CHAPTER:5 TRYING TO FORGET The row that night between Lindsey and Shelley had been terrible, they had even woke Jimmy and Jackie in the next room and as usual it was Lindsey who went crawling back to Shelley for forgiveness. Lindsey hadn't told her where she had been, she just said that she had been for a walk. " Come on love what’s up?" Jimmy asked when he finally got Lindsey to himself. He'd been trying for two days to talk to her but someone else always turned up. " Nothings wrong Dad, really I'm fine" Lindsey lied. " Don't treat me like I'm a fool Lindsey, I won't be fobbed off as easily as Shelley or your mother, now come on tell me and don't lie" " Dad really......" Jimmy cut her off. " Okay how about I help you start, Callum" Lindsey instantly sighed and turned away from Jimmy " I know he’s got something to do with it Linz now come on what is it, are you frightened that he’s going to find out where we're staying and blow the place up or something?" " No, no its nothing like that, I'm not frightened of him" " Oh well you could've fooled me love you want a flamin' oscar for that performance" Jimmy retorted sarcastically. " I'm not saying that I've never been afraid of him, I'm just not now, not after....not after the other night" she sighed. Jimmy stared at her in what looked like amazement. " You went to see him!" he eventually exclaimed. " Yes I went to see him, I had some questions that I wanted answering...so I fronted up" Lindsey explained bluntly. " What questions would those be do you still want to marry me or can I have some tips on how to survive been shot and buried!" Jimmy snapped sarcastically " I know I'm going to regret asking this" Jimmy continued after a pause " but....what happened to stop you from being afraid of him?" Lindsey looked down at her drink, Jimmy sighed, shaking his head before dropping it into his hands. When he looked up Lindsey looked like she was going to cry. " Please don't tell me you did it, don't tell me that you slept with him to keep him off your back..... just don't tell me that you slept with him for any reason what so ever" Lindsey looked up angrily at her Dad. " Please! I'm not that low, I wouldn't sleep with anyone to keep them off my back" " So you didn't sleep with him?" " No" Lindsey replied sharply. " So why are you nearly crying then?" he asked in a concerned tone. " Because something happened that night, something that I can't explain. Its something that I've never felt before, its like....its like something just clicked inside of me......I-I can't explain it, I don't know what it is but I do know that things will never, ever be the same again dad, that’s all I can say" Jimmy dropped his head onto the table shaking it. Then he looked up at his daughter. " You know you make it sound like you fell in love with the son of a bitch" Lindsey looked at her father with an unfathomable expression on her face that was deadly serious " Maybe I did" Jimmy waited for her start laughing but she didn't. " Oh my god....." They fell silent as Jackie returned to the pool side table, dripping wet. Jimmy stared at Lindsey as she calmly took a sip of her drink. " What’s wrong love?" Jackie asked as Jimmy continued to look like he was in a daze. " Ask her" Jimmy snapped as he rose and walked away from the table. Jackie looked at her daughter. Lindsey shook her head nearly laughing. " You know what he's like Mam he never could take a joke" Lindsey now rose and made her way back to her room. As she walked she began to think, what if it wasn't a joke? She flopped onto her bed her head spinning with thoughts of Callum, she tried to focus on the bad things but just couldn't. Shelley soon arrived back in the room, still quite wet from her swim with Jackie, Lindsey turned onto her side so that her back was facing Shelley. Shelley crept up to the bed and lay down close to Lindsey. She ran her hand down Lindsey's back knowing Lindsey found it arousing, but this time she didn't, Shelley had never been good with her hands but it felt worse than ever now. Shelley tried kissing the back of Lindsey's neck. Lindsey felt sick, it was as though she couldn't stand Shelley's touch so she shifted away from her. Shelley took the hint but shot Lindsey a cold look before storming out of the room. Lindsey buried her head into the pillow as she began to cry. Callum had been spending more and more time in his club since the night with Lindsey, his colleagues were getting very curious about what could possibly be getting to the ‘Glasgow hardman’, nothing had ever bothered him before, not ever. But now he was losing his concentration the more time he spent working the less he seemed to be interested in it. He always seemed to be getting other people to sort things for him while he spent more and more time sitting in his office. His thoughts of course were plagued by Lindsey Corkhill. He had always thought about her in the past but now he couldn't think of anything else. What bugged him the most was how close he had came to her that night, she had saved his life that day and very nearly saved his heart on the evening. 