“Yes, he was very adamant you had to have your phone back.”
This new information makes me smile, and no doubt more scenarios for me to run through as I try to fall asleep tonight. He came looking for me, I had wondered how he knew I would be at the pub that night or if it was a simple coincidence.
“Yes, I got my phone back,” I say, when Gerry raises his eyebrows waiting for my reply.
“Good, why don’t you get off, I can lock up tonight,” he offers.
I don’t waste any time, I grab my bag and head out before he can change his mind.
The Piper was extra busy tonight because it was someone’s birthday. Lorna and I successfully got ourselves a table and haven’t moved unless we go to the bar one at a time. As soon as our glasses started looking empty people standing around us would keep looking at us to see if we were going to leave so they could grab our table before someone else. The night sped by, Lorna’s idea to come out was a good one. We haven’t stopped laughing since the first drink kicked in. It almost feels like old times before the days when Lorna’s confidence grew with the guys. Back in those days when we were fresh in the pubs with our brand new id’s she was too shy to approach a guy she liked. Tonight though, she is trying to stick to her word of our girl’s night and her resolve not to leave me on my own is testing her. It is hilarious to witness.
“Maybe we should have gone somewhere else, there’s far too much temptation here for you,” I laugh, as I catch her looking around again.
“I’m fine,” she says, waving me away, “Besides, maybe I should be looking for someone for you to take your mind off of someone you’re never going to see again. You didn’t even exchange phone numbers.”
I am coming to terms of not seeing him again, slowly but I am getting there, but the idea of being with someone else right now doesn’t sit right with me. I’m not like Lorna, I don’t need a random guy for a few hours to make me feel better, if anything, it always made me feel worse.
“Don’t you dare. I don’t need anyone. I had a great night and now it’s back to reality,” I shrug.
“If you say so,” she mutters, “I’ll get us another drink and then we’ll call it a night, this week has been hard work.”
Lorna works in retail, she wanted to be a fashion designer but unfortunately she got stuck working in a clothes shop in town and hasn’t gone anywhere since we left college four years ago.
“I need to go to the bathroom, we’ll lose the table as soon as we both get up so I’ll meet you at the bar.”
She agrees and while she pushes through the crowd, I grab my bag and push my way through to the bathroom.
After waiting for a vacant stall, I wash my hands and splash some water on my face. I hadn’t realised how much I have drunk tonight. The bright, stark lighting in the bathrooms burn into my eyes and my brain feels like it is swimming in deep murky waters.
I slide past the queue of loud, drunk women still waiting to use the bathroom and take a deep breath once I am free.
Before I can exhale I am being pushed against the wall and my arms are being pinned to my side. My panic levels rise and I squirm to try and free myself but their grip is too tight.
“I told you I would come back for you,” is whispered in my ear.
I stop trying to escape immediately.
He’s back.
Before he can kiss me, I kiss him. He releases his hold on my arms and I wrap them around his neck, drawing him in even closer. My memories hadn’t done his touch justice. The only difference to the last time I was with him was his scent. He now wore a dark, spicy cologne.
“I didn’t think you were coming back.” I murmur, pulling back.
“I told you I’d come back. I mean what I say.”
He braces one arm on the wall beside my head and leans back in to kiss me. The taste of smoke and something sweet hits my tongue and I begin to lose myself into him.
“I have a question for you,” he says, breaking our kiss after every other word.
I pull back and wait for him to carry on.
“Will you spend the night with me, again?”
“Most definitely,” I giggle.
There is nothing more I want than to spend another night with him.
“Good, I think it’s your turn to leave your friend on her own.”
Lorna and our girl’s night crash back into my mind and the feeling of being torn creeps in.
“We were having one last drink and then leaving, why don’t you join us?” I offer to keep both him and Lorna happy. By the time we get back to the bar she would have probably drunk most of her drink anyway.
“Drink fast then, I want you to myself.”
His hand that is resting against the wall slides down and captures mine. Heading back to the bar is easier than it was getting to the bathroom. Lorna spots me and waves us over to where she is waiting.
I can’t tell what she is thinking watching Drake hold my hand. She has always been able to hide how she is feeling, showing you only what she wants you to see.
“Lorna, this is Drake. Drake, this is my best friend, Lorna,” I say, introducing them both properly this time.
Drake smiles at her, but it doesn’t look over friendly and Lorna forces half a smile in return.
“You took your time coming back,” she says, her ‘barely there’ smile turning into a scowl.
“So it seems.”
Well, this doesn’t seem to be going as smooth as I would have liked.
“Will you be okay getting home if I leave with Drake?” I ask her, knowing she will be absolutely fine and also, she owes me this. The amount of times she has done this to me and I haven’t moaned about it, she has no right to start now.
“I’ll be fine as long as you will be too,” she says, staring at me intently.
“She’ll be okay, there’s no need for you to look like that at her. She wants to come with me,” Drake growls, almost violently as if she has just insulted him.
