“Well, the kids do make this tricky. But, I realised we’re not the only single parents who have gone through this. I was reading some parenting forums while I couldn’t sleep, and the general consensus online is that you don’t tell your kids about your dating life until you know it’s serious and long-term. You and I can’t figure out if we’re serious or long-term until we’ve dated like a normal couple, right? We just have to find a way to date without any of them knowing.”
I nod slowly. “Are you suggesting we sneak around?”
She meets my eyes and swallows hard. “Well, yes. But on top of that, I think, um, I need for us to get a hotel room.”
Do not get a hard-on. Do not get a hard-on.
“You know. I think I’ve got something better, at least a little more convenient. Think you can get away at lunchtime?”
TWENTY-NINE
DARCY
As we walk back to the apartment building, a small figure can be seen waiting for us on Nana’s deck. Archer. My chest stutters a little. I’m walking a good metre away from Leo, but my mind naturally wonders what I’d feel if that was Abigail standing there. We’d spend the day screaming at each other again.
Archer smiles and waves when we’re close, and I can see he’s got the card he made Leo in his hand. “Abby’s still asleep,” he says as I open the gate. He’s a little out of breath because he’s also jumping up and down, but I appreciate that this beautiful little guy wanted to calm my nerves.
“Thank you, lovely boy,” I say, placing my hand on his head to stop the jumping so I can kiss his cheek. “Good morning.”
“Morning, Mummy.” He starts jumping again and waves the paper card at Leo. “This is for you.”
Leo remains on the footpath as he reaches out to take Archer’s offering. “Wow. Is this us?” He points to the picture drawn on front.
Archer moves on to hopping. “Yeah. We have ice cream.”
“I can see that.” He opens the card and reads the over-sized writing. “Well, thanks. I’m glad you like the bunks, mate.”
Archer switches legs. “They’re so cool. I can’t wait to tell my friend Louis about them. He thinks he’s so great because he has a bed with a desk under it. Mine is so much better. Do you think he can come over and see it, Mummy?” He holds his hands together in prayer, finally standing still as he looks up at me, eyes big.
“I’ll check with Nana, but I can’t see why not.” I laugh.
“Who-hoo,” he yells, turning on his heel and running into the apartment.
“He has far too much energy for this time of the morning,” I say, shaking my head as I turn to Leo. Then my stomach does an excited little dance. This is really happening. “See you around one?”
His eyes darken as he inhales slowly and nods. “I’ll text you the address.”
I bite my lip to keep myself from smiling too much. “Can’t wait.”
He gives me this look that says he feels the same then makes his way to his deck. I watch him until he’s inside and we keep giving each other knowing smiles the whole time. It’s a bit silly, but I can’t bloody help it. I want him. Bad.
“Hello there.” I yelp and just about fall backwards when an elderly man appears in front me.
“Where did you come from?” I ask, pressing my hand to my chest to calm my heart.
“That way.” He smiles and points towards the beach. He’s quite pleasant looking as he stands in front of me, his hands behind his back. He kind of reminds me of that actor Christopher Plummer with white hair, a prominent nose, and eyes that look like they’re always smiling.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact you can. The name’s Arthur. I’m here to see Esme if she’s available.”
“Oh,” I say, wracking my brain to see if I remember a mention of an Arthur amongst Nana’s men. I come up blank, but that doesn’t mean a lot. Nana knows so many people. “How about you wait here and I’ll go see?” I gesture for the bench seat against the privacy screen.
“Thank you.” He gives a polite nod as he lowers himself onto the bench.
“Be right back.” I flash another grin and head inside. “Nana. You up?” I call out. I know she came home early this morning after spending the night with her other friend Bob, but she may still be sleeping.
“I’m right here, pet,” she sing-songs as she breezes into the living area looking fresh as a daisy. “I tell you, I feel like a girl again after last night. Nothing like a good org—” She stops dead in her tracks, her gaze landing on the figure sitting on the bench seat outside.
