by Cherry Kay
“You want to have a go?” Finn asked her.
“I think I need to sit still for a while,” she laughed. “You might fall off and land on your ass again and this time I'm not sure I'd be able to stop laughing long enough to pick you up.”
“You know I didn't really fall down.” He sipped his chocolate.
“No?”
“No, I was just trying to cheer you up. Give you something to remember.”
“Oh, I won't forget today in a hurry.”
“No?” Finn's face was serious now.
“It's been amazing, Finn. Honestly. I've loved every minute.
Finn smiled again. “I'm glad.”
“I should be getting back to the hotel though,” she said.
“But it's dinner time. Come and eat with me. I'll cook.”
“Seriously? Well okay, but please tell me your cooking is better than your skating.”
“Only just, but I'll try not to poison you.”
“What are we having?” she asked as they rose from the table.
“It's a surprise.”
They got to the road and Finn hailed a black cab and they headed back to his pub.
5
Finn lied. His cooking was a hundred times better than his skating. They finished their meal by candlelight at the dining table in the kitchen.
“I'll wash up,” Marsha said. “It's the least I could do.”
“Not at all. You're my guest. Here.” He poured her another glass of wine. “Take it through to the living room while I wash up and I'll come and join you.”
“You sure? I mean you've treated me and spoiled me all day. I'll never be able to return the favor.”
“I never expected you to. All I wanted was for you to spend Christmas here, like you originally planned.”
“Thank you, Finn. You've really made today special. I would have been on a plane to New York, crying my eyes out if it hadn't been for you.”
He said nothing but smiled to her.
Marsha took her glass and went to the living room. Outside, the traffic went by and people walked quickly against the cold. A few stopped at the pub and she could just hear the music from below working its way up through the floorboards.
She put on the television to watch nothing in particular, but curled her feet beside her on the sofa and sipped from the large wine glass. Her cheeks felt tingly and she had warmed up considerably since coming back to Finn's pub.
The woman on the news was giving the weather forecast, they predicted snow for Christmas day in and around the London area and Marsha thought it was just cold enough for the forecast to be right. How long after Christmas day she would stay, she could not say.
From the kitchen she could hear Finn singing. The television began to blur and the sound floated away to a distant corner of her mind. She put down her wine glass, leaned her head on a cushion and drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up she found she'd been covered by a woolen blanket, the television was off and the side lamp had been turned off too. Finn wasn't singing anymore and the street lights from the window was all she had to see by. The room looked smaller to her. She sat up, stretched and yawned and wondered what the time might be.
Her purse was on the floor next to the armchair beside her. She found her cell and checked the time. Nine forty-five. She had slept for twenty minutes but was still tired. She noticed that there had been several texts and missed calls from Jonathan as well as a couple from Jodie, but she didn't put her cell back on because she didn't want to be bothered by Jonathan.
After putting on her shoes and gathering everything together she ventured down to the pub below. As she came down the stairs she could hear that it was busy and lively. She entered the pub by the back of the bar and saw Janey serving.
“Hiya!” Janey greeted her and smiled, her very white teeth gleamed through the brilliant red of her lipstick.
“Did you have a good day?”
“It was wonderful, thank you,” Marsha said. “But where's Finn?”
“Oh, he's over there.”
Marsha looked and saw Finn with his arm around the shoulders of a girl with very long, dark hair that had a gentle wave to it. Her eyes were large and green and her lips had a natural pout to them. She wore an emerald green top with a splash of crystal beads across one shoulder and her black jeans were tight fitting. She patted Finn's thigh as he joked with the group of people around him.
Slowly, Marsha lifted the hatch and immediately Finn waved to her.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” he called as she approached them. “Nice sleep?”
“I think I need some more. I'm still on New York time. I should get back to the hotel.”
Finn stood up and walked towards her. The group of people he was with were smiling at her and she raised her hand to give them a brief wave while lingering on the girl with long dark hair.
“You sure you have to go already?” Finn asked.
“I think I might drop off at any second. Could you call a taxi for me?”
“Of course.”
Finn went back behind the bar to use the phone.
“You must be Marsha,” the girl with the long dark hair said. She patted the vacant seat next to her and Marsha sat beside her. Her accent was just like Finn's, she noticed.
“Yes, I'm Marsha.” She looked around at the group of seven people who all had drinks and the low table they sat around was covered with an array of bar snacks.
“I'm Lorraine,” the girl said. “Will you be here tomorrow night, Marsha?”
“Um, I don't have any plans.” Marsha said and saw Finn coming back to the table.
“Well then,” said the girl. “We're having a bit of a shindig and you're very welcome.”
