away at Simon as they spoke.
"I don't know never see her before" Carla shrugged, watching the pair.
Simon had explained to the girl, who was friend from school called Santana that he'd come bowling for his birthday. He'd pointed his Dad and Carla out to her. The both of them were really bad at pretending like they hadn't been watching, they looked away suddenly in another direction trying desperately not to laugh. When they dared to look back, Santana waved in their direction and they waved back at her with huge grins on their faces, obviously taking huge pleasure in Simon's embarrassment.
"Carla's well pretty" Santana said smiling she had heard lots about Peter and Carla and it was nice for her to finally put faces to the names.
"Yeah she is" Simon said still amazed that his Dad cheated on someone like Carla. Santana watched Peter and Carla who had eventually stopped grinning and were now talking up close about something.
"I thought you said your Dad and Carla weren't together anymore?" Santana said looking back at Simon, He nodded with his eyebrow raised
"Yeah they're not" he said smirking as it was obvious to him, even at the age of twelve that his Dad was desperate to get back with Carla and vice versa by the looks of things, They'd been at the bowling alley for less than an hour and they were already acting like they were best mates again. Santana nodded at him understandingly
"I see" she said as her mother appeared behind her
"You ready Santana?" she asked and then she noticed Simon, She smiled at him warmly
"Mum this is Simon he's a friend from school" Santana said a little anxiously
"Nice to meet you Simon" Her Mum said smiling he nodded at her and smiled back at her.
"You too" he said.
"Well I guess I'll see you at school Si" Santana said and she hugged him tight and making him blush "Happy Birthday" she said before going off with her Mum.
Simon smiled to himself as he got the change they needed to play some more games and when he returned to his Dad and Carla they were both grinning like Cheshire cats.
"Who's that then?" Carla said nudging Simon
"That's just Santana from school" he said looking down trying to act casual.
"Just? She hugged you goodbye" Peter ruffled the curly hair on Simon's head and he tutted
"She's my friend Dad" he handed the change over to Peter but he was blushing again, Carla could tell how embarrassed Simon was now and tried not to laugh.
"Well what ever she is she's a right little stunner ain't she?" She said but she couldn't help but smile at how cute Simon looked standing there in front of them.
"Well at least I passed my good taste in women on to you eh Si" Peter laughed eyeing up Carla as he spoke. She raised an eyebrow at him although she had to admit Santana had reminded her of a younger version of herself. She decided to change to subject for Simon's sake.
"You gonna win me this minion then or what?" She asked, Peter nodded and put some more money into the machine. Six more turns and three pound coins later he had managed to win the character that Carla wanted. She jumped up and down excitedly
"Yay" she said clapping her hands and then she reached over and tried to take the toy off of Peter, he snatched it away from her grinning
"Thank You Peter" he said doing his best Carla impression, She cracked up and then smiled sweetly
"Thank You Peter" she said still reaching out for her new toy, yet he still wouldn't give it to her
"Now I think I deserve a lot more than that" he moved closer to Carla grinning, Simon scrunched up his face
"Don't be disgusting Dad" he said, Carla chuckled at Simon's reaction
"Yeah don't be disgusting Peter" she said mocking Simon, She then looked down at her watch "Eh it's past nine o clock we better get to our lane" Simon's eyes went wide at the thought of missing the bowling. Peter handed Carla the yellow toy
"Thanks" she cuddled it tight smiling from ear to ear
"I forgot how much of a big kid you can be" Peter said watching her fondly, She looked back at him cutely as they got back to the tills to exchange their shoes for bowling shoes. Carla looked over at all the shoes that were in little cubby holes and then frowned
"Uh I forgot about this part" She groaned, Simon and Peter both laughed as she grimaced when handing in one of her black suede boots
"Look after it please" she begged watching the man put her shoe in a cubby and pull out a pair of red and white bowling shoes, Peter laughed again and looked closely at Carla's other shoe which she had taken off
"Yeah, actually make sure you do those things cost me a fortune" he said remembering buying the shoes for Carla as a present, She was surprised that he'd remembered as he always insisted that all her shoes looked the same. "You're surprised I remember aren't you" Peter said to Carla as Simon took his shoes and went to sit down so he could put them on, She nodded at him
"Kinda"
"How could I forget? I got you them as a present back when we first got together and you were more than appreciative" he smirked thinking about the present she had given him that night.
