So he’d kept an eye out for someone to actually spend his time with, someone who wouldn’t think of him as the son of the owner of one of the most popular cafes in the entire Firswood, a former marine, a semi-professional cricket player and a fitness coach that had helped Firswood people claim their health back, and he really, really hoped that Jennifer was that girl.
***
Jennifer finished her job at 10 pm that evening and walked back home, taking a deep breath after a long day of school and work. Working at the cafe was no easy task, especially when an entire party worth of people popped in exactly half an hour before closing time. The number of perverted looks, attempted touches and fleeting comments made her sick to her very stomach but she stopped herself from giving into them and completed every single order, good enough for her boss to actually come out of the kitchen and then praise her work for the day and promising her some bonus at the end of the week. That was what she actually found herself needing as the next day, she suddenly had an invitation shoved into her hand.
“Oh, you’ve got to come to the weekend Christmas party at the Park by the highway!” her best friend exclaimed.
There was a single pass, reading, ‘You are invited to the Christmas Party on December the 19th at the Park Hotel by the highway, near the main highway in Central Manchester. This invitation admits one person, only people above 21 allowed.’
Jennifer’s eyes raised up in the air as she stared at what was in front of her. A Christmas party, this weekend, at 9 pm in the evening, just two days before the University would give them a short, 10 days long Christmas break.
‘Well, it’s on Sunday at least,’ Jennifer thought. On Sundays, she started to work at 7 in the morning and left at 7 in the evening, after a 12 hours shift. That would leave her enough time to get ready for the party. ‘Alright, why not? It’ll be a good time for me to have some fun, won’t it?’
She just looked up at her best friend, and smiled, nodding.
“Alright, I’ll be there.” Her best friend squealed and threw her arms around Jennifer, who stumbled slightly but managed to catch her in her arms, smiling brightly.
“Oh yes, that’s great! We’ll have so much fun together!!!” Angelina exclaimed. “And who knows? You might also hook up with someone cute this year!”
“Shut up, Angie!” Jennifer blushed, letting her best friend go. “I don’t even want to think about that! Besides, who’d want to get together with ugly old me?!?”
“Ugly? You think this...” she pointed to her body. “Is ugly?!? What’s your dress size again?”
“Oh God!” Jennifer exclaimed, getting up, horrified. “You know that Angie, don’t ask embarrassing questions!”
“Yes, then you shouldn’t diss your own body. Lord knows how much people want it,” Angelina said, wrapping her hands around her chest and giving her friend a good look. Jennifer was wearing a white top and skinny jeans, that nicely complemented her curves. “Everyone is envious of your body, you know? People literally love watching you whenever it is swimming time.”
“Because they’re a bunch of perverts!” Jennifer huffed. “I’ve not met any man who focuses on my face and my work rather than what’s beneath my neck.”
It was true, not even Tristian was prone to her body and that was saying something. Ever since her encounters with the handsome young man became a daily thing, she found herself being more and more attracted to him and in only a few days there was no doubt she had some sort of a crush on him, and she’d seen him occasionally trace his eyeballs down the curve of her waist and look at her appreciatively whenever he thought she didn’t see him, but strangely, she found it actually even more arousing than anything else.
“Oh common! All you’ve got to do is undo one more button of your shirt once in a while and hoards of men will come in to devour you in seconds, but you don’t!” Angelina whined, clearly upset her friend didn’t have any boyfriend. “Do you aim for the other-.”
“If you finish that sentence God forbid I will never talk to you again!” Jennifer growled. “I just haven’t found the right person to be in a serious relationship with and I don’t want it to be a fling. I’ve heard that break-ups aren’t that easy to deal with.”
“Alright, fine, don’t get angry with me.” Defending her opinions, Angelina rolled her eyes. “But maybe, just maybe you’ll find someone in the party to spend time with.”
***
On the other side of the city, however, in a cricket ground, there were two teams that were currently playing against one another.
It was the second day of their test match and Tristian found himself batting on the first down position. So out he went, with his bat and helmet ready for action, and his pads properly put on as well. Even though his mind was filled with things like ‘Jennifer’ this and ‘Jennifer’ that, his attention was on the hard red ball that was headed right for him.
Playing a cricket match was intense, especially a 5-day test match. county cricket was harder but right now, he was on an end of year holiday, especially because their club’s next match was going to be in January, and currently he was playing in a charity match against another local team to raise money for kids who suffered from lung infections and such. But even if it was a noble cause, playing for 5 days straight was no easy task. Every morning, waking up at six, batting from 9 am to possibly four in the evening, it really was a difficult thing to do but he managed it.
His eyes narrowed down as he spied the ball swinging due to the morning winds and he expertly struck the ball upwards. With the speed, the ball was coming in and considering his own strength, it was no surprise to anyone when the ball sailed over the ground up in the air and directly over the boundary line into the stairs, giving him 6 runs to his name.
Now he might not be the best player in the world but he was most definitely a good all-rounder and very few all-rounders would bat at the one down position, and he proved it.
