A Healing Love
Copyright© 2025 by Marc Nobbs
Chapter 13: Business Breakfast
Coming of Age Sex Story: Chapter 13: Business Breakfast - Paul Robertson's journey continues as his past and present collide at a star-studded movie premiere, where a connection that once terrified him reignites with passion that threatens to consume them both. Fighting to forge a new future for himself and stop drifting, Paul must finally become the man he’s always been afraid to be. A beautiful, bittersweet exploration of grief, social responsibility, the healing power of love, and learning that sometimes loving someone means letting them go.
Caution: This Coming of Age Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Consensual Romantic Heterosexual Fiction
It was late morning, almost lunchtime, in fact, when we finally boarded the train back to Westmouth, mainly because we’d slept in longer than expected after not getting to sleep until after two. When Carly told me that performing made her horny, I’d expected things to be fast and frantic back at the hotel room, but instead our lovemaking was slow, sensual and languid.
Which was perfect, actually.
We’d slept in until nearly eleven, missing the breakfast serving in the hotel dining room and had to rush to shower and pack so that we could check out on time. That led us to find a café to have brunch before heading to King’s Cross to catch the train.
We sat in a seat for two at the end of the carriage, my arm around her and her head on my shoulder.
“I’ve got loads of ideas for next week,” she said.
“For the album?”
“Yeah. I told you that this past week, we’ve been trying to find a sound. Harry and Ellie are great, but they don’t quite understand the Country sound, which is the whole point of working with them, but it makes it hard, you know. I don’t want to stray too far from Country just yet. ‘A Woman’s Work’ isn’t Country at all, but that’s because it comes from the movie. But that version I did last night with the band was a ‘little bit’ Country. I really liked it.”
“Me too. I thought it was the best version of it you’ve done.”
Head still on my shoulder, she nodded. “People were saying that in the comments on the YouTube stream and on replies on my socials too.” She sat up. “I was thinking of asking the band to come down and record it with me. So that Harry and Ellie can get a better idea of what I want to achieve. What do you think?”
I shrugged. “I’m probably not the right person to ask, am I? Isn’t that a question for Harry and Ellie?”
“Probably. I’ll call Ellie when we get back to Westmouth. And maybe see if I can speak to Harry, too. I know they were planning to watch the live stream, so they will have already heard it.”
She settled her head back down on my shoulder. I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “I’ve got some inspiration for new songs as well, last night.”
“At the concert?”
She shook her head. “Afterwards.”
I guess her third album would be about me, too.
The train pulled into Westmouth station at about a quarter to two. Having left the car in the multi-storey, I was able to drive us back up the hill to my house. We met Mark and Imogen just as they were leaving.
“Sunday lunch by the river,” Mark said. “Fancy it?”
“Nah, we had a late breakfast,” I said.
“I’ll bet you did, you old goat,” said Mark. “See ya later, then.”
Carly and I went inside and into the kitchen, where I put the kettle on to make a drink.
“Coffee?” I said.
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind that hot tea you always have. We’ve iced tea back home, but I’d never had it hot until that coffee shop in Convent Garden. I really enjoyed it.”
“Covent Garden. Not Convent.”
“So, no nuns then?”
I shook my head. “No. No nuns.”
“Do you have one of those little cakes with the jam and cream too? That was really nice.”
“Sorry, no. But we do have chocolate biscuits.”
She smiled. “I guess that will have to do.”
“Okay, two mugs of Builder’s Tea and some choccy biccies coming up.”
“Builder’s Tea? Is that the brand?”
I smiled. “No, it’s just a particular way of making it. You leave the teabag in for a bit longer so that it’s stronger, add at least two teaspoons of sugar and just a dash of milk. Too much milk can ruin it.”
“I still can’t believe y’all put milk in tea at all here. Seems so wrong.”
I made the tea and, having learnt my manners from Imogen, put several chocolate digestives on a plate as well. I handed one mug to Carly and then carried my mug and the plate of biscuits into the lounge, where we settled down on the sofa. I turned on the TV and switched to one of the movie channels, not to watch anything, but for background noise.
