Inspired by Night: - a sexy new age romance (4 page)

‘I can’t believe you’re here, I just decided to pop in for a drink and see who was about. I had no idea you would be here,’ she flicked her hair over her shoulder, swatting me in the face. ‘I am so glad you are, though,’ she murmured, looking up at him through her eyelashes. I cleared my throat.

‘Excuse me, hi,’ I said, smiling politely.

She turned to look at me, scowling. It wasn’t an attractive look. Her face was caked in make-up and her false eyelashes had been covered with thick liner, framing her eyes and making her look like Miss Piggy.

‘He’s here with me tonight and we were in the middle of something, would you mind?’ I raised my eyebrows questioningly and waited for her to reply. She looked me up and down slowly, her face displaying a commentary as she got the measure of me, and seeing nothing that worried her she stood up and squeezed past me again. She leant across the table to Steven.

‘I’ll see you later,’ she whispered, blowing him a kiss as she straightened herself up and sashayed away to the bar.

Steven looked mortified so I punched him lightly on the shoulder.

‘Hey, round one to us. Do you want another pint?’

I watched his face as he narrowed his eyes, watching Melissa, then he jumped to his feet, grabbing my hand.

‘She just entered the ladies, can we get out of here?’ he asked. ‘Quick before she comes back?’ he insisted.

I stood up, aware of Steph watching me, a frown on her face.

‘I’ll text you where we’ve gone. Follow us when you’ve finished this round, OK?’ I shrugged apologetically as Steven pulled me towards the door; I kept an eye on the ladies’ toilet, hoping Melissa wouldn’t emerge and spot us trying to make a run for it. We stumbled out into the street and ran across the road towards Camden Town tube station and out of sight of the pub.

‘She will notice as soon as she opens the toilet door,’ he said, a hint of panic in his voice. ‘Where can we go?’

‘The Mixer?’ He nodded and started running across the road towards the Good Mixer. I loved The Mixer, it had a bit of a history as a pub that cool bands had frequented.

We slipped inside, found a corner table and sank into the seats, breathing heavily. Steven looked tense but I was feeling something else, an adrenalin rush maybe, it was really quite thrilling. Running away from a stalker might sound scary but when it’s not your stalker it’s just fun. I thought back to my childhood nightmares of being chased by the Terminator and reasoned that this was probably like that for Steven; a relentless being with a single mission. For me it was nowhere near as frightening as being chased by a merciless android so I was finding the whole thing really quite exciting.

‘Pint?’ I asked standing up after my breathing had returned to normal. He nodded, watching the door in trepidation. I realised it wouldn’t be that difficult to work out which pub he might have gone to, there are not that many after all. ‘Tell you what, my flat is a two minute walk from here. We can go there, you can call a cab and be home long before she even comes looking for you?’ I suggested.

Relief washed over his face and he nodded, smiling. I held out my hand to him and pulled him up. We must have looked like a dodgy pair sneaking out of the pub, looking all around. I was trying to take it seriously for Steven’s sake but I kept pretending I was Jack Bauer, whispering, ‘I’ll check the perimeter, you cover me. OK it’s clear, head to the next corner.’ By the time we reached my flat, Steven was grinning.

‘We are at the rendezvous point, location is secured.’ I giggled as I unlocked the door.

‘Copy that, Agent Jones.’ He glanced around one last time before following me through the door.

I collapsed on the sofa, giggling. Steven stood in the doorway, watching me.

‘I’m sorry Steven, I know it’s not funny, it’s just that –’ I giggled again ‘– well, it sort of is funny, if you think about it. Running away from some woman because she wants to have sex with you.’

‘Well I suppose when you put it like that, it must seem pretty funny,’ he agreed, ‘but she’s relentless. I just want her to leave me alone. I mean, can you imagine me trying to actually meet someone with that constantly turning up all the time? She’d scare everyone away until there was only her left.’

I wandered into the kitchen, grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and sat back down on the sofa.

‘She was pretty, though. I mean, crazy stalker tendencies aside, why aren’t you into her?’ I asked, curious.

Steven took a long drink of his beer and sighed, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. He leant back into the sofa and looked at me.