“What's my sister getting you to do?” Finn asked as he stood beside the group.
“I told Marsha to come tomorrow night,” the dark haired girl said.
“Absolutely,” said Finn. “My sister and her band will be performing here tomorrow night, Marsha. I don't usually have live music here but as it's Christmas and my sister is in town. I hardly ever see her or her band playing so I thought, why not. You'll come won't you?”
“Of course she'll come,” Lorraine chipped in. “And Finn go get Marsha a glass so she can have some of this whiskey.”
“I couldn't,” Marsha said, but Finn had a glass on the table in front of her and Lorraine was pouring before she could put up a case. What reason did she have to refuse?
“Your cab will be here in twenty minutes, so you've time,” Finn said and held the glass in front of her.
Twenty minutes seemed a lot longer in Marsha's estimation and when Finn walked her to the waiting taxi cab she was decidedly drunk.
“What about breakfast?” Finn asked as he leaned into the back seat through the open taxi door.
“I think I need a day to myself,” Marsha insisted. “Maybe some Christmas shopping and I must call my friend, Jodie. She'll be worried that I haven't been whisked away to Ireland, never to be seen again.”
“Well fine but I'm missing you already, Marsha. You were great company today.”
“And so were you. I don't know how I'll ever thank you.”
“Well just promise me you'll be here tomorrow and that we can discuss plans for Christmas day.”
“Can we just deal with Christmas Eve first? My head is buzzing from that whiskey.” She rubbed her brow.
“As long as you don't fly off home and forget all about me,” he said.
“No, I said I'd stay until Christmas Day and I will.”
“I really wish you could stay and have another drink with us.”
“Me too, but I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
The taxi driver coughed, loudly.
“All right, best let you go,” Finn winked at her. “The gig starts at seven thirty tomorrow night so I'll see you then.”
“You will.”
Finn closed the door and the driver put his foot on the accelerator.
She l
ooked out of the back window as the taxi took off and Finn waved until she was out of sight.
6
Back in her room she slipped off her shoes and let the bed accept her weight as she fell backwards onto it, arms stretched out. Before falling asleep she should call Jodie, she thought.
“Thank God,” Jodie said. “I was about to file a missing person's report.”
“It hasn't been forty eight hours.”
“So, you're alive, and you had your cell turned off...does that mean...?”
“It means I had a wonderful day. Finn took me everywhere. I saw all of London from the London Eye and I went skating outdoors by fairy lights.”
“Really? Who is this Finn guy? Jonathan would never do all that.”
“Well, he's the reason I had my phone off. I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier but the day was pretty jam packed. I ended up falling asleep in Finn's flat.”
“Wow, that's fast work.”
“No, it's not like that. Finn is sweet, charming. He's a gentleman.”
“But he has to be into you, right? Otherwise why devote a whole day showing you all the sights.”
“I get the feeling he might be, but I'm only here a few days and I have to get over Jonathan. I can't move on that quickly.”
“You could if you found the right guy, which Jonathan obviously isn't.”
“It's not that easy for me to just turn my feelings on and off.”
“You mean you still like Jonathan?”
“I can't deny there's something there. I hate him right now but I thought I was in love with him up until yesterday. So maybe I still am.”
“Well you need to sort your head out, girl.”
“I know but it's hard to do when you're as drunk as I am.”
“You been partying too?”
“I had drinks with Finn's sister, Lorraine, and some of their friends... wait, there was a knock on the door. I didn't order room service.” She looked at the door and the gentle knock sounded again.
“I should go, Jodie. I have a feeling it might be Finn.”
“Well don't let me stand in the way of your Christmas romance. Just report back straight away.”
“I will. Bye.”
Marsha looked through the peep hole of her hotel room door. Whoever it was wasn't standing in view.
“Who is it?” She was a little shaky on her feet from the alcohol.
“Me?” said a male voice that she recognized and so opened the door.
“Jonathan!” she exclaimed.
“Well who did you think it would be?”
“I thought it was my friend.”
Jonathan walked past her without invitation but she did not protest.
“What friend? You mean that man you were out with earlier today?”
She decided to ignore that question. “Anyway, how did you find me and how did you get past reception?”
“You know I have ways of getting what I want, Marsha.”
“Only too well. But I'd like you to go now.”
“Really? You really want me to go?” Jonathan leaned across her as she stood with the door still open and pushed it closed. He leaned his face towards her and tried to kiss her lips but she turned her head to the side and he brushed her cheeks with his lips.
“Jonathan it's late and I'm tired I really don't want to talk to you now.”
“But you've been avoiding my calls,” he said getting closer still so that her back was against the door.