“Paul,” Carly said, “That girl at the concert yesterday?”
I looked at her. “You’re going to have to narrow that down. At the very least, which concert were you talking about?”
“The morning one. The girl who met us at the entrance.”
“Lily?”
Carly nodded. “Yes. That one.”
I nodded.
“She didn’t like me very much.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. It was weird, she’s not normally like that. She’s normally nice to everyone.”
“Well, it’s fairly obvious why she was so mean.”
“Is it?”
“Of course it is. She likes you.”
I laughed. “What? Lily? No, she doesn’t. She’s a friend. We’ve been friends for years.”
Carly smiled and shrugged. “When a girl is mean to a friend’s girlfriend, it’s because she wants to be more than just friends with that friend.”
I shook my head. “Not Lily. There must be some other reason she was off.”
“If you say so, but I know I’m right. The other girl, the one playing the cello?”
“Alannah. You’re not going to tell me she likes me, too, are you?”
“No. I don’t think so. I mean, she might—why wouldn’t she, you’re amazing—but if she does, she was hiding it well. From me, at least. No, I was just wondering, do you think she’d be interested in playing her cello on my album? Not just her, but the others in her little group, too.”
“I don’t know. Do you want me to ask her?”
“Maybe. But I might need to ask her—she might not believe it if it comes from you. And I need to talk to Harry and Ellie about it first anyway.”
“This one of your new ideas?”
She nodded. “Country has used the fiddle for a long time, but not violins or cellos or other classical instruments like that.”
“Isn’t a fiddle just another name for a violin?”
“Sort of, but not really. The body of a fiddle is a bit shorter and a bit wider. And the bridge—that’s the bit that holds the strings up from the body.” She gestured with her hand, as if trying to mimic the shape of the ‘bridge’. “That’s not as tall as on a classical violin. That’s what Charlie was telling me last night, anyway. It means that the fiddler can play hard and fast and dirty, but the classical violin is played with more precision and control.”
I nodded. “Makes sense, I guess. The same instrument but different varieties for different types of music. Same as a guitar, I guess. Someone playing rock music will use a different type of guitar than you play.”
“Exactly. But why not have a violin played with precision and control in a Country song—in a ballad, for example? Or a cello? Or a ... I don’t know ... A flute or a French horn. Whatever. Just because no one has done it before, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”
“Well, why don’t you speak to Harry and Ellie tomorrow and then I’ll see if I can arrange for you to speak to Alannah.”
She nodded. “Thanks.”
We settled down to watch the movie that was playing, even though it was halfway through. I sat upright, and Carly sat next to me with her legs up on the sofa, tucked up underneath her, and her head resting on my shoulder. I had my arm around her, and she had a hand on my chest.
“Carly,” I said quietly after about half an hour of sitting like that.
“Yes?”
“You know I’ve got exams this week, right?”
She nodded. “And next week.”
“And you know that means I won’t be able to take you out every night, like I did last week, right?”
She turned her head to look at me. “I can still come around and spend time with you, though, right?”
“If you want to. But I will need to study—especially if I have an exam the next morning.”
“I understand.” A few seconds later, she said. “Maybe I should only come over when you don’t have an exam, then. Or if you only have one in the afternoon. I don’t want to mess up your chances. And I should probably spend some time with Chloë too.”
“Yes, you probably should.”
“I’m really grateful to her, you know. She’s really helping my career. So, I should show some of that gratitude.”
I hugged her closer to me for a second. She hummed in satisfaction when I did.
“When’s your first exam?”
“Tuesday afternoon. Then I’ve got one on Wednesday morning. That’s all this week, but I’ve got four next week.”
“So, I could stay with you tonight? All night? But then, if I leave you alone until Wednesday evening?”
“I don’t like the phrase ‘leave me alone.’ Makes it sound like seeing you is a burden. But yeah, if I can have tomorrow evening and Tuesday evening to study, that would be ideal. Then I’ll take you out somewhere on Wednesday.”
