Lost and Found Read online

  Lost and Found

  By

  Natasha West

  Copyright © 2019 by Natasha West

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  With enormous thanks to Brooke for making time to help a very grateful author.

  One

  Sophie Hart wasn’t looking anymore.

  She was sick of it all, dating. Sick of the flakes and sick of the liars and sick of the toddlers dressed as adult women. The last straw was going on a date with someone who’d used a picture on their profile of what turned out to be a telenovela actress, beautiful and exotic. ‘How did you think you were going to get away with it?’ she’d asked the mousey blonde who showed up at the bar. The woman didn’t have an answer. The stupid thing was, Sophie would have swiped on the blonde if she’d been honest.

  As Sophie stormed out of the bar, she was struck by a terrible realisation. The thunderbolt was that when she was twenty, she’d had a girlfriend for two years, and then when she was twenty-four, she’d had another girlfriend, which had lasted just under a year. Then a three-month fling at twenty-six. Now she was twenty-eight, and the last two years had only yielded a series of dates that went nowhere. She was getting further away from the goal, to fall in lasting love. The catfish was the last straw. Sophie was officially sacking it all off.

  So, when she arrived at her first viewing of the day at the one-bed rental on Stanley Street a few weeks later and saw April Gregory casually leaning against the outside wall, looking as if she didn’t know or care how sexy she was, Sophie was almost angry to see her. That bouncy jet-black hair, those mysterious dark blue eyes, that effortlessly graceful way she had of holding herself. Sophie felt like it was a test of her resolve. Because she wasn’t noticing that sort of thing anymore, and she was annoyed that she’d had any kind of physical reaction to a woman, albeit involuntary. She was giving up, getting the cat, subscriptions to every movie channel, possibly joining a wine of the month club, calling it a day. There was no room in that scenario for people like this to be leaning against walls, looking edible.

  ‘Hi, is it Sophie?’ the woman said and stood from the wall, sticking her hand out. Sophie nodded and shook it. It was soft. Absurdly soft. ‘Yes, yes, that’s me,’ Sophie said, far less confidently than she’d meant to. She was usually good at this part, the talking to people bit. Mainly because it didn’t matter much to her one way or the other if the person in question wanted to rent a two-bed with a damp patch and a rat problem. So she faked being a confident professional, pretending to be someone who didn’t just want to put the bare minimum in, get paid, and go home to that cat she was planning to buy. It was easy to pretend because she didn’t care. Only she was being a bit less breezy today. ‘Am I late?’ she asked April, checking her watch.

  ‘Nope, I’m early,’ April smiled. Sophie felt rather warm at the sight of that easy, sexy smile. She headed for the front door, pulling keys out, which she promptly dropped. ‘God, sorry. Shouldn’t have had that seventh coffee,’ she said awkwardly. April laughed as she picked up the keys, and Sophie didn’t feel so stupid. She opened the door and stood back to let April enter. ‘Head on in,’ she told her.

  April stepped in and stood in the middle of the living room, looking around as Sophie walked in behind her, wondering what she made of the place. Because Sophie thought it was a dump.

  ‘So, this is the living room. South facing,’ Sophie told April.

  April chewed her lip. ‘Mmmm.’

  ‘Shall we check out the kitchen?’

  April let out a tired sigh. ‘No, it’s fine. I’ll take it.’

  Sophie raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t wanna see the rest of it first?’

  ‘I’ve got to find somewhere quick. This’ll do.’

  Sophie looked around. ‘And you’re happy with this?’

  ‘Shouldn’t I be?’ April asked, defeated.

  Sophie didn’t know what compelled her to say it, but she found herself answering, ‘No. It’s a shithole.’

  Sophie wasn’t sure how April was going to react for a moment. But then she burst out laughing. ‘Yeah,’ she agreed. ‘It is. But I’m gonna take the place anyway.’

  ‘Why?’ Sophie asked, baffled.

  ‘I’ve been looking all week, and they’re all like this, so why mess about?’ she asked wretchedly.

  Sophie hated to see that, how beaten April seemed by the admittedly exhausting process of trying to find a decent place to live. Something in her couldn’t seem to accept it. ‘Don’t take this place. Come with me. There’s something you should see,’ she told April.

  April looked uncertain. ‘How mysterious.’ But she got in the car.

  ***

  April turned around in the large, sunny, newly fitted, open-plan flat, beaming from ear to ear. ‘Wow.’

  ‘You like it, then?’ Sophie asked, though she knew the answer.

  ‘God, yes. When could I move in, if I get my ducks in a row?’

  ‘Actually, it’s available today,’ Sophie told her.

  April’s mouth hung. ‘What? This place is sitting empty? How hasn’t it been snapped up?’

