Bridge Over the Atlantic (3 page)

Josie smiled down at her friend holding out her hand to pull her back up. “Come on you. Let’s get back to yours and have a bite to eat and then we’ll wander down to the Railwayman’s for a couple of pops.” Josie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. It sounded like a bloody good plan.

Mallory put the day’s takings in the money bag and fastened Ruby’s lead onto her bright rainbow coloured collar. “You’ve loved today haven’t you, Rubes? All that attention.” Ruby wagged her tail and pawed at Mallory’s skirt in agreement. Just then her cell phone began to vibrate in her bag. She opened her bag and rummaged around in its cavernous depths frantically searching for the phone. Finally putting her hand on it she swiped it up to her ear, “Hello?” She gasped feeling flustered.

“Well, hello there, Miss Yorksher.” A familiar voice kissed at her ear, making her shiver with excitement.

“Oh, hi! Sam, right?”

“Oh great, you’ve almost forgotten me already, huh?” He sounded perturbed.

“No-no! Not at all. I was just checking. You’d be surprised at how many Canadian men have been ringing me lately.” She chuckled.

“Ah well, I’m afraid I’m going to push to the front of the line. I wondered if you’d like to meet for a drink or a bite to eat later…I know it’s short notice.”

“Ah, I was actually going out with my friend, Josie, tonight I’m afraid.”

Josie heard her declining the offer of a date and began to make throat slitting gestures and wave frantically in her face. Mallory screwed her face up in confusion, mouthing “what?”

“Just go on the bloody date, Mal, you moron. You can see me any time.” Josie whispered loudly. Chuckling became audible from the other end of the phone.

“Ummmm, I think you should take your friends advice, Mallory. She sounds like a very sensible girl.”

“Oh, if only you knew the truth, Sam, if only.” She sniggered as she saw Josie’s expression turn from horror to relief. “Okay, well, there is a little pub near my home. It’s not flashy but they make a fab steak and kidney pie.”

“It’s a date!” Sam trilled and Mallory’s face almost split in two, thanks to the cavernous grin on her face. They made their arrangements and Mallory floated from the shop with a smile as a new permanent fixture.

When she arrived home, Mallory frantically searched through her wardrobe.
I really need to go shopping,
she sighed to herself. She grabbed something which she felt was passable out of her limited wardrobe and showered. Just as she climbed out of the shower the doorbell chimed.

“Oh, bollocks!” Why did the doorbell always ring when you had either just stepped in, or out of the shower? She wrapped a bath sheet around her voluptuous figure as she hurried down the stairs. She tied a towel-turban on top of her head and opened the front door.

“Ta-daaaaaaa.” Josie waved jazz hands around. Josie was petite, blonde and very pretty, until she opened her mouth. Subtlety was not a trait she was famous for. She stood there in jeans and a hoody,
UGG
boots and a woolly hat with flaps that covered her ears.

“Your timing, as always, is impeccable, Miss Gardiner.” Mallory grumbled dryly.

“I thought there may be a chance you might need these.” She handed a green and white paper bag to her best friend.

“Oh, Josie, what have you done?” Mallory had a feeling she knew what the contents of the bag were. She reached inside and pulled out the small blue box which, sure enough, had the word
Condoms
emblazoned on the side.

“They’re ribbed ones too,” Josie wiggled her eyebrows giving her a double thumbs up.

Mallory tried to look indignant. Shaking her head and huffing out a sharp breath she stared at her friend, “Seriously, Josie? Do you
honestly
think I am likely to
need these
? I’ve only just met the guy.”

“Well, I bloody well hope so. You daft bat!” Josie was now the one to appear indignant. “Anyone would think you were hunch-backed and covered in warts and boils. He sounds bloody gorgeous and you obviously fancy the pants off him. This is post war Britain and the rules have changed, Mallory. In fact there are no rules. So, stop worrying about your body and go get you some nice, juicy ass, girlfriend.”

