Inevitable

by Roberts, A. S.

  I was grateful for the one little cotton dress that Aunty Jean had packed for me. For the first time in a few days, I felt feminine. The short lemon dress, with shoestring straps, fitted to my braless boobs and then fell loosely to my mid-thigh, resembling a baby-doll nightdress. I’d changed into clean underwear and the little pumps she had also packed. Nathan had also insisted upon me wearing my denim shorts as he guessed I was going to want to dance and I presumed no one was allowed to see my bare arse cheeks except him, I thought with a smile. My hair was clean, even wet in places still and I was grateful as the dampness was helping me to remain cool. I had piled it up messily on top of my head, several tendrils had since fallen down and were scattered over the tops of my shoulders. I’d applied a little make-up and was beginning to feel more like Bella with every mouthful of alcohol I managed to swallow.

  Nathan had insisted we sat up at the bar but tucked around the corner, the furthest away from the door. There he could watch as everyone entered and left the busy bar/restaurant.

  Not only was the motel we were staying at a 1980’s throwback, but it seemed that the bar was as well. I had just finished eating a meal of chicken in a basket. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten anything out of a basket, it was delicious though. I watched Nathan as he sat next to me. He had finished every scrap of food and in doing so he began to move the thoughtfully supplied toothpick around and in between every finger on his hand. It must have been something he had done time after time before, he was so well practised at it. Finally, the toothpick found its way into his mouth, his tongue twirled it around making it move quickly from side to side, so fast it was almost mesmerising. The Nathan I was getting to know was a constant fidget, whether it be his tin of mints, a beer bottle top, or a toothpick. He could only relax if he was moving something. It was a revelation, I felt honoured to be allowed to see the real man behind the mask and facades he had built up over the years.

  The bar tender had made his way back over to us again, he was using a crisp, clean tea-towel to shine up a beer glass. I could hear the cloth, squeaking on the soapy residue on the glass. He took his eyes away from the task in hand and stared at our empty baskets.

  ‘You kids all finished?’ he questioned, nodding towards the baskets in front of us.

  ‘Yep, we sure are,’ Nathan answered, removing the toothpick and dropping it into the empty basket and then he picked them up stacking them together, before handing them to the now empty-handed barman. ‘The food was great… thanks,’ Nathan offered with a smile. The barman stared at him momentarily and then clicked his fingers together. A pleased smile skirted over his lips.

  ‘I’ve got it… you’re a bike rider aren’t you,’ he stood willing the name to come to him. ‘Ermmm… I know what number you race under. Your race number is seven. But your name has left me.’ I watched amused as the older man stood clicking his fingers together, expecting the answer to just magically appear to him. ‘I know… it’s Blackmore, isn’t it?... It’s a real pleasure to meet you.’ The bar tender rubbed his wet hands down the front of his apron to dry them and extended a hand in front of Nathan’s face. I watched as Nathan offered out his long limb and they shook hands. ‘My name is Charlie, my family own the motel and bar hereabouts… Are you two staying with us?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘We sure are,’ Nathan smiled back to him. ‘We’re staying in the motel, in the bridal suite.’ I watched Nathan as he spoke, he was starting to peel away the label from his beer bottle by attacking the corner with his nail, until it lifted enough for him to be able to pinch it between this thumb and forefinger, and slowly strip it downwards. The piece of paper he had managed to remove, was expertly rolled between his thumb and finger and placed carefully on the bar. He lifted his gaze once again to meet the celebrity-struck barman and smiled at him.

  ‘Oh wow… I hadn’t read that you’d got married.’ He moved his gaze across to me now and offered me his hand. ‘Congratulations to you, Mrs. Blackmore.’

  Momentarily stunned, I looked at Nathan’s cheeky grin and the huge smiling face of Charlie. I grabbed his hand and he shook it gently.

  ‘We’d be obliged if you could keep it to yourself though?’ Nathan asked our new friend. ‘We’re just sort of getting used to it ourselves.’