“Ah, you have a visitor,” I supply.
“I can see that.” She presses her lips together and runs a hand over her hair as if she’s nervous about her appearance. It’s funny, because I’ve never actually seen Nana do something like that. She’s normally so devil may care about this kind of thing. If I didn’t know her better, I might think that Arthur makes her nervous. “How long has he been here?”
“He just arrived. Should I send him away?”
She places a hand against her cheek. “No. It’s fine. I’ll, uh, talk to him.”
“Is everything OK?” I study her expression carefully. She’s definitely not afraid of this Arthur character, but I don’t think she really wants to talk to him either.
“It’s fine, dear. Really. Arthur, he…he wants more from me than I can give. And well, he’s being quite persistent.” She gives a little giggle.
“Do you need me to come with you?”
“Oh no. He’s no danger. He’s just…” She giggles a little. Giggles. “He’s rather charming.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Traditionally, no. But when I’m the butterfly and he’s the collector, I’ve a fear of being pinned down.”
“I see,” I say, the lightbulb turning on. “He wants to be exclusive.”
“Mmm.” She gives me a tight smile. “And as you know, three marriages were enough for me.” She moves towards the door. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, Nana.”
She opens and closes the sliding door, and I try not to watch her interaction with Arthur, but as I’m getting Archer ready for holiday club, I’m struggling to tear my gaze away. This is the first time I’ve seen Nana behave like a regular woman who gets nervous around the men she’s attracted to. It’s fascinating.
“What are we staring at?” Abby asks as she slips onto a stool on the opposite side of the island bench. Archer and I are both on the kitchen side of it trying to look busy while we spy.
“Nana has a new boyfriend,” Archer whispers, and I smile as I watch her eyebrows shoot up as she almost breaks her neck trying to get a good look at Arthur. It’s nice having this moment where things feel somewhat normal with her.
“Oh God. I hope we don’t have to see him naked too.” She makes a face as she turns back to us and starts pulling strawberries out of the open punnet on the benchtop.
“Me too,” I say, sealing Archer’s lunchbox since he doesn’t like the food they supply at the community centre. “Although, this one is better looking than the last one, don’t you think?”
She looks again and grimaces. “I can’t tell. Too many wrinkles.”
Archer giggles and I catch a rare smile from Abigail as she bites into her strawberry. This is so much nicer than the venom she was spitting last night.
“What are you doing today?” I ask her, keeping the conversation going while it’s pleasant.
She swallows. “Me, Gabby, and Steph were thinking of catching the train to Chadstone. The big Westfield is out there.”
“Shopping, huh? You got enough money?”
She nods. “I have the money Granma and Aunty Jo sent for Christmas, and I didn’t spend all my birthday money either.”
“You’re probably richer than me then,” I joke. “Just make sure your phone is charged in case something happens, OK?”
“Of course, Mum. I’m not twelve.” She’s bristles, so I’m backing off at this point and
calling this morning’s interaction a win. Small victories.
“OK. Well, you have fun with your friends,” I say, collecting Archer’s and my bag. “I’m going to walk Archer to the community centre then do a little shopping,” I say. Then I’m going to come home and have a long hot shower where I scrub and shave myself smooth in preparation of what’s to come.
Just before I leave, my phone buzzes in my pocket, letting me know I have a text alert. While Archer slips his backpack on, I sneak a look and find a picture of Leo waiting for me. No shirt, his running shorts riding low on his hips so I can see that secret little trail of hair that points to what I want so badly my insides ache from longing. The caption reads: This one is for looking. See you at 1. Followed by an address. I exit from the pic almost as fast as I see it, but it’s already committed to memory. I can’t stop smiling.