Mallory laughed at Josie’s appalling attempt at an American accent and “gangsta rappa” stance. She sighed, rolled her eyes and shaking her head, slammed the door in Josie’s face.

~~~~~

Sam and Mallory sat at a small table beside the fireplace in the Railwayman’s Arms; Mallory with her glass of red wine and Sam with a pint of ‘Sleeper Ale’ the pubs homemade brew. They chatted easily.

“So, tell me about your last boyfriend. I was shocked when you told me you were single. I expected you’d have been snapped up by some lucky son of a gun long ago” Sam blurted suddenly, totally changing the subject and catching her off guard. He, genuinely,
did
seem surprised at her marital status which both pleased and embarrassed her.

“Crikey, get right to the point, eh, Sam?” Mallory could feel her face flush as heat rose to her cheeks. After a pause to see that Sam was,
actually
, interested she began.

“Hmmm, how long have you got? Tell you what, I will give you the abridged version…Craig Spencer was a mechanic, a year older than me, divorced from a marriage that began when he was only twenty-two. He was obsessed with his car. In fact, he loved
IT
more than he did me. I
thought
it was love, but he just wanted a fling, even though we went out for a year. Then one day I realised that if there was
ever
to be some kind of an ultimatum the car would win hands down. So I ended it.” The words rushed out all in one breath. She gasped air back into her lungs.

“Wow!” Sam looked stunned. He gazed at her and took her hand. “I cannot believe that dumb son-of-a-bitch loved a hunk of metal more than a beautiful, funny, sexy-as-hell girl like you.” He looked down at their hands and freed hers, “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to be so…forward. I mean I don’t know the guy…I am sure he—”

“Hey, it’s fine, honestly.” Mallory missed the now absent contact and wanted to reach for his hand in return, but refrained. “You’ve pretty much got him pegged.” She smiled.

They sat in silence for a few moments when something dawned on Mallory. “Wait a minute. You think I’m sexy?” Her eyes widened at the realisation. His lips turned up into a scrumptious half smile that made her toes curl.

“Hell yeah!” He nodded and there was a mischievous glint visible in his verdant eyes.

Mallory sat up a little straighter, feeling quite boosted by this unexpected compliment. “So tell me about your last girlfriend? It’s only fair.”

“Touché,” Sam said. He thought for a moment and then began, “Where do I start? Syd was…uhh—”

Mallory gasped, “Wait. Sid? Like the actor Sidney Poitier? As in a...
man
?” She feared that she had just opened up a whole new can of worms and discovered that her new, potential true love was bi-sexual. She wasn’t sure she was
that
open minded.

Sam slapped his knee as he threw his head back and guffawed at her shock. “Sydney
was
and still
is
as far as I am aware, a girl!”

“Thank goodness for that.” Mallory burst out laughing with him, “I was just wondering what on earth to say next.”

“Sydney Lowery was a secretary in my brother’s firm. I met her when I worked in the office in Ottawa to do my internship. She was lovely at first.”

“What did she look like?” Mallory interrupted

“Hey, no fair. I didn’t ask you what that douchebag, Craig looked like. A little irrelevant don’t you think?” He briefly raised his eyebrows but continued to smile.

“He was tall, skinny and hairy with big ears. Nuff said. Humour me, Sam. I’m just curious.”

Sam chuckled after she gave him a vision of her ex.

“He sounds as ugly as he was stupid.” He gave her a wink. “Okay, she was about five-eight, long curly auburn hair, with green eyes.” He rubbed his forehead as if trying to remember.

“Was she thin…chubby…?” Mallory trailed off, looking down at her hands and as she fiddled with her nails. Sam reached over and gently squeezed her forearm as if trying to reassure her.

“Mallory, she is who she is. I didn’t ask her out because of her size. Anyway it’s a moot point. We split. She was seeing several people behind my back. The one she really wanted broke her heart. She came back to me, but I wasn’t interested.”

“Hmmm, well she sounds like a
douchebag
too then.” Mallory defended him

“It would appear so.” He smiled, tilting his head to one side, “Good for us that our former partners were so crappy, huh? Or we may never have met.” He kept his eyes locked on hers and she melted inside.

~~~~~

Mallory took out her keys as they arrived at her cottage. Wondering what the
hell
she was doing bringing Sam back to her place. What if they ended up kissing? Or worse still, what if they ended up in bed? He would see her
naked
!
Oh-my-God! Oh-my-God! Oh-my-God!
She panicked as her breathing increased. She fumbled, trying to get the keys into the lock.

“Hey, are you okay? You look a little shaky?”
Damn!
He had noticed.