  ‘No problem… do you think you could you sign a couple of autographs for me and I’ll be only too pleased to keep it under wraps,’ Charlie winked at us both. ‘As you can see the family collect bits and pieces from anyone famous who just happens to pop by… whether it be to stay in the motel, get a beer from the bar or eat some of our delicious food,’ he waved a hand at the walls behind the bar. Looking around there were several hats, football shirts, photos and even a couple of signed guitars.

  Who had signed them? I hadn’t a clue, I was too far away to read the signatures. I found it funny though, that other celebrities had stayed in the motel that seemed to be stuck in the time warp of the seventies and eighties. I had only previously seen pictures of the decades, but here for the first time I could see it in glorious Technicolour.

  ‘I think I can do better than that… if you don’t mind a worn T-shirt… I’ve got one of my white number seven shirts with me… I can sign that if you’d like?’

  ‘Yeah sure… that’d be great… what can I get for you guys in return? How about two big slabs of home-made apple pie and cream?’

  Nathan nodded his enthusiasm back and Charlie retreated out the back to get our desserts.

  ‘So we’re recently married now, are we?’ I asked with a big smile.

  ‘It’s the same white lie I had to tell to get you the tastefully decorated room that is our comfortable abode for this evening. I didn’t think it would fucking hurt to retell it.’ He lifted his bottle to his lips and took a quick swig of beer, then placed the bottle back down onto the bar. He turned the bottle around and around between his thumb and forefinger. His face took on a thoughtful, almost brooding expression.

  The apple pie was lovely. By the time we’d finished it the bar was starting to get busier and the live band were tuning up. I was actually looking forward to the evening ahead, it was almost a normal evening out, just pretending for a couple of hours that we weren’t on the run.

  Nathan stood up and away from the bar stool, ‘Charlie could you keep an eye on my lovely wife, I’m going to run and get that T-shirt I owe ya?’ Charlie nodded and smiled over at me.

  ‘Bella, why don’t you give Frankie a quick call?’ Nathan threw over his phone and I caught it with both hands and smiled at his retreating figure.

  It only took a moment and a couple of pressed buttons, until I heard my bestie’s voice on the other end.

  ‘Nathan?’

  ‘Hiya… no… it’s me.’

  ‘About bloody time, too.’ I could see her face in my mind smiling through her anxiety.

  I laughed my response, ‘I know… but it’s been pretty full on here. We’re either riding on that bloody bike or we’re…’ I stopped there, I wasn’t sure what it was we were doing.

  ‘Falling in love again?’ She had hit the nail on the head. I let the words sink in a little.

  ‘Yeah… I guess you could say that’s what we’re doing… we’re also opening up to each other, slowly but surely.’

  ‘You two are made for each other… you just needed your heads knocking together to realise it.’

  I could feel my forehead creasing into a deep frown, ‘You set this up?’

  ‘Christ no… how the hell could I have set all this up? But I did have a quiet word in Nathan’s ear about you taking up my job offer and once it was planted he grabbed hold like a dog with a bone.’

  ‘How are you, Frankie?’ I asked.

  ‘Well I’m missing my best friend, but as long as she’s safe and being looked after, I’ll live.’

  ‘How’s my baby?’

  I heard her sigh now, and I could just imagine her stroking her baby bump gently. ‘Yep growing by the minute, what with Alex, Aunty Jean and Uncle Rob
ert all watching me… what could possibly go wrong?’

  ‘They’re just worried about you, what with me causing added stress…’ I exhaled and tutted audibly. ‘I’m really sorry, Frankie… for all of this and… for only really now understanding how you feel about Alex.’ My gaze was taken to Nate, having just re-entered the bar, he had obviously run all the way as he looked slightly sweatier than when he had left. He was clutching an extremely screwed up, white ball in his hand. I watched him striding his way through to me, he never once removed his eyes from my face. He was in scruffy, dirty old faded jeans and another of his very creased old T-shirts, but heads turned as he walked past them. Male and female, it didn’t seem to matter, he had such an indescribable presence. He was now wearing a very old and tattered blue baseball cap; the faded and dirty lettering read NYC and it was pulled down low over his eyes. I suppose he thought he would be more incognito; it was probably a good move as the bar was getting busier by the minute. Eventually he reached my side, and after chucking the white ball at Charlie with a smile, he turned my stool slightly towards him and moved as close into my personal space as possible, by prising my legs apart and stepping in between them. He leaned down towards me, one hand on the edge of the bar and the other just touching my bare shoulders and neck. I inhaled his body wash and instantly relaxed, I hadn’t even realised I’d been on edge until that very moment. He dipped his head further until I could feel his warm breath caress my naked skin. He lifted the loose pieces of my hair, kissing underneath each one.

