Page 10 of Heart of The Night

When one door closes, another opens.

A chill rippled down my spine. I had never been one for superstition, but that was nothing short of uncanny. What the hell? All I could think of was my ended friendship with Aaron and my new start with William.

‘What’s it say?’ William asked.

‘It says, “William always thinks he’s the boss”.’

He snatched the slip of paper from my hand. ‘Don’t lie. It clearly says, “William is the best match for Cara ever”.’

I giggled. ‘I guess I need glasses.’

‘Obviously.’

‘What about yours?’

Snapping his apart, he pulled out the paper and read it silently. Then, after leisurely devouring the whole biscuit – probably to taunt me – he met my impatient glare and gave a smile.

‘Says, “Look around. Happiness is trying to catch you”.’ His gaze turned sharp, burrowing into mine. ‘I’m looking, all right.’ He gave me a playful wink.

Heat mounted in my cheeks. I crossed my arms and rocked back and forth on my heels, nervous.

‘Think Cupid’s lurking around somewhere, messing with our fortune cookies?’ I asked.

William’s eyes were smouldering with desire, the hues of blue shifting like smoke under glass. ‘Hard to say.’ He smiled faintly. ‘His arrow struck me some months ago. He might be following up on his work, though.’

I gaped, staring stupidly at him.

He threw his arm around my neck and brought me against him, the warmth of his body spreading across my own. The intoxicating scent of him flooded my nose, leaving me lightheaded. This man – I was powerless to resist him. Feeling too shy to look at him, I wrapped my arms around his strong frame and buried my face in his chest. It shook, and I knew he was laughing at me. Again.

He dropped a chaste kiss on my head and gently peeled me off him. A playful look dwelled in his features. ‘Our date’s not finished yet. We’ve got a reservation in less than half an hour.’

He clasped my hand and dragged me down the street, guiding the way for some ten to fifteen minutes till we reached a place called Swingers on John Prince’s Street. As I read the sign, I saw that it was minigolf.

‘Oh my God!’ I exclaimed excitedly.

‘I should warn you,’ William said smugly, ‘I’m a mean swing.’ The sexual insinuation dripped from his tone.

I knew full well what a mean swing he was. Over my shoulder, I gazed at him with a libidinous glint in my eyes. ‘Good at putting it in the hole, are you? Try me.’

He bit his bottom lip, grinning. ‘Cheeky.’

§ § §

We were on the seventh hole of Helter Skelter when William returned from the bar with two cocktails – one mojito and one martini.

‘How many tries?’ he asked when he saw I had finally managed to send the ball into the hole.

‘Like twenty.’

A humoured look crossed his face as he lifted the sheet of paper keeping our score.

‘We’ll say ten, then.’ He wrote down the number.

‘These courses are impossible.’ I wanted to sound annoyed, but I started laughing instead. I felt so comically useless. What was going on with my coordination? Or lack thereof… I had always been the best athlete among the girls at school, but today’s performance did not serve as evidence.

William chuckled and took a sip from the martini. ‘Wait till you see the next one.’

Upon that note, he handed me the mojito and guided the way to the eighth hole.

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