  It had been snapped up. But the snapper had dropped out of the contract less than an hour ago, on the morning they were supposed to collect the keys, after a job offer had been retracted. The landlord had decided to be nice and give back the deposit and first month. But that meant that the flat would have to go back on the market, and weeks would be wasted getting it put back on the system, viewings done, a new renter found, checks carried out, etc. These were weeks when it would lose rent, which wasn’t much more than the previous place. ‘It will be snapped up,’ Sophie told April. ‘Unless you take it.’

  ‘But what about checking my references and stuff? That usually takes a while.’

  ‘I can sort that. If you wanna get in today,’ Sophie heard herself saying. Because what she could do was tell the landlord that the checks had already been done for April on a different property, which had then had a pipe burst, rendering it unfit for habitation for some time. He’d hopefully just feel lucky to have a tenant who would pay rent from today and wouldn’t ask further questions. Sophie didn’t feel any guilt about the white lie because it was a win-win.

  But why was she offering to do this for a stranger? Well, the answer to that was obvious. However, Sophie told herself it was just a good deed for a person she instinctively felt was not going to be a problem tenant. Plus, the landlord didn’t lose money. Everyone was happy. But especially April.

  ‘So, if you want it, it’s yours,’ Sophie told April.

  ‘Sophie, you’re my actual hero, do you know that?’ April said with the sweetest, happiest smile.

  Sophie had never been anyone’s hero before. It was intoxicating to start with April. But she tried to shrug modestly. ‘Just happy to help.’

  ‘You’ve done a bit more than that,’ April said. ‘I need to thank you. Do you wanna go for some food later, on me?’

  Sophie was gobsmacked. She deeply wanted to say yes. But she was abstaining from womanly flesh, she managed to remember, and instead, she said, ‘Oh, you don’t have to do anything like that.’

  ‘Look, if you’re busy, that’s fine. But
I do have an ulterior motive. I’m new to the area, and you’re the only person I’ve met that seems… Oh shit. Making friends as an adult is weird, isn’t it?’ April laughed.

  When put like that, Sophie couldn’t really refuse. It was food and friendship. What was the harm?

  ***

  Sophie drank half a glass of wine in one fell swoop as she sat waiting for April in the bar around the corner from April’s new place. She was telling herself she wasn’t bothered that April was late, that it didn’t even matter if she didn’t show up at all. But when April ran manically into the bar, wearing a torn t-shirt and paint-splattered jeans, Sophie was suddenly very glad she wasn’t a dog because she knew her tail would have started wagging.

  ‘Jesus, I’m so sorry. Did you get my text?’ April asked in a flap.

  Sophie shook her head, ‘No, why, what did it say?’

  ‘Well, I managed to get a guy to come ‘round today to put the internet in, but he was very late. And then he fell down my stairs and fractured his ankle.’

  ‘Christ!’ Sophie exclaimed.

  ‘Yeah. I was planning to not be wearing my moving clothes; he was supposed to be out hours ago to leave me to get ready. But I’ve just been waiting for an ambulance to come and collect the bloody clown, and that’s why I’m late.’ April picked up Sophie’s wine glass. ‘Do you mind? It’s been a hell of a day.’

  ‘Have at it,’ Sophie smiled.

  April drained the remainder of the glass and sat down. She took a breath, collecting herself. ‘I’m sorry, you must think I’m a total drama queen.’

  ‘Moving is stressful. I’ve seen it all,’ Sophie told her. ‘I once had this woman come in to collect her keys the morning of her move, and she was so stressed, she vomited on the floor of the office.’

  April smiled. ‘Has anyone ever told you you’re very easy-going?’

  No, they hadn’t because that wasn’t especially true. But she was making the exception for a pretty face. It was getting harder and harder with every passing second to pretend that wasn’t what was going on here. ‘So, you never told me, anyway, what was the big rush?’

  ‘What?’ April asked.

  ‘You had to move today, how come?’ Sophie asked. She wanted to know a lot of things about April, but this was literally the only in she had, so she had to work it.

  But April didn’t launch into a story. She paused, coughed, scratched her wrist, and said, ‘Oh. Um, my old place was condemned, and I decided it was a good excuse to make a big move. I was getting a bit sick of my old town, my old job.’

  ‘Condemned?’ Sophie repeated.

  ‘Yeah. Asbestos.’

  ‘Shit, that’s really serious.’

  ‘I know. If I get cancer in ten years, I’m gonna be peeved,’ April said wryly.

  ‘Well, I’m just glad you’re in a safer place now.’

  ‘Thanks to you. Which reminds me, I owe you a lot of drinks.’ She went to the bar and flagged down a barman. From their table, Sophie watched admiringly. April was dressed in beat-up clothes, hair tied up in the loosest of ponytails, and she was still breathtakingly bang-able. Sophie had no choice but to admit to herself that she didn’t want to be friends with April. Not at all.

