by Johanna Bock
Annie smiled her thanks to him and told him she needed to get her purse and would be right back. As she dashed back to her room, she felt guilty at having to abandon him with her mother. Grabbing her purse off her bed, she returned back to the front of the house. As she approached the family room, she heard her father’s voice. God, she thought. Mom was introducing Jeff to DAD. Her feet took flight. Her father, who they lovingly called the ’Giant’, was the supreme ruler in her house and a very imposing person. She knew his bark was far worse than his bite, but he could be intimidating to those who didn’t know him. She hadn’t warned Jeff about her father.
She had just entered the family room when she heard Jeff say the worse thing he could to her father. “It is nice to meet you, Mr. Downs.“ She rolled her eyes and braced herself for her father’s response as she walked over to Jeff and placed her hand on his arm.
“Young man,“ her father started, “I am a doctor. I spent many years of my life to achieve this status and I expect respect where you are concerned.“
Annie felt Jeff tense and her heart went out to him. She looked at her mother, pleadingly. “Dad!“ she said before he continued. “Jeff had no idea.“ Annie knew it would be a very long time before her father would alter his current feelings of disdain for Jeff. That one, single, innocent misstep by Jeff, meant as a genuine greeting to her father, had established the rocky road ahead between the two of them.
Annie figured the best thing to do would be to exit the house now before either one of them said anything else. “We better get going if we are to make our reservation for dinner,“ she said, pulling Jeff to the door as she spoke. “Goodnight, Mom and Dad.“
Annie sensed Jeff’s confusion as they walked to his car. “Jeff, please don’t be upset,“ she spoke quickly as they approached his car. “Dad is just a little overpowering. Please don’t let him ruin our night.“
“Overpowering is an understatement,“ he said. “He really put me in my place.“
“Jeff, you had no idea. It is not your fault. Please don’t worry about it,“ she pleaded. For a fleeting moment, she saw hurt and confusion flash across his handsome features as he handed her into his car and shut the door.
Annie glanced back at the front door of her house. Her mother was looking out the window, as Annie knew she would. Annie gave her a thumb up signal.
Jeff got into the car and started the engine. As they drove off, his right hand again found her upper thigh and he gently squeezed it. Annie looked over at him. “You look great,“ he said, smiling. All tension had dissolved from his features. He removed his hand from her leg and reached behind her seat. When his hand reappeared, it held a single, long-stem, red rose. “For you, my beauty,“ he spoke in a silky voice which caressed her body.
Annie took the rose and drank in the aroma it gave off. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, noticing he had been thoughtful enough to shave. She savored the scent of him. “Thank you,“ she bubbled. “For the rose and for understanding.“
***
Chapter Seven
As they drove, Jeff’s hand returned to its resting place on her thigh. They fell into a comfortable conversation, both eager to learn more about the other. Annie admired the rose and him as they talked.
Arriving at the club, she had learned quite a bit more about him. His birthday was September 13th. A Virgo, she thought, smiling. He joked about being born on a Friday. She smiled, knowing she was nine months older than him. She was officially a ’cougar.’ When she shared her thoughts, he laughed and said he loved older women. Be still my heart, Annie thought.
She also learned he had recently arrived back in the state from California, where he had lived for a number of years. He had only been with the dealership for a couple of weeks, long enough to receive the pre-printed business cards. Recalling the night before where that very same card was the icebreaker for them, she sighed happily.
They had arrived a little ahead of schedule, and headed to the main bar to wait. Locating only one seat available at the crowded bar, Jeff seized it for her. As she took the offered bar stool, she spotted Charlie, the middle-aged bar manager, coming her way. She returned his smile. “Hey, Annie. The usual?“ Charlie asked.
“Yes, please.“
“One or two? Where is Leah?“ Charlie asked, looking around. “You know you two are the only ones who order this drink. You guys don’t normally come on a weekend night. What gives?“
“Only one, and I am not here with Leah. I am on a date,“ Annie replied shyly, indicating to Jeff.
“Really?“ Charlie said, assessing Jeff with his eyes.