'Saved his heart?' Callum shook his head, 'That wasn't possible, how could she save his heart? Because he loved her? No that wasn't possible, or was it.........? He was interrupted by was a knock at his office door. " Come in" he called, quickly replacing a packet of photographs into the desk drawer. John Siren slipped into his boss's office closing the door quietly behind him. He walked forward a few paces so that he could make his mentor out more clearly, it seemed extremely dark in Callum's office. " Is everything in order then John?" as distracted as Callum may be he had not forgotten about the party that was to take place that evening. The party was in honour of Richie East, he was a very important Don and Callum did not want to disappoint him so he was determined that this party would be perfect. " Everything’s fine Callum, I was wondering if you wanted to come and check, you know just have a quick look over things" John knew Callum was planning to check things anyway but Callum was pleased that John had the sense to offer. " Yeah I'll come down now. Oh and do we have the music sorted?, he loves Tom Jones" " Yeah I know, we have everything ready" John nodded. Callum checked everything with a very close attention to detail. He wasn't a perfectionist he usually wasn't that bothered with detail, not with parties anyway, but this time it wasn't a typical party, this time it was business. And in Callum's business you had to pay very close attention to detail. He checked every snipers position to make sure that every inch of the club was covered. " Right, just to decide now whether or not we should keep this strictly private or let a few regulars in. What do you think John?" Callum turned to face his companion. " I think we should let quite a few people in, it should impress him if he sees how popular we are" Callum considered John's comment " Anyway only trusted people know that he’s coming here tonight Callum, it should be alright" " Yeah but what if someone recognizes him?" Callum said thoughtfully. He wasn't fearful but at the same time could do without a street war. As he considered this his mind began to twist towards Lindsey and he was grateful when John's voice interrupted his thoughts. " What about door checks?" Callum looked round at him. " What?" " Door checks Callum, you know check people for weapons on the way in" " We can't do that, it'd spark suspicion in a second" This brought a thought to Callum. He looked round the toilets and remembered the film 'Godfather', most likely from Lindsey’s having mentioned it the other night. " What if someone gets something planted inside the club for them?" " I'll get people checking now Callum and I'll tell the doormen to check people on the way in. Is that alright Callum?" " Yeah, yeah that’s fine" Callum's mind was wandering again. John looked at him almost pitifully, he couldn't fathom what might be bothering his boss. When Lindsey eventually fell asleep on that afternoon her dreams were very vivid and seemed so real to her that she was convinced it was really happening. In her dream she was back in the warehouse with Callum and he was trying to convince her to marry him. She knew what was going to happen, or at least she thought she did. This time around though she did agree to marry him, she did go to Portugal and she was happy. She felt happier than ever as she threw her arms around Callum's neck. Then she woke, the happy feeling was gone and suddenly she felt sick, she had broken out into a cold sweat. She lay on the bed her hands covering her face until Shelley walked in. " Are you up for a party tonight?" Shelley asked a little too pleasantly after Lindsey had ignored her earlier. " Eh yeah sure, where is it?" Lindsey asked sitting up and kicking the quilt off herself. " You are going to love this, it’s a club right, having a night dedicated to Tom Jones" Shelley replied sitting down next to Lindsey. Lindsey was still distant " You do like Tom Jones don't you?" " You know I do, of course I'm up for it. What time does it start?" Lindsey rose and walked away from the bed, she couldn't stand the feeling of being so close to Shelley, not at the minute she couldn't, she still felt