by M. B. Feeney
“Do I need to though?” I looked at him, direct eye contact. “Actually... is there any chance you can get out of work tomorrow?”
“I could in the afternoon, why?” He suddenly stood up, dragging me to my feet.
“I’m taking you out.” He planted a kiss on my lips before bounding up the stairs. I started walking up behind him.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He told me before going to the bar and talking to Casey in hushed tones.
“What’s a surprise?” Preston joined me at the end of the bar.
“I actually don’t know.” I knocked back my whiskey. “And that scares me.”
Casey had assured me that she could cover for me for the rest of the day once the lunchtime rush was done. I was actually nervous about what she had helped Will plan for the afternoon. Throughout the day, I kept finding her watching me, grinning when she caught my eye; and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
The previous evening, had ended quite messily. Phil couldn’t believe how much my “Yank friends” sounded just like the band and drank himself into oblivion, leaving it to me to call his son to come and pack his gear up, then drive him home at the end of the night. Sam, Will, and Preston had taken over the fruit machines as if they were on a stag weekend in Vegas, while Johnny, Abraham, Bryan, and Martin had left early with Mary.
Gwen rolled in about an hour before last orders, having been out at work for the entire day. It was then that I had realised that Will had wanted to put something on the pub DVD player and never had. I made a mental note to ask him about it later today.
Eventually, I managed to kick everyone out before midnight claiming I had a migraine brewing, and needed to sleep. Truthfully, I needed to think. Was me spending the afternoon with Will going to cause complications? I didn’t even know when he was going back to the US. Neither of us needed to get too attached, but he was such a nice guy, it was already proving hard. I thought about him a lot, and when he was in the same room, my attention was almost always on him.
I decided to put on my big girl panties and go with the flow. I’ll probably never see him, or the band, again unless they came back to tour in the UK. I’d deal with that if and when I needed to. I was just going to enjoy myself spending time with a good- looking guy, what was the harm? Well, maybe not the proper ‘Big Girl Panties’ cause I might ‘get lucky’, and I was no Bridget Jones.
After I had finished cleaning the kitchen, I headed up to the flat to shower and change for my afternoon with Will. I had no idea what he had planned, so I wasn’t shocked to find that Casey had laid out some clothes for me; she must have snuck up into the flat before starting her shift. My usual attire of jeans, tank top, and boots were carefully folded on my chair. I did notice that the boots were not my usual cowboy boots, or even my biker boots. They were my high heeled boots. Just as I was about to swap them for my cowboy boots, my phone beeped with a text.
You WILL wear those boots. Cx. She knew me far too well, and I knew there was no way I’d get away with swapping the footwear. I groaned and headed for the bathroom.
Within twenty minutes, I’m showered, dressed in the skin-tight jeans and tank top, and was sat at my dressing table, blow-drying my long hair. Looking at it, the way it looked every day, I decided I needed to change it somehow. Maybe I could cut it short, get one of those pixie cuts. As I held the deep brown strands up to imitate short hair, my thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing.
“Your man awaits.” Casey hung up after speaking those three words, the entire call lasting less than five seconds. I grabbed my bag, checked I had my phone, purse, and cigarettes. I couldn’t be bothered with my contacts for the first time in weeks, so grabbed my glasses and put them on. My keys were thrown into my bag after I locked the door and began to descend the stairs to the pub. I prayed to the gods of shoes that he wasn’t expecting me to walk very far, otherwise I was going to kill Casey if I got a blister or twisted my ankle.
I was astounded when I walked into the lounge to find Will looking rather dapper in tight, black jeans, and a black shirt. His curls were still wild, but that just added to his appeal. He put his bottle of beer down onto the bar as he realised I had joined him.
“You look great.” He complimented me, kissing me gently on the cheek.
“Looking rather spiffy yourself there William.” I spotted Gwen sat at the end of the bar grinning like a madwoman, my denim jacket in her hands. “I might have guessed you’d be here.” I took my jacket off her and nearly jumped a mile when Will helped me to pull it on, something I wasn’t used to.