  ‘You still there, Bella?’ I heard in my ear.

  ‘I am… sorry… Nathan was distracting me.’

  ‘Yeah of course he was, and you have nothing to feel sorry for… I repeat, absolutely nothing.’ Frankie let out a light giggle and I heard her slap something.

  ‘Don’t tell me… that’s you slapping Alex? … he’s distracting you, too?’

  She returned another giggle. The band had now started their first set and I plunged my finger in my opposite ear.

  ‘I’m going to have to go, Frankie… The band have started and I’m not going to be able to hear you soon. I love you!’ I shouted.

  ‘Love you too! Both of you… stay safe’ she returned and I disconnected our call.

  Nathan was still playfully necking me and I placed my arms around his broad muscular back. ‘I could get used to this sort of attention,’ I whispered into the shell of his ear, licking my lips as the warmth of his skin came back at me.

  ‘I’m sure you fucking could… so tonight I’ve decided we’re gonna make out like teenagers, do some dancing and drink some beer. It’s not something I’ve ever done before. My sexual experiences seemed to skip this part and just went for the main fucking event. I get the feeling you were much the same.’ I lifted my eyebrows at him. He was right of course, but it wasn’t something I had ever felt I was missing out on.

  Well not really. Who needed all that embarrassed fumbling in their lives?

  He lifted the new ice cold beer that Charlie had placed in front of him, and downed it in one go. I was still looking at him in surprise. ‘I want to experience everything with you, darlin… somehow things that have never even crossed my mind before as being fucking important, cross it now. They cross my mind when I’m with you, I want to experience every fucking thing with you. I want us to have all of our firsts together…’ He rested his forehead up against mine and stared into my eyes. ‘Come on they’re playing our first song.’ He moved slightly away from me and started stepping backwards, trying to lead me towards the dance floor with our hands still conjoined.

  ‘You look fucking beautiful tonight… darlin.’ His eyes swept up and down my cheap cotton dress and threadbare ripped shorts. For once in my life it was as though a man saw me for the first time. I wasn’t wearing expensive clothes or my normal amount of make-up, my hair had been put up haphazardly, the real me was exposed. I felt myself blush as he continued to look at me from under the peak of his baseball cap. I saw the moment his lips lifted in the corners and the dimples came out to play. I moved my bum off the edge of the seat I had been perched on and walked the couple of steps into his arms. I planted a kiss straight onto his mouth and smelt the underlying aroma of mint Altoids on his breath. Nathan said no more, but led me out onto the small but busy dance floor, he expertly twirled me around once and then captured me tightly in his arms. I pushed his cap up and back slightly, so I could see him better and then I placed my arms up and around his neck. Our first dance was to Shania Twain- Still the one.

  The evening was fun; it was everything we hadn’t been in a long time. There was no pretending, no smart arsed remarks. For a few short hours we forgot everything our pasts had made us into. We danced, drank and laughed together. We needed no one else, except each other. Everything else in our lives was put aside and became almost superfluous.

  We made our way back to our porn set of a motel room. The gravel crunched underfoot as we crossed the car park. Most people were still in the bar, the band were still playing and I could hear their now somewhat muted tones. Knowing we had yet another early start, we had reluctantly chosen to leave our pretend existence and come back to reality with a bump. The evening was still warm and close. Although I had drunk a few cold beers throughout the evening, Nate had stopped at four, knowing he would be in control of the motorbike early tomorrow morning. I was just a little, but very pleasantly, buzzed. He walked his normal walk with his limp just showing in his gait, probably because we had danced most of the evening away. I was in typical-pain-in-the-arse mode and danced my way back to the motel room. I danced around him, holding on to him at various places as I sung loudly at the top of my voice.