sick, but something was telling her it wasn't the thought of being with Callum. " It's on all night, you don't have to be there at any specific time, just as long as you turn up before midnight, so you've got plenty of time to get ready" with that Shelley left Lindsey to get ready. CHAPTER: 6 THE DANCE They arrived at the club round about 9:30 and things were already in full swing and the club was packed with Tom Jones fans and, according to one woman, people who just wanted to see the owner. When Lindsey asked what 'the owners' name was, the woman said she wasn't sure but she'd like to find out. " Lovely for her" Lindsey whispered to Shelley as they made their way in. " Well I wouldn't mind seeing him for myself" Shelley replied. Lindsey stared at her " Hey just because I prefer the other side doesn't mean that I don't like to look" " And you were worried about me going off with a bloke" Lindsey exclaimed. " Hey I'm not the one getting proposed to by vicious gangsters who try to rape me and run me over" Shelley retorted a little too sharply. " Shelley you know I don't like people talking about that" Lindsey warned. " I don't see why not it was ages ago" Shelley sighed. " Yeah but that doesn't mean that it goes away alright, just do me a favour and don't ever mention that man to me again" " I didn't mention 'him' god I don't know why you go on so stupid just because someone mentions his name" " Shelley go and get raped, beaten, practically blew up and proposed to by someone and then come back and argue about this with me, okay" with that Lindsey stormed off to the bar. After she was served she stood with her drink watching the dance floor. There wasn't that many people but the atmosphere was good and she knew if it wasn't for Shelley she could probably enjoy herself tonight. She also thought that she could have ended up with a man too. Then as she looked up she knew for a fact that she could have ended up with a man that night as she watched Callum descend the stairs towards the dance floor. He instantly mingled with the crowd as everyone seemed to come forward to see him. Lindsey turned to a woman who stood next to her also watching Callum. " Is that Callum Finnegan up there?" Lindsey asked. " Yeah that’s him, you can always tell when that mans on the floor" the woman replied grinning. " How’s that?" Lindsey asked again still watching as a woman tried to persuade Callum into dancing with her, but he wouldn't. " Oh come on girl there’s a sudden stampede of women in his direction" " How come you're not up there then?" " Me, I've given up, I know his secret" the woman replied smiling trying to see where Callum had gone, then she spotted him and laughed. He was dancing with a woman but every time she tried to get close he kept backing away. " What’s his secret then?" Lindsey asked after watching the scene on the dance floor for a while. " You can't tell!? He's in love" " Oh! Do you know who with?" Lindsey asked sounding a little to curious. " Nah, he wouldn't say, but you can tell its serious" " How’s that then?" Lindsey turned so that she was facing the woman full on. " Come on there must be a thousand clues there just looking at him now. The most obvious one is the fact that there’s all those scantily clad, slinky women up there throwing themselves at him every night and he's never touched one of them! And then the one that really gave it away to me was......he's got that look in his eyes, ah poor Callum eh, all those women that want him and he had to fall for the one that wasn't interested" The woman shook her head, she looked sad for him. " So it's someone he met in here then?" Lindsey sounded almost disappointed. " No, if it was I would've known about it, if it was anyone from this country I would've known about it" " How can you be so sure?" Lindsey was beginning to sound too interested, but luckily the woman didn't notice. " Because I'm his little sidekick Kel, I know everything there is to know about that man and I tell you there are a lot of women in here very jealous of me" " Oh I didn't know he had a 'sidekick' " Lindsey frowned. " He kept it quiet but he takes me everywhere with him I come in handy if some bitch tries to get in the way when he's collecting so if it was a woman from around here I'd know" Kel smiled, she had noticed something in Lindsey's eyes but decided against saying anything. " So it’s a woman from another country then?" " I reckon its got to be someone he met in Liverpool, that’s the only thing he won't talk about, his times in Liverpool. I personally think it’s the lass he dedicated this place to." Kel answered speaking honestly, she wasn't afraid to reveal