Unexpected

Chapter 8

“If you’re not already sick of me, and/or afraid of continued sexual harassment, would you like to go to dinner with me tonight, at the Cotton House? We could both go home and get ready, and I could come and pick you up at your place in an hour, at 6?” he asked, looking at his watch, which he had sitting on the small table between our lounge chairs.

“That sounds nice,” I said with a smile, and very much like a date. “Where is your place, I just realized I have no idea?”

“It’s not far from yours, a bit further south,” he gestured vaguely. The only places I’d seen that direction were completely huge, family-size houses, so it must be farther down the island. “In fact, I’m going to take off now as I have a farther drive than you. See you soon!”

He left me on the beach with a wave and I laid there calmly until he was well out of sight, then jumped up, throwing things into my beach bag as quickly as possible. Only an hour to make myself look my absolute best, the race was on!

The ringing of the doorbell alerted me to Alex’s arrival, right at 6. I answered the door with a smile and a beer. “Come in, I thought we could have a drink quick before we took off.”

“That sounds good, but potentially dangerous. I’ve finally just sobered up from earlier!”

He lifted his beer to take a sip, then looked at me fully for the first time, and froze, with the bottle halfway to his mouth. 

“Speaking of dangerous, Charlie, you look absolutely smashing,” he said, his eyes running up and down my body in appreciation. Somehow when Alex looked at me like that, it wasn’t creepy at all. 

The look on his face was worth every moment of preparation I’d put in. I wore a casual blue and white striped dress with spaghetti straps. The dress went almost to my knees and I paired it with strappy wedge sandals. I took a lot more time with my makeup than I typically did and, while I kept it natural looking for the most part, I did a slight winged cat eye with my eyeliner and darker lipstick. I’d also curled my hair so it lay in loose waves down my back, although using a curling iron under the influence wasn’t something I’d be doing again in the near future. I’d managed not to actually cause any harm to myself, but it took me twice as long as it normally did since I moved slow to ensure that I didn’t burn my neck or hands.

“Thank you, you look great too,” I replied. He was wearing a lightweight long sleeved white button down and long khaki shorts. There wasn’t a dress code anywhere on the island so I really appreciated that he’d dressed up a bit for our date and not just thrown on a t-shirt. Although I knew from earlier that he looked pretty dang good in a t-shirt as well. Not as good as he did with no shirt at all, but that, sadly, wouldn’t be appropriate at all for dinner. 

“I thought we’d just walk to dinner, if that’s ok. It’s still perfect outside and I can’t lie, I still have enough alcohol in my system that I would be a little concerned about my ability to drive, especially as unfamiliar as I am with this place still.” He gestured towards the door. “After you.”

“Walking sounds perfect. Let me just grab my purse and we can go.”

I led as we walked down the path to the restaurant as I was quite familiar with the way having gone there several times already. When there were rough spots in the road, Alex would put his hand on the small of my back and the other at my elbow to help assist me through, which was very chivalrous, but he would always promptly drop them once we were on flat ground again. I found myself wishing the path were bumpier so he’d be forced to touch me the entire time.

When we got to the restaurant, Alex asked for a table by ourselves, which made me blush slightly, not that I wasn't glad he did it. 

We both ordered seafood dishes and Alex selected a bottle of wine, after first asking what kinds I liked and didn't like and checking with the waiter to see what he recommended. The food was amazing, as it had been previously when I’d eaten there, but something about the quality of the company made everything taste even better. Alex let me try a bite of his and vice versa and I ended up liking his better, so we swapped midway through at his insistence. He also declared that we had to eat dessert, so we figured out something we’d both like and shared it, accompanied by a sweet dessert wine, which I certainly didn't need at that point, and Alex likely didn't need it either, although I wasn't sure of his tolerance. After all the drinking I’d done in school, I thought I would be better off than I was, but it’d been a long, long time since I’d drank an entire day away like I’d done that day.

When dinner was done, as we left the restaurant, I said, “If there’s a more direct path back to your place, that’s completely fine, I know the way home from here.”

“Of course I’m walking you home, you’re in no shape to get there yourself,” Alex said, sounding miffed that I’d even suggested going without him.

“I’m really fine but I’ll take the escort anyway. In my state, I’m bound to get lost, too many palm trees everywhere here,” I giggled, my statement pretty much completely contradicting my previous declaration that I knew the way home just fine. “Although I don’t know how much help you’ll be, you’re as drunk as I am.”

“That’s probably true, but I’m far less likely to be led astray.”

Alex took my hand as we walked down the stone steps from the restaurant and didn't release it once we were on flat ground again. It was such a simple thing but it felt so nice, just holding his hand.

Halfway to my place, I dropped his hand and abruptly sat down on the dirt path, “Ugh, these shoes are the worst! Sure, they look comfy enough but they’re like twin torture devices on my feet.” I yanked them off, wiggling my toes once they were finally free. “Ah, that’s better.”

Alex stood above me shaking his head with a smile on his face. “Here, I’ll take those,” he grabbed my sandals, then pulled me up with his other hand. I stumbled into him, looking up into his face. 

“Your face is farther away now,” I blurted out. “I liked being closer to your height.”

“Did you now?” he murmured, pushing a piece of my hair behind my ear. I thought he might kiss me and I held my breath in anticipation, but instead he just put his arm around me and we continued on the path home.

We chatted about dinner and our day together as I snuggled into him. He was the perfect height for me to fit right under his arm -- I’d guess he was a little over 6 feet tall. When we got to my house, Alex helped me up the stairs of my porch. “Here you are, safe and sound.”

“Thanks for walking me home; I’d likely be found tomorrow, passed out on the beach with no shoes on if not for your guidance.” 

“You’re taking the piss, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Excuse me? I don’t speak British!” I laughed, having no clue what he meant.

“Do you mean English? Ah, I’ll translate: Such a smart arse -- pardon me, smart ass,” he said, smiling at me.

“Better a smart ass than a dumb ass, I always say,” I quipped, then ruined it by hiccuping and somehow almost tipping over, despite the fact that I was standing completely still at the time.

“Whoa there, you ok?” He grabbed my upper arms to steady me.

“Yeah, why?” I asked honestly, smiling up at him, already forgetting my near collapse at his touch.

“Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, what am I going to do with you?” he said, shaking his head at me.

“Maybe...kiss me?” Even as the words left my mouth, I couldn't believe I’d said them. 

“That,” he said, stepping closer and taking my face between his hands, “is a brilliant idea.” He leaned over and kissed me, gently sliding his lips over mine. As it continued, I opened my mouth slightly and he touched his tongue briefly to mine before retreating. It was a sweet and perfect first kiss and under normal circumstances, I’m sure I would have been happy to say goodnight to him at that point. 

But drunk Charlie was having none of that. When he moved to step back, I grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands, pulling him close again as I kissed him, much deeper than he’d kissed me, then slowly sucked his lower lip into my mouth. 

Apparently Alex wasn't quite as gentlemanly as he had let on. He took control of the kiss and pushed me up against the side of the house, his hands entwined in my hair. As we continued to kiss, he slid his leg between mine and I rubbed myself against him, causing him to groan. I wrapped my arms around his back, grabbing at the loose fabric of his polo. Alex’s mouth slid to my neck and I tilted my head back to give him greater access. His hands started to move down my body, then he suddenly pulled himself back from me, giving us at least a foot of space between our two bodies as he looked around somewhat wildly. 

Breathing hard, he motioned his head towards the door, “Do you want, do you think...could we take this inside?” I nodded and grabbed his hand, unlocking then pulling open the door.

Things got a bit hazy after that.