She dodged away from him and walked towards the bed. She was uneasy on her feet and decided to sit on the edge of the bed. Jonathan sat beside her and held her face up to his so she had no choice but to look at him.
“Marsha, I didn't mean to hurt you,” he said. “I should have told you about Emma and how things were with us so you didn't find out like this. She's only at my house because of financial reasons. I couldn't kick her out, I didn't think it was fair.”
“What are you talking about?” She moved his hand from her face.
“Marsha you know as well as I do that when we first got together, it was all about the sex. I never asked who you were seeing and you didn't ask me either. But, admittedly, I was with Emma at the start. But things were coming to an end with her about the time you and I got serious. I couldn't say anything about her because I was afraid you wouldn't understand. Long distance relationships are complicated, you said so yourself.”
“I did?”
“Yes. So I tried to just end things with her so you and I could move on. But she got clingy, she cried, she said I couldn't just kick her out. She's not working just yet and I guess I felt sorry for her. So we co-exist in that house, but that's all. We haven't slept together in months. And anyway, Emma has met someone and she promises to move out now.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. I mean she's moving on and that's all I want to do...with you.”
He kissed Marsha full on the lips. A wave of familiarity of his touch thrilled her and she did not stop him. If he was telling the truth, then maybe this was not a wasted journey, after all. Maybe it was the kick that Jonathan needed to finally get things on track with her. She admitted to herself that she was falling in love with him, and everything he'd said made perfect sense to her.
She allowed herself to be lifted onto the bed so her head was on the pillow. Jonathan smiled down at her as he took off his coat. He sat beside her and unfastened the button on her jeans and slid them off past her hips and away from her, throwing them onto the floor beside the bed. He stood and stripped off his clothes and in no time was removing her sweater and t-shirt and lying on top of her, kissing her passionately and unfastening her bra. He kissed her hardening nipples and she stroked the hair at the back of his head.
He hooked his fingers into her panties and gently pulled them down her legs and off her body. He was above her now, face to face, smiling at her and adjusting her legs with his body so they were parted. He sank his tongue deep into her mouth.
“Wait!” she moved her head to one side. “I can't do this.”
“Why?” his voice was tender and he looked with pure emotion into her eyes.
“How can I be sure that you're telling me the truth?”
“Because Emma's moving out now, as we speak. She's gone, Marsha. Gone from our lives and I'll never ever see her again.”
He kissed her deeply once again and she responded, running her fingernails along the skin on his back.
“No!” she said. “I can't. Really, I can't.” She pushed him off her and rolled onto her side. He lay behind her and touched the skin on her arm.
“Marsha, I understand why you're suspicious. I would be too. if it happened to me. But you can trust me, Marsha. I wouldn't lie to you.”
“Our relationship started on a lie. You should have told me about Emma.”
She looked straight ahead out of the window. The room was spinning and her eyes felt heavy. Why had she let herself get naked with Jonathan to have this conversation. She knew how hard he was to resist. He knew her so well, she was vulnerable in this position. She had to put a stop to this.
Almost leaping from the bed, she reached for her bathrobe which she'd flung over the back of the chair by the desk.
She kept her back to him as she went to the window. He remained lying on the bed but she refused to look back at his naked body.
“Jonathan, you said our relationship was all about the sex when we first started, but that's how I think it's ended up now.” She continued to look out of the window.
“I wouldn't say that, Marsha. I have very strong feelings for you.”
“It doesn't always feel like it. You don't take me out anymore. We're just back to that all sex and nothing else place we started months ago.”
“That's only to do with the meetings going on right now, Marsha. I don't get to choose how long I stay. You know that. And when I'm there, I just can't get enough of you. But, you know, you're right. I should make more of an effort.”
She pre
ssed her head to the glass.
“Come back to bed,” he said.
“No. I think you should go. I want you to go. I need to think.”
“That's fine, Marsha. Maybe we can see each other tomorrow. I could meet you here after work. It's Christmas Eve and we finish early at the office. Usually we go for drinks but I'll come straight here.”
“No. I'll call you.”
“When?”
“I'll call you when I can think straight. I can't think with you around. You confuse me.”
“All right.”
She kept facing the window while he got dressed. Her arms were crossed around her middle and she could feel her eyes getting heavier still and her mind working overtime. He walked up to her and put his arms around her.
“What did you and that man do today?” he asked. “You had your phone off.”
“He's a friend. He took me out.”
“And will you be seeing him again?” He put his lips to her ear.
“That's not your business, Jonathan. Would you please leave? I need to get some sleep.” She pulled away.
“Of course, Marsha. Get some sleep. But promise me you'll call me tomorrow so we can see each other.”
“But you'll be spending Christmas Day with your family, still, won't you?”