“Yes,“ Jeff stated, placing his hand possessively on Annie’s shoulder. “I will have coffee, black.“
“Mmm,“ Charlie replied. “Very good.“
As Charlie turned to complete their order, Annie felt Jeff’s fingers dig into her shoulder. “He is protective of Leah and me; we are regulars here. We know the owner and most of the staff. Don’t get all weird,“ she explained, wanting Jeff to ease off.
Jeff’s fingers eased their pressure. “Sorry. I just didn’t like the way he was judging me,“ Jeff explained.
“Not a problem. You suggested we come here tonight. I should have explained to you that I am known here,“ she stated in a calm voice.
“You feel protected here, don’t you?“ he asked, looking at her closely.
“Very much. Protected and comfortable,“ Annie said, scanning the club before her and seeing the familiar faces. “At the end of the bar, in the blue suit, is Tony, the owner. The bouncer at the door is Butch. The hostess you spoke to is Cindy.“
“Whoa. Enough,“ Jeff said harshly, taking his hand off her shoulder. “I get the picture.“
Annie turned her eyes to him, wondering at his tone. Seeing his dark features, she felt stunned. “What’s wrong?“ she asked.
“You only agreed to have dinner with me because you knew we were coming here?“ he answered.
“Get real, Jeff. I would have gone anywhere with you,“ she countered. “You suggested we come here.“
“Yeah, right,“ he shot back.
“Jeff, we know so little about each other. Don’t be upset. This is nothing. So what if Leah and I know people here? This is the eighties. We hate the bar scene with the loud rock music and the meat-market environment. This place offers us an escape from our parents’ house without the hassle. If you would be more at ease, we could go somewhere different,“ she said hotly as their drinks arrived.
As Jeff leaned in close to her to pay the tab at the overcrowded bar, the outside of his upper arm brushed down the front of her top. The world stopped for her at his incidental touch, as a wave of hot desire bubbled up inside her. “Holy crap,“ she whispered, inhaling deeply.
Still leaning in, Jeff heard her words. Baffled at the words and tone, he glanced at her. What he saw written on her flushed face pushed all previous thoughts from him. Clearly visible to his eyes was the sensation which she was experiencing. He quickly backtracked his thoughts to figure out what had caused her to react like she did. Recalling the contact of his arm against her, he laughed softly. “You have bedroom eyes,“ he whispered to her.
His comment made her eyes grow to saucer size. “What?“ she asked, slowly recovering her wits.
Backing away from the bar, he deliberately brushed her again. “You heard me,“ he replied playfully.
“Stop that,“ she cried breathlessly as another wave crested within her.
“I don’t think so. You are so cute when you are flustered,“ he voiced softly.
Needing a minute to compose herself, Annie reached for her drink and the napkin it was on. Taking a sip of the cool drink, she used the napkin to fan herself. “That is quite enough,“ she said to herself.
“What?“ Jeff whispered, pressing his upper body into her back as he leaned in to hear her and grab his coffee.
“Nothing,“ she replied, willing herself to remain calm. “Is our table ready?“
“No. What i
s your hurry?“
“No hurry, just wondering,“ she replied, continuing to fan herself. She needed to find a neutral topic, anything to curb these feelings within her. Seeing Jeff return his coffee to the counter, she asked, “Coffee? Do you not drink alcohol?“
Jeff looked at the mug on the counter and shrugged. “I do drink alcohol, but not tonight. I have precious cargo and with you, I need to keep my wits about me,“ he declared.
“Your wits with ME?“ Annie questioned.
“Yes, you,“ he replied. “Just being around you causes me to lose focus. Adding alcohol is just asking for trouble.“
“Ah, sucks,“ Annie said softly. “How about that? Little old me has your feathers ruffled.“
“Don’t get a big head about it,“ Jeff cautioned.
“Oh, I will. You can count on it,“ Annie assured him, placing her drink down near the mug and reaching out, placed her hand on the center of his chest.
“Stop it,“ he requested in an octave higher than normal, but not moving under her touch.