“Y-yeah, yeah I’m fine, no problems…just can’t get the key in with my gloves on, silly me. What a dufus,” she rambled. He took her shoulders and turned her to him. Gently he cupped her face in his warm leather clad hands and gazed into her eyes.

“Hey, it’s coffee, that’s all. Don’t be nervous.” He smiled, planting a light kiss on her forehead. “I am not expecting to jump into bed with you, Mallory. I am
so
not that kind of guy.”

“Well,” she let out a sigh, “that’s good to know.” She clambered for some poise. “And I wouldn’t expect you to want to…erm…anyway.” She tried to turn her attention to the door.

“Wait, what? You wouldn’t
expect me to want to
?” He frowned, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, forget I said anything. Really. I was thinking out loud.” She hadn’t meant that last part to be audible at all!
Dammiiiiiit!

Still grasping her shoulder with one hand, he tilted her chin back to look at him with the other.

“Hey, Mallory, believe me when I say this, as I don’t say things I don’t mean.
Oh I want to, really I do
. All I’ve been able to think about since we met the other day is how much I wanted to see you again. How much I would just die to kiss those luscious lips of yours and how good it would feel to run my hands over your sensuous curves. You’re so sexy, so feminine. You’re the way a woman
should be
. Don’t
ever
think that you are not exactly what men want
;
what
I
want. Popsicle sticks do nothing for me. Curves are what turn me on. And
man
do yours turn me on. I just don’t want to scare you off by groping at you on our first, official, date. I really think we have something here. Don’t you feel it too?”

Mallory gazed into his emerald eyes, unable to move; almost unable to breathe. She felt a little like a rabbit in headlights; stunned by his honesty and floored by his almost palpable desire for her. All she could muster was a little nod of her head.

With that he leaned down, pausing to seek her consent. She closed her eyes in anticipation. His breath felt warm against her chilled skin and then, finally, after what felt, to Mallory, like forever, he took her mouth with his own. His firm lips moulded to hers and his tongue dipped inside just a little. He tasted delicious and his cologne filled her nose as she breathed him in. Her hands reached up and found his hair as she drew him nearer. His kiss was soft but oozed passion and longing and gave a glimpse of what could be. Her legs became weak. And she clenched way down
there.

When the kiss ended she felt a little light headed; almost drunk from the oh-so-brief exchange. She had
never
been kissed like
that
before. She raised her fingers and touched her lips where his had been only moments before. They tingled. She tingled. She turned her gaze once again to the door and this time unlocked it with ease.

Sam followed her inside, holding her hand in his. She watched as he made an assessing glance around at his new surroundings. The fireplace wall was adorned in a sumptuous wallpaper of red and gold whilst the rest of the walls remained a rich, neutral cream. She loved art work; unusual art work at that and had displayed as many of her pieces as she could without cluttering up the small room. Sam stood in front of the mantle appraising one of her most prized paintings. The scene showed a couple walking along a moonlit beach. The painting was almost black and white but for a bright red umbrella that the couple carried together.

“Very romantic.” He said as he turned and smiled at her. A little sigh escaped her throat, “Nice little place you have here.” He said nodding in approval.

“Thanks. It’s small, but I love it. My parents bought it for me before they died.”

“Wow, that’s a thoughtful gift.”

Mallory shrugged, “They wanted me to have a safe place to live when I moved out of home. They didn’t have much money but they bought this place and rented it out until I was old enough to move in.” She looked around her lounge, “It’s big enough for the two of us. Well, more like one and a half.” She said as a little black dog ran into the room making a beeline for the visitor in her home, “This is Ruby.”

Sam crouched down to greet the fluffy canine.

“Hey there, cutie-pie, aren’t you just the sweetest wittle fing I have ever seen? Yes you are. Yes you are.” Sam cooed at the dog, which clearly approved of him.

“So…coffee?” She asked and Sam tore himself away from the black wiry bundle of fur skipping around his feet.

“That’d be great, thank you.” He answered brightly.

He followed her into the kitchen still glancing around. She had painted the uneven walls in duck egg blue to compliment the handmade pine storage units. There was just enough space for a dining table, against one wall. The rest of the available spaces on each wall were filled with old, metal advertising signs and little plaques displaying phrases such as ‘I kiss better than I cook’ and ‘Never trust a skinny chef!’ Mallory heard Sam chuckle as he read the words.