"Ahhh now it makes sense, trust you to remember it like that" she said shaking her head as they made their way to the chairs were Simon was sitting
"You sure you're going to able to walk in these flat shoes?" Peter asked as Carla inspected the bowling shoes she'd been given.
"What do you mean? I ave flat shoes at home" Carla protested, Simon nodded
"Yeah she's got trainers that she wears to the gym"
"Gym trainers don't count"
"Actually for your information Peter I have a pair of converse" She said smugly, Then she turned her nose up as began putting on her shoes.
"And how many times have you worn them?" Peter stood up smirking, Carla stood up too
"Twice" she admitted grinning, Peter laughed at her again "Right well while you're making fun of me, I'm gonna go and get the drinks in" Carla said as they started making their way to lane number fifteen.
"No I'll get em" Peter offered but Carla shook her head at him
"No you won't you've paid for everything else, What you avin Simon?"
"Coke please"
Carla nodded at his request and she handed him her spare shoe and her newly named toy and began to walk towards the bar when Peter called after her
"I'll have a coke too" She turned round
"Sorry mate I can't hear ya, I guess walking in these flat shoes is affecting me hearing" She poked her tongue out and turned back around to continue walking to the bar.
Simon watched his Dad watch Carla walk away
"Dad!" He cried as Peter was about to walk straight past the lane they needed and into a man carrying two pints of beer, Peter was shocked by Simon's shriek and managed to dodge the guy just in the nick of time.
"Sorry mate" Peter said apologetically as the guy tutted, Simon shook his head at his Dad who looked at him
"What?"
"Nothing" Simon said with his eyebrows raised and sitting down on one of the chairs. He had been carrying the toy Peter had won for Carla and his own one. He put them underneath the chairs with their spare shoes and his jacket.
"So this girl then" Peter began sitting down next to Simon and making his eyes roll
"Santana" he sighed Peter nodded at him smiling
"Do you like her?" He asked, Simon shrugged wishing he had never ran into her now. The truth was, he did like her. He wasn't sure what his feelings were, all he knew was that she was one of the prettiest girls he'd ever met, she was always pleasant to be around and when she spoke to him he really believed she liked him too.
"She's just my friend Dad" Simon said,
"I know, I know you said and anyways you're only almost twelve, far too young to be tied down to a girlfriend" Simon raised his eyebrows
"How old were you when you had your first girlfriend?" He asked, Peter swallowed and then he started laughing
"I was a little older then you, It wasn't serious or anything, at that age it never is" Simon looked back at the bar where Carla was busy talking to the bartender, He smirked at his Dad and said
"So Carla then" Simon had put on a Peter like voice and turned back to look at his Dad "You still like her don't you?" Peter nodded
"Of course I do. I mean look at her" he started looking over at her, She was laughing at something with a guy who was at the bar "She could have any man she wanted in this place" he said reminding himself that they had decided to be "just friends"
"I think she likes you too" Simon said "You're both flirting like mad" he didn't know much about flirting but he knew that the behaviour he'd seen between Carla and Peter tonight was definitely flirting.
"That's just our banter we've always been like that" Peter said remembering how they used to make jokes and act silly way before they'd even got together.
"Maybe she'd give you another chance one day" Simon looked at his Dad hopefully but Peter shook his head looking down at his bowling shoes
"I don't deserve another chance Si. I had my chance, the best chance a man could get and I blew it. Listen if there is any advice I can give you for the future it's this" he was looking directly at Simon now "When the time comes and you truly find someone who loves you. Hold em tight and make sure you never ever do anything to hurt them" he put his hand on Simon's shoulder. "I'm serious Simon, because losing someone you love is one of the worst pains you could ever feel and it doesn't ever go away… Just remember that okay" Simon nodded at his father knowing for sure that he was referring to Carla.
"Okay" he said as he spotted Carla, happily walking back towards them. When she reached them she spotted Peter's teary eyes and the very serious look on Simon's face and frowned
"Eh What's wrong?" She stared at them both, concerned. Simon smiled at her
"Nothing, Dad's trying to give me advice about girls"
"Uh oh like what?" She asked still watching Peter, he sniffed slightly and looked at Simon
"Like stay away from girls with green eyes and dark hair because judging by this one they are nothing but trouble" he said poking Carla in the side and getting up out of his seat and walking over to the keyboards where they had to put in their names.
