Page 74 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘Don’t apologise. I’ve never felt like this before either. It’s taken me by surprise but I’ve never been more sure of how I feel.’
Patsy reached up and touched his cheek.
‘Matt, I know you rescued me that night and I will be forever grateful for but I don’t need you to do that anymore.’
He mirrored her, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb before leaning towards her. ‘I know, Patsy. You astound me more and more every day that I know you. You never needed rescuing, you needed the confidence to know that you could rescue yourself and that’s what you’ve done.’
Finally, the kiss she’d been dreaming of for hours was hers. It was more than she had imagined. It was as if she could feel his soul in that kiss. Her heart was blossoming, reaching towards him, with everything she had wanting to be close to him, be at one with him.
They parted, looking into each other’s eyes to wordlessly consent to what was inevitably going to happen next. Matt stood up and led Patsy over to the window where they climbed through, one after the other. They stood in front of each other, eyes locked. Matt gently turned her around and began, ever so slowly, to unzip her dress. It was sweet torture, he did it so slowly but she was aware of every single time his finger and thumb touched the skin on her back as if tiny electric shocks were passing between them. He gently lifted the dress from her shoulders and lowered it so that she could step out of it. It was a gesture which she loved, the respect he had for her second favourite dress was so much sexier than if he’d flung it carelessly aside in the throes of passion.
Stood before him in her best sage-green lacy underwear, Patsy, just as slowly, unbuttoned his shirt. Their eyes were again, locked on each other, both of them revelling in this unspoken agreement to tantalise each other as if there were no rush at all. He gasped as her fingers pushed into the space between his stomach and the button on his jeans so that he could undo them and he ran his fingers slowly down her spine while she unzipped his jeans and began pushing them over his hips, moving ever closer to him so that there was barely anything between them.
She pulled his shirt off and he stepped out of his jeans. Now, both in their underwear, she smiled at him and undid her bra herself, letting it fall to the floor. They moved together again, Matt grazing his lips against hers, with the lightest of touches that instantly drove her to want more. But he pulled away with a smile when she tried to go in harder and instead teased his finger into the waistband of her underwear, moving it from side to side as he watched her, desperate, on the verge of bursting as he forced her to wait for what was to come. Ever playful, she began to lightly run her fingers across the fabric of his underwear, knowing now that he was feeling just the same way as her. He broke first, lifting her up by her thighs and kissing her as she’d never been kissed, before he laid her down on the bed because neither of them could bear the sweet agony of waiting any longer.
Waking up next to Matt was wonderful. Patsy didn’t think anything could top last night, but seeing him there before he woke, his eyelashes spread on his cheeks, his hair all over the place, even the small snoring noises he was making filled her heart with more joy than she would have thought possible.
She lay watching him, loving being able to see his body in daylight for the first time as the sun shone onto the bed, illuminating them both as if there was an after-glow from the amazing sex they’d had. His chest was covered in golden hair and she could see well-defined muscles in his shoulders and arms as he lay on his back, one arm lying above his head, with a sheet only just covering his bottom half.
He stirred enough to notice that the sun was up and gradually came to while Patsy watched him.
‘Morning,’ she said, lying on her side with her head propped on her hand.
He smiled. ‘Not a dream, then.’
‘That’s so cheesy.’
He turned to face her and reached his arm around her waist, encouraging her to move towards him. ‘There’s nothing cheesy about it. You feel the same way, I can tell by your face.’
She grinned because he was absolutely right. ‘I do. I’m not used to being romanced, that’s all.’
‘That amazes me.’ He leant towards her and kissed her gently.
‘I’m not used to romancing either,’ she said, between kisses.
‘I think you’re doing alright on that score,’ said Matt before he pulled her on top of him, starting the day as perfectly as the last one had ended.
31
PATSY’S KNIT AND Natter friends were the first to arrive on the night of the launch party. Everything was ready and she was relieved to see some friendly faces.
‘Come on in guys.’ Patsy led Mary and Penny into the foyer as Carol and Sue followed.
‘My goodness, this is marvellous!’ Mary placed a hand on her chest, her eyes sparkling as she took in the cloakroom where one of the bar staff had been bribed to dress as a Flapper girl and had even managed to get Marcel waves in her hair. The ticket booth was manned by Jack who Patsy had persuaded to slick back his hair and dress like Gene Kelly while he handed out tickets to the guests as they arrived. The tickets were really programmes for the evening along with the menu choices in the form of an oversized cinema ticket for Where Love Lingers, the film that Ed had chosen. It was a 1950s black and white film set in the 1920s which fitted with their theme for the launch perfectly.
‘You can have a complimentary drink,’ said Patsy. ‘Would you like one here or in the Backstage bar?’
‘Oh, I think the backstage bar sounds wonderful,’ said Penny, looking round at the others, who nodded in agreement.
Patsy led them through the stalls where the furniture had been arranged so that the guests could dine and then stay seated to watch the film. As they reached the door to the backstage area, Patsy paused in the doorway so that they could go in first. ‘Welcome to Backstage at Croftwood Cinema.’
‘Oh my. It’s perfect. Look at the film up there, Penny! And the champagne fountain, all ready to go. I’ve never seen one in real life before.’
The champagne fountain had been Matt’s idea and although it had taken ages, not to mention a steady hand to assemble it, Patsy had to admit that it looked amazing and was a fabulous centrepiece for the bar.
More guests began to arrive and once everyone started chatting, Patsy slipped away to check on the food and to make sure the champagne was out of the fridge and ready to go down to the backstage bar for the fountain. There was no-one she could ask to carry it down there, everyone in the kitchen was busy and although she had bar and waiting staff they were all out serving drinks and prepping for the food service. Never mind, it’d only be a couple of trips for her to take it herself.
Patsy put a couple of bottles under her arm and took one more in each hand and headed through the kitchen to the backstage bar. She gave the barman, Simon, a grateful smile and seeing that he was snowed under with making drinks, offered to serve the couple of guests that were waiting.
