Inspired by Night: - a sexy new age romance

by L E May

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I don’t know. I think I feel strange now that I can see you watching me.’

  ‘Are you having performance anxieties, Liv?’ He teased.

  ‘I feel self-conscious, it was different when you weren’t visible, I could hear your voice but it didn’t feel as though you were watching me, you were more like a self-help recording or something.’

  ‘Would you prefer it if I turned my camera off?’ He seemed amused when I nodded shyly, but in an instant my screen went black and he was gone. ‘How will you cope if you come visit me and see me in the flesh, Liv?’ His voice sounded stronger somehow without the visual.

  ‘That’ll be different. You won’t be watching me, you’ll be pleasuring me.’ I grinned.

  Steven was true to his word and sorted out a fabulous Christmas meal for the team on the last Friday before the holiday. We closed Inspired at noon on the 18th and made our way to a restaurant his friend Callum had recently opened in Kentish Town. We had a private room to ourselves and had the chance to get to know each other over a full turkey dinner. The new staff were working out brilliantly. Maria was a godsend; she had spent the first three days creating a logical filing system and had installed a finance package to keep track of the accounts. I’d felt a bit guilty handing all the invoices and receipts over to her but she took them all and handed me a report of the month’s finances an hour later. Far more efficient than I ever was and worth every penny.

  Colin, Mike, and Chloe had spent the first morning getting to know their way around, filling out personnel paper work, sorting out their salaries, and choosing their desk space in the testing room. In the afternoon Steven arrived, took them through the app they would be testing, and got them straight into work. I was proud of Steven, he had proven to be an efficient projects manager, with great people skills – he got the best out of the staff.

  The restaurant was modern and clean, there was a decorated Christmas tree in the corner of our room and Steven and I had been out and bought presents for all the staff, which were now wrapped and waiting under the tree until after dinner. Steven had even convinced Callum to dress up as Santa to give out the presents. I’d really struggled with what to buy for Steven but had managed to get an advanced copy of Dark Void for the PlayStation 3, which wasn’t due for release until January.

  While we were waiting for dessert, I ordered a bottle of champagne and after everyone had been given a flute I made a toast.

  ‘I’m not really into speeches or anything but I just wanted to say that this year has been a really big year for Inspired expanding from just one member of staff –’ I paused and pointed at myself ‘– to a team of seven.’ I opened my hands, indicating everyone sitting around the table.

  ‘And to be completely honest with you all, I never imagined I would ever have a team working with me, but it’s been a blast, I’m really glad you all joined me.’

  I noticed big grins breaking out across everyone’s face and feeling a boost of confidence I continued, ‘but I also have to say that I had completely forgotten about things like Christmas break and Christmas parties, so the fact we are all here right now is down to Steven, so I want you all to raise your glass to Steven because actually, it’s not just the Christmas meal he’s sorted, Steven is actually the reason you all work for Inspired.’

  Steven stood up, his eyes never leaving mine as he took a mock bow.

  ‘What she isn’t telling you is that she found me so annoying she had to bring more people in so she wouldn’t have to deal with me!’ He raised his eyebrows inviting me to deny the statement.

  Everyone laughed loudly, watching me for a response as they gradually quietened down. I smiled and nodded.

  ‘That’s completely true, he’s also the reason I have my own office now!’

  I caught Steven winking at me, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement, ‘but regardless of how annoying he is, he has had an absolutely amazing impact on Inspired and I am truly thankful to him for choosing to join me.’ I raised my glass, ‘So to Steven and to you guys, I couldn’t wish for a better team of people to work with. Merry Christmas!’

  ‘Merry Christmas,’ the whole team chorused. I sat down as the table cheered loudly. I looked round and saw Santa burst into the room.

  Callum was a great Santa; he waddled into the room under a ton of padding and danced around the room to Slade, dragging Chloe up as he waltzed her around the room before returning her to her seat and pulling me up, I dragged my heels but there was no denying him, he was strong and quick on his feet and he spun me around until I was dizzy, and holding me in his arms he lowered me towards the floor until my head fell back and I saw my team upside down clapping along to the music and grinning at us. He set me back upright and walked me to the Christmas tree as the music came to an end.

