Keep It Secret: Time Starts Now (Part Book 1) Read online

  "Well, you never know."

  "Maybe you're right. Never mind, let's just have a nice evening."

  "Yeah, let's!" I say.

  So we nip to the shop and get some meat and sausages, bread, some wine, fruit and a dozen other things that we don't need, but just buy them. It's the same thing every single time. Ali on her own is bad, me on my own, I am bad. Together we are a nightmare…

  On our way back to the house we're annoyed with ourselves for shopping all these things, because now we have a lot of heavy bags, that we have to carry back home. Oh yeah, not to mention that Ali's house is up on a hill! And of course, we didn't take the car. Ah no, for that short distance and those few things we'll walk. That's good exercise. Yeah, right now I hate ourselves for that.

  As we approach the house, absolutely exhausted and trying to catch our breath, I can hear Prince bark. He obviously heard us. Then Tyler and Henry show up at the gate and take our shopping bags and carry them up. Tyler takes mine and Henry walks straight up to Ali to take hers. I give her a little wink, but she just shakes her head. I'm not making this up. There is something there and it is my mission to prove it. We both have been single for too long now. We are waiting for the one special guy and somehow I have a gut feeling this could be him for her. If not, at least we know. But I am pretty sure he is.

  "Okay, so before we start the cooking and all of that, I say we first have a lovely cocktail and chill for a moment," I suggest.

  "Yes Poppy, you always know what's good, don't you?" Tyler answers nearly falling off the lounge chair he had just jumped on.

  "Well, then I suggest you go in the kitchen and make the cocktails Tyler," I tell him.

  "As you wish Milady," he says with a grin, bowing down and walking off into the kitchen.

  I love that guy, he is always such fun. I have known Tyler for about three years now. I don't see him very often, but every time I do, it's just pure fun. He's like a big brother. Also, he is helping us with our company, which is so nice of him. He successfully started his own company when he was only 18 years old. Really impressive.

  I lie back on my lounge chair enjoying the sun, as it's slightly starting to go down and wait for Tyler to bring me my drink. I can hear Ali and Henry talking, I don't hear what they are talking about though. Well, at least they are having a conversation.

  Tyler comes out with the drinks.

  "So, everyone raise your glasses, cheers to us and our lovely holiday!" I toast.

  "To us," everybody replies.

  This is going to be great I just know it, I can feel it. This is the beginning of a whole new life story for Ali and also for me. And I was to be proven true.

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  Chapter 3

  Alison

  The sun has gone down, we have all eaten quite a lot. Now all four of us are just sitting around the fire, our drinks in hand and talking. Talking and mostly laughing.

  This has been great so far. If the entire week is going to be like this, then this will be the best week of my life.

  I still keep staring at Henry, whenever I can. It’s not that easy, because I don’t want to be caught. Just imagine how embarrassing it would be if he saw me constantly staring at him after he had rejected me earlier on. I mean, don’t worry, I get the hint.

  I still don’t understand why he didn’t want to come to the shop with me earlier. I just don’t, but I’ve decided not to think about it anymore, which is easier said than done. Poppy and Tyler are on about some random thing they did the last time we were in London. They always do weird stuff. Henry is laughing with them. And then I can feel him staring at me. For a second I think to myself: Shall I take the risk and look at him? And I just can’t resist, I have to look in his direction. He is still staring at me. Then he smiles at me. I smile back trying not to seem awkward. He looks even more handsome in the light of the fire.

  All of a sudden Tyler stands up.

  “Anybody need a new drink?“

  “Sure,“ Poppy answers.

  “I’m good,“ I say and Henry answers him with:

  “I don’t need anything, thanks.“

  “Well, Poppy, why don’t we go to the kitchen and get us a refill?“

  “Good idea,“ Poppy replies and off they go.

