No Ordinary Bloke (39 page)

When we got on the dance floor, I only had to spin her around a few times before she said, “You really can dance.”

“I told you.”

“No, I mean you
really
can.”

“I know. I had lessons when I was in school. It was a great way to meet girls, and I knew it would be useful.”

“To impress girls?”

“Indeed.”

“Well, you’re impressing me,” she said, as I maneuvered us around Lawrence’s grandparents dancing to the songs of their youth. “You’re a very good lead.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “Do you mind if I say something sexist?”

“Only if it’s funny.”

“Touché.” I held her a bit tighter as I said, “They say they don’t, but really I think women want a man to take charge.”

“That’s not funny at all.” All of her feminist sensibilities went on high alert. She pursed her lips for a moment, before saying, “I think that’s an over-generalization, but I’ll forgive you for it. What I do think is that there are things like dancing which most men just suck at. You want them to be good, but they’re just awful” Her lip curled in disgust. “So you’re stuck out there on a dance floor with a guy who’s bumbling around and looking like a fool.”

“So you’re saying women want a man to know what he’s doing?”

“Exactly. If he knows what he’s doing, especially if he knows it better than you, then you’re happy to let him lead as long as he doesn’t think it’s his God-given right. That’s the problem with men. There are so many of them who think they can do whatever they want simply because they’re men.” She reached up to kiss my jaw line. “You’re not that way, though. You’re just a bit of a chauvinist.”

“Not with you, darling,” I said as I spun her around. “You can lead me wherever you want.”

“As far as dancing goes, I’m happy to let you take the lead.”

When she landed back in my arms again, I asked, “So what did Miriam say to you?”

“Nothing really,” she said innocently.

“What did you say to her?”

“Me?” she asked pointing herself.

“Yes, you.”

Her mouth twitched. “I told her you think she has great knockers.”

“Excellent. Now Lawrence is going to take a swipe at me.”

“I didn’t really say it…” She giggled. “Though I think you’re right to describe them as knockers.”

“I’m usually right about those things.”

“Those things being breasts?”

“And knockers.” I winked. As the song switched from fast to slow, I brought her closer to me and slowed the dance down. “Come on. Tell me what she said.”

She stared at me for a moment, while I died a little inside hoping she might say it to me as well. Eventually, she cocked her head, saying, “It’s against my better judgment to tell you.”

“Now why is that?”

“Because it will probably jinx everything.”

“It’s only going to jinx everything if it’s probably not going to happen in the first place.” I looked at her dead on. “So is it probably going to happen?”

“I don’t know…”

“Just tell me what she said.”

“Oh, all right. You sure do know how to wear a woman down.”

“Years of practice.”

“That’s sort of what her comment was about. It was something like I know David’s been with more women than Mick Jaggar, but he’s a catch.”

“And what did you say?”

“That I wasn’t dumb,” she said with a begrudging smile. “There, you got it out of me.”

I leaned my head down so my eyes were level with hers. “I needed to have all those years of practice in order to be ready for you, love.”

Her smile brightened for a moment, but then began to fade. “It is still an issue for me—all your exes running around, and I really hate being confused for one of your other women. If we’re going to be together, I don’t ever want people confusing me for someone else again.”

I kissed her hand, which was clasped in mine. “I will do my level best to make sure that everyone knows you’re the only woman in my life. No one is allowed to call you anything else, but ‘Allison Wright’ ever again. That’s it.”

“Really?” Her voice was soft.

Then I had an idea. Quickly, I shook my head. “No, that’s not right. I don’t like that at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because,” I said as I exhaled. “I’d really like it if they called you Allison Bates, or Allison Wright Bates. Whichever you prefer.”

“David…” Her smile became incredulous.

“Don’t worry. That wasn’t a proposal.” I looked around the room. “Not now and not here. We need some time.”

She touched the hair around my temple and said softly, “So what’s next, then?”

“Dunno. That’s up to you. If you want to travel, I’d love to go with you, but I need a few days to sort things out at work so I can take some time off. If you want to get a job, get one here. You don’t want to be back in New York, so come live in London.” I smiled. “With me.”

“With you? You’re ready to live together?”

“Darling, I’m ready for everything with you. Bring it on, I say.”

She took a sharp breath, and the blush already burning on her cheeks deepened. After she stammered for a few seconds, she smiled and laid quite the kiss on me. No doubt it raised a few eyebrows on the dance floor, but I didn’t care. Her kiss said everything she couldn’t.

The wedding reception ended around eleven, and as we walked outside into the lovely night, I squeezed Allison’s hand. “Are you tired?”

“Not yet.” She smiled. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Brilliant idea.”

So we walked around London, chatting and laughing as we always had. There were times when I couldn’t believe that this whole day had happened to me or that any of the last nine months had happened. We truly were picking up where we left off. After an hour or so, she said she couldn’t go further in her new high heels.

I pulled her close to me. “You see I have problem.”

“What’s that?”

“I know I said I’d court you and agree to let a perfectly good hotel room go to waste, but I really don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

“Why not? You let me go shopping.”

“I know, but that seemed necessary, whereas this seems a bit forced. Tomorrow is Sunday. We could sleep in. I could make you breakfast.”