I squeeze his hand and frown a little. His face softens a little when he looks down at me and then he looks back to Lorna.
“Can I get you a drink before you go?” he asks her.
“No thank you,” she refuses quickly and picks her purse up from the bar, “Call me when you…when you’re back home.”
I give her a quick hug and promise her I will be okay. She gives Drake one last glance and makes her way through the crowded pub towards the door.
Drake and I follow shortly after and she is nowhere to be seen, only a jet black Aldi TT Coupe parked proudly in the car park.
“Is this yours?” I ask, when he points a fob at it and the lights flash and it unlocks.
“Yeah, get in,” he replies opening the passenger door for me.
The inside is dark but the feel of expensiveness is bright. I want to ask how he has car like this, but I remember he has had a life before he met me then it reminds me how little I know about him.
He came back however so this is our chance to get to know each other better. By the time I stop admiring the car I notice we are driving out of town.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask.
I had assumed he would be staying in the same bed and breakfast as last time and that was where we were be going tonight.
“Are you afraid?” he asks, glancing at me then diverting his attention back to the road.
I must have sounded afraid for him to ask.
“Not of you,” I reply, honestly.
“Perfect answer,” he grins.
The roads are quiet at this time of night and he pushes his foot down on the accelerator forcing me back in my seat.
A giggle escapes from my chest and the adrenalin courses through my veins. He slows down and reaches across and holds my hand. His warm touch burns straight into my pores and sets me on fire.
We drive in silence and only for around a half hour. The city lights begin to come into view and I know wherever we are going it won’t be far because we would have stayed on the motorway.
“I thought you would prefer to stay somewhere nicer this time, I hope you like it.”
I could listen to his voice forever, so deep and strong. And to be honest, I would be happy wherever he is no matter the surroundings.
“I’m sure I will.”
The silence returns until we park outside a grand hotel. When he pulls his hand away from mine, he jumps out of the car and walks round to open my door for me.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” he grins.
“What? Open a door for a woman? You don’t strike me as the type not to have women in and out of your car,” I tease him lightly.
“None that deserve that amount of politeness.”
“I don’t dare ask what type you usually go for,” I laugh, as our hands entwine again.
He is a hand holder and I wonder how long it will take before I feel lost without it as we walk into the hotel.
“You really shouldn’t ask but know this, you are definitely my type.”
My breath catches in my throat, he really shouldn’t say things like to me unless he means it.
He leads me to the elevators and the sizzling tension escalates as we pass each floor. The doors open on the floor he is staying on and every step we take down the dimly lit corridor to his room builds my craving for him that much deeper that an anticlimactic ending just isn’t an option or even possible.
He has his door open and us both through it in one fluid move and the door shut again.
No time is given by either of us before we are back in each other’s arms and hungrily claiming each other’s mouths. Grabbing onto his hair, I pull him as physically close as possible to me. I push my lips hard onto his, wanting, no, needing to be close to him.
He swings me up and carries me towards the bed. He throws me down and starts unbuckling his belt. I watch in enthralment as he undresses and pulls a condom out of his jeans pocket.
He stalks forward and goes to push me down on my back.
“Not this time,” I smile, getting myself out from underneath him.
I push his shoulder until he is the one on his back and climb on top of him.
“I like a woman who doesn’t lay on her back every time,” he laughs.
“You didn’t give me much choice last time.”
“Go ahead, do as you please.” He smirks.
“I plan on it.”
I lean over and kiss him lightly before trailing my lips down his jaw, past his neck and down onto his chest.
Licking my way over each of his nipples and down the centre of his stomach. The further down I go, the harder he becomes, jabbing against my stomach.
Tracing the tip of my tongue down the length of his shaft, I take the condom from his clenched hand and use my teeth to tear it open. His gaze is heavy and heady upon me, watching my every move.
Pinching the tip and rolling it down over him, he bucks once and sits up grabbing at my arms.
“I’m going to come before we’ve even started if you keep this up. Get on your back, now,” he orders, briskly.
“I thought you didn’t like that all the time?” I murmur, teasingly.
“I don’t but I’ve got all night to watch you on top. All fucking night.” He promises.
I do as I’m told and spread my legs, welcoming him in.
“I need to be inside you now, then we’ll play.”
He’s slamming inside me before he finishes talking and I gasp at the intrusion I haven’t felt for a month.
“This is going to be for my pleasure unless you come in the next thirty seconds.”
I don’t care if I don’t find release this time, like he said, we have all night and I intend to use every minute fulfilling my pleasure.
It turns me on more feeling him react like this to me, true to his outburst, within thirty seconds he is trembling through his release.
“I promise you now, I will make it up to you,” he tells me.
“I know you will,” I snort.
“I can’t believe you didn’t think I would be back for you,” he says, astonished at the thought.