  Henry gets up from his lounge chair and I think to myself: Great. He just can’t stand being around me on his own. What’s wrong with him? I mean why can’t he handle a single second on his own with me? He walks over to me and as he stands right in front of me, he asks:

  “Do you mind if I sit next to you?“

  I’m surprised and most of all I am relieved, that he doesn’t want to leave now that he’s left alone with me.

  “You’re welcome“ I answer.

  He sits down next to me. We both look into the fire for a moment, not saying anything at all. I just hope that he will say something, this silence is making me nervous. This entire situation is absolutely nerve-wracking for me and I have no idea what to say. Please god, just let him say something. Anything!

  “I think we are being set up. Or at least they are trying to,“ Henry says with a little chuckle. I am horrified.

  “Yeah, sorry. I don’t know why they both are acting like that. They usually don’t“ I answer. I wish there was a hole in the ground, that I could jump into and never ever return.

  “Why are you sorry? I never said it was a bad thing. I’m kind of grateful for it,“

  Henry looks deep into my eyes. I don’t know what to say. I just smile. I am delighted that he just said that and that he seems to be interested in me because I am actually really attracted to him.

  “What is going on in your head? You seem like you are constantly thinking,“ Henry asks me.

  “To be honest, I have this feeling that I know you. I mean I know that I do not know you. I can’t. I have never met you before and Tyler didn’t tell me much about you but still, I have this feeling like I know your face from somewhere and I don’t know, I keep thinking where it could be, but I can’t think of anything.“

  “Oh, okay. Maybe we just have a deep connection, and that’s why you have this feeling?“ Henry suggests acting uncomfortably.

  “Yeah, right,” I say laughingly. “So besides hanging out with my cousin and going on holiday with him what else do you do?“

  “You mean in my free time or as a job?“ Henry returns to my question.

  “Well, both.“

  “Okay, so I enjoy travelling, meeting different people and learning about their culture. When I’m home I like to just hang out with friends, I’m not the going out to the club type of guy. I rather stay home, cook and watch a nice movie. What do you like doing?“

  “I love travelling too, but I haven’t been able to travel a lot yet. I enjoy reading and hanging out with friends and watching romcoms. I also prefer staying at home to going out to a club. I used to work for the government, but have started my own fashion business and am about to open a hotel with Poppy.“ I tell him.

  “I still don’t know what you do for a living,“ I say while giving him a gentle bump into the ribs.

  “Oh, yeah I’m a musician. I used to be in a band and we wrote our own songs and performed together. We got to travel a bit and that was great and I really enjoyed being in the band and performing, but now it was time to start something new, so I am currently writing the songs for my first solo album.“

  “Wow, that sounds real fun. For me, I think it would be a nightmare. Performing in front of people, absolute horror. I would be far too nervous. But I think it’s great that you do it. The world would be terrible without music. Do you perform at weddings and stuff like that then?“ I ask him thinking that it must be really tough not having a real and safe job.

  “A well…“ he starts but is interrupted by Tyler and Poppy who are coming back into the garden laughing loudly.

  We both break our eye-contact to look at them. They’ve had a few drinks, well we all have and it’s starting to get to ou
r heads. We don’t know what they are laughing about because they try to explain, but neither of them manages without bursting into laughter again.

  I turn my face back to the fireplace and look down on Henry´s hands and arms. Then I notice his tattoos. I mean I did see them before - he’s got quite a few, which I like. But now it’s different. I have seen these tattoos before. This can’t be a coincidence. First I think his face is familiar and now I know his tattoos?

  And then it hits me. I leap off my chair so forcefully, that everybody is looking at me now.

  “Are you okay?“ Tyler asks me.

  “I’m fine. Fine. Ah, I just forgot something. I need to show you the thing I bought Poppy, come on it’s in the bathroom.“

  “What thing are you talking about?“ Poppy asks me wondering what I am up to.

  “You know, Poppy, that thing I can’t remember the name of every single time I tell you about it. And I have forgotten to show it to you so often, that I HAVE TO SHOW IT TO YOU NOW or otherwise we will forget again,“ giving her a look of “of course there is nothing, I have to talk to you in private”. She doesn’t get it.