Feeling his heartbeat speed up, Annie laughed knowingly. “Now, where were we before that little encounter?“ she purred.
Reaching for her hand on his chest, he captured and held it. “You were telling me about this club,“ he enlightened her in his normal voice. “Is it normally this busy? There seems to be a lot more people here tonight.“
“Yes, you have to remember it is Friday night,“ she reminded him. “You will notice this is a completely different group of people than last night. Leah and I have been coming to this place for the last couple of months. We found we prefer the weekdays to the weekends. The groups on the weekend are younger, louder and rowdier. I guess it might have something to do with the live band which starts around 8:00 PM.“
“Annie, your table is ready,“ Cindy said, behind Jeff. “If you will follow me.“
“Thanks, Cindy,“ Annie said, getting up and allowing Jeff to guide her as they followed the hostess.
Weaving around the crowded dining room, Annie wondered where Cindy was going. As Cindy neared the three secluded booths, alarms went off in Annie’s head. This could be dangerous, she thought. It did explain why they had waited so long. He had reserved one of the booths.
Annie eyed Jeff suspiciously as Cindy seated her. All the response she received from him was a wink and a huge smile that went from ear to ear. She found herself laughing despite the inner alarms going off.
Instead of taking the opposite end of the horseshoe entrance to the booth, he motioned for her to scoot down the bench. She moved around the table to position herself in the heart of the bend as he took a seat and planted himself up against her side. Once settled, his hand found its favorite resting place, her thigh. “You little devil,“ Annie declared.
Jeff gave her leg a squeeze, leaned over and kissed her. “I have been wanting to do that since I first saw you round the corner at your house.“
“Why did you wait so long?“ she asked, contentedly staring into his eyes.
“There you go again. Bedroom eyes,“ Jeff groaned.
Lost in the rapture, Annie was brought quickly back to the present when Chloe, their waitress, arrived to spoil the moment. “Annie?“ Chloe asked.
Startled, Annie righted herself. “Hi, Chloe. Meet Jeff,“ she said airily.
“Hi,“ Chloe said, looking at Jeff. He only nodded in return. Feeling she had intruded, Chloe quickly asked, “How about the special? Rib eyes with the works?“
Jeff glanced at Annie. “That works. Make it medium,“ she responded.
Jeff turned back at Chloe. “Make that two,“ he said, dismissing Chloe. She nodded and disappeared. “Where were we?“ he asked.
Annie giggled. “You are bad,“ she stated, leaning against him again.
“Nope, wrong. Just single-minded,“ he whispered to her, gazing into her eyes.
Annie sighed contently. “If I were a cat, I would be purring right now,“ she remarked softly.
“If we were cats, we would not be yearning like we are,“ he replied, keeping his voice soft.
“Hmm,“ she moaned. “True.“
“Something is not right,“ Jeff said. “Are you sure this is where we were?“
Annie nodded her head against his chest. “It is exactly right,“ she said.
“No, it is not,“ he said, pushing her away from him and removing his hand from her thigh. Puzzled, Annie looked at him. “I think it was something like this,“ he said, placing his hand on her shoulder, rotating her upper body to him and pulling her close.
“Jeff, this is awkward,“ she began, but stopped as she felt his right hand snake up her top and ensnare her left breast. Whoa. Hold on buckaroo, her mind screamed as she rode an avalanche of emotions which were consuming her -- anger, fear, shock, embarrassment, joy, longing and desire -- to name a few.
“Yeah, that’s right where we were,“ he whispered into her ear, as his hand remained motionless on her.
“Jeff,“ she heard her voice say as she stared beseechingly deep into his eyes. “Please.“
“Please, what?“ he asked quietly.
“Not here, not now. Don’t spoil this,“ she requested, placing her hand on his chest and pushing slightly.
“When?“ he asked, not moving.
“Soon,“ she affirmed. Seeing his eyes squint, she nodded her head. “Promise.“ She felt his hand move from its place and she sat back against the bench and closed her eyes. Her heart fluttered wildly.
