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“No, I’m not. I can be petulant and, and…” She gave up and sighed. “You’re right. Sorry. I’ve gotten used to you.”
Her downcast face needed to be reminded of what was in her hands.
“Let’s go and enjoy ourselves, shall we?” He took the tickets from her and waved them about her face. Immediately, the smile of excitement returned.
The concert at the Empire Theatre proved to be the perfect pick-me-up for Leah even if the circle seats were high up in the gods. The Beatles hadn’t performed in Liverpool for over a year and Rick had to pay a small fortune to buy the tickets. It was worth it, as with each song, she gradually forgot his imminent departure.
The music had first had been barely audible over the screaming fans. The Beatles were tiny tots on a distant stage and the sound system could not cope with the almost hysterical crowds. Rick hadn’t been a huge fan of the group. They seemed to appeal to the girls and their early style had not interested his musical tastes. He preferred the Rolling Stones. This concert showed a different side to the Beatles; they were evolving and showing their talents to be versatile and adaptive.
Next to him, Leah danced and waved her arms about to ‘Help!’, swayed to ‘Yesterday,’ and clapped to ‘Day Tripper’, a childish display of enthusiasm while singing at the top of her voice until nearly hoarse. She was lost in her own world and he was happy for her.
The decision to leave had not been an easy one, but he knew it was the right thing to do. She was bound to meet some eligible student at university and forget her driver. Listening to the music, he didn’t doubt she would change and mature, just like bands with staying power; she would find new and better ways to deal with life, she would grow into a fine woman. Her father had changed his mind too based on Rick’s gentle words of persuasion—Leah was to have greater freedoms now that she had left home.
The attraction remained. Unavoidable and almost unbearable. Keeping his hands off her had become increasingly hard over the weeks. He no longer had a need to spank her; those desires had been pushed aside by more pressing ones and he had to leave or risk destroying their friendship and his career. He wasn’t right for her.
After the concert, walking to the car parked off London Road, the hum of loud music stuck in his ears. Rick kept his hands in his pockets, resisting the temptation to take her hand in his. When they reached the car, recollections of the conversation prior to the concert brought back an uncomfortable silence. She made no further attempts to talk him out of his decision. As he drove home, she stared forlornly out of the window.
He opened the car door for her as he always did and she slipped out, clutching her handbag to her side. Holding onto the door, he looked down to see her puckered lips: a sweet offering of torment.
“Leah, please,” he said, pained.
“Just once, Rick,” she pleaded.
* * *
Her legs felt like jelly climbing out of the car seat. All the excitement of the evening had hit her in one swoop during the journey home. A strange exhaustion filled her, leaving her teetering on an emotional edge, and at the same time, she was starting to accept the situation. She wanted only one thing from him and that was a memory, not of his hands heating her bottom, but of his firm mouth and lips.
She pleaded with her eyes, holding up her face to his, which was cast in the shadows. To her delight, he succumbed and lowered his lips onto her own. She’d had expectations of her first kiss with Rick, but they were surpassed by the simplest of discoveries. She had anticipated a drooling wetness, the slithering dip of an eager tongue, and his lips slamming down onto her mouth aggressively, just like so many of the young men she had let kiss her. Instead, Rick’s lips were soft, moist, and tasted delicious, and he placed them on her with finesse, parting her own lips and applying the tiniest amount of pressure. She melted under his touch and wished he would not let her go, but he did. Neither a peck nor a long drawn-out kiss, it was a simple message of forbidden desire.
“I won’t forget what you’ve done for me, over the last months,” said Leah earnestly.
“Yes, you will. You’ll meet somebody…”
“No, just you,” she said adamantly. “You feel it too, I know you do.”
Rick’s eyes shut briefly and he gave the tiniest shake of his head, as if unwanted thoughts had to be tossed out of his mind. “I can’t give you what you need, regardless of how I feel,” he said in a strained voice.
Leah knew deep down he was right. Her father would never permit such a liaison, and her mother would see it as beneath her daughter’s status. Bound to her impending inheritance, Leah remained trapped in a life shaped by others, not herself.
She recovered her composure. “Then I
will hope you come back for me.”
“Don’t live your life waiting for me, Miss Leah,” said Rick, reverting to formal address.
The passenger door shut with a loud clunk and he opened the driver’s door. “I have to leave this behind,” he said. “Shame. I’ve good memories held in this car.”
“Take them with you,” said Leah. “Please, don’t leave them behind.” A tear trickled down her cheek and he brushed it away with a thumb and a rueful smile.
“Good-bye and good luck,” said Rick, climbing back into the driver’s seat.
“You too.” She struggled to say the words.
The car sped away and he did not look back.
Chapter Three
Tearing open the envelope, Leah stared at the letter and let out a loud expletive. It echoed around the hallway, off the oak flooring and the stained-glass portal of the front door. As her voice died away, she crumpled the officious document up in her hand.
