Turning Point

by Georgia Hamilton

  He’s talking to the waitress, I guess ordering water or something for the table. I can see her clearly from here, but he has got his back to me. His shoulders are incredible. His navy shirt is pulled tight against the mass that is his back. I quickly realise I am obsessed with his neck. Its thick but not enormous, his hair is cut lower than it has been before, a number three crew cut I reckon, his waves not as evident as they were, but still there, just skimming the collar of his shirt. The waitress is clearly enjoying the view from the front as much as I am taken by his rear. He stretches his arm out along the back of the bench seat next to him, she throws her head back and laughs at something he said.

  Calm down sweetie, it can’t have been that funny!

  She then twists a bit of her hair and licks her lip.

  Oh, hell no, not on my watch. I walk with a little more purpose to the table. He is half way through ordering me a cocktail when the waitress sees me coming toward the table, her face drops suddenly, visual displeasure splashed all over it. She has obviously missed whatever Connor was saying to her, he turns his frame to see what has caught her attention

  The smile on his face when he sees me is contagious.

  I would, had I not witnessed the blatant flirting by ‘missy can I take your order’, have sat opposite him, but I decide to slip in next to Connor instead.

  His arm is still stretched out along the back of the leather bench seat

  (I think it is an old camper can seat) he idly strokes my shoulder as he muses over what to have to drink.

  I rest my hand on this thigh and lean in to see his menu, yes there is one in front of me, but hey in for a penny in for a pound.

  He clears his throat, gently shifting in his chair. I take in a huge breath of him. He is intoxicating. I miss the words he says to the waitress, my state of consciousness altered by him, he is like a drug and I am addicted.

  “Do you want to order appetisers now or shall I come back” The sharp time in her sentence and audible disappointment in her voice brings me back to our reality. I feel bad for her, in all honesty, if I was in her position I would have tried my luck too.

  “can you give us a minute please?” Connor devastates her further by killing her with his smile. Yes missy, he’s got dimples for days. Her head sinks, her shoulders slump as she shuffles away.

  I am still practically sitting on his lap. He moves the menu away from me to get my attention.

  I can’t help but give him my completely innocent face. He pops me on the nose with the menu

  “You are so cute when your jealous”

  I snort – god damnit

  “I don’t know what you mean – why would I be jealous?” Indignant was the intended tone of voice, caught little girl doing something wrong was the actual one that escapes my mouth. It’s a high-pitched fumble of words. God dammit!

  Putting the menu down he turns completely to me and folds his arms.

  “are you asking me or yourself?”

  There is no chance for me to answer as our drinks have arrived. It’s a different waitress this time.

  A fruity concoction is put in front of me and blow me down if newbie doesn’t side step and lean in front of Connor to slide his drink in front of him. Her arse is higher than her head she’s that far over the table, If I wasn’t here she could flipping well blow him, that’s how close she is. She comes back up a little, staring him dead in the eye, “Are you ready for your appetisers”

  Are you kidding me right now? Before I can mentally plan my response, Connor has moved as far back in his seat as humanly possible, his thigh is firmly against mine and he’s clearing his throat so hard he’s going to dislodge his vocal cords.

  I think I am about to push her, physical violence is not acceptable in any circumstance but she’s throwing herself at him.

  “Not yet” I bark at her. “When we’re ready I will let you know”

  She doesn’t even acknowledge me, she stands and saunters back to the waitress stand.

  My leg is shaking I am that livid. Connor is laughing. Full on laughing next to me. I want to be angry but he’s right it is laughable. I start to laugh with him. His arm comes around me and I turn into him. He presses a kiss to my temple.

  “It’s cute that you are jealous, but beautiful, as far as I am concerned there is nobody in this room but you”

  “I just think its rude, I mean, yes you are hot, but hello!! I am right here.” I know I am pissed off as U have lost control of my arms, the animation currently supporting my speech is an uncoordinated mess but if I don’t do something with my hands I may hit or throw something! “She just threw herself at you!! There’s two of them fighting for your attention. What do they think you’re going to do leave me here and have a quickie in the toilets or something?”

  There’s humour all over his face, he’s not laughing yet, but it’s there behind the surface...

  “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

  I can myself with a feedback card from the table, you’ll alright, your staff treat this place like a cheap hook up bar. Flirting and flaunting themselves over patrons. It like real life Tinder. No matter how much they swipe right with their push up bras, ain’t no matches at this table!

  “Oh no, we are eating here. I am hungry. Very hungry”

  He’s still smirking at me

  “is that what the anger is about, are you hangry beautiful?”

  “NO! Well Maybe?”

  “well let’s get you fed before you assault someone, although if you fancy assaulting me in the toilets, feel free to lead the way”

  I nudge him in his side. I love that he is ticklish. He recoils away from me, like a child. He’s bent over in two, to stop me getting to him, I reach to jab him again, but he grabs my hand

  “behave.” It is supposed to be an order but comes out like a request. The inner child in me comes out

  “make me”

  There’s a flicker of something in his eyes, He takes both hands twisting me, so I face him pulling me as close to him as he respectably can.