THIRTY
DARCY
“Your workshop is better than a hotel room?” I walk through the open roller door of ‘Murphy’s Carpentry’ and my butt cheeks prickle, imaging the splinters I could get from sitting on any surface in this place.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful workshop. Big rustic-looking workbenches and tools lined up perfectly along the wall. There are a few pieces of completed furniture set up for display, a sitting area where I imagine he takes lunch or chats with clients, (and possibly plans to fuck me) and he’s even made a beautiful cabinet to hold various samples of wood.
As far as workshops go, this is well organised and tidier than one would expect. However, when he said he had somewhere for us to go, I thought maybe he had a second house or could borrow a mate’s place or something. I wasn’t expecting to be on my hands and knees with the wood shavings. I’m going to smell like I’ve been rolling around in the scrub.
Leo sets the chisel he was working with to the side as he smiles my way. “There’s an apartment upstairs. Lunch too if you’re hungry.”
“Oh?” Now I’m all excited again. “Does anyone live there?”
“I did for a while after my split. I was still playing at the time, but I’ve always had this place for something to do in the off season. Sometimes it’s handy having a bed upstairs for somewhere to crash when I work late.”
“OK,” I say, taking a deep breath, because I'm nervous and think that maybe I’ve jumped too far too fast. I want to have sex with Leo. Badly. But now my hands are all clammy and I’m not even a little bit drunk, so I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be.
“Come here,” he says, eyes happy, mouth curved upward, strong hand held out to me. My heart flutters in my chest and my stomach twirls like a little girl in a dress. When I reach him, he gives my arm a gentle tug then wraps an arm around my waist, swaying gently from side to side. The motion puts me instantly at ease as I melt against him. How does a man I’ve known on and off for a month understand me better than the man I spent twenty years of my life with? The two men are very different people, and I’m glad. It’s the first time I really feel like I’m being romanced. Leo makes me feel like I’m worth the effort.
“Remember the first time we did this?” he asks, inhaling my scent as he nuzzles my neck.
“How could I forget? It was seriously the most romantic thing that’s ever happened to me.”
I feel his smile against my skin. “I wanted to kiss you so badly.”
“You should have. I wouldn’t have objected.”
Lifting his head, he meets my eyes and I feel like I’m falling into the murky green warmth they contain. “It wasn’t the right time.”
“Was the bathroom the right time?” I ask, smiling as I recall our crazy clash of teeth the day before.
“Probably not. But I think we can both agree that we’re terrible at waiting. We rushed into this at the very start.” Yet it felt so good. So…right. How could I ever be strong enough to say no to this. It’s perfection.
Sliding my hands up to his shoulders, I lace my fingers behind his neck, gently teasing the back of his hair with my fingertips. “Do you think we’re rushing into this now?”
“No,” he whispers. “I think we’ve finally found the right time.”
I smile up at him. “You know, I still haven’t taught you how to cook the perfect steak.”
“After this, I’ll take you out and buy you the perfect steak,” he whispers, just before his lips connect with mine, and suddenly I’m a puddle, melted at his feet.
“You know just what to say to win the ladies over.” I smile as he brushes his nose against mine and chuckles.
“It’s all about waiting until they’re craving—”
“Do not say a hot beef injection.” I push away slightly, covering my mouth as I burst out laughing.
Leo laughs and shakes his head. “There is no way I was going to say that. I was actually going to say that I had to wait until you were craving meat and tempt you with a steak dinner. But if we’re going to the gutter, a hot beef injection’s exactly what I’m going to give you.” He hits a button so the roller doors start sliding closed.
“Oh God, is it bad that I’m salivating over the thought of a steak dinner now?” I snort from laughter as I back away playfully. “Better watch out, mister, I might bite.”
“I hope so,” he says, opening a door to my right.
I go through without hesitation, finding a narrow set of stairs that leads to the second-floor studio apartment with a small kitchenette, a turquoise fridge, a handmade table with two chairs, and of course, a bed.
Gulp.
“It’s nothing spectacular. But it’s clean, and no one’s going to bother us up here. In fact, I don’t think anyone knows about it except me.”
