by Dale, Lindy
Seeing PJ and Dylan already sitting, she breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t the first to arrive. Though she lived by her code of punctuality, Flora couldn’t bear the thought of having to sit alone at a table. People stared when you were alone and it made her feel vulnerable.
‘Hey,’ she smiled, taking off her shoes and placing them on the mat next to the wall. ‘New shoes,’ she indicated, giving her feet a quick rub and twisting her coltish legs into the spare spot next to a cute looking guy that she could only assume was Jake. The last time she had seen him was after his return from backpacking around Europe. He’d been covered in beard, wearing a Ramones t-shirt and faded jeans topped with a studded belt. He’d also smelt like a communal toilet.
‘They’re darling,’ PJ said, eyeing the shoes with adoration. She may have been blind to men but she had a great eye for shoes.
‘My feet disagree. They’re screaming with the exhilaration of being free.’
Jake laughed. Dylan scowled across the table. His level of fondness for Flora was equal to hers for him.
PJ placed her palm on the back of Jake’s hand. ‘Flower, you remember Jake, right?’ she said, affectionately. Dylan scowled some more. He was such an ass.
‘Jake? Wow. How long has it been? Eighteen months? You look different.’ If only she could be this confident when Luke was around, she thought, giving him a friendly smile.
‘Working for Private Bank will do that for you,’ he chuckled and gave her a wink.
‘Hello Dylan,’ Flora nodded, acknowledging PJ’s boyfriend. It didn’t matter what he did, she would never warm to him. He was gorgeous looking, as were all PJ’s men, but the supercilious grin on his face reminded her of Hannibal Lector. She only hoped PJ didn’t turn out to be the liver to go with his Chianti.
‘Beats me why chicks wear such bloody stupid shoes,’ he grunted in return. ‘They don’t make you look any sexier.’
Flora glared. Bloody cheek of him. He had no right to comment on her choice of shoes, she wasn’t his girlfriend.
‘Beats me why you don’t mind your own business,’ she shot back.
‘Flora!’ PJ was aghast. Flora never spoke out of turn.
‘What?’
‘Don’t be rude.’
Flora pursed her lips. Why was the retaliation her fault? ‘Pity you didn’t say the same to your boyfriend.’ The she folded her hands on the table, adopting her sweetest pose. ‘Sorry, Dylan. That was uncalled for. Must be the PMS.’
Sniggering at the interaction, Jake interrupted, ‘Saki anyone?’
Flora held up the white pottery cup. ‘Thanks.’
‘So… eat here a lot?’ he asked, turning his attention to Flora. His eyes twinkled merrily as he took a drink from his Saki cup.
‘Yep. I love Japanese food. You?’
‘Not really, but I love a beautiful woman.’
‘Are you always so forward?’ she asked, looking straight into his round green eyes. He had the longest lashes and the sweetest dimple in his chin, the type that was bound to make girls swoon.
‘Only with the sexiest ones…’ he grinned. ‘And you’re definitely a lot sexier than the last time we met. Especially, without those glasses you used to have sliding down your nose. Have you got contacts now? Your eyes look really green.’
Flora smiled to herself, remembering the glasses she had tucked away in her clutch. What a sad case she had been when she’d first met Louise. She’d thought Brazilian wax was a type of candle and people with curly hair were stuck with it forever. She’d also believed the most fun she would ever have on a Friday night would be watching an episode of ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ with her weekly treat of a Turkish Delight chocolate. A lot of water had passed under the bridge since then. Back in the days when she had been a gawky country girl he had taken the piss at her naivety on every occasion they met. She was not so easily fooled these days. PJ and Louise had opened her eyes.
‘Well you’re a lot less hairy,’ she laughed back.
‘Had to tow the line. You know how it is.’
Flora nodded. She knew exactly how it was. Luke would never be hers. She had to do the right thing.
‘The Bank weren’t too keen on the yeti look. They prefer the hairless male. Except for the hair on my head, of course.’
Everyone laughed. Jake was funny. Not the type of man that Flora typically found herself attracted to but someone who would be good to have as a friend. If he was ever around.
