“You?”
“Me,” he smirked, flashing me his disgusting teeth. “Pizza for the lady with the pretty name.”
Oh god!
Any doubts I had about it being him ceased to exist upon hearing his deep, gravelly voice; it’s unmistakable tone hitting me straight in the gut. His unavoidable grey eyes and neck tattoos sent chills down my spine, and panicked me.
“You can keep the change.” I ensured, practically throwing the money at him and grabbing the items.
I quickly took a step back and shut the door in his face, mindlessly staring at the wooden frame for a few seconds afterwards, comprehending what on earth just happened. First, he showed up at work and then at my home. Should this have been cause for concern?
“Maya?”
Luke’s voice acted as a comfort against my hammering heart and sweaty brow, his anxiety completely justifiable.
“What is it?” he asked, taking my chin in his trembling hand.
It was the first interaction we’d had in days and the overwhelming need to cry suddenly consumed me.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I whispered, weakly so.
He didn’t seem so convinced but with food now present and Sasha’s unavoidable excitement upon discovering this, he let the issue drop, thankfully so. I could’ve told him. Let him know of my concerns, but that would only have caused unnecessary worry and for what? The man was hardly breaching any laws and the more rationality crept in, the more coincidental it all seemed. He was probably just a pizza delivery guy, who enjoyed the occasional black coffee and liked telling girls they had pretty names.
Perfectly reasonable.
“Sweet Mother of Joseph, I’m ready for this!” sighed Sasha, inhaling the food's smells.
Luke lightly placed his hand in mine and dragged me towards the kitchen table, encouraging me to eat something. I begrudgingly loaded up on food and forced myself to stop thinking about my odd encounter, which wasn’t difficult when the topic soon turned to that of my dress for the weekend.
“Wait until you see her in it, Luke,” insisted Sasha, chopping on some chicken. “You won’t know where to put your eyes,” she cried, ever the dramatic.
Her inability to pick up on our tense circumstance was a relief if nothing else, though it certainly didn’t make things any less awkward between Luke and me. His nervous gaze cautiously met mine in pretence interest as he aimlessly chewed his food, painfully so.
“What colour did you go for in the end?”
“Red.”
His eyes continued to hold mine in a secret claim of enjoyment; his face saying it all. He was excited to see me in it.
“That’ll be nice,” he squeaked, swallowing his mouthful by force.
I ignored the heat that flooded my cheeks.
“I wonder if there’ll be any sexy men there? You could bag yourself a lawyer, Maya!” exclaimed Sasha, truly making things awkward.
As though physically hurt, Luke tensed from top to bottom, not knowing where to put himself.
“I’m okay, thanks,” I whispered, grateful when an incoming email sounded from my phone.
“Oh come on, don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea. Luke, have you got any mates you could set her up with?” she asked, certainly not letting the issue drop.
“None,” he replied, instantly shutting the idea down.
I distanced myself with my Hotmail account and scrolled through my inbox, avoiding the conversation at all cost. Normally, I would’ve ignored it as I never received important emails, but I was desperate for a distraction and was certainly happy for one, once seeing who it was from.
Karen Taylor Fashion.
Sasha continued to talk Luke through some new recipe she’d discovered, but I soon tuned them out. I read through the ‘We’d like to invite you to attend an interview’ email and silently squealed. It didn’t register at first and took at least five reads before it eventually sunk in.
Fucking finally!
“I got an interview.”
My voice was shaky and weak, though I just about managed to get the message across before I welled up at the thought. Thankfully, they both seemed capable of understanding. In fact, in a movement that could only be described as chaotic, Sasha had me pinned against her body in a tight hug.
“Fuck yeah, you did!” she hollered, straight down my ear. “When is it? What time?” she asked, finally letting me go.
“I have to call them on Monday to arrange a time.” I smiled, eventually looking at Luke. “Thanks for helping. I doubt I would’ve got it if you hadn’t looked over my CV.”
His face softened at the hands of my compliment, though he didn’t make an effort to move.
“Nonsense, you would’ve got it either way.”
My legs felt heavy against his awkward acknowledgement and I could barely look at him. Sasha thankfully proceeded to exit the kitchen, taking her pizza with her, having likely sensed our unease towards each other. In doing so, Luke and I were then forced to succumb to the silence and as I stared off into the distance- careful not to make direct eye contact- I felt suddenly saddened.
“I’m proud of you.”
“Yeah?” I asked; gaze locked firmly on the floor. “You don’t seem it.”
“I am. It’s just…hard.”
“What is?”
“You know what,” he argued, sipping his beer.
“No, I don’t,” I countered, finally looking up. “We’ve never once addressed the issue with seriousness. We’ve joked a lot but neither one of us has really said what we’re feeling,” I continued, keeping my volume low.
Sasha was in the next room and alerting her of any suspicion was the last thing we needed.
“You’re the one who said we should cut our losses,” he replied, gauging my reaction by capturing my gaze.
“And you’re the one who said our shared night together was nothing special.”