"Cheek" Carla said she then looked at Simon and mouthed
"Everything okay" he nodded at her still smiling, She smiled back although she still wasn't convinced.
"Okay who's going first" Peter said "Carla?" He turned and looked at Carla as Simon was checking out the different coloured balls that were on offer in front of them
"What so you both can copy my technique? I don't think so" She said going to stand next to Peter, although it was definitely the other way around and she wanted to copy theirs
"I'll go first" Simon offered "I'm gonna go down there and see if there are any better balls, I don't like any of these ones"
"Okay" Peter said and he typed in Simon's name, it appeared first on the screen
"Okay do you wanna go second then" he asked Carla she shook her head at him grinning
"Oh no no no age before beauty" Peter laughed and he then typed in his name
"Fine I'll go second" he smirked "I just hope that gives me time to get back to my seat before you take your turn" He leant back slightly and checked out the back of Carla's jeans, she hit it playfully on the arm
"You cheeky so and so"
"I'm kidding" he said putting her name into the keyboard last, she shook her head in disbelief
"No ya weren't" she said "Don't worry though I've plenty of time to get comfy before your go" She patted him on the bottom and winked at him just as Simon came back clutching a bright orange bowling ball, He chose not to mention what he'd just seen and instead said
"Are we ready to play now?" Carla and Peter nodded at him both a little embarrassed, Carla glanced on the sofas and all around them
"Wait where's Peter?" She asked Simon and Peter both looked confused, Peter pointed to himself
"I'm here" Carla rolled her eyes and nudged him in the arm
"Not you, I've decided to call the minion Peter seeing as you won it for me an all" she said smugly, Simon grinned and bent down under the chair, he pointed to it, Carla nodded "Right lets get this bowling game under way then" She said as the man that was behind the bar came over with a tray, it had two cokes on it, a lemonade and a huge plate of chips
"Ahhh thank you" she said forgetting she even ordered it, the man put it down on the table next to the chairs. "I know you lot ave eaten but I ordered some chips, Help yourself Si" She said
"Thanks Carla" Simon said taking some of the chips off the plate, Peter walked over to the table and eyed up the plate of chips
"Can we help you?" Carla said grinning Peter took a chip off of the plate
"I won you that little minion thing, can I at least have a few chips"
"I said thank you didn't I" Carla said shaking her head at him, Peter reached for another chip but Carla hit his hand
"Oi" he said, Simon shook his head and decided that he'd better start off the game of bowling.
It was almost half past eleven and after two games of bowling Carla, Peter and Simon were on their way out of the bowling alley. They had the best time together, eventually Carla let Peter eat some chips and they got on with their bowling. Peter had won both games much to Carla's disgust. She wasn't expecting to win at all but having Peter win both games made him even smugger than he had been before.
Carla was clutching her Minion toy and walking next to Peter as they walked along the pavement towards the car park. Simon was holding the toy he'd won and walking slightly in front of them he turned round to his Dad frowning
"Erm how we getting home Dad?" He asked as Kal had been the one who had driven them all there earlier, Peter shrugged
"Dunno" Peter said rather carelessly, Carla rolled her eyes at him
"It's a good thing I drove here isn't it" She said pointing at her car, Simon's frown turned quickly into a smile
"Yes I love your car, Can I sit in the front?" He asked, Peter raised his eyebrow
"What so I have to sit in the back all on me own?" Carla chuckled
"You can sit next to the minions" She said as they got to her car, she opened the door and got in the drivers seat
Peter got in the back reluctantly as Simon sat in the front seat, smugly turning back to look at his Dad.
"There's only about thirty minutes left of your birthday night out mate, then your going back to doing as you're told"
"Yeah but me actual birthday is Monday so technically I've got a whole day left" Simon said cleverly Carla handed Peter her minion then took the purple one off of Simon and she handed that to him as well
"There ya go, You can have one either side of you if you move to the middle" She said putting on her seatbelt Simon laughed
"You want me to put seat belts on them as well?" Peter asked sarcastically but Carla nodded grinning
"Good idea" She said and then she started the ignition and drove out of the space she had parked in. Peter reached over and put a seatbelt on both toys he had to admit it looked rather funny and he laughed at the sight of them and said
"There ya go safe and sound" Simon turned his head and laughed Carla frowned
"Ahh I can't see" she said keeping her eyes firmly on the road, It was fairly empty out as it had got quite late, It only took Carla ten minutes or so to get back home and it was only when she parked in the car park of her building, that she turned around to look see what Peter had done.