things about Callum to this woman as she had noticed the way Lindsey had been looking at him. " And who's that?" Lindsey asked her curiosity level higher than usual, she suddenly wanted to know everything about Callum's secret love. " Oh she’s called Lindsey, oh god what’s her last name, Corkhill or something like that " Kel said, she knew she was right but wanted to sound unsure anyway, she still didn't know who she was talking to. Lindsey's face had lit up, she was oddly pleased by what Kel had told her, but decided she had better change the subject before she became too pleased with Callum. " So why are all the women after him?" Lindsey asked turning away as Callum turned to look in her direction. She had been watching him dance and was secretly reminiscing about a time when she had danced like that. She remembered taking the lessons after seeing the film Dirty Dancing, she had loved been able to move like that and she loved the feeling when you got really close to your partner, it was very erotic. Callum though was keeping it clean, he wasn't dancing closely despite the woman's advances. " You want to know why all the women are after him, Come on he's every woman's dream, he's loyal, totally faithful, devoted, he'll do anything for a woman once he's with her, he's got such a great personality, he's easy to talk to, he's a good listener, and kinda cute in a dark, rough, mysterious sort of way, he's a great dancer and on top of all that he's loaded! I'll tell you now though there’s not a girl in this bar can get close to him for a dance. He'll dance but he'll not touch one of them" Lindsey's mind began to tick over, she thought it would be worth a chance just for everyone's reactions. She turned to Kel " I bet you I can get close to him" she challenged. " Don't count on it girl" Kel replied before taking a drink of her vodka and orange. " No seriously I bet you he'll dance with me" Kel looked at Lindsey and saw that she was serious. " You can try but you'll be just like the rest of them up there" Kel replied in a voice that sounded as though she didn't want Lindsey to show herself up like all the others did. Lindsey walked away grinning as she made her way up the steps to the dance floor. Callum was at the bar ordering himself a drink. Lindsey spotted him instantly and approached him. The other women seemed to be watching her, Lindsey could guess what they were thinking: 'He'll not dance with her' Lindsey ignored their stares, she knew he'd do anything if it meant getting his hands on her. Once she reached him she placed a hand on his shoulder and he spun to face her. His initial reaction was shock but that changed to an oddly warm smile in a second. " Lindsey!" he exclaimed in a voice that sounded almost excited " What are you drinking? Can I get you something?" Lindsey found herself smiling, if someone had told her that he would react like that at seeing her she would have laughed in their faces, but now she was happy at his reaction to seeing her. " No, I'm fine, I just want someone to dance with" she replied feeling relaxed as she stood but a few inches away from him. He looked at her a little confused. " Are you sure you want to?" He frowned. " Oh yeah, I've been watching the way you move and I figure its been a long time since I danced like that so.....why not?" her smile convinced him that she was serious. As the song 'Chills and Fever' began to play Callum felt a sudden surge of excitement rush through him, the song was perfect for him to really get close to her. Lindsey knew this too and didn't feel intimidated in the least. " Okay then" Callum smiled downing his whiskey and walking to the dancefloor holding Lindsey's hand. He spun her round then pulled right up close to him. Lindsey held her breath as the sudden contact seemed to spark. As they moved there wasn't an inch of space between them and Lindsey discovered that she hadn't lost any of her flexibility as she could still tip right back over ' Just like Penny in Dirty Dancing, or Jennifer Grey' she thought to herself. It's true that Callum was no Patrick Swayze but he could move just as well Lindsey thought as she smiled at him. She found herself laughing with him as he sang along. " One of my favorites" he admitted. " Same here" Lindsey replied smiling. Then she knew was line was coming and they both went quiet. " Think I'd better leave that one out eh" Callum smiled a little uneasily and so did Lindsey. The line was ' I tell you that I love you so and I'll never, ever, ever let you go' Callum ran his hand down Lindsey’s back as they moved in time with the music. He tried to stop his touch from been too personal, he