‘I’m a nerd, Olly. I did a degree in video game programming, I take computers apart for fun, I have the entire DVD collection of
Star Trek
and I sometimes sit around my house wearing a Stormtrooper helmet,’ he explained.

‘I can see why she likes you so much, you are a catch.’ I clinked my bottle against his and took a sip. He pulled his tongue at me and I realised he thought I was teasing him, when I was actually being serious. Best not to think about that too much, Olivia Jones.

‘It’s a bit different at uni – you start off living in a student house or halls with a random set of people and it doesn’t matter what you study, you just bond over the shared experience. I also worked behind the bar at the student union so everyone knew me without knowing I was this big nerd. And then someone in their wisdom decided to make The Doctor all handsome and sexy and easily accessible to a mainstream audience. For the first time in my life, no one was calling me a speccy twat any more. All these apparently popular girls were hanging around the computer rooms looking for their latest fashion accessory to hang off their arm.’

‘OK, but that doesn’t explain why we’re sneaking round the streets of Camden trying to lose a girl who’s apparently really into you.’

‘She knew me from the student union, and she had a thing for me, that’s all. But she was studying fashion design, she likes Take That, she watches
The X Factor
.’ He paused to check my reaction. I nodded. ‘You see? I can’t have a conversation with her, we have nothing in common; she wants to be out partying every night, she wants to be meeting celebrities. I want to play video games and drink in old man pubs. Do you want to know what my fantasy is?’ he asked suddenly. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged, inviting him to continue. ‘I fantasise about having a girlfriend who opens her door to me on a Saturday night and says, “You know, I don’t really feel like going out tonight, can we just stay in and play
Lego Batman
?”’

I glanced sideways at the
Lego Batman
cover on the coffee table and laughed.

‘Wow, I actually
am
spending this Saturday night playing
Lego Batman
, and that is why I don’t have a boyfriend. You know, if you were a few years older I’d probably be stalking you myself!’ I smirked at him.

‘If you spent your weekends playing video games you wouldn’t have to stalk me.’ He looked at me then, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, his eyes exploring my face. I felt a prickling sensation creeping up the back of my neck as his words sunk into my mind. Shit, he was going to try to kiss me. I started to panic and, breaking away from his gaze, I pushed myself off the sofa and busied myself in the kitchen, pouring a glass of water and wiping down the sink. He watched me for a few minutes before joining me in the kitchen.

‘Is it my age?’ he asked.

‘I’m sorry?’ I feigned ignorance at his question, but my heart rate increased slightly. Were we really having this conversation? I supposed it was better now so we could pretend we didn’t remember it when the hangover kicked in. Monday was going to be awkward.

‘Cards on the table time, Ols. I like you, you’re cool, you’re funny, beautiful, nerdy, you don’t over-think things, except maybe now you’re definitely over-thinking whether or not you should let me kiss you.’ He smiled and moved closer to me, raising his hand to touch my face.

I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to go with the moment and sink into his arms. I took a deep breath and using all the resistance I could muster, I stepped away from him and refilled my glass with water. I searched his face as I drank it down slowly, deliberately stalling before I had to speak. His face betrayed no feeling of disappointment or rejection. He was smiling, the confidence of youth, I suppose. Perhaps in his mind it was a foregone conclusion that something would happen, but what? What was he expecting, a one night stand with his boss? A relationship?

I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth and took a slow deep breath.

‘It’s not just your age. I’m your boss, I hardly know you yet – how do I know you’re not angling for a sexual harassment suit, to put me out of business and skip off with all my clients?’

He stared at me, his confident air visibly shaken. I don’t think I’d hit a nerve; he was genuinely shocked at my suspicion. I felt guilty.

‘I’m just saying, we haven’t known each other long enough to be more than just work colleagues yet,’ I explained.

‘If I didn’t work for you, if you had just met me tonight and everything that followed still happened, would you be kissing me right now?’

Yes!
My shoulder sagged and I sighed. I closed my eyes and covered my mouth with my hand before nodding my head. I heard him exhale and opened my eyes, regarding him sadly. I felt bad, had I offended him? Was he upset? Was Monday morning going to be the most awkward day in the history of office experiences? He looked like he wanted to say something but changed his mind, shrugging instead.

