AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Oh, I see.’
‘You’re a good reader,’ I said.
She laughed. ‘I wish. I’ve got to do a presentation for a job interview. That charity job I told you about. I’m dreading it.’
I took a mouthful of my beer. One of the bar staff delivered a delicious-looking steak frites to the couple on the sofa and I wished I could suggest staying for dinner but couldn’t face the will it/won’t it go through credit card drama.
‘I can help you with your presentation if you like,’ I said. ‘Return the favour.’
She put her head in her hands, groaning. ‘I don’t think I could do it in front of you.’
I tutted softly. ‘Why not? I bet it’s brilliant, anyway. You know your stuff, don’t you?’
Her hands were still over her eyes and I reached out to pull them gently away. She let them fall to her lap and we sat there looking at each other for what felt like ages, smiling like idiots. It suddenly felt very warm in the bar. I needed to take my hoodie off, but I didn’t want to break the moment, even though I wasn’t entirely sure what the moment was about.
The rain had slowed to a gentle shower and I could just about make out the sound of raindrops pinging off the window ledge. In the background were the muted sounds of a busy bar: the chiming of glasses, soft bursts of laughter, the bell to indicate something was ready in the kitchen. And I didn’t know why, but because of all of that, it felt right to kiss Rebecca. I reached out and rubbed my thumb across her cheek. She leaned into me so that the tips of our noses brushed together. I could feel her breath on my face, her knee pressing against mine. And then suddenly I was kissing her, softly at first. When I closed my eyes and stopped overthinking things, it felt nice. More than nice. Perfect. I cupped the back of her head in my hands and kissed her harder. A cool breeze blew in through the window and licked my cheek and ruffled her hair.
She pulled back.
‘What are we doing?’ she whispered.
‘I don’t know,’ I said, not wanting to stop.
She sat back in her seat and I did the same, all sorts of emotions rushing through me. It seemed like a bad idea, but it had felt like a good one.
‘Sorry,’ I said.
She tidied her hair, pulling at her ponytail. ‘It’s fine. I wasn’t exactly complaining, was I?’
‘Not exactly,’ I replied.
We both laughed. Good, we could see the funny side. No damage had been done. We’d just carry on as we had been before. Neighbours. Lift repairman. Scene partner. We were lots of things to each other, but just not that.
‘The rain’s easing up,’ she said, looking out of the window. ‘Shall we head off?’
‘Yep, good idea,’ I agreed, getting casually to my feet, trying to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I strode off ahead, out of the pub, as though I was on some sort of cross-country hike. ‘We’ll be home in five minutes!’