  ‘Ho ho ho!’ he bellowed, his voice was filled with laughter and I could tell he was having fun in his role. I looked round at Steven who was laughing hard at his friend. He caught my eye and grinned, it was the happiest I’d seen him since the Melissa debacle, and it was great to see him back to his old self.

  ‘Right, I have presents here, but only for all the people who have worked hard and been good for Mother Inspired here.’ He reached for a present. ‘Mike,’ he said loudly handing the gift to me to deliver. He called each name out one by one until everyone had a present.

  ‘Steven …’ As I handed over his gift, Steven frowned, confused. Apparently, he hadn’t been expecting anything. I gave him a kiss on the cheek, pulling away as I felt his arm snake around my waist. I’d had just enough to drink to get carried away and at that moment, I was reminded of our earlier days together. I returned to my seat as Callum walked over to me holding out a gift, I glanced around the table frowning, certain that everyone had a present.

  ‘Olivia,’ he said kindly, I looked at the present in surprise but, sure enough, there was my name written on the tag. I caught Steven’s eye and he smiled nodding imperceptibly. He’d done the same for me as I had for him.

  We both opened our presents at the same time. I gasped when I saw mine. It was perfect; a Tardis USB hub. Steven grinned at my reaction before gasping when he glanced down at his gift.

  ‘How did you get this? It’s not out until next month.’ I shrugged nonchalantly, closing my eyes.

  ‘I know people.’ I squealed as he picked me up and spun me around hugging me tightly.

  ‘Well I know what I’m doing over Christmas!’

  ‘Thank you for my gift, it’s brilliant.’

  Steven clapped his hands together.

  ‘Right everyone, I don’t know what you guys want to do, and there’s no pressure to stay out if you have places to be, but I’m going to The World’s End to catch up with the other guys from our building, who’s with me?’

  Everyone in the room raised their hand. Steven looked at me imploring me to say yes. I nodded, grinning.

  The World’s End was heaving with Christmas drinkers. We fought our way through the crowd and found Steph and Dave and the rest of the tenants around a large table in the back of the pub. I pressed some money into Steven’s hand and asked him to buy drinks for everyone. James joined him at the bar to help him.

  I introduced everyone as Mike, Colin, Chloe, and Maria squeezed around the table. Dave slid along the bench to join me.

  ‘So here it is then, a full staff team at Inspired.’ He nudged me. ‘You did it, kid.’ I grinned at him. I still couldn’t quite believe I employed six people.

  ‘They’re all great, Dave. Thank you for all your advice this year. I wouldn’t have known where to start.’

  ‘I hear the baby situation was resolved?’ he whispered, nodding towards Steven at the bar. I nodded.

  ‘Yes it’s an interesting career choice. She’s lucky he hasn’t reported her.’

  ‘And what about you? How do you feel about him now?’

  ‘I think that ship has sailed for both of us.’ I shrugged. ‘We make a brilliant team,
though. Chloe just told me she thinks of us as the mum and dad of Inspired!’ Dave laughed.

  ‘Well, I’ve always thought that you looked great together; there’s something about you both that just seems right. But what do I know?’ He smiled kindly, moving to make room for Steven and James as they returned with drinks for everyone.

  ‘Hey, Ols, James was just asking how you could’ve forgotten about Christmas?’ I noticed a hint of red flush across James’ cheeks. Dave looked amused.

  ‘You forgot about Christmas?’ He asked confusion filling his face.

  I pursed my lips together while Steven explained.

  ‘Ols forgot about planning a Christmas do for everyone.’

  ‘Luckily Steven was on hand to save the day, but apparently not my embarrassment.’ I looked at him pointedly and he stuck his tongue out at me.

  ‘Well then, Ol, it’s a fair question, how could you have forgotten about Christmas?’ Dave asked.

  ‘I don’t celebrate Christmas.’ I shrugged, I took in the horrified expression on everyone’s face and shrugged, ‘I’m not saying I don’t like it, I do. I love Christmas. It’s great, but I don’t celebrate it any more.’