‘Thanks for tonight, I owe you one. Can you call me a cab?’

I nodded and picked up the phone, relieved he was leaving. I wanted to think over all his comments and everything I’d learned about him. I was feeling confused about Steven; one minute he was annoying me, the next he was making me laugh. He was too young and yet he always behaved older. I fought an urge to reach over and run my fingers through his hair.

‘Ten minutes,’ I told him as I settled down next to him again on the sofa, the moment long past when I feared he might kiss me. Did I want him to kiss me?
Maybe
. No, my explanation was valid, not that I’d thought about it before I said it, it just came to mind in the moment, but it was a worry all the same. I wanted to get back to the easy conversation we were enjoying before all this. I didn’t want him leaving in a bad mood, worrying about facing each other at work on Monday.

‘So why don’t you take Melissa to your place and let her see your true nerd? Maybe that will put her off once and for all,’ I suggested.

He contemplated my suggestion but dismissed it.

‘I don’t think she cares about talking. I think she wants the arm candy.’ He grimaced and shook his head. ‘I can’t believe I’d even qualify as arm candy. It’s bad enough that The Doctor became a poster pin-up, but since when did nerds become sexy?’

‘Nerds have always been sexy. Just because the non-nerds have only just realised it doesn’t mean we weren’t all aware of it already.’

He clinked his bottle against mine.

‘You are so right!’ He grinned. ‘So I assume you’re partial to a nerd yourself then? Come on, Ols, what’s your story, what do you go for?’ I felt my cheeks flush and he laughed. ‘Come on, I won’t tease you. I promise.’ I shook my head and he was distracted by a car horn beeping outside.

‘Ah your taxi awaits. Do you want me to go sweep the perimeter, make sure she didn’t track us here?’ I offered.

Steven laughed and shook his head, following me to the door. We descended the stairs and I held open the door to the street, waving at the taxi to let him know we were there. Steven threw his arms round me and squeezed me.

‘Thanks for tonight, Olly, and thanks for hiring me.’ He walked backwards down the path, pointing at me. ‘Best. Boss. Ever!’ He grinned, ‘Oh and I will find out who your dream man is.’ He waved out of the window of the cab and was gone.

I walked back into my flat and filled another glass with water. I leant against the sink looking at the fridge, and smiled at the picture of the current Doctor – David Tennant. Good job Steven didn’t see that, he’d be most disappointed. Shaking my head again, I turned off the light and went to bed.

Chapter Five

‘It was a disaster!’ I exclaimed the next day when Ruth arrived for lunch, eager to hear about Friday night drinks and how I had survived the first week with an employee.

‘Is that arsehole still calling you by your name?’ she teased.

I felt a flush of shame at how I had described Steven on Monday – after last night I felt very differently toward him.

I told Ruth about the night; Steph and her attempt to claim him, Melissa, hiding in The Mixer before making a dash for home. I smiled to myself as I recalled us pretending to be secret agents. I told her everything I had learned about Steven, skipping over the brief moment when I thought I might want him to kiss me. She wasn’t fooled though, she could see through me like my skin and skull were made of glass.

‘So not an irritating little shit anymore?’ she asked, regarding me with a knowing look. ‘He sounds pretty awesome actually. Tall, dark, handsome, wants to stay in with you and play video games.’ She raised her eyebrows questioningly and I shook my head.

‘You’re forgetting young, annoying, and my employee,’ I said, ticking them off on my fingers. She rolled her eyes as I continued. ‘Besides which, he seemed pretty scornful of women who fancy David Tennant and let’s face it, I’m a big fan of DT.’ I pulled my mouth down into a grimace and shook my head. ‘And let’s not forget that I was very drunk last night, so anything I thought I might be feeling was just down to alcohol and I’m just glad I was sensible enough to make sure nothing happened,’ I finished, remembering his intense gaze after he said I wouldn’t have to stalk him and feeling my cheeks flush. Ruth narrowed her eyes at me.

‘There’s a small part of you that is vaguely interested though, isn’t there? Come on, Jones, admit it.’

I closed my eyes and sighed.

‘I’ll admit to being a little confused,’ I said, raising my hand holding my thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart. ‘A little,’ I stressed.