“You’re an awful cook.”

“Right.” I raised my finger to relay my better idea. “You could make me breakfast. You’re a wonderful cook.”

She tousled my hair. “You really don’t want a reset, do you? You want things exactly like they were.”

“Yes, and no. I don’t feel for you any less than I did before you threw me on the rubbish heap. If anything, I feel more, and I’ve done a lot of work. I think you’ll see that. I haven’t been in a fight since that night in Scotland. I haven’t even been tempted—well, except for when my therapist called me a snob and an arsehole. I wanted to slug him, but I think you might’ve been okay with it because he was going to hit me first.”

“Self-defense against your therapist. That’s a new one.” Wrapping her arms around my neck, she said, “I believe you though. You do seem mellower.”

“And just to be as clear as possible, in case this is holding you back” I said as I rested my forehead on hers. “I haven’t been with another woman since you left me. No interest at all.”

She closed her eyes and exhaled. “Thank you for telling me. I haven’t been with anyone either, including Trey.” She opened her eyes and pressed her lips lightly to mine. “How could I? I never stopped loving you.”

It was a confession I’d dreamed of hearing, my heart filling with happiness. “And I’m still in love with you,” I said and kissed her.

What started as a slow romantic kiss soon spun out of control. It was like she’d been penned up, and she could finally release herself. I felt the same way, but crikey. I’d promised to restrain myself, and now the woman was all over me. There we were in the middle of London, and all I could think was God bless America. When those girls lost their inhibitions, all bets were off. She was grinding herself against me, grabbing my arse, and generally causing the most intense erection I’d had in months. The Beach Boys had it all wrong because my Midwest farmer’s daughter was more than making me feel far more than only all right.

As we snogged away, I heard a bloke walk by and say, “Jesus Christ. Get yourself a room, you two.” I may have been with an American, but my British sensibilities still ruled me. I pulled away for a moment. “If you want to continue to take advantage of me, which I dearly hope you do, I suggest we find some privacy.”

She smiled. “I guess we are in public.”

“Just a bit.”

“Well, maybe we shouldn’t waste my hotel room.”

“Excellent choice. We can sleep in my bed any night and every night.”

We walked as fast as we could to my car, and once inside, the semi-privacy set off another around of snogging. I had to push her off me. “Woman, I want your clothes off, but not in the car park for the entire world to see. Let’s get to your hotel now.”

She looked at me sheepishly. “Sorry. I’m a little excited.”

“For God’s sake keep it up, but give me ten minutes to get to your hotel.”

“Okay.”

What a little liar she was. We weren’t even out of the car park when her hand was on my dick, rubbing away as we chatted. It felt too damn good for me to stop her, but when she unzipped my trousers I had to address it. “What are you doing?”

“I thought you might need a little release,” she said, bending over to my lap. She moved my right arm, and before I could object, because I really didn’t want to object, her sweet mouth was on my dick once again. My eyes strained wanting to roll in the back of my head in pleasure, but I forced them on the road.

As she traced my foreskin with her tongue, I gasped, “Allison, you know how much I love your mouth on me, but good God, woman, I really don’t want to hurt my Tesla.”

She looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes. “It’s okay. You can come in my mouth.”

“Fuck,” I groaned. “I wasn’t talking about the interior.”

But only a eunuch could turn down an invitation like that. When her mouth was on me again, I adjusted in my seat so she had better access. While I desperately tried not to crash an eighty thousand quid car all for a blowjob, she sucked and stroked me like she was in the bloody oral Olympics. I couldn’t take it any longer so I pulled over to the first empty street I saw.

She must’ve felt the car stop because she looked up. “Are we there?”

“No. I want to fully enjoy this and not crash the car.” I ran my hand through her red hair and smiled. “Now get back to what you were doing or I’ll have to do it myself.”

She grinned and went down on me again, and in only a minute, I was grunting and groaning and ultimately cursing as I came right in her lovely mouth. When I finally calmed down, she was sitting up so I could kiss her. “You are a very naughty girl,” I said in between kisses. “And I love you for it.”

“And I love you.” She smiled.

“Can you give me five minutes so we can get to the hotel?”

“I guess…”

Driving like a mad man, I got to her hotel in four and a half minutes. I tossed the keys to the valet, grabbed Allison’s hand, and we were in her room probably before the bloke even parked my car. As she closed the door behind me, she said, “Don’t turn around until I tell you to.”

“All right.” I stood staring at the terrible hotel curtains, and soon I heard the unzipping of a zip. I chuckled. “What are you doing?”

“Give me one second.”

“Take your time.” Zips unzipping were always a good sign of things to come.

“Okay. You can turn around now.”

Slowly, I turned and no longer saw the ugly drapes or the bland hotel furniture. Instead, Allison was in my sight, and she wore nothing but a strapless black bra, lacy knickers, stockings, and a smile. I crossed my arms. “I believe I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

“There’s lingerie in heaven?”

“Oh, I do hope so.” I gestured for her to come forward. “Come here so I can see you, love?”

She sauntered over to me, still in her heels. “Don’t tell me you’re losing your eyesight.”