After ten minutes or so, Louise appeared. Never one to let an opportunity pass, her entrance was as grand as possible. ‘Hello sweeties! Sorry we’re late, the taxi driver got lost. Honestly, those people are getting more incompetent by the week. We practically had to give him directions.’ In a flurry of what looked like an Alex Perry original, and way over any budget she could have set for herself, Louise bent to unstrap her sandals, whilst groaning about how the taxi system seemed to have been infiltrated by migrants who couldn’t speak a word of English.
‘Jakie,’ she smiled, and went to kiss her brother’s cheek, ‘I see you’re reacquainting yourself with our adorable Flower. Isn’t she so stylish these days?’
Flora preened a little. She wouldn’t call the baby pink, vintage fifties dress stylish but it did make her feel very grown up. And the new shoes were just right. She looked up at her friend.
‘Introductions were made but I don’t know if I want to sit next to him, he’s already trying to seduce me,’ she laughed, covering her cup with her hand so that Jake couldn’t refill it. She was not going to get drunk on Saki. It made her behave in a most irresponsible way. ‘Not that I’m falling for it,’ she added. ‘I rather die.’
Under the table, Jake pressed his knee against hers. ‘A slow and exquisite death for you, I think,’ he whispered. Flora shifted a little so that their legs were no longer touching. He was such a flirt. How did a girl deal with a man like that?
‘Where’s your date, Lou?’ she asked, deciding to ignore him. ‘I thought you were bringing a date.’
‘He’s not really a date, more of a tag-a-long. He’ll be here in a second, I s’pose. He’s paying the driver,’ she said, twisting her way into her seat as a tall form filled the doorway, smoothing his dark hair that was tousled from the wind in the street.
‘I am here.’
Luke.
Stunned, Flora grabbed the Saki bottle and drained it of its contents, quickly refilling the cup and drinking that too. The clear liquid ran down the inside of her throat, a burning trail of alcohol. That fact that minutes previous she had sworn never to get smashed on the stuff again was irrelevant. Of all the low things that girl could do, this took the cake. Surely, Luke couldn’t be Louise’s mystery date?
Daggers flew along the table but Louise was too busy being the centre of attention to notice as she blabbered on about the weather, the traffic, the version of ‘One’ by U2 she’d heard on the radio and what a murderous rendition was, and just who did that Mary-Jo-Blah-Blah think she was imagining she could possibly cover a supergroup. Finally, she patted a space for Luke to her left, opposite Flora.
I am going to kill her, Flora thought, seething. I am going to have three more bottles of Saki and I am going to rip her limb from Alex Perry limb. She will never wear a dress with sleeves again.
Fuming, Flora glared at Luke. He was as much to blame, standing there towering over them, looking divine and not an ounce of discomfort in his posture. Why was he here? Had he no idea how controlled her lust was? One false move and it would be on the table for all to see. This was an absolute disaster. Slowly, Luke prised his long legs into position next to Louise. She could see the muscles of his thigh beneath his pants. If only she could touch that sinuous length, if only, she thought, sighing into her Saki. But it would never happen. They were colleagues. She had sworn to tow the line, just like Jake. And now Luke was with Louise. She had had her chance and she had let the moment pass. Sadly, she watched him from across the table.
Luke was watching her, t
oo. His brown eyes were dark and unreadable, unblinking.
‘Hello Flora.’ His voice was soft, a whisper against her cheek. Why did he have to speak like that? It was like a subtle form of torture.
‘Hello.’
‘Are you well?’
‘As well as can be expected.’ Surely that would give him the hint that she was cross with him for doing this to her, if the look on her face didn’t.
The conversation lulled for a moment. Then Dylan spoke.
‘Are you a teacher, Luke?’ That arrogant mask, the one that said anyone who wasn’t in ‘The City’ was inferior, glazed his face.
‘I’m the Principal.’
‘Oh. Right. D’you play footy? Your face looks familiar.’
‘It should. We had occasion to meet at a pub a couple of weeks ago. You were giving a young lady rather a hard time and I asked you to stop.’
Dylan frowned. A wave of recognition spread over his face. ‘You’re the prick that got me kicked out.’