“Awesome batting mate!” His good friend and pal all the way from the Marines, Jesse Stone, clapped him on the shoulder. “You gave them a right whacking out there.”
“True.” Tristian winked, getting his helmet out as he took a deep breath, grabbing his water bottle and tilting his head at the applause and pats he was receiving on his shoulder. “The ball wasn’t spinning and swinging as they wished and was screaming ‘beat me’ so I beat the ball.”
“Phew,” Jesse snorted. “Well, it’s gonna be my turn tomorrow morning, so I’ll quickly get us up to mark before we declare our innings. By the way, you’ve got to come with me to the Christmas Party at the Park by the highway.”
“In that 5-star hotel?” Tristian asked, surprised. Now that he was a grown man and actually lived away from his parents, he could go anywhere he wished to, but this was a bit surprising. “Mate, do you know even how much it must cost to get an entry ticket?”
“Nothing,” Jesse smirked, throwing him a pass. It read, ‘Dear Mr. Tristian Smith. You are invited along with the rest of your team as guests for the Christmas Party at the Park Hotel by the highway, Manchester, at 9 pm on the 19th of December. This pass is an attendance for only Mr. Tristian Smith.’
“Wow, who’s the host?”
“Apparently some high sports hot-shot in Manchester.” Jesse shrugged. “But what’s in for us, you will ask? Well, hot babes, nice drinks, free food and not to mention hot babes? Do you know how many people are going to be there? Hundreds, if not, thousands!”
“I’ll be surprised if even 100 show up,” Tristian snorted. “Like, seriously, Park by the highway? It boasts the best food around the entire Manchester and that is saying something. Please for God’s sake, don’t tell me you’ve managed to get an invite for your girlfriend as well.”
“Of course I have!” Jesse exclaimed as the two moved into the locker rooms. Tristian was slowly removing all his gear and was about to remove his jersey when Jesse showed him something. It was a ring, a simple diamond ring. “And I’ve also managed to get this.”
&n
bsp; “An engagement ring?!” Tristian asked, looking at a suddenly nervous yet absolutely determined Jesse. “You’re going to ask her to marry you? You’ve been dating for what, like, 9 months? 10?”
“A year and a half, idiot,” Jesse snorted. He put the ring back inside of his bag’s secret pocket and slipped out of his own clothes. Considering he had to go in next, he was already all suited up and ready to bat. “But yeah, I’m sure. She’s a wonderful girl, she’s independent, wants to help people and most of all, she doesn’t see the scars but what caused them.”
“Damn,” Tristian smirked, slightly envious. “That’s a great thing mate, I’ll be sure to be there.”
“Be there? If I have any say in it you’re going to be the best man!” Jesse exclaimed. “I mean, come on man, we’ve been friends since when, our diaper days?”
“I’m pretty sure we weren’t wearing diapers in primary school, or at least I wasn’t.” Tristian grinned. “But yeah, I’ll agree, you’re right. Now, if you don’t mind I’ll go to the shower and we can have this conversation when your would-be fiance actually agrees to marry you.”
Jesse just shot him a dirty look while Tristian walked inside of the shower, getting ready and walking out of the club with his bag on. The two friends were living close by, in the homes that were really close to the stadium, and since it was also the county team’s home ground, they both had chosen a home close to their training area.
Tristian’s house was the furthest but the most straightforward. It was located just near Highway number 47 and was also walking distance away from his father’s cafe.
Turning the hot water on, Tristian couldn’t still believe that his best friend was going to get married to his girlfriend, quite possibly very, very soon and that was a big change from the ‘I’ll be a playboy’ Jesse Stone in their teenage years of glorious 16 and 17.
‘Alright, I really should find a girlfriend too,’ Tristian thought. ‘Damn, I’m almost 29, and I have no one to spend nights with.’
Shaking his head, Tristan started to apply a shampoo and his thoughts ran back to Jennifer. Jennifer and him... If only they could make it work somehow together...
Chapter 4
It was as if the time had literally flown when Christmas Party day arrived. Tristian regularly met Jennifer in the cafe and although both enjoyed those precious moments together, it seemed like none of them was brave enough to pursue things anywhere further.
Today was the day when each of them was going to attend the Christmas Party, not knowing about the presence of the other in the event.
Knowing that there would be some high-profile people at the party, Tristian opened his wardrobe and began to browse through his clothes, considering his options for a not-too-smart-not-too-casual outfit. Finally, he decided to take a simple white shirt that perfectly highlighted his muscular arms, dark blue pants, and a matching blazer. Satisfied with his look, he grabbed the invitation and headed out of his house to meet up with the rest of the team at the hotel so they could enter together. Even though people said it was wise to be ‘fashionably late’, they were absolutely on time, and that was saying something.
And very close to his own apartment was Jennifer’s apartment where even she was getting ready. Having been given the blessing to be in the party by her mother, she had picked up her favorite party dress, a simply light blue colored dress that went to her knees and showed the perfect amount of her immense cleavage and high lightened her skin and beauty even more. Deliberately not choosing to put on any makeup except for some lipstick, and her simple necklace, she looked at herself before grabbing her coat and then leaving for the party. Angelina had come over to pick her up and they were going to head there together and by gods did they make an entrance.