“Okay.” Then a few seconds later she gasped and said, “It’ll have to be Thursday. Sorry, but I’ve got to do an interview for a radio show back in Nashville on Wednesday evening. I meant to tell you earlier, but I keep forgetting. I’m doing it from the recording studio because they have better equipment or something, so we’ll probably just work late and stay there.”
“I could come to you. To the studio.”
She smiled. “I’d like that. But not yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks, when there might actually be something to see. For now, we’re mostly just sitting around playing a few melodies, trying a few lyrics and stuff.”
“Okay. In a couple of weeks, I’ll come to the studio and watch you work.”
“And tonight, I’ll stay here, go home in the morning to let you study and see you again on Thursday.”
Tuesday’s exam went about as well as I could have hoped. As did Wednesday’s. I went to badminton as usual on Wednesday afternoon, and this time, with Phil turning up having missed the previous week, we had five players. Mark and Jem still wouldn’t let me team with Alannah, so I ended up teaming with the others across three games against Alannah and one of the other two while the fifth person sat out or went to find someone to play singles against. Then, I sat out a game while Alannah teamed up with Mark against Phil and Jem—and completely wiped the floor with them.
She never stopped smiling the entire time she was on court, and it was a joy to watch her. She played with exuberance and freedom, looking like she enjoyed every minute of it. Although her knee was still heavily strapped, that didn’t stop her from being the best player on the court by a country mile. At one point, she even started doing trick shots.
I said as much to her as we walked towards the hall exit after the session.
“I did enjoy it. Like I said last week, it’s been so long since I played just for the fun of playing that I’d actually forgotten just how much fun it can be.”
“Well, I’m glad. You’re usually so serious, it’s good to see you relax.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve got a lot to be serious about, Paul. I can’t afford to do badly on my course for one. I need to get this degree.” She paused. “Mind you, you’ve only ever seen me here on court before Christmas, when I was taking the tournament far too seriously, and then between lectures when you bought me and Lily lunch. So, you’ve never really seen me in an environment when I do relax.”
I nodded. “True. I guess. Although, you looked pretty relaxed on Saturday. Looked to me like you enjoyed performing more than the other three.”
She shrugged. “I’m just not as good at hiding how much I enjoy playing as they are—which you’re really supposed to do when you perform. You need to be ‘serious’ because that type of music is ‘serious.’” She furrowed her brow as she put emphasis on the word ‘serious.’ “Only it’s not, not really. It’s fun. We have a laugh in rehearsals. And it’s ... Calming. No, that’s the wrong word. I don’t know how to describe it. All I know is that if I’m feeling stressed, I feel less stressed after playing—even if I play on my own. And if I’m sad, I feel less sad after I’ve played.” She grinned. “I do love the cello—I love how it sounds, so deep and rich and ... Oh, I just love it. Although there are times I wish it was a bit smaller. But then, it wouldn’t sound the same if it was smaller.”
We were at the exit now, and I asked her if she was joining us in the gym, same as last week.
“As long as you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t. Although, try not to do squats in Mark’s eye line when he’s spotting for me.”
She laughed, tipping her head back as she did and exposing her long, slender neck. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll try to remember that. Don’t want him not paying attention and you getting hurt.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Mark said from behind us.
She turned around to look at him, grinned and said, “Don’t you have a girlfriend, by the way? What would she say if she knew you were ogling me while I squat?”
Mark grunted. Then, under his breath, just loud enough for us to hear, he said, “She’d tell you to stop squatting.”
Lana barked out another laugh. “Yeah, that’s exactly what she’d say.” She nudged me in the ribs. “You shouldn’t be ogling me doing squats either. What would your girlfriend say?”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I wasn’t ogling you.”
She grinned again. “No, of course not.” She winked. Then added, “Are you seeing your girlfriend tonight? She seems quite nice, by the way. Or can you come for dinner? Lily was really upset you didn’t come last week.”
“Actually, I’m not, so I can.” I paused. “Was Lily really upset with me?”
Lana nodded. “She always looks forward to spending Wednesday evening with you. I do too, even if I don’t always show it. It’s like, the highlight of the week or something.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t realise.”
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