Sucking a lungful of air through my nose, I lace my hands behind my back as I look around. “I’m nervous,” I admit.
He grins. “Really? I couldn’t tell from that whole beef injection conversation downstairs.”
I wince. “That was a little weird, wasn’t it?”
“I like your brand of weird. But if this is still too soon for you, we can slow things down, have lunch and talk. No pressure.”
I take in another breath and bite my bottom lip. Physically, I am more than ready. This man not only turns me on, but he’s revealing the deep-seated loneliness I’ve obviously overlooked until now. I heard Abby’s cries of anger and sadness—fear of me choosing Leo over her dad—but this moment is about me. Like Nana said, it’s time to be on my own side for a change. I’m not OK with only being Leo’s friend. I want more, the same way he wants more from me. This is about us. Our pleasure. Our happiness. And since we’re adults, I think we get to choose that. We can have our cake and eat it too.
“I really don’t want to wait, Leo,” I say, my voice breathy, breasts heaving. I want this. I’ve wanted him to touch me from the moment I laid eyes on him. And ever since our first time together, I’ve dreamt of little else but his hands on my skin. I crave him. “I want this.”
“OK then.”
He moves towards me and catches me in his arms again, hands on either side of my face as he brings his mouth to mine and we kiss, slow and long. His tongue is minty fresh as it glides along mine, telling me he brushed his teeth before I got here. Strangely, it’s that small consideration that has me swooning, wrapping my arms around him, deepening the kiss.
He hums his pleasure, fingers finding the zipper in the back of my dress and sliding it down my back until the bodice feels loose around my body and he’s pushing it from my shoulders, fabric floating down and pooling at my feet.
“You smell so good,” he says, tongue on my pulse point a moment before he sucks on my skin, hands flattening against my back and pulling me against him. I inhale.
“So do you.” And he does. He smells as you’d expect, like the wood he works with, a subtle spice of cologne, and those pheromones that make women do silly things like sneak away to a workshop in the middle of the day under the guise of running errands. “Take off your shirt.”
I help him with his buttons, both sets of han
ds rushing to find bare skin. I gasp at the contact, my hands running over his muscles as his warmth presses against mine, and our mouths are once again connected. And we’re walking, kissing, touching, making our way to the bed. His fingers work open the clasp of my bra just as the backs of my legs touch the foot of the bed, and he grins, eyes darkening as he peels the silk and lace away, dropping it to the floor.
“You are an exquisite woman, Darcy.”
I want to laugh, because I don’t feel exquisite. But I believe he truly thinks I am, and that’s a very sobering thought. This man. This stunning man, thinks that I, Darcy Field, am an exquisite human being. I release a giggle as he pushes me so I’m falling back on the bed, landing with a bounce in the soft clean-smelling bedding. Then he slides over the top of me, bracing his weight on either side as his mouth and tongue leave magical kisses across my stomach.
“I have plans for you,” he says, taking my right nipple into his mouth and teasing it with his tongue.
“Are you talking to me or my breast?” I ask with a gasp and a smile, my fingers sliding into his thick hair.
“Both.” He blows cool air on my wet nipple, causing a tight, hard peak to form.
I giggle again as he moves to the other side and does the same, his free hand moving down my side, taking a handful of flesh as he presses his fingers possessively into my thigh.
“Oh God. I like that.”
“This?” He does it again, his strong grip pulling my thigh so I’m physically wrapped around him and our pelvises are pressed together.
“Yes. I love the possessiveness of it.” I also love that I feel comfortable enough to tell him that. I never would have done that with he-who-shall-not-be-named-while-my-legs-are-wrapped-around-my-new-lover. I’d have feared being mocked or teased. With Leo, I don’t have that fear. I don’t think he’d ever make me feel less than.
“I want to possess you, Darcy.” He speaks in a low whisper and runs his mouth, nipping and sucking, from the centre of my breasts to the base of my ear. “All of you.”
Love is a Beach: a romantic comedy Page 20