“Just passing by.”
Yeah, sure. I rolled my eyes and turned to Casey.
“I have my phone if you need me.” She waved her hand to stop me talking.
“Steve from the Royal is coming in at seven; you have the entire night off. Now go, have fun.”
Will grinned as he held out his arm, allowing me to take hold of his elbow. Just as he led me out of the building, Sam, Preston, and Johnny walked in.
“Ooh, date night?” Sam sang out.
“Fuck off.” I mumbled as the rest of them chuckled like kids in a sex education lesson.
“Just ignore them.” Will whispered as he opened the door for me. I nearly pissed myself laughing when he led me to his car. Gwen would have a field day when she saw his car. It was a bright yellow tin box with wheels. All it needed was the one red door, and I would be in an episode of The Inbetweeners.
“Nice ride.” I snorted as he unlocked the doors.
“It was the only hire car left. Get in and stop moaning, maybe you could save that for later.” I stared at him as he sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine. It was going to be one of those days; things were looking up already.
“Very funny. Where are we going?” I watched his hands as they held the steering wheel lazily while driving through the streets of London. I didn’t pay attention to anything outside the window as I thought about how good it would feel to have those hands on my naked skin again.
“It’s a surprise. Casey says you work too hard and need a break. I thought I would make the most of this information so we could spend some time together away from the pub, and the rest of the guys.” It was then I realised that he was driving into the West End.
“Did Casey also tell you that I hate surprises?” As soon as Will had parked his car in a generic car park, I climbed out and lit a cigarette.
“Why yes, in fact she did. So, this grumpy side to you is no shock.” He took my hand in his and started walking.
“I’m not grumpy.” I grumbled, making him laugh even more.
“All will be revealed shortly.” He gave my hand a squeeze as we rounded the corner and I realised where we were.
“You’ve brought me to see Hamilton?” I threw my arms around him. “Oh my God! I’ve wanted to see this for ages, but couldn’t get tickets.” I was acting like a teenager, but I didn’t give a shit. I was outside the theatre, with Will’s arms around my waist; life was good, even if it only lasted a short time. I almost squealed as Will lifted me off the ground and gave me a short, but mind-blowing kiss.
“Yeah, Casey said that too.” He put me down and took hold of my hand again. “Come on, it starts in fifteen minutes.” We jogged across the road and made our way to the box office where Will picked up our pre-booked tickets. We managed to grab a quick drink at the bar, before the usher led us to our seats. Three rows from the stage suited me just fine. As we waited for the show to start, I wondered how the hell he’d managed to get tickets so quickly.
The show was brilliant, as I’d expected it to be. Having listened to the soundtrack constantly for months, I happily sang along as I felt Will’s eyes on me for most of the performance rather than the stage. As we walked outside, I asked about the tickets. Playing coy, he mumbled something about having planned to bring Mary when they knew they were coming to the UK having missed it in the states. It should have bothered me that he’d treated me to
a show in the West End with tickets he’d bought for another woman, but I couldn’t bring myself to care that much.
“Are you hungry?” He changed the subject as quickly as he could.
“I could eat. Let me phone Casey, see if everything’s okay.” He just nodded and led me along the street by the hand. I pulled my phone out of my bag and dialled the pub’s number.
“I’m not talking to you. Everything’s fine, sod off.” Casey hung up on me.
“Charming.” I muttered. Will laughed at me.
“What did she say?” He laughed even more when I told him. “I guess that means we don’t need to rush.” He tightened his grip on my hand so that I had no choice but to walk next to him. We walked slowly, me looking at places I hadn’t seen properly since I was a teenager, sometimes telling Will about some of the things me and my friends, usually Gwen, had gotten up to.