  “Okay, well, if it’s so important to you then sure, let’s go inside so that you can show me this life-changing THING.“

  Thank god she follows me in the bathroom. I close the door behind us. When I turn around Poppy is staring at me.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? What’s this all about? Where is this great thing?“ she asks me.

  “Don’t be silly, of course, there is nothing. I just really needed to talk to you in private. You know how I told you when you arrived here, that I have this feeling that I know Henry because I have seen him somewhere before, but that I just couldn’t imagine it to be true. Now I have just realized that I also know his tattoos,“

  “Okay so, where do you know him from then?“

  “I still don’t know, but he told me that for a living he is a musician.“

  “A musician like for weddings?” Poppy asks.

  “I don’t know. I just asked him that, but then you and Tyler came back out and he never answered,“

  “Dang it,“ Poppy says annoyed at herself that she and Tyler are the reason for not knowing the answer.

  “But I figured, as I can’t remember him, but still know that I have seen him somewhere, maybe it was in a magazine or something. What if he isn’t a boy from a band who gets booked on weddings, what if he was in a popular band? I’m talking celebrity Brit awards winning band?“ Poppy looks at me first in disbelief then thoughtful.

  “What kind of bands are there now? I only know solo artists,“ Poppy says.

  “Me too, but I think Tyler said that he is four years younger than him. So that makes him also four years younger than me. So maybe we just don’t know the band because it’s not our age group. Also, he told me he is not in that band anymore so either it was just him who left or the band doesn’t exist anymore.“

  “Hmmm, okay this is easy,“ Poppy shouts out.

  “What is?“

  She pulls out her phone and starts typing in it.

  “Well Ali, we know how old he is, we know that he is from England, we know he was in a band and yeah we know his first name. Come on, Google will find him in one second,“ Poppy says without once taking her look off of her phone.

  “Oh my god!“ Poppy says covering her mouth with her hand and starting to giggle like a little girl, “Ali, Henry is Henry Green, member of the most popular boy band, Fate.“

  “You can’t be serious,“

  “Well, if you don’t believe me read this,“ Poppy replies while handing me her phone.

  There it is all written down.

  Henry Green, popstar. One of the most favoured boys in the world. Adored by young teenage girls. One number one hit after another.

  A star.

  A big star.

  A huge celebrity.

  A multi-millionaire.

  Sitting in my garden. And I just asked him if he sang at weddings. This can’t get any worse. Weird, he is so humble and grounded. I would never have thought that he is a superstar. But I guess they are also just people.

  Now everything makes sense. That’s why he was incognito at the airport, so nobody would recognize him and, of course, he wouldn’t want to go out to the shops. I can’t believe it.

  “Ali, you still there? Or have you just lost your mind?“ I hear Poppy asking and snapping her fingers in front of my face.

  “I’m here. I just realized a few things. This can’t be happening. Can it?“

  “Breathe, love. Good people deserve good things and great people like you deserve the best! Just relax, as for all he is still just a boy who definitely is very interested in you. The other thing is just a job. And you are not going to talk about that. Remember this week is not about business,“ Poppy smiles at me, winks and takes me in for a hug.

  I take a deep breath in and let it out again.

  “You know what, you are absolutely right. He is just a boy, who happens to have a different kind of job, but who I am very attracted to. I like him, although I don’t know him. But I definitely want to get to know him. So let’s go outside and pretend this just never happened,“ I say so that I make sure to believe myself.

  “That’s my girl! Come on then, let’s go outside back to the boys,“ Poppy says leading me outside.

  Back outside, I sit down next to Henry and Poppy sits down beside Tyler.

  “Are you alright?“ Henry asks me.

  “I’m fine,“ I say and smile at him.

  The four of us keep on talking and laughing until it’s late and we all go to bed.