Silence, once again, consumed the air surrounding us. Only this time, it was interrupted by Sasha telling us the film was about to start. I left him standing in the middle of our kitchen and didn’t even feel bad when I heard him sigh from behind. I knew he didn’t mean those words before, but he still said them with the intention of hurting me. Perhaps he was getting revenge because I was the one who essentially vetoed the idea of us in the first place. But people changed and circumstances altered. If only he’d sit down with me and engage in some conversation, he’d realise I was finally considering it.
I was finally considering us.
~~~
Sasha went to her room after claiming the greasy food had limited her to a lethargic mess and left Luke and me alone, on a sofa each, watching re-runs of Catchphrase.
“We should probably go to bed soon. You’ve got a long drive tomorrow.” I suggested, stretching from my lying down position.
He too, engaged in his own need to stretch and in doing so, flashed me his lower stomach muscles; each one enticing in their own right. It was a struggle to look away and upon eventually doing so, I caught Luke staring at me.
“Do you still keep my spare toothbrush here? Mine’s packed away in the car,” he asked, hiding his embarrassment.
“Yeah,” I awkwardly coughed. “I keep it in my room. That way Sasha doesn’t use it to unclog the sink.” I ensured, joining him in clearing up our mess.
After the rubbish was binned and the leftover food was stored away, I led Luke to my bedroom where I offered him his spare toothbrush from my toiletry bag. While he was gone, I wiggled my way into a pair of pyjamas he had gifted me two Christmases back and laughed as my bottom was left with a glittery cupcake on each cheek. I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and climbed into bed, setting my alarm for an atrocious 6.00am wake-up call, skipping on teeth as I’d brushed them straight after eating the pizza.
“Thanks, where do you want this?” asked Luke, re-emerging from the bathroom.
“I keep it in my toilet bag over there,” I replied, pointing him in the right direction.
&nb
sp; He carefully placed the item back in my bag and whilst desperately avoiding my eye, offered me a mumbled, “Goodnight.” before switching off my light.
I sighed into my pillow and desperately tried not to cry as the overwhelming feeling of being alone wrapped its ugly claws around me. Luke and I had never gone to bed on bad terms. I was slowly starting to think my lack of sleeping lately was due to my unconscious mind warning me that if we didn’t sort things out soon, permanent damage would occur.
“Luke?”
My door hadn’t closed yet and although it was pitch black in my bedroom, I could tell he was still lingering by the doorway. His laboured breaths and intoxicating smells continued to consume me, both of which were my reasons for holding out hope. He didn’t answer straight away but the sound of muffled steps against my carpet suggested he was making his way towards me. My heartbeat picked up its pace.
“I can only say this now because we’re surrounded by darkness and I won’t be able to see your reaction,” he admitted, sounding much closer than expected.
“Say what?”
His warm body gently edged closer to mine and at the feel of his soft breath against my cheek, I instinctively turned towards it, desperate to see those beautiful eyes of his.
“What you said before about me cheapening our time together,” he began, reaching out to take hold of my jaw. “I would never do that. I couldn’t, because that night was the best night of my life.”
I gasped my way through my response and reached out to place my hand over his, needing him to stay exactly where he was; close by. Neither of us made to speak, nor did we attempt to rationalise our thoughts. It wasn’t needed. The only thing existing between us was our shared breaths and the lingering revelation that our night together was extremely special, not only for Luke but for me too. I was on the verge of telling him how I felt, but found my opportunity was missed when he slowly started to pull away from me, agonisingly so.
My mind seemed to think he was over by the door again, but when his trembling lips slightly brushed over mine like silk against honey, I limited my response to a dramatic wheeze. It was a sweet exchange and a short one at that, but it certainly didn’t lack in meaning. Even after he left my lips tingled and I knew, just like that, my mind was made up.
I was ready to take the risk.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Silence Is…Not So Golden
The silence was excruciating! Luke had said all but three words to me in the time it had taken for us to wake up and secure ourselves in his car. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the radio was broken.
Fan-fucking-tastic!
We had only just past Birmingham, meaning there was at least another three and a half hours to go, and I had needed a wee since pretty much joining the M6. Normally, I would’ve just said something, but I felt too scared to suggest stopping, fearful of pissing him off even further. It was obvious he regretted last night’s actions, but why he felt the need to take his foul mood out on me still remained a mystery. Sure, I kissed him back, but he started it. And if he’d only hear me out, he’d realise that whist I was the one who prohibited our relationship from exceeding friendship territory to begin with, I had since changed my mind.
“Do you need the toilet or anything?” he asked; voice strained from his lack of talking.
“I could do with going. Do you mind stopping?” I replied, planning on grabbing a packet of Starbursts from WHSmith with the hopes it perked him up a little.
“No, I don’t mind. The next service station is in two miles. We’ll stop there for a bit.”
Perfect.
~~~
It was a little after two when we arrived in Cumbria, and in the midst of autumn, the scenery couldn’t have been more gorgeous. Greens went on for miles as we passed by field after field. Never before in my life had I seen so much sheep. It was refreshing to be this close to Mother Nature and after suffering through the most awkward seven hours of my life, I was finally excited to be at our destination. We made it to the hotel in no time and my God, I was impressed. The place may very well have been posher than Buckingham Palace with its white pebbledash exterior and regal blue window shutters. Even the land was striking with its strategically placed flower beds and perfectly trimmed bushes. One was even in the shape of a sheep.