“You two sound like you would have fit in at college with me, Sam, and Preston quite well.” I grinned, knowing what I did about the things they’d spoken about getting up to. I wondered if Will had a tattoo too; Sam and Preston had one to commemorate their time as roommates and friends. I didn’t really take notes last time I was in any kind of position to see, and that disappointed me. “What are you thinking?” Could he read my mind?
“Just wondering where your tattoo is.” He looked confused.
“Tattoo?”
“The college one, like Sam and Preston have. It’s been mentioned in loads of interviews that their whole group of friends got one, I wondered if you were one of the group.” He grinned.
“Maybe I’ll let you try and find out for yourself.” He stopped walking and pulled me close to him. “Depends how good you are, or not as the case may be.” He crushed his mouth to mine fiercely, taking my breath away.
“You are a fucking tease Mr Harvey.” I told him breathlessly once he ended the kiss. He just grinned and carried on walking, this time his arm wrapped around my waist.
I was so used to pub food, that dinner was a treat. Thankfully, he didn’t take me to some swanky restaurant where I would have felt as uncomfortable as hell. Instead, he had found a small steakhouse that was tucked away on a narrow side street. The food was delicious, and the beer was cold. Add to that, great company and conversation, it was pretty much a perfect ‘date’. Was it a date? I hadn’t been ‘out’ with a guy like this for a long time, so I was unsure of the etiquette, so to speak.
“Did you really enjoy the show?” I didn’t know why Will sounded so unsure.
“I really did. I loved it. thank you for taking me.” I was still blown away by the fact I’d been able to see Hamilton after reading about it online, and listening to the music on repeat.
“It was my pleasure, you were completely enraptured by the entire thing; I think I watched you more than the stage.”
I already knew that, but wasn’t going to admit it to him.
“Well, it’s a part of world history we don’t get taught much here. It was fascinating.”
I could feel my face heating up so I looked away and took the chance to gaze around, and suddenly saw how romantic the entire setting had become. Couples and candles were everywhere. Will seemed to notice at the same time and looked a little uncomfortable. “How did you find this place?”
“Me and Reece needed a break from editing the other day. He doesn’t live far from here, and we kinda just stumbled across it. Looks very different during the day I have to admit.”
“Good find; it’s hard to find decent places in London anymore, well not in the big tourist areas anyway.”
I wanted to ask how long he was staying, but was actually dreading the answer. Yes, Gwen has teased me about the ‘no strings’ side of whatever was happening between Will and myself, but I was getting used to him being around, and if I was honest with myself, I was getting more than a little attached to him. It went completely against my better judgement; only bad could come of thinking along these lines.
It was getting dark when we walked out of the steak house. I needed to walk a little to rid myself of the slightly bloated feeling.
“Anything else up your sleeve?” I asked Will as he tucked my arm through his, so we were walking closely. I was enjoying the time away from the pub, and his easy going nature made me not want to rush back to reality.
“Nothing planned now. How about we just walk for a while.” I smiled at him. “I like the glasses by the way. Very geek chic.”
It wasn’t very often I wore then, much preferring the freedom contacts gave me, especially when cooking in a steaming kitchen. Many of my regulars didn’t even know I wore them, not that I actively hid it.
“Thanks. I couldn’t be arsed to put in my contacts after my shower.” He shuddered slightly. “If you’re cold, we can go back to the pub.”
“I’m not cold. it’s just the thought of you in the shower. Brings pretty pictures to mind.” I stopped walking and stared at him, remembering our shared bath. “What? It’s your fault.”
“You didn’t have to look... or join me, did you?”
“My mom always told me not to turn down a gracious invitation.” He grinned. “Especially when it’s so attractively presented.”
Once again, I felt my face heat up with a blush, but I refused to break eye contact with him. He looked away first which caused me to give myself an internal fist bump. Eventually, we began walking again with no direction in mind. Suddenly, I was being dragged through a doorway where music was being pumped out onto the street, the bass reverberating through my chest so much I could physically feel it.