“How was I to know you were being honest, it isn’t like we know each other that well. Besides, when you disappeared for nearly a month what was I supposed to think? Where have you been?” I ask.
He shifts uncomfortably beside me and sits back against the headboard.
“I didn’t plan to be away from you for that long, I had a lot of stuff to sort out after being away for so long and then I had a job lined up that I had to help plan,” he explained.
“What do you do for work?” I ask, laying on my side and looking up to him.
“Whatever is available and pays the most,” he replies, flippantly.
His evasion of telling me specifics doesn’t go unnoticed but I let it pass and carry on trying to get to know him.
“Where in London do you live?”
“I was born in Hackney. I have a place there but I don’t spend a lot of time there.”
He edges himself down the bed and lays on his side mimicking my position so he is facing me.
“I’d rather talk about you,” he says, running his knuckles along my cheek.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” he smiles.
“Okay, I was born in Cambridge but my parents moved to Great Yarmouth when I was three. I have two brothers, Adam and Mark, and they’re both older than me. I still live at home with my parents because it’s free rent but I can’t wait to move out. I work in a coffee shop as you already know and if I’m not working then I usually hang out with Lorna, who you met tonight.”
“More,” he demands.
“Help me out, there’s a lot to tell,” I laugh.
“When was the last time you had a boyfriend?”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting that question but it is an easy one to answer.
“Two years ago and it only lasted for seven months before he decided I wasn’t worth sticking around for. He just left without a word, I don’t know where he went or where he is now.”
It was easy for Sebastian to walk away because we both knew it wasn’t serious between us. We both wanted a relationship and everything that entails from being committed to someone, but at the end of the day, we weren’t right for each other.
“Did you love him?” he asks.
I can safely answer this so I do, “No. I have never been in love.”
Only a brief flicker of his lip curling at the corner of his mouth shows me he liked hearing that. I take my chance to ask him the same.
“What about you?”
I try to keep my face blank as if no answer he could give me would affect me, yet, the thought of him being close to anyone else makes me feel sick. Which is ridiculous because I have no right to feel like that.
He rolls over onto his back and rests his arm behind his head.
“The last time I had a girlfriend was when I was in my last year at school, after that I kind of enjoyed the freedom to play about. And no, I haven’t been in love. I haven’t had the time.”
I do try to hide my pleasure but I fail miserably. What Gerry said about a guy claiming I had left my phone in his car comes back to me.
“How did you know I would be in the pub the night you got out of prison?”
I already know but I want to see if he tells me the same story. He chuckles before he speaks.
“I still hoped you worked in the coffee shop, when I got out it was the first place I went to. I saw your name was Cammie on your name tag when I first started coming in so I asked for you and told your boss you had left your phone in my car and I needed to give it back to you.”
It is the same story Gerry told me.
“I can’t believe you came looking for me on the first day you were free,” I say.
“I was passing through anyway,” he says, like it is nothing to track down a woman to spend the night with her.
Of course, I should have known better. It hits me hard and confusion sets in. I’m sure
there would have been easier ways to find a lay when he got out, why go to the trouble of tracking me down? Maybe it’s game to him? A way to get his kicks? Why should I be any different? I had built up this thing between us and now I am the one left feeling the fool. For all I know he only came back tonight because he had business in the area and knew he could get me into bed without much fuss. All I want now is to go home.
“Makes sense, I suppose,” I mutter, sitting up to look for my clothes.
He jack-knifes up and grabs my arm before I can get out of bed.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” I lie, “I’d like to go home now, can we go?” I ask, trying to wrench my arm out of his grip.
He tightens his hold and looks wounded.
“Either I’ve said something wrong or you’re bipolar and haven’t took your meds today? Because one minute we’re talking then the next you want to leave like I’ve offended you, so which is it? Bipolar or me?” he demands.
“I get it…”
“Get what?” he asks, cutting me off completely confused.
“That I’m just something for you to pass the time with while you’re around,” I snap, beginning to flush with embarrassment that I am actually admitting this out loud after the second time being with him. How much clingier can I get?
He releases his grip on my arm and lays back down with his arm under his head again, completely at ease.
He grins triggering something inside me to shut down, I was right. This is all a game to him and now I have to make my way home from the city after thinking I was in for a night of sex and finally getting to know the guy who has been in my head for months.
Yet another notch on my already full list of stupid decisions. His eyes follow me around the room as I retrieve my clothes and begin to get dressed.
“You’re not leaving,” he says calmly, completely assured he is right.
“I think you’ll find I am,” I grind out, pulling my boots back on.
“This is why I haven’t had a girlfriend since I was at school,” he mutters, getting up off the bed.
“It’s a good job I’m not then, and you’re only passing through.”
I can’t contain the sarcasm from bursting through.
As I bend down to grab my bag from the floor, he strides over completely naked and unaffected by displaying everything in front of me and blocks the door so I can’t leave.