  My cheek is resting on his. His warm breath caressing my skin, he nips my ear before issuing another order, only this time there a depth to his voice, it slices straight to my core

  “There are so many things I want to make you do, this is not the ideal time or place but Rayne, if you keep pushing me, remember you asked for it. Now do yourself a favour and behave. Please”

  He squeezes my hands and kisses the side of my face. Not once, but multiple times, several short soft kisses, with every kiss I am getting more turned on, every kiss is acting like a prelude to something deeper. I have got goose bumps everywhere, it is taking everything in my power not to straddle him and take everything my body wants from him right now.

  Connor stops with the kisses and hands me my menu

  “As much as I want to feed on you, the gentleman in me knows I need to feed you instead, now what do you want to eat”

  I giggle because the answer on the tip of my tongue is “you” but I am starving for carbs not just protein.

  Flirty waitress number two comes back, I assume our little display had an audience as she is a little more professional this time around.

  The energy between Connor and I is always charged, there is a chemistry that you can’t fake. I have clicked with guys before, had relationships that were good, but there was always something missing. I feel like I am two steps ahead of myself with Connor, I want to take it easy and slowly, but I also want to jump him every time I see him. I wish it was just a physical thing because we would be able to scratch the itch and move on. But I crave his conversation and company as much as I crave his body.

  We order enough food for 4 people, I feel like a pig, but he isn’t judging me. I could not decide between a few dishes, Connor just ordered it all.

  When little miss perky came back and opened a stool to place the huge black serving tray on, the realisation of the extent of our order hits me like a brick – but it looks so good.

 
It’s a spectrum of colour, everything from fried cheese to salads. “We are never going to eat all of this” I meant to say it to myself, but it clearly came out loud.

  “Anything we don’t eat, we can box and take home beautiful”

  That statement shocks me a little bit, he says it so nonchalantly – I think it was for the benefit of the waitress, but the way he said home. Like it was our home. We have only been on 2 official dates, yet it’s hard to remember a time before Connor. It gives me butterflies all over again.

  Connor rearranges the plates in front of us, completely ignoring the waitress. In fairness she has got back in her box, she is still getting her fill of him but again I can’t blame her.

  “This is amazing” I manage to spill out before inhaling more fried goodness, I get so lost in the food, I forget that I am not alone. Mid bite of a pastel, movement to my left shifts my attention from the luscious golden delight. Connor is watching me. His green eyes are hooded and searing into me, his dimples attempting to make an entrance.

  “Is there a reason you’re watching me eat? Have you lost your appetite or something?”

  I pop the last piece of pastel in my mouth, no man is going to stop me and my food.

  “I just like watching you eat, I like seeing you relaxed, going to be honest, I didn’t like that you were upset earlier but I am glad you came to me though”

  His eyes are kind as he talks to me, there’s warmth in his face that I feel all through me, every time I try and take a step back he does something to reel me back in all over again.

  I swipe another pastel, stalling so I don’t have to answer immediately. The feels are back – this dude is so far under my skin his working his way into my heart.

  Taking a swig of my porn star martini (yes that’s what he chose for me...)

  “Can I be really honest with you?” I say on a swallow, He nods for me to carry on “usually, after a bad day or a crisis of confidence, I go to Ma or Leilani. I have never been in a situation where neither of them has been around”

  Embarrassment floods me as I continue the confession, I can’t hold his eyes anymore and suddenly the passionfruit floating in the glass has my full attention, I need to focus on something else other than the words that are about to flood out of my mouth.

  There is one part of my brain yelling at me to shut up and then there is the other side of my brain just telling me to keep going.

  I am fiercely protective of my heart, I have never given it to anyone because I have always been frightened that it wouldn’t come back to me in one piece – the problem I have is that after only one week, if I give my heart to Connor, I am not sure if I would want it back. Here goes nothing

  “except today, I didn’t come to you because they weren’t around, I came to you because I wanted to” I bite my bottom lip because I physically need to stop talking. He’s sitting stock still and my heart it is beating ten to the dozen, I have a drum and bass rhythm going inside me. Shit, I think I have said too much.

  I dare a look at him, what a mistake.

  His eyes are wild, he’s clenching his jaw, I think in an attempt to suppress a smile as his dimples are just about visible under his scruff. My suspicions are confirmed when his bright white teeth appear as he smirks. The vision that he is has done nothing for the rave happening in my chest, it’s gone from an intro to a full-on melody, vocals vibrating in my stomach like a swarm of butterflies. When the smirk turns in to a megawatt smile, the tension in every sensor body part tightens. He swipes his tongue across his bottom lip causing friction to now set alight every erogenous zone in my body. There are parts of me on fire that I did not even know existed

  I follow the trail of his tongue, shifting my thighs more subconsciously than anything else.

  It doesn’t go unnoticed by Connor, his eyes leave my face for a fraction of a second, a quick glance down to my lap and then he’s back to my eyes

  “Why does it feel like you never let your guard down Rayne? To me” he points to his chest as though I don’t know who he means by me.

  “It’s like you only give away a little bit of yourself, I want you to know that you can call me, find me, come and see me, want me, whenever – ok?”