  He stopped dead in the middle of the dimly lit car park. He turned his baseball cap around on his head and crossed his arms in front of his broad muscular chest. ‘I fucking love this, Bella… I love watching ya relax and know that you’re fucking comfortable enough with me… to finally, let me see the real you.’ He stopped speaking and grabbed me quickly to him. His mouth came quickly crashing down onto mine, he took everything he needed from me and showed me all the unspoken words that were going around in his head. Somewhat reluctantly, our lips parted and he whispered to me, the words sending vibrations over my already sensitive skin, ‘Tonight I’m taking ya to third base.’ He released me suddenly, twirling me away from him and then bringing me back to him quickly.

  I hadn’t felt so carefree in years. When our bodies crashed into each other’s again I was laughing therapeutically out loud.

  ‘So you’re taking me to third base now, are you?’ I questioned him, probably too loudly. I was stood with my hands on my jean-clad hips as I watched him unlock the door to the pink puffy paradise that was supposed to be our honeymoon suite.

  The door flung open wide and Nate put his hand inside the doorframe searching for the light switch, so we could see where we were going as we made our way in. He needn’t have bothered this place was imprinted on my mind. It was a once seen never forgotten, nightmare provoking room.

  Nathan reached out and grabbed my nearest hand, pulled it slightly behind my back and pushed me gently into the room in front of him.

  ‘Sure am, honey and in these sexy surroundings… I’m gonna rock your fucking world.’

  I fell on the bed, holding onto my sides I was laughing so hard. I watched him throw the door keys into a small glass dish, of course it was a shade of pink and heart shaped. The keys found their allotted place, in the middle of the dish on the coffee table, with a loud clink. He prowled slowly across the room to where I lay, removing his T-shirt as he got nearer. I was still laughing; although it was quite obviously beer fuelled. I watched as Nate flicked open the top button of his jeans and then as he got to the edge of the waterbed he fell onto one knee.

  ‘Do ya doubt my ability to skip a couple of fucking bases, or are ya laughing at the fact that I’m going to rock your world?’ His beautiful face was spread into a wide lopsided grin. His right hand was hovering over the to
p of my bare skin as he traced my prominent collarbones with his index finger. All of my free blood supply rushed to my chest and upper body, I watched as my skin flushed and puckered into goose bumps without him even touching me. My heart was pounding. All of my senses had attuned to his every movement, his breathing and his well-sucked mints clicking on the inside of his teeth. My eyes never looked away from the large hand that traced the outline of my body.

  ‘So, Bella, as you’re not from around these parts, I’m going to school ya in base taking,’ he whispered to me, his head dipping and getting ever closer to mine. ‘This, darlin, is getting to first base.’ His beautiful heart-shaped lips brushed ever so slightly against mine. No other parts of our bodies touched. His lips came back to mine, over and over, until he licked at the seam of them imploring me to allow him entry. I opened up slowly, as one of my hands came up to the back of his head pulling him closer to me. He pulled away speaking in the slight gap between us. ‘Uh-uh I’m in control, not you, darlin… this is my base to score at.’ I released my hold on him but ran my fingers in and out of the short-graded hair at the back of his head. His mouth came back to mine, coaxing and demanding it to open at his command. His kiss always took my breath away, but this one was tender and sexy all at the same time. He licked, nipped and sucked all of the sensual areas in and around my mouth and the kiss went on forever. When he finally broke away we were gasping for breath. My lips were swollen and almost bruised.

  ‘That was the sort of kiss I’d give you if nothing else was going to happen for the rest of our time together. That’s how I would’ve kissed ya if we had have been each other’s firsts. I would have put everything into it, if I only had that kiss to show how I felt.’ I was temporarily stunned by the words that came out of the normally dirty-talking, bad-boy’s mouth. But then it clicked, he was absolutely right.

  ‘Well for a first kiss, that was mind blowing… consider your first base well and truly taken.’ I stared into his beautiful eyes. ‘I expect every time you kiss me from now on to be like that, you’ve set yourself some precedent. So what do I have to look forward to for the taking of second base?’ I asked him somewhat cheekily.