How to Liv (10 page)

“
A movie?”

“Unless you’d rather do something else…”  Taking in whatever my current expression was, he looked concerned for a moment and I wondered what thoughts were going through his head, as if in answer, he said, “Please stop looking at me like that.  You’re making me hard.  I can’t stay here like this while you’re all...” he gestured to my near-naked body, I still had a pair of soaked knickers on, “…like
that
.”

I giggled at his words and then reluctantly slid off the side of the bed stopping in front of him.  I watched as he closed his eyes and groaned as if in pain.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worry evident in my voice.

He opened his eyes and pointed to the apex of my thighs. “It’s just… I really like the look of your knickers soaked with
my cum.”

His words jolted me.  I wasn’t used to talk like that.

“Really?” I choked on a whisper.

He took a step closer, grabbed my hand and rubbed it on his jeans.

“You feel what you’re doing to me?”

Oh I felt it alright, he was rock hard.  I gave him a quick squeeze and watched his eyes go wide,
then I leaned up to give him a kiss on the lips.

“A movie sounds great.”  I beamed at him before grabbing my dress and bra from the floor and a fresh pair of knickers from the drawer.

Joel openly stared at my body.  Normally I would feel really self-conscious but for some reason he made me feel confident.  When I got to the doorway I gave him a little wiggle of my butt.  Glancing over my shoulder, I caught him throwing his head back with a cheeky grin on his face.

“You’re killing me!” he called out when I walked away, making me chuckle as I shut the bathroom door.

W
hen we got to the cinemas it was packed.  We joined the queue and looked up at the electronic board trying to decide what to watch.  I had no idea what most of the movies were and it seemed neither did Joel.  We eventually decided on Pitch Perfect as it was at least one that we had both heard of.  Joel continued to hold my hand as we slowly made our way up the long line.  I had never felt happier than in that moment.  It was a moment of clarity for me.  It hit me.  I finally had scored a boyfriend - I had no doubt Joel was exactly that.  My boyfriend.  I knew that it had happened fast, but I also knew it felt just right.  From the moment he mentioned going to a movie I realised he was just as reluctant to part as I was.  This was a beginning of a new relationship and I couldn’t stop smiling.

We finally purchased our tickets and then lined up again at the food
counter, luckily that line was not as long.

“
Mmm I love the smell of popcorn,” I said on a deep breath.

“You want some?” Joel asked, leaning down to me.  I scrunched up my nose.  “No?”

“I love the smell, but I don’t really like to eat it much.”  Joel looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face.  “What?”

“You’re perfect, you know that?”

I blushed at his words. 
How does he expect me to respond to that?

“I feel the exact same way about popcorn,” he continued.  The corners of his mouth turned upwards and I knew he was kidding.

“You do not!”  I nudged him with my elbow, a wide grin on my face.

“No I don’t.  You’re right.  I love the stuff and you’re just weird.”  He pulled me closer against him and kissed me on top of my head.

We purchased our peppermint choc top ice creams (something we did agree on – they were the best!) soft drinks and Joel’s popcorn then lined up again outside the theatre.

“Do you ever get the feeling that all we ever do is line up around here?” Joel asked me at one point, it seemed to be the magic words as we got to enter the cinema soon after.  I automatically pulled Joel along to the centre of the theatre and sat down.  “Best seats in the house.” 
Yet another thing we agree on.

The movie was great, but I found that it was very hard to concentrate on it with Joel by my side.  It had been such a perfect day and my mind was reeling at the thought of a future with him.  I may have been getting ahead of myself, but I couldn’t help it.  And when Joel consistently snuck looks in my direction, as I did his, I really felt that he was feeling the same as me.  We both wore big grins and constantly found
ways for our bodies to connect in some small way.  We were like two magnets in that theatre and when Joel finally put his arm around me and kissed me on the side of my face, I
really
couldn’t have been happier.