stopped himself from touching any intimate areas of her body. But despite the neutral areas that he did touch, it still felt intimate to both of them. Lindsey fought to resist the feeling that came over her as his hands ran over her body in such a way that she could tell he was fighting to control himself and his feelings. She didn’t want him to touch her, or so she claimed to keep herself sane. There was a voice in her head screaming at her to push him away, to stop him. But what was he doing wrong? She had asked him to dance, it wasn’t as if he was forcing himself onto her, it wasn’t as if he was trying it on. Despite all this the second Callum had touched Lindsey she had been lost, she had been unable to prevent the instant arousal that had overcome her. She wanted to end it, she wanted to stop it now. The feelings that Callum’s touch invoked within her were feelings that she didn’t want to feel, didn’t want to experience, at least not with Callum Finnegan. Yet how could it be him that brought these feelings to light? This man that she had so hated, how could he make her feel like this? ‘Maybe it is because every time he touches me I feel how much he loves me...’ Lindsey thought ‘Stop it!’ she suddenly screamed at herself, how could she ever possibly believe that he loved her? When they finished the dance Callum offered to buy her a drink ' for making his night' Lindsey accepted the offer. As she headed back to the bar she heard someone remark " Talk about Dirty Dancing, the chemistry between them two they could've made that film" It was when she heard this two things dawned on Lindsey, she hadn't taken any notice of everyone's reactions and the other was that things had been a little steamy between her and Callum. It was on noticing this that she thought it would be better if she went back to Shelley. " Callum I think I'd better not get that drink, I've left Shelley waiting and thats not safe because she'll be using that time to come with something to get the last word in our most recent argument" Lindsey found herself regretting this as Callum suddenly looked devastated, then she asked herself why she felt so bad about upsetting him, but then she looked in his eyes again and really did feel sorry about it. " So you've had an argument, all the more reason not to go running back to her, come on just one. If anything I owe you a drink, please" he put his hands together as if he was going to pray and looked up at her pleading with his eyes. " Puppy eyes don't work on me" Lindsey knew he was doing it in fun, he looked as though he was going to burst out laughing. She looked at him, he'd dropped his head slightly and was looking up at her, he was really giving her the puppy eyes which seemed to be more effective with his hazel brown eyes. She found herself laughing, he looked cheeky. ' What am I talking about!' Lindsey berated herself ' This is Callum Finnegan, how could he possibly look cheeky!?'. Lindsey looked over to where Shelley was sitting and made up her mind when she saw the fed up look on Shelley's face. " Alright, alright, but its only because I am very curious about this 'new you' " she warned. " What do you mean new me, this is me, its just you've never met me before" Lindsey curiosity was instantly pricked by this last comment and at the moment the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' meant nothing to her. " Is there anywhere we can sit and discuss this alone, I mean out the way of the crowd, or will your fan club follow you?" she smiled. " Nah they’re no bother really. We can sit over there come on" he lead her through the crowd weaving in and out of people, he was immaculately thin and Lindsey noticed but pushed it away in a second. He lead her to a far corner away from the dance floor where the music didn't seem so loud. The seat was curved round with the corner and had a blue velvet covering. They sat at the point of the corner and Callum turned himself so that he could face her, Lindsey didn't particularly want to face him so she sat normally. Continued Next week.......

Suggestions/comments to brookside.soapbox@btinternet.com Brookside is produced by Mersey Television, and is Copyright Mersey Television 1982 -1998. Brookside Soap Box is a privately run site and has no connections to Mersey Television or Channel 4 Comments regarding the production of Brookside should be directed to: Brookside, Mersey TV, Chidwall Abbey Road, Liverpool L16 0JP. Information is sourced mainly from various TV listings magazines and no infringement of any copyright is intended.

Any Questions ? Click on Icon to chat to me....If Online or e-mail Alan ( Webmaster )