“Forgive me,“ Jeff begged. “It is all your fault. I can’t keep my hands off you. I want you.“
Keeping her eyes closed, Annie shook her head. “It is quite obvious there is a force between us, which we both feel. We are adults, not teenagers. There is a place and time for everything. This is not the place nor the time,“ she reasoned, opening her eyes and looking at him. “Our time and place will happen. I would bet sooner than later if you don’t cool your jets.“
Jeff laughed. “You’re right.“
“Let’s focus on something else. Tell me about your dreams,“ Annie suggested.
“You,“ he said without hesitation.
“Give me a break,“ Annie laughed. “I mean your future. What do you see for yourself in five years?“
“Married to you.“
“Please. You do have a one-track mind,“ Annie giggled outwardly as her insides melted at his word ’married’.
“I do not know,“ Jeff began with a smile. “I want to be a songwriter.“
“So, you are a ’words man’, a poet?“ Annie asked.
“I have never heard that before, but yes, I am,“ Jeff replied. “I have been writing poetry my entire life.“
“Could I read some?“
“Sure,“ Jeff replied. “What about you?“
“Me? Teaching, of course. I just received my degree last month. I spent this past fall doing my student teaching and I loved it. The kids are great. Being able to influence young minds is a thrill to me. Seeing them capture, hold and mold an idea is priceless.“
“It sounds like art from your description. Do you teach art?“ he asked.
“No. I majored in Elementary Education. My focus is on the primary grades. In a way, I guess teaching anything is like art. My turn to say I have never heard that before. Creating and developing is vital to learning,“ she informed him.
“You love it, don’t you?“
“Absolutely. I have always dreamed of being a teacher. You could say it is my passion,“ she said, looking at him intently.
“Passion?“ he asked, looking at her strangely.
“Yes. It turns me on,“ she said, winking at him.
“Well, I heard teachers make the best lovers,“ he laughed.
“What?“ she asked.
“Of course, if you don’t get it right the first time, you have to try again,“ he recited, giving her a meaningful look.
“It didn’t take you very long to get back to that subject,“ she smiled.
“Strange bedfellow
s -- a ’words man’ and a teacher,“ he mused aloud, placing his right hand on her thigh.
“You are a sick puppy,“ she countered playfully.
“Oh, I am now a puppy. Let’s see, I do recall you referring to yourself as a cat. That conjures up an interesting picture in my head,“ he laughed, stroking her leg. “Let’s hear you purr.“ Annie was saved from retorting back to him by the appearance of Chloe with their dinner.
During the next hour while they ate, they turned their conversation to their families. Annie wanted to apologize for her father again. She wanted Jeff to understand. He assured her he understood and would be on his guard around her father.
After he paid the bill, they surrendered their cozy table. As they walked back into the main room of the club, the band was playing. As Annie had predicted, the place was packed. No open tables around the dance floor were available.
“This place is a zoo,“ Jeff remarked at the change in atmosphere.
“I told you,“ she replied, walking behind him through the crowd while holding his hand.
“Let’s leave,“ he suggested.
“Okay.“
At the door of the club, Annie stopped. Jeff tugged on their joined hands to urge her along. Receiving restraint instead of compliance, he turned to face her. Her face was bathed in the dome light of the door, and he saw pleasure on her face. Tilting his head slightly, he wondered at her thoughts. “What is it?“ he questioned.
“Our song,“ she whispered.
Caught unaware, Jeff listened for the music. Hearing the song, he knew why she had stopped. Stepping back to her, he guided her to the crowded dance floor. Folding her in his arms, he sang softly along with the singer. “I’m your knight is shining armor and I love you.“
As the song ended, she could feel from their close positions, his reaction to their dancing. He immediately placed her in front of him and with his hands on her shoulders, he guided her to the door. She got the hint; they were leaving the building this time.
As the cool night air hit them, she heard him let out his breath. She was naïve, but not that much to know it was exactly what he needed as he gingerly walked her to the car. At the passenger side door, he opened it for her and guided her into the seat.