  Sophie thought that maybe she could just give the old romance thing one last bash before she hung up her vagina for good. But she needed to let April know what her intentions were somehow. Some way that wasn’t sleazy. It was tricky, though. April was nice, and Sophie didn’t want to disappoint her by being a creep if she wasn’t seeing this as anything other than a friendly drink.

  But when April came back to the table with two fresh glasses of wine, she said, ‘Hey, so, tell me about yourself. Obviously, I know what your job is. But what about other stuff like, I don’t know, relationship status?’

  And Sophie, without thinking, answered, ‘Why, are you interested?’

  April’s eyes bulged.

  ‘Oh, fuck, shit, sorry,’ Sophie said. ‘I didn’t mean to… I don’t know what made me say that.’

  ‘I hope you said it because you meant it,’ April said with an edgy smile. ‘Because that’s why I asked. I am actually - interested. I was trying to be subtle.’

  It was Sophie’s turn to have her eyes pop out of her head. ‘So… Is this a date?’

  ‘I don’t know, is it?’ April asked.

  ‘You said you were looking for friends so…’

  ‘Ah, yes. That was subterfuge. If you’d said no, or talked about some boyfriend, I would have known you weren’t interested. But you said yes, so I was about to play the lesbian guessing game, probably spend the entire evening feeling you out, so to speak. Guess there’s no need for that now, is there?’ April said with a nervous laugh.

  Sophie took another glug of wine while she tried to adjust. It was all happening so fast. April fancied her, and they were on a date. She was officially putting a hold on the cat plans.

  ***

  Sophie was back at April’s place, now filled with boxes and bags, another glass of wine in hand. She was excited but apprehensive, wondering when she was going to bugger this all up. The evening was going far too well. April was sweet and funny, and Sophie was never quite sure what she’d say next, in the best possible way. Sophie’s head was spinning with her. And the wine. But mostly April.

  They were on the topic of exes. ‘So, yeah, I guess I haven’t really met anyone lately,’ Sophie said.

  ‘Lately?’ April probed.

  ‘A couple of years,’ Sophie admitted.

  ‘That’s a serious dry spell,’ April noted. Sophie was embarrassed until she added, ‘I know because I’ve been in the same boat.’

  ‘What, you?’ Sophie goggled. She immediately cursed herself. She’d been too surprised. But she couldn’t help it. April was a catch.

  ‘Yeah, me. Never seem to find anyone, you know…’

  ‘What?’ Sophie asked.

  ‘Worth taking the risk for, I guess,’ April replied.

  Sophie nodded and gulped more wine.

  ‘But you never know…’ April said.

  Sophie lowered her glass. ‘What don’t you know?’

  April fixed her with a long look and then took the glass out of Sophie’s hand, plonked it on the floor – there was no coffee table yet - and kissed the hell out of her. Sophie was taken by surprise in the most fantastic way. Soon, they were horizontal on the sofa, and Sophie couldn’t help but think, Yeah. You never know.

  Two

  April couldn’t believe it when Sophie turned up that morning to show her that horrid flat, flustered and gorgeous, that cute little bum, that short dark red hair that was wonderfully messy, that sexy, husky voice, the jade green eyes full of humour. She further couldn’t believe it when Sophie declared the place a shithole and then delivered a lovely place she could move into that same day.

  April wanted to leave it alone. She tried to leave it alone. But she couldn’t seem to not ask her out. Something about Sophie was simply irresistible. And part of April thought, Maybe it’ll be OK this time. It was silly optimism, and it was borne of nothing at all. But the hope was as seductive as Sophie herself.

  So she’d gone for it. And now three months later, they were spending serious time together. April thought it was possible she’d been right, that she could be here, do this, be with Sophie. Life could change.

  It was November now, the fifth. She and Sophie were going to a fireworks display. It would be too loud, and they’d be overcharged for hotdogs, but April loved anything she did with Sophie. She was so much fun, always. April felt that when she was around her, she too became more fun by osmosis.

  They went into the grounds of the large park and walked in the direction of the big bangs. They looked at the fireworks for all of five minutes before Sophie announced she was hungry.

  ‘What? We just got here,’ April said.

  ‘I know. But the whole park smells like food, and you can see the fireworks from any spot, can’t you?’

  April smiled.
She loved how much Sophie loved food. ‘Go on, then.’

  They walked over to the nearest food truck and ordered hotdogs. Sophie bit into hers, nearly eating half in one bite. April laughed. ‘You’re like a bear that just woke up for spring.’

  Sophie, face full of food, tried to reply and spat out a bit of bun. ‘Sorry, that was gross,’ she mumbled as she swallowed.

  ‘It was. But you made it cute,’ April told her.

  Sophie rolled her eyes. ‘You’re a smooth-talking devil, aren’t you?’