  ‘Is that a religious thing?’ James asked frowning.

  ‘Oh God, no!’ I shook my head. ‘My folks died in a car accident six years ago. I have one brother, but he lives in Australia. I don’t have any other family, and apart from Ruth, I don’t really have any friends either.’

  Dave nudged me.

  ‘Hey, you have us, we’re your friends.’

  I smiled up at him gratefully. ‘Oh, I know that, but you know what I mean. I don’t have a Christmas Day. I mean, I have no one to pull a cracker with. No one to swap presents with. Christmas Day is just any other bank holiday to me.’ I realised I had completely destroyed the mood around our table and tried to lighten it, ‘but you know what? One day I’ll be married with kids and Christmas will be the best day of the year again.’ I raised my pint glass, ‘here’s to two weeks off work!’ All of my staff cheered and the mood was restored. Dave made his way around the table, stopping to chat to various people and introducing himself to my new team members. Steven slid closer to me and took hold of my hand.

  ‘Spend Christmas with me, Ols?’

  I shook my head, I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me and under any obligation to invite me to his family Christmas.

  ‘I’m fine, Steven, I haven’t spent Christmas with anyone since my brother moved to Australia three years ago. It’s really no big deal at all, I’ll watch loads of TV and play video games. I’m still only halfway through Lego Batman.’

  ‘I can’t stand the thought of you being on your own on Christmas Day, Ols.’

  ‘Even after I just told you how I’ll spend it? You wish you were spending it the same way, go on admit it.’

  He grinned, despite the concern on his face.

  ‘Well sure, sometimes the family thing gets a bit intense after a few hours but I wouldn’t miss it, Ols. Please will you join me, my folks would love to meet you.’

  ‘Can I think about it?’ I asked, trying to change the subject.

  He smiled nodding enthusiastically.

  ‘Of course, I’ll be driving up there on Christmas Eve so let me know by Wednesday.’

  I wished I could speak to Chris. I wasn’t sure what to do. I guessed there was no harm in spending the holiday with Steven. It would be nice to be a part of a family Christmas again, but I wasn’t sure if it meant something more. Today had felt so much like those first few weeks with Steven, I was confused about how I was feeling towards him and unsure about his feelings towards me. I didn’t want to get drawn into feeling something for him again, especially given my situation with Chris. I knew it was silly to even compare the two men, Steven was right here, right now, I knew him, trusted him, cared for him. Chris was far away, a voice on a computer, seeing him had been strange, I almost wished he hadn’t got the camera, he was right about the imagination being powerful, I had preferred the fantasy to the reality. Not that Chris wasn’t attractive, he was, but would I really choose him over Steven? Or did I just want to experience amazing sex, just once, before I embarked on a real relationship?

  ‘Do you know what I really want right now?’ I heard the slight slur in my voice as I spoke. Steven’s eyes lit up with amusement as he shook his head. ‘I want to go dancing.’

  I stood up addressing the rest of the table, ‘I’m going downstairs to dance, who’s with me?’ Maria, Chloe, and Steph all stood up. The boys looked at each other. Steven stood up, followed by Colin.

  ‘OK, then. Mike, James, Dave, have a great weekend, see you on Monday.’

  I hugged each of them in turn and lead the way downstairs to The Underworld.

  Chapter Thirty

  The club hadn’t been open long but was already heaving with office Christmas party revellers. Steven found a table by the bar and set up camp while Colin was at the bar.

  I followed Chloe to the dance-floor as Madonna filled the air. Chloe was in the middle of a group of dancers when I caught up with her, she seemed to know some of them and they welcomed me into the circle, I felt a hand on my waist and a body pressed up against mine. I guessed it was Steven and turned around. It wasn’t Steven. I was staring into a set of the most piercing blue eyes I’d ever seen. Long curled eyelashes made his eyes sparkle. They were breath-taking. His hair was long, tied back in a ponytail. His hand was still on my waist and he pulled me closer to him, pushing his knee between my legs and rotating his hips. He lifted my arm and placed it around his neck, smiling seductively at me. He had a perfect set of teeth; his smile was as dazzling as his eyes. Before I knew what was happening he was spinning me away from him. My hand slipped from his and I crashed into someone, I felt strong arms around me, steadying me. I looked up into Steven’s eyes, smiling at me, and felt the familiar rush of affection for him. He released me and I beckoned him to follow me to our group. Blue Eyes tapped me on the shoulder as the song came to an end, and offered to buy me a drink. I shrugged and nodded. He motioned for me to follow him.

