Page 14 of It Started with a Kiss
I remained completely focussed on Mr McYummy as the song came to a close. A shiver travelled down my spine as I let my assessing gaze trail the full length of his toned body. The aggression he had exuded last time had gone, and although the gravel in his voice had still been present, the arrogance had been replaced by a melancholy desolation. But regardless of his demeanour, hestillowned that stage. I felt the urge to approach him but had no clue what I’d say. ‘You were great’, ‘Wow, what a voice’, ‘You rock’. All far too lame and underwhelming considering the reaction he drew from the crowd.
I watched with concern as he walked, head down, over to a side table, and sat. His gaze remained fixed on the floor as applause and cheers continued to ring around the room. He appeared somehow oblivious, detached even; though it was clear the crowd had the same opinion as I did about his talent. I couldn’t be sure if he was disbelieving of the reaction he had elicited, or if he was simply disinterested.
Alec leaned in so his mouth hovered by my ear. ‘Go on. You know you want to go talk to him.’
I met Alec’s wide eyedyou-know-I’m-rightstare and swallowed hard. ‘What if he tells me to piss off? He looks so...sad.’
Alec shrugged. ‘You’ve nothing to lose, Twinkle.’
He was right. I either pulled up my big girl panties and bit the proverbial bullet, or I would forever wonder ‘What if?’ And who knows how long it would be until I had this opportunity again. Or if the chance would arise at all.
Taking a deep, calming breath, I walked through the throngs of people dancing and waving their arms as the next performer belted out whatever the hell the song was supposed to be. It was out of key and sounded akin to nails down a chalkboard, so I tried my best to block it out of my mind and focus on the handsome blonde Adonis ahead of me.
When I arrived beside him, I was a nervous wreck. I had the whole sweating palms and thudding heart thing going on. I leaned in so he could hear me over the noise. ‘Um... hi there. No coffee tonight, huh?’Sheesh, Star. That really was dumb.
He tilted his chin up to meet my gaze but his eyes were blank. ‘Sorry, do I know you?’
Oh, shit.Smiling, I shook my head. ‘No, not really. I used to serve you coffee every morning is all. But you stopped calling in.’ I shrugged.
Acknowledgement spread across his handsome features. ‘Oh, yeah. Pink hair. Crazy dancing. I remember.’ His smile lit up his whole face and my heart melted.
Summoning up more courage, I leaned in again. ‘So, where’d you go?’
His brow furrowed. ‘Sorry?’
‘For your honeymoon. Last I saw you, you were about to be married. Where’d you go for your honeymoon?’
He cringed and picked at the label on his beer bottle. ‘Ah. There... um... there was no wedding, and ergo, no honeymoon.’
Oh, God. Hey, mouth, allow me to introduce you to my foot.‘Oh, shit. I’m so sorry.’
He waved his large hand around. ‘Nah. It’s fine.’ The gesture caused the bottle contents to splash all over my top, and a look of horror spread across his face as he leapt to his feet. ‘Oh, God! I’m sorry!’ He reached out, and dragged his hand down the wet patch on my breast. His startled gaze lifted to mine and he pulled his lips in briefly before uttering, ‘Oh, bollocks. That... that was an accident. I didn’t mean to grope you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.’
I stood stock still, just staring at him with my mouth open. I must have gone beet red, but thankfully, the club lights would have hidden the fact. Or at least Ihopedthey had. Suddenly he burst into fits of laughter. His whole body shook and he bent double. I couldn’t help it. I joined in. His laugh was so deep, sexy, and kind of infectious. We stood there howling with laughter and getting some rather strange looks from the other patrons.
Once we had calmed down, he peered down to where I stood before him, still smiling. ‘Jeez. I haven’t laughed like that in too bloody long. Thank you.’ He chewed on his lip for a moment, and I got the impression he had more to say, so I stayed silent. My instincts were correct, and he took a deep breath as he straightened his back. ‘Look, do you fancy getting out of here?’
Tilting my head to one side, I narrowed my eyes. ‘What did you have in mind?’And don’t think I’ll be having sex with you, if that’s what you’re thinking.
He shrugged. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we could go somewhere a little quieter? My head’s pounding.’ How the hell did he make a headache sound sexy? Okay, so the Scottish accent helped...
I scrunched my brow in a moment’s contemplation, my head telling me not to go because he was, to all intents and purposes, a complete stranger, but my heart was saying,but he’s so sweet and he’s sad. He needs a friend.
Clearly, the heart was in charge at that precise moment as the words, ‘Sure. Why not?’ fell from my lips before I could let my head intervene further. I gestured towards Alec’s location. ‘Just let me go and tell my roommate where I’m going. Um,whereexactly should I tell him I’m going?’
He thumbed towards the exit. ‘There’s a small bar a few doors down. I think it’s called the Jekyll and Hyde bar.’
Very apt.
I nodded. ‘Oh, yeah. I know it. Cool place. Okay. Back in two minutes.’
I turned and fought through the crowd once again to where Alec and the rest of my friends stood. I mulled over the irony of the bar’s name and the apparent split personality of the guy I was going there with. He certainly had two sides to him that I’d seen. It would be interesting to find out more.
Alec raised his eyebrows at me as I made my way across to him. ‘Any luck?’
I couldn’t help the smile on my face. ‘He’s asked me to go for a drink at the Jekyll and Hyde. Says it’s quieter there.’
He folded his arms defiantly across his chest. ‘Oh, yeah. Does he think you’re just going to jump into bed with him?’