After the movie we went to a little café nearby for a bite to eat.  There was a strip of restaurants just outside the cinema complex.  Even though the sun was now down, it was still really quite hot out, so instead of sitting outside like I had done here before, we opted for air-conditioned comfort inside.  Neither of us
were that hungry so we just ordered a trio of dips with pita bread to share.  We chatted about nothing in particular as we ate.

“Do you want me to take you home or would you like to come back to my place?” Joel asked as he opened the door to the car for me, after we left the café.
“You could meet Ruby,” he quickly added.

“I would love to meet Ruby,” I replied, knowing full well that it was not the reason that I wanted him to take me to his house.  I’m sure he was fully aware that
me meeting his dog was not high up on either of our agendas.  I also knew Ally would more than likely be home now, so my place was out.

“I just need to get some petrol,” he said as he pulled out of the car park and into the servo next door.

As it was still hot out, I wound down my window to feel the slight breeze of warm air as soon as Joel parked his ute next to the pump.  I was watching Joel’s hips in the rear view mirror as he filled up the car.  His jean shorts hung low and sexy like, tight enough in front to reveal the large bulge that was making me wet just thinking about it.  I averted my eyes when he placed the nozzle back on the petrol pump and then the cap back on the car, making his way towards me.

“Hey, you feel like a slushy?”  Joel poked his head in the window.

“Sure, just a small one.”

“What flavour?”

“Surprise me.”  I shrugged.

I sat back against the seat my eyes drifting towards his butt as he walked and then I quickly looked away.  Ogling him non-stop was doing my head in.  A few minutes later Joel appeared at the side of the car, handing a raspberry slushy to me through the open window.

“Spanks.”

Joel leaned against the door, his head just outside the window, “I bought something else.  Now don’t get mad.”  He had that cheeky grin on his face again.

I nodded and put my hand out expectantly.  When he didn’t make a move I said, “Just show me already.”

He bypassed my outstretched hand, tossing a bag onto my lap.  He watched on sheepishly as I looked inside. 
Condoms.  My face instantly heated.  The look on Joel’s face made me think he took pleasure in my embarrassment.  He slurped on his slushy, waiting for my response. 
Doesn’t he have condoms at his house?

Does that mean that he doesn’t have girls over often?  Or does that mean he has been so busy in the bedroom that he’s run out? 
I really hoped that my first thought was correct and not the latter.  I swallowed trying to push the images of him with other women out of my head.

“I just wanted you to know it was an option.”  He gave me a wink.  “But I’d be just as happy to cuddle.”  He chuckled and a goofy grin lit up his face.  He was adorable.
 

I watched as he ran back around to the driver’s side of the
ute.  I watched as he took a sip of his slushy then placed it in the drink holder in the centre console.  And I watched as he turned the key in the ignition and turned to gaze at me.  All the while I was more than a little awe-struck at him.  I opened my mouth to speak, not sure what I was going to say, but he beat me to it anyway.

“I don’t want you to think… just because we did earlier today that I assume…”  He looked at me meaningfully.

“Assume away,” I breathed, not sure if I meant to say that out loud or not.

The way his eyes lit up made me glad that he’d heard.  The intensity behind them had my cheeks getting hotter and another feeling forming deep in the pit of my stomach.  I sucked in a huge gulp of my raspberry slushy relieved at the coldness of it.

Moments later, we pulled into the driveway of a brick house.  Joel and I walked hand in hand to the front door, which he unlocked eventually, after dropping his keys twice and letting go of my hand.  Well he was holding his slushy and condoms as well, so something had to give, I’m sure it wasn’t just because he was nervous that he kept dropping them.

Joel kicked off his sneakers and walked ahead of me, turning on lights as he went.  I kicked my thongs off beside his shoes and followed.  He looked at me and I could tell he was feeling unsure for some reason.  His house was bigger than my unit, but the décor was atrocious.  Brown and beige swirly patterned carpet, horrible yellow stained glass either side of the front door matching the glass sliding doors that separated the lounge from the entrance way.  I followed Joel into the kitchen where the hideous brown floor tiles made mine look absolutely stunning in comparison.  Burnt orange bench tops reminiscent of the seventies matched the ancient looking stove.