"I gotta get a picture of this." She said turning off the ignition, pulling out her phone and laughing at the sight of Peter in the back seat with the toys. "Say cheese Peter"
"Are you talking to me or the little yellow guy" Peter asked amusingly,
"Obviously you, ya pillock" Carla laughed, Peter smiled a great big cheesy smile and put up both of his thumbs enthusiastically. Carla and Simon both sniggered as she took the picture of the back seat.
"Hilarious" She said smiling at the picture she had taken before opening her car door and getting out.
"Thanks so much for coming Carla" Simon said walking round the front of her car and hugging her tight, Peter watched them as Carla returned the embrace lovingly, he still couldn't believe how well they got on now compared to before.
"You're welcome Simon, It was my pleasure believe me" Carla said "I'll come and see ya on ya birthday and drop your pressie round okay." She said as Simon let go of her. He looked at his Dad and then at Carla, he smiled to himself and then said
"Hey I need a wee if you watch me from the corner can I run on back to Granddad's?" He didn't actually need the toilet but he guessed his Dad wanted some alone time with Carla.
"Okay…" Peter said sussing out Simon's plan straight away and handing him the keys from his pocket They watched Simon run on to number one where he let him self in. Carla smiled as she caught Peter's eye and all of a sudden the nervousness she felt before going to the bowling alley had crept back.
"So… how have you been? You know since Monday" Peter eventually asked after a few moments of sheepish eye contact with Carla. She nodded with a genuine look of happiness on her face,
"Yeah I'm good. I mean I really listened to what you said and I've been feeling much better about everything." She said Peter nodded
"Good, I'm glad and I'm glad that you and Simon get on so well now. It makes me really happy to know that you're there for each other" He said. Carla was on the verge of saying something but she paused for a moment "What?" Peter said reading her expression.
"I errr don't know if he's mentioned it to ya but I erm… told him about our baby" Carla said quietly, Peter nodded softly at her
"Yeah he told me last night actually" he said "I think were worried he'd really upset you by bringing the subject of siblings up." Carla shook her head
"He's no need to be worried I already explained that to him" She sighed, "He were really sweet about it actually. He's such a good kid"
"He really is, He's such a credit to Leanne" Peter said, Carla frowned at him slightly
"and you as well I mean… I know you've been gone for a while but he's got a lot of your ways too."
"Oh yeah which ones?" Peter asked intrigued, Carla thought for a moment and grinned
"What you mean other than your great taste in women?" she chuckled, Peter looked a little downcast because whilst he had joked about it earlier, he had hoped that he had passed down something more decent to Simon. Carla noted the sad look on his face and said "Seriously though Peter, He can read me like a book, it's like he always seems to know what I'm feeling inside even when I put up a front"
"Really?" Peter asked Carla nodded at him
"Yep… he definitely gets that delightful little skill from you" She said smiling and opening the back door of her car to get out the two toys that had been left on the back seat.
"I'll give it to him." Peter said as Carla handed him Simon's one, She looked down at her one delightedly and then back up at Peter
"I had a really great time tonight Peter" Carla said and before she knew it she'd found her arms had wrapped themselves around Peter's neck. He pulled her in towards him by her waist and held her tight against him.
"Me too" he whispered into her hair. They stood in silence whilst in their embrace for a moment before Carla was the one to pull away first. She smiled at Peter as she did so.
"Bye then" Peter said wishing he could have kissed her goodbye, he was very tempted to but he was scared in case it made her angry and he decided it was better to have Carla in his life as a friend then not at all.
"Bye" Carla said and they both started to walk in the directions of their homes. She stopped and turned back around to see if Peter might have been watching but he was looking straight ahead as he made his way home. She sighed a little and looked down at the toy Peter that she was holding, She was glad that at least she had that to cuddle tonight.