“What are you doing?” I yelled into his ear as he paid the door fee.
“I want to dance with you.” Feeling his lips brushing my ear as he spoke made me shiver as he guided me down a steep, narrow staircase that was lit only by purple ultraviolet lights. I was petrified that I was going to catch my heel and fall, but Will managed to keep me upright, and when we reached the bottom, he kept an arm around my waist as we walked through the immense crowd.
The dance floor was completely over crowded, so we hovered on the edge and watched the dancers. I couldn’t stop my body from moving however and was soon dancing on the spot. Will stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, matching my movements. Just as I was getting into dancing with him, the track changed for something a little slower.
Usher’s ‘You Make Me Wanna’ began playing causing me to roll my eyes at the utter cliché this evening was becoming, but I shrugged off the feeling and settled into the rhythm and beat of the music. Without realising it, I was leaning back against Will who gripped me even tighter around the waist, causing our bodies to press against each other, completely flush.
“You got moves.” He murmured in my ear as we moved as one. I turned in his arms to face him, shocked to find his dark blue eyes were almost black.
“You’re not bad yourself.” I felt like a fool, but I started to exaggerate my movements as I rubbed myself up and down his body like a skanky pole dancer.
“Fuck Zoe...” He groaned as I stood up, bringing us face to face. “That is fucking amazing.” I grinned, mentally patting myself on the back for garnering this kind of reaction from him. “You’re doing this to me on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Would I do that?” I pressed myself even closer to him, snaking my own arms around his slender waist. I tucked my hands into the back pockets of his jeans which were tight across his arse. The action brought us even closer together, if it was even possible.
“I think you would...” As the music changed yet again, Will suddenly pulled the glasses gently from my face and put them on before spinning away from me and dancing to what I now recognised as a remix of ‘Baby Got Back’. Soon, I wasn’t the only one watching him, men stood cheering him on, appreciating his skill, while women appreciated his looks. I couldn’t take my eyes off him wearing my glasses. How the hell could he know I had a weakness for men in glasses?
When the song finished, he was surrounded by people congrat
ulating him on his performance. I raised my eyebrow at the sight of two women coming on to him. He grinned at me over their heads, before untangling himself and heading over to me, eyes locked on mine.
“Show off.” Was all I managed to say before he was kissing me to cheers and catcalls. I forcibly pushed him away from me.
“Sorry, I didn-”
“Shut up and take me home.” He didn’t need telling twice as he gripped my hand and led the way.
It took all my self-control not to get down on my knees and give him a blow job in the car on the way back to the pub. Will drove like a madman, crunching gears and rushing through changing traffic lights. We soon pulled up outside the pub, but before I could move to get out of the car, Will turned to face me.
“Are you sure about this? I know we’ve been here before, but...” I don’t know why he was suddenly nervous, like he said, we’d been here before. However, it was endearing.
“Will. I’m sure. I wouldn’t still be in the car if I wasn’t.” As if to prove my point, I leaned over and kissed him hard. “This might sound a bit harsh, but I think it’s best said straight. Nothing is going to come of this... whatever is between us other than a good time. We don’t need to stress, do we?”
I winced at sounding like a bitch, but I was just being honest. If he wanted to walk away, he could, and I would go to bed, horny as hell.
“There’s nothing wrong with having fun while we can.” He grinned at me before turning the engine off and getting out of the car. I’d only just managed to open the door when Will helped me out and pinned me against the car for yet another deep kiss. “Shall we take this inside?” I didn’t answer, choosing rather to pull my keys out of my bag and unlock the huge door.
Casey had left the lights on, so Will and I went into the empty lounge. I walked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey before sliding two glasses onto the bar and walking round to sit next to him. I suddenly felt very nervous and wasn’t sure why. I watched Will’s hands as he poured two large glasses of the golden liquid. He turned his head and looked at me, smiling. I took the offered glass from him, embarrassed to notice the way my hands shook as I brought the glass to my lips.