“It’s horrible, I know.”  Joel looked at me with a look of what can only be described as shame on his face.  “No need to deny it, thank god my lease is up soon.  I was desperate for a place and there wasn’t much on offer that would allow pets.  On the plus side, the bathroom is almost half decent and there is a huge backyard.”

“It’s not that bad,” I said, trying to make him feel better.

“Liar.” I giggled as Joel tackled me, his fingers digging into my sides as I tried to wriggle away.

“Okay, it’s not that good either,” I conceded.

His arms encircled my waist and my arms automatically came around his neck.  He leaned down to kiss me on the lips.  Once, twice and then my lips parted inviting his tongue in.  I sucked on his bottom lip and his arms tightened around me.  I could feel tingles of desire all over my body and then we both stopped when we heard incessant scratching at the glass door.

“I think somebody knows we’re home.”

We’re home.
I loved the sound of that. 
You’re getting way ahead of yourself here, Libby.  Lighten up!

Joel shifted away from me, unlocking the sliding glass door and letting in a small, scruffy, tan coloured dog.  She ran around in circles a couple of times before Joel put his arms out to the side and said “up.”  Then she jumped into his arms and lay on her back looking up at him.  He was holding her like a baby and she
was loving it.  It was the sweetest thing.

“Hey girl, I’d like you to meet
Liv.”

He walked closer to me and I looked down at the gorgeous dog with her beautiful large brown eyes.  I was instantly taken by her.  She looked at me and let out a small gruff bark as if in greeting.

“Hello, Ruby,” I said, giving her a belly rub.  She lay back even further pushing her belly towards me as if asking for more.  I gave her what she wanted while I looked up at Joel, he was watching me and not his dog.  “She’s not what I expected.  She’s so small and adorable, I imagined a largish dog, more of a man’s dog, something for the back of your ute.”

“Are you picking on me?  You think she’s too feminine?”  He chuckled.  “I actually did go to the animal shelter looking for a kelpie or a blue heeler or something similar, but when I saw this one’s little face I couldn’t…” he looked back at the dog in his arms, “
not
get her.”

“You adopted her from a shelter?”

“Yeah, I’ve only had her for about nine months or so.  Her elderly owner died, she had just gone three years old when I got her.”

“Wow, I think I like you even more now.”  I blushed when I realised that I had actually said that out loud.

“Is that so?”  He smirked at me.

I couldn’t respond
, I was too busy staring at him in awe.  He put Ruby down and then crossed the room, walking through a doorway off to the side.  It was the laundry.  I watched him as he filled Ruby’s bowl with some dry food.

“There you go girl, late night snack.”

He rubbed her head and then stood, swivelling around to me.  I picked up my slushy from the bench and sucked on my straw, Joel grabbed his and did the same.  Our eyes stayed connected as we drank.  Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the lounge room.  It was surprisingly bare for a thirty-five-year-old man’s cave.  There was a large flat screen TV, of course, but it sat on an old fashioned brown laminated TV unit.  I sat down on the grey suede couch that appeared to be rather new and sunk down, it was really comfortable.  I placed my drink on the rickety old coffee table in front of me.  For someone of his age I would have expected that he would have accumulated more furniture than this. 
Could I be anymore judgemental? 
Of course that also made me wonder if maybe he had lost custody of his belongings in a divorce or something.

“Have you ever been married Joel?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“No.”  He looked surprised by my question.  “Not even close.”

“What about live-in girlfriends?”

“No.  You?”

“Nah, I don’t go for girls.”  I
laughed, Joel only smiled at my lame attempt at humour.  “No live-in boyfriends or marriages either.”

Ruby ran in and sat up on Joel’s lap, curling into a ball and getting all comfortable.  I relaxed back into the couch beside him.  His hand found mine and then my eyes found his, that heat between us returning instantly.  I don’t think any man has ever had that kind of power over me before, just one look, one touch, and I was gone.  Ruby let out a huff and we both looked at her and laughed.  I gave her a pat on her back.

“What kind of dog is she?”

“Um, a Cairn
Terrier, just like-”