Getting on the terrace themed party together, they had turned almost every single head, especially Jennifer, as people stared at them, and some even noticed the girl’s beauty. But before she could even think of anything Angelina had dragged her off to the side to meet the one who had gotten her these passes and she was really surprised to see it was their mentor who taught them about how to treat a possible Spinal Injury. Talking with the woman for quite a long time, she finally was allowed to grab a drink and deliberately didn’t chose to drink anything Alcoholic.
The dance floor had already lit up, people with all of their dates, partners, and escorts lining up the entire dance floor while she drank a simple glass of raspberry soda off on the side. Little did she know there were a set of very familiar eyes watching her, surprised, anxious and slightly excited.
Tristian had found out that not only were they going to get to go to the party but also stay the night. Literally, the Host had handed him a room key for a deluxe room down on the 11th floor and had been told to stay the night and for breakfast tomorrow morning. Considering it was a day off tomorrow, he didn’t have any hesitations on doing so. But how could he, a 28-year-old guy, especially being a former marine, hesitate to talk with the drop dead gorgeous girl that was standing right in front of him in the sexiest dress he’d ever seen.
“You know, for once I didn’t recognize you there, Jennifer.”
Jennifer jumped at the familiar voice and turned around, her jaw dropping at the sight of Tristian dressed handsomely in an amazing blue colored blazer themed attire. “You are an incredibly beautiful woman, especially in that dress.”
“T... Tristian... w... what a surprise.” Blushing right to her teeth a ‘client’ caught her like this, she abashedly looked away, but finally managed to gather courage and smiled warmly. “It’s nice to see you, I honestly thought you’d be celebrating with your family or something.”
“Oh trust me, I like to celebrate Christmas day myself, my family’s rather boring when it comes to Christmas.” Rolling his eyes, he picked up a passing cocktail for himself. “So how did you end up here? I don’t mean any offenses but I am still surprised even I ended up here, and I’m a county level cricket player.”
“Oh, my teacher invited us. She’s apparently the host’s twin sister.” Tristian’s eyes rose high in the air as he looked around for a woman looking very similar to the head of the Manchester Club of Cricket, and found her. If she wasn’t a girl she’d exactly be like him. “She teaches us how to deal with spinal patients.”
“Oh yes, you’re a paramedical student.” Tristian turned his attention back to her. “Well, I have a pretty much similar story. The host invited us as special guests, but all that is worth is hot hair and a few photos. It’s not anything funny though.”
It was a comfortable chat that followed, this time going deeper into each other’s lives. She found out how he was a former marine and lived away from his parents, and really liked to be left alone in his personal life. She didn’t ask much about his parents and neither did he, she was just a blurter and blurted out everything about her life within the span of the hour they had talked. Following her blurting out her almost entire life, he simply sighed and told her he didn’t need to know anything to befriend her, but he did reveal a lot of things about himself, how he coped growing up as a Marine, choosing to fight in the forces rather than study ahead.
“Hey.” Sometime later, he suddenly had this idea out of nowhere. He looked at her, his eyes slightly nervous, as he extended his arm. “Do you want to dance? I really like this song.”
Jennifer blushed, looking around and only managing to watch people dancing with their respective partners. Even Angelina, who had a boyfriend, was dancing with a man 30 years her senior, and enjoying it, so Jennifer simply smiled and nodded, giving him her hand.
She was really surprised that the man knew how to dance, let alone so well. All of his movements had a practice fleur to them and all of his pulls and pushes in the various steps they had to pull off were almost robotic. And as they danced together, she not only noticed that his hands were much, much gentler than the meaty hunks that they looked, but he also had a very firm chest. Their eyes never left each other as they danced and she found herself o
nly getting further immersed in those eyes.
Tristian had been a fool to think that Jennifer was just a beautiful woman. She was an absolutely drop dead gorgeous goddess. Her body was so soft, so gentle and so lithe he felt as if he was actually dancing with a queen and not a worker that worked in his father’s cafe. Somewhere in the back of his mind that fact painfully thumped, reminding him that he still had to tell her about the fact, but that thump was blasted out of the window when he felt her larger than usual chest press up to his, and that was it for him. He had to somehow control his emotions and his hormones or he was going to end up doing much more than just dance with the woman that was melting into his arms.
He gulped, his face suddenly going sweaty as he looked at her full lips. She was smiling, glowing, literally, her eyes glittering in emotion and her face so close to his he was sure all he had to do was simply duck his head down by a little and their lips would meet, but he wouldn’t give, he would not give.
And the fact that he wasn’t giving was enough for Jennifer to lose her mind. The urge to kiss him was rising so much, so, so much that all she wanted him to do was kiss her right now and be done with it. She could see his eyes locked on her lips and his face tightening in concentration. However the sound of the music stopping stopped them, and various other dancers as the Host of the night found himself standing on a table and giving a speech, his voice slurred by the alcohol.
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