  As I lay in bed I can’t stop thinking about Henry. I don’t think about him being a huge popstar and celebrity. I think about his smile, the way he makes me feel, the way he talks to me and how nice he is. I can’t wait for tomorrow to come, so I’ll be able to spend more time with him.

  Then I finally fall asleep.

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  Chapter 4

  Poppy

  It's still early when Alison and I wake up. I can feel the sunshine on my skin giving me a nice warm feeling. I wake up with a smile on my face, feeling so good and relaxed even though we didn't sleep much at all. Alison looks up at me and wishes me a good morning and offers to make us coffee. She knows me. Nobody can stand me in the mornings; I'm really no fun to be around with until I've had my first coffee. Alison knows how to handle it though. It's not that difficult to be fair. Wake up, don't start chatting until I have had my first cup of coffee, after that, I am good to go. So after being handed my first cup of a lovely brew, I inhale its smell. It's the best smell in the world right now and then I take a sip. Feeling the warmth trailing down my neck. Mhh, this is good. When I'm finished I quickly get dressed. I just throw a pair of joggers and a t-shirt on, Alison does the same and we take Prince out for a walk. We are trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake the boys.

  "Sneaking out? You do realize that you are the one living here?" Henry says standing behind us all of a sudden, frightening us to death.

  "Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you," Alison and I reply.

  "No worries, you didn't, I'm always up early, I enjoy the mornings, I think it's probably the best part of the day. So where are you two trying to disappear to?"

  "Oh, we are just taking Prince for a short walk," I reply.

  "Do you mind if I join you?"

  "No, please. The more the better," I say.

  "Oh, just to let you know, you shouldn't talk too much to Poppy. She is not exactly a morning person, but she has already had her first cup of coffee so we should be safe," Alison warns him laughingly.

  I just roll my eyes, but I can't be mad at her for since she is right.

  "Maybe you should consider wearing some trousers, Henry," I tell him noticing that he is standing there in his underpants.

  "Really? Do you think? Okay then," he says and disappears in the guestroom, as he returns he is also wea
ring some joggers and a t-shirt.

  We start walking. The air smells nice and fresh but the sun has disappeared again. It's grey and looks as though it might rain.

  "So, Henry Green," I burst out.

  "Oh, you know then,"

  "Well, no actually we don't."

  Henry looks at Alison as if waiting for an answer.

  "I had this feeling that I've seen you before. And as it is my nature not to let go of things, I thought and thought where it could have been where I had seen you before. Then yesterday by the fire I realized, that I also know your tattoos and then I knew it couldn't be a coincidence. When you told me you were a singer earlier it all kind of made sense at once. So I called Poppy and told her and she googled you. So yes we somehow know," Ali finally responds to him.

  "And what do you guys think now?"

  "What do you mean?" I ask back.

  "Well, about the situation, my situation."

  "You are still Henry, my cousin's friend, whom I just met yesterday but really like and the other thing is just your job. I don't have anything to do with your job. Does it matter that we are starting our own business? Ali asks Henry.

  "No, of course not why?"

  "See, that's what we are trying to tell you, why would it matter? Why should we think about it at all?" Ali explains.

  "You two are two of the nicest, funniest, and coolest girls I have ever met. Oh and not to forget stunning looking," Henry says and we all share a small giggle.

  Then we walk back to the house chatting along and planning the day. I really want to go to the zoo and as the weather isn't so good, there won't be many people in the zoo Henry needn't worry about remaining incognito. So I win, the zoo it is. Now we just have to tell Tyler and get him to wake up. (Not an easy thing to do).

  As we come home, Ali lets us know that she is going to take a shower and then while we all get ready she can prepare breakfast. Because her house is being remodelled, she currently only has one bathroom. So while she is off taking a shower, Henry and I start to wake Tyler, only to annoy him a little bit. He lets us know that we ought to come back when everybody has showered and he can go directly from bed to the bathroom. We let him be and go out into the garden with Prince because we don't have a lot to do before getting ready.