  “You may well regret saying that, when I am bugging you twenty-four seven. But thank you”

  In typical Connor style, he shoots me a wink and adds

  “for the record, the little bit of you that I have seen? It excites the shit out of me and I can’t wait to see all of you”

  Swoon.

  “You have more lyrics than a R Kelly double side” banter is always good to keep me grounded.

  As soon as I hear the deep rumbling laugh that tears out of him, forget making me weak at the knees, that mother fucker punches through my resolve and shreds me to pieces. It is such an alluring sound; my heart skips its own beat and thumps to his melody. He pauses just long enough to answer

  “Those are facts not lyrics beautiful, when I start to drop ‘lyrics’ on you, believe me you will know about it”

  The laughter continues. I love the fact that I can make him laugh, I am addicted to the dopamine he releases in me. Mix that with the rise in my levels of serotonin and dopamine is not the only thing I want him to release in me.

  “In all seriousness Rayne, whatever you want, whenever you want it, just call me ok?”

  “Ok” we go back to our food, the conversation now light and easy. Before I know it were stuffed and our meal is over.

  He’s just finished paying the bill, missy has gone to get his change, Connor is standing boxing up the rest of our leftovers. She offered to take them in kitchen, but I didn’t trust her to not spit in any of it.

  Lunch has been amazing, the food was gorgeous, the company was gorgeous. I am full and spoilt. Connor slips his wallet in his pocket and holds his hand out to help me up. “Don’t forget what I said beautiful, whatever you want, whenever you want,”

  “whatever I want, whenever I want?” I want to keep up the playful tone, I really don’t want it to get all serious again because I have already exposed way too much today, I don’t want to be all deep and meaningful, if I drop any more of my guard, I might do something stupid like admit I don’t want tonight to end. I know it must end because he has to go to Manchester. Its selfish of me to want to keep him to myself a bit longer. If I hadn’t bunked off this afternoon I would hijack his trip and go with him, but I have to go to work. Malachi isn’t my only client, I am stacked with lots right now. I need to keep my head in the game, chasing the lucrative contracts, not the ridiculously hot, tanned and toned man in standing in front of me. His scruff is more beard today, his eyes a deeper green, his smile blinding. Is it any wonder the waitresses have been dick chasing? He pinches my nose, a light laugh trickling out of him

  “You are trouble Miss Sinclair. Trouble trouble trouble”

  I wrinkle my nose at him, as we walk to the waitress stand.

  “I’ve been saved by a woman...” I sing badly. (I mean, come on, read that line again and try not hearing it in Ray LaMontagne’s voice)

  “Walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

  “Sure, did buddy.” I hum the rest of the song as he takes a carrier bag from the waitress for our boxes. She holds her other hand out with Connors change. Before he can say anything. I gently push her hand back towards her

  “Oh no honey, you keep the change, you’ve been super attentive, earned every penny”

  I hear her silently call me a bitch. And I deserve it. It’s less than a 10% tip but that’s what she gets for pissing me off. Connor, ever the gent has left some change on the table for her, but if you think I am about to tell her that, you’re mistaken.

  I gently push Connor towards the door, he grabs my jacket off the stand by the exit and helps me slip it on. “You enjoyed that didn’t you?” Its only loud enough for me to hear. “hell, yeah I did” I near enough shout it as I pull my hair that’s tucked under my jacket out. With an exaggerated hair flick I give her a quick gl
ance over my shoulder as we go through the door.

  The two of them are standing together pretending not to look at us. I grab Connors arm to hold him still and lean up as high as I can to give him a kiss. He meets me more than half way. His soft lips barely touch mine but the charge between us is so magnetic that we pull together. I know my tongue sweeps into his mouth first, but he quickly takes charge. His arms flexes against my back as he pulls me into him, his fingers brushing my ass, teasing me flush against him. My hands instantly wind around his neck, leveraging myself higher. I want more of him. My tip toes are barely on the ground, between his firm grip around my middle, I am physically hanging off his neck. His scent is assaulting my senses, his strength, weakening any resolve I have left. I have experienced many different kisses in my past, from the vacuum – yuck, the suffocater – double yuck to the jet wash – just no! but kissing Connor is unlike any kiss before. I think I could survive on his kisses alone.

  “Beautiful? He whispers against my mouth, I don’t know if it’s a statement or a question. “hmmm” is about all I can muster. The pressure against my back eases. I whimper “Don’t stop”

  I feel his smile on my lips. Naturally I smile too. I pull myself back up, still using his neck as leverage, you’d think this would control the kiss, but It doesn’t. This time he is even slower, like he is memorising every part of my mouth, small kisses to the corner of my mouth, his soft lips prosed against mine. He licks my bottom lip before pulling it into his mouth and biting. Not hard, just a nip.

  “I’m already hard as carbon, if I carry on my dick is going to snap in two” Yet another laugh comes out of me. I slide my hand discretely to his fly “based on this” I move it slowly from the bottom of the zip to his button “half would still give me enough to work on” he laughs into my mouth, I wish I could swallow it and keep it inside me.

  “you’re getting all of this, every single last inch of it, no half measures so stop with the decapitating talk. Its making me nervous”

  With a heavy sigh, I retreat my hand and step back from him.