No joke!
“This looks nice,” I stated, to which Luke simply nodded.
We parked up and set about unloading our luggage, which mainly consisted of me watching as Luke manoeuvred my suitcase and his holdall from the boot, too useless to partake in any kind of help.
“Luke! You made it!” declared a young woman sporting a fashionable pixie cut and bright green eyes. “How long did it take you both to get up here?” she asked, shooting me a friendly smile.
“About seven hours. That was with a stop, though,” he replied, gifting the girl and her plus one his eyes.
“That’s not bad then. This is Mark, by the way, my other half. Mark, this is Luke, my main competition,” she laughed, certainly lightening the mood.
“Nice to meet you, mate.”
“Likewise, this is Maya, my…friend. Maya, this is Katlyn, another intern.” he introduced, rather painfully passing comment on the two of us being just friends.
“Oh, so you’re Maya. I feel like you’re a celebrity in our office. He never shuts up talking about you,” claimed Katlyn, unknowingly causing Luke to blush.
He shuffled from one foot to another and rather than acknowledging her comment, simply moved forwards to express our need to check-in. Well, at least it wasn’t just me he was being rude to.
“Ignore him; he’s been in a crap mood all morning,” I stated, quietly so he didn’t hear.
“Is he stressed about this weekend?” she questioned, with nothing but understanding towards the situation.
“Yeah, that among other things,” I admitted, figuring our current circumstance was probably factoring into it as well.
Katlyn offered my shoulder a friendly squeeze, and with a look that undeniably screamed sympathy, left Luke and me to check-in, with the promise of catching up with us later. Her welcoming smile and friendly nature had settled me down slightly. I made a mental note to cling to her tonight should Luke choose to remain a grumpy git for the entire evening. I understood he was under a lot of pressure, but that didn’t give him the right to act so childishly.
Bloody men!
~~~
Later on, in the privacy of my own room, I materialised from my luxurious bath and set about lotion-ing myself up with all the complimentary moisturisers the hotel had to offer. By the end of it, I smelled like a summer meadow (or at least that was what the bottle told me I smelled like) and felt as soft as a baby’s bottom. Unfortunately, the relaxing bubbles did very little in regards to settling my nerves, and with less than two hours to go before the event started, Luke was very much still in his own pissed off bubble.
Stubborn arse!
I refrained from knocking on his door to make sure he was alright, respecting that he may very well have wanted his own personal space. Apart from everything that was going on between us, I acknowledged that he was stressed about the weekend and what the outcome may have meant for him in the long run. It was unlikely, but he could’ve found himself on the receiving end of unemployment after tonight. That was bound to have an effect on him. So instead, I set about getting myself dolled up for this evening and did so rather slowly. I rather successfully positioned my hair into a neat bun with wisps of curls freefalling around my face to frame my cheeks. My make-up was left subtle for the most part, though I did add a little more rouge to my cheeks and slapped on a generous layer of lippy. Jewellery was not an option since the materials often used to make them tended to irritate my skin. Since I was a full-time waitress who relied on tips to pay my rent, I couldn’t afford the real stuff.
At least not for myself
“Maya, you ready?” asked Luke, accompanied by a gentle tap on my door.
A quick glance to t
he clock told me it had been almost two hours since I’d vacated the bath. Pretty much done, I couldn’t quite reach the back of my dress to zip it up, and needed assistance in doing so.
“Yeah, almost,” I replied, opening up for him. “I don’t suppose you could help me with my dress? I can’t manage the zip,” I asked, holding the red number up to my breasts for ample coverage.
“Yeah, sure,” he smiled, still distant with regards to mood.
He entered my room and closed the door behind him, setting about zipping me up as far as the element would allow. Once done and seemingly satisfied, he stepped back and admired my reflection through the full-length mirror; eyes alight with a burning fire. The dress clung to my hips in all the right ways. It flattened against my stomach before pooling to the floor, where two silver heels sat proudly on each foot. The waterfall effect of the skirt gave the overall number an added boost, and the centre slit certainly made me feel sexy. Being extremely flat chested, I always opted out for the leg option, seeing as they were my only two physical assets, and on this occasion, it didn’t let me down.
“You look-.” he awkwardly coughed. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, looking much the same in his own dashing suit.
Navy blue and sharper than a steak knife itself, he really did wear the outfit well. With his soft brown waves combed over to one side, he certainly gave the word handsome a run for its money.
“You do too,” I smiled, feeling nervous under his watchful eye. “Oh, I almost forgot,” I revealed, rummaging around in my suitcase for the small gift I brought along with me.
He curiously watched me from afar, saying nothing when I handed over the card and small package.
“I got you a little something for all the hard work you’ve been putting in lately,” I explained, suddenly blushing. “And I wanted to give it to you before tonight so you’d know I’m proud of you no matter what,” I added, staring into his ocean-blues.
So much of what he was feeling was portrayed in that one exchange, and had he not broken his gaze away to rip into the white envelope, I may well have jumped his bloody bones.
My Not So One Night Stand Page 9