With no apology, Luke leant across the table and filled his glass with wine. ‘How’re you tonight, PJ? Your dress looks delightful.’
It was PJ’s turn to gape. What had her boyfriend been doing at a pub without her? And worse still, why had he been groping other women?
‘Dylan?’
‘She was all over me like a rash, Babe. I told her I had a girlfriend but she wouldn’t take no for an answer and she got a bit stroppy when I turned her down.’
‘Didn’t look that way to me,’ Luke added, abruptly. ‘From where I stood, the shoe was on the other foot. You made her cry.’
They eyeballed each other in silence along the table until, at last, Dylan slunk into his seat defeated. He had met his match. Luke had put him in his place.
Turning back to Flora, Luke ignored the seething hatred in Dylan’s eyes at being exposed. ‘Sorry,’ he mouthed.
Flora was surprised. Hadn’t he said, not even a week ago, they would just be friends? Now he was there with her best friend and apologising for it? What was he after? Agitated, she searched her mind for answers. Bugger. She couldn’t think straight. Her mind was going all blurry from the Saki.
Beside her, Jake had begun to shuffle in his seat. ‘Easy on, Flora,’ he whispered, ‘you’re going to give me bruises.’ Flora glanced down. Her hand was gripping Jake’s forearm and her nails had cut into his skin. He nodded across the table at Luke. ‘Does he always have that effect on you?’
‘Is it that noticeable?’ She felt so transparent. All Luke had to do was look at her and she became so tense she couldn’t function. Now she was grabbing innocent men’s arms.
Jake took a slug of his beer. He looked around the table. Everyone else was deep in a conversation. ‘Only to me and my arm. I don’t think the others are paying much attention.’
‘What am I going to do?’ She felt stupid confiding in someone she hardly knew but she couldn’t talk to the girls, not now, and a male perspective could be helpful.
‘You’re hot for him?’
Flora nodded. ‘Sadly, yes.’
‘And he doesn’t like you?’
‘He said we could only be friends but I know he likes me. He’s holding out and I don’t know if it’s because he’s my boss or something else,’ she whispered, feeling the tears prick her eyes. ‘And now he’s with Lou.’ Cross with herself, she wiped her fingertip under her eye. It must be the Saki. It had to be the Saki. She couldn’t be crying over a man.
Jake sat for a moment considering the situation. He looked across the table to where his sister was flirting with Luke. ‘Come on,’ he said, taking her thin hand in his large one and pulling her from the table. ‘You and I are going for a little walk before dinner.’
Without much objection, Jake dragged Flora through the quiet serenity of Miso and towards the courtyard where the toilets were situated. Couples, sitting at intimate dinners, put down their glasses to stare at the strange sight of the slim young woman being pulled past them, shoeless and weeping, while her captor muttered about Saki and being sick of rescuing women.
‘What are you doing?’ Flora protested half-heartedly, as they came to rest at last against the stone wall of the courtyard. It was all too much.
Jake handed her a hanky from his pocket to dry her eyes. Grateful, she took it, and blew her nose. She felt like such a loser. All she seemed to do these days was cry on men’s shirts.
‘I’m helping,’ he replied.
‘I don’t understand.’ Flora had no idea what he meant. She was quick but the Saki was messing with her brain.
Jake leant against a limestone planter box and placed his hands on either side of his body to steady himself. The bougainvillea trailed along the wall behind him, it’s spiky plum flowers looking far less dangerous than they were in reality, a bit like the man, Flora thought.
‘Look,’ he said. ‘You’re hot for Luke but he’s here with my sister, who I might add was a complete bitch to me last week for flirting where I shouldn’t be and is now doing the exact same thing.’
Flora squinted at him, and tried to concentrate on what he was saying but it was difficult with the vine behind him, dancing in the evening breeze, it’s flowery scent wafting into her nostrils. It reminded her of the smell of Luke’s shirts.
‘So…. What I think we should do is, give them a run for their money. Mix it up a bit, if you know what I mean.’