  Steven caught my arm as I was following him off the dance-floor, he looked uncomfortable.

  ‘Where are you going?’ He handed me a bottle of lager.

  ‘I think I’ve pulled.’ I giggled.

  ‘Stay away from that guy, Olly, he’s no good.’

  I shrugged him off, my sober self telling me I should listen to him, but my inebriated self was enjoying the attention I’d been getting on the dance-floor and didn’t see the harm in allowing this mildly attractive man to keep me company.

  ‘I’m fine, Steven don’t you worry about me, I can take care of myself.’ I turned towards the bar but he stopped me again, insistent,

  ‘Please, Olly, it’s late, it’s time to make a move, I’ll walk you home.’

  I shook my head, shrugged his arm off me, and made my way to the bar.

  Just as I reached the bar and located Blue Eyes, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I shot him an apologetic look and dug my phone out. I didn’t recognise the number and usually I would ignore unknown numbers but because I’d had a few drinks I decided to answer it.

  ‘Hello?’ I shouted down the phone.

  ‘Hey.’

  His voice caught me by surprise and I shivered. I would recognise that voice anywhere, soft but strong. I closed my eyes; it felt like a long time since I’d heard that voice. ‘Are you there?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes.’ My voice cracked as I spoke and I cleared my throat. ‘Yes, why are you ringing me?’ I strained to hear his response but the music was overpowering. The guy at the bar was watching me impatiently and I debated whether to just hang up and pretend the phone got cut off but I was curious and excited at the sound of his voice.

  ‘I’m going to head outside, I can’t hear what you’re saying.’ I said. The guy at the bar tuned his back on me, ignoring me, and I felt a stab of disappointment – that was the most attention I’d had for years. I weaved my way th
rough the crowd to the entrance and stepped outside into the cool air and the relative quiet.

  ‘Hi,’ I said into the phone.

  ‘Hi yourself.’ There was a slight teasing tone to his soft voice.

  ‘What were you saying?’

  ‘I was saying maybe you should go outside so you can hear me.’ I laughed.

  ‘So why are you ringing me? Did Steven tell you to call?’ I groaned.

  ‘Steven? No, why would he? Have you got yourself into some kind of trouble? Liv, are you OK?’ I could hear the concern in his voice.

  ‘Why do you care?’ I asked, a scornful note creeping into my words.

  ‘Liv, of course I care.’ I felt my heart beat a touch faster. He cared about me? ‘So why was Steven worried about you?’ I gave a small laugh and sighed.

  ‘Some guy started dancing and flirting with me, he offered to buy me a drink and I followed him off the dance-floor. Steven tried to stop me, don’t know why, but I ignored him.’

  Chris was silent. I looked at my phone to check we were still connected and listened again.

  ‘Are you still there?’ I asked quietly. He cleared this throat.

  ‘Yes.’ He paused. ‘I was just surprised, I guess, but I shouldn’t be, we worked hard to improve your self-confidence, to understand your body and your sexuality, it’s only natural you would want to go get laid,’ he teased. ‘It would seem I’ve gotten quite used to the idea that you’re mine, I was disappointed that someone else would get to fuck you.’ He laughed again.

  I felt the familiar tingle through my body. What was it about the way he said “fuck” that sounded so erotic? And he thinks of me as his … My stomach did a somersault and I whispered, ‘But why can’t it be you?’ I cringed at the childish whine that had entered my voice. ‘When I come to Edinburgh,’ I reminded him about our vague plan. Chris sighed.

  ‘We can’t, babe, I don’t think visiting is a good idea. It couldn’t go any further and that wouldn’t be fair on either of us,’ he said gently, his voice sounding kind and firm at the same time. I felt a stab of disappointment.