Slowly, Flora nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. She didn’t do flirting as a rule, but hey, she’d drunk three cups of Saki. And Luke had started it by turning up with Louise. He deserved a bit of come-uppance. She frowned into Jake’s face. Without the Wolverine beard and hideous clothes he was quite a dish. Flirting should be easy. If she knew how to. Her one attempt with Luke had been futile.
‘What do you think?’ Jake asked.
In some sick and twisted way, Flora liked the idea. Practical jokes weren’t her usual style but this was warranted and if Luke felt a miniscule amount of the grief she was experiencing at the moment it would be worth it. If he changed his mind and pulled her into his arms, it would definitely be worth it.
‘I think the idea has merit. But what do you get out of this apart from the chance to grope me?’ she asked, curious.
‘Hey, I’m a rescuer, nurturer type of bloke, what can I say. I like helping out young ladies in distress and you look like you’re suffering.’
‘And?’
‘You’re a good looking girl. I don’t mind feeling you up to make another bloke jealous. It’ll be fun to see him squirm. He looks like he’s had an easy life until now.’
Flora agreed. Luke did appear the type who always got everything his own way. And how many times had PJ accused her of being too straight to lie in bed? Now was her chance to prove them all wrong. Her life was boring. Why not bring a bit of action into it?
‘Alright, Jakie-poo,’ she grinned, amazed at the effect a glass or two of Saki could have on her sensibilities. In the light of day she might live to regret this but, right now, she didn’t give a hoot. ‘Let’s get this party started. But first, some rules. One. No feeling below the waist, above the knee or groping my breasts. You may touch my hands, shoulders and hair only.’
‘Agreed,’ he nodded, though he looked a put out at the idea.
Flora folded her arms. This was serious. ‘Two. We’re only doing this to annoy them. No expectations of anything happening later tonight, it won’t.’ Unless, of course, Jake morphed into Johnny Depp or Leonardo di Caprio. In that case, and because she was feeling daring, she might consider it. A bit. Alright. A lot.
‘Sure?’
‘Positive. This is not a Friends with Benefits arrangement.’
‘Pity. Friends with Benefits could be fun.’
Flora glowered.
‘Okay, agreed. Anything else, Your Highness? Maybe you’d like me to run down to Rosendorf’s and get you a tiara?’ He tried to make it sound like he was annoyed but Flora could tell he was as much into the moment as she was.
Playfully, she sucked on the tip of her finger. ‘Hmm. I can’t think of anything. Except you have to make Luke insane with jealousy. I want him squirming in his seat.’
‘Woah! I never figured you to be the revenge type.’
‘What can I say?’ Flora shrugged. Neither had she. ‘This is war.’
Jake grinned and stood up, adjusting his shirtsleeves. He was very cute in a preppie sort of way. It could turn out to be more fun than she anticipated. And the more she thought about it, the more exciting the idea was.
‘Are we agreed?’ she asked, ignoring the last comment.
‘Sure thing. Making other men jealous is my specialty. I’ve been banned from certain countries because of it.’
They sat for a few more minutes, deciding on the plan of attack and setting up contingencies. Even whilst being adventurous Flora liked the fact that there was a back up plan. You could never be too organised. Then, just as they were getting up to go back inside, Luke appeared at the door and walked across the courtyard towards the male toilet. Gently, Jake elbowed Flora in the ribs. ‘Showtime,’ he whispered, grabbing her butt and fondling.
Flora squealed as he made a lunge towards her, pushing her against the wall of the garden, his lips close to hers. ‘What’s he doing?’ he growled.
‘He’s stopped.’ Flora could feel Jake’s hands snaking her waist. She quivered. ‘He’s watching you,’ she whispered into his hair. Her heart was pumping wildly in her chest and this time it wasn’t from the Saki.
‘Good. Kiss my neck, that’ll shit him heaps.’
Flora had to giggle. ‘I can’t. You’re wearing too much man perfume. It’s choking my sinuses.’
Jake growled and grabbed her butt harder.
‘Ouch. Jake.’ she giggled again, slapping his hand away from her bottom, pretending to the hilt she was into the game. But over Jake’s shoulder, Flora could see a look of confusion or was it disgust on Luke’s face and her heart dropped to her knees.
