Temptation or Insanity?
'Hi Gerri, the usual?' Kathy always kept my table by the window ready at the same time each day.
‘Yes, thanks.’
I sat down and closed my eyes
as the warmth of the sun radiated through the window through my thin blouse and
onto my back. When I opened my eyes I saw him at an adjacent table drinking a
mug of coffee.
His lustrous black hair shaped neatly into his neck, his
after-five shadow and those dreamy come-to-bed eyes. I watched him for a
while and when he looked up, I held his gaze longer than I intended.
'Gerri? Your Caffe latte.'
'Oh…Thanks, Kathy.'
'Anything to eat today?'
'No... actually yes, I'll have a ham and cheese croissant,
please.' I can stay a while and watch him a bit longer. No harm in
that.
A pang of guilt knotted in my stomach. What am I
thinking I am happily married?
I held the warm glass mug between my hands, blowing on the
froth and glancing in his direction. This time he held my gaze. I averted
my eyes and went to get up and leave.
'One ham and cheese croissant. I threw in extra ham for you
today, enjoy.'
'Damn.'
'Is something wrong?'
'No nothing, Kathy. It looks great, thanks.' I'll
eat this and then get out of here.
Using the knife and fork I cut through the soft, flaky
pastry. I wound up the long strands of cheese around my fork. Looking
up, I caught him looking again and smiling. His smile stirred something
deep within my soul and I was compelled to smile back.
'Everything okay, Gerri?'
'Everything is great, thanks.' Perfect timing,
Kathy.
My whole body tingled every
time I felt his eyes on me. I looked for a wedding ring on his finger. If he is
married I would feel much better and could put this down to a flirtatious
interlude between strangers.
But no, something compelled me to stay and see this mystery
through to the end. I could not ascertain his marital status.
Shortly after, Kathy came over with a piece of lemon
meringue pie with strawberries, passionfruit and cream on top.
‘What is this?’ I gave Kathy a puzzled look.
‘Compliments from that guy over there.’ Kathy hooked her
thumb over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows.
‘I can’t accept that, I don’t even know the man.’
‘No, but you two have been making googly eyes at each other
since you got here. Hey,it’s free, don’t knock it. You know how much you love
lemon meringue pie.’
‘Yes, but how…?’
‘He asked me, so I told him.’ Kathy shrugged and headed
back to the kitchen. Should I look up and gesture my thanks?
I chanced it and glanced up nodding my head. He held his
mug of coffee up and smiled. I watched his sensuous mouth curl up on one side
and a shudder of delight coursed down my spine.
I scooped a spoonful of the fluffy dessert and swirled
it around my mouth. I closed my eyes enjoying the texture of the creamy lemon
custard. Knowing it came from him somehow made it taste even more pleasurable.
I picked off a large strawberry and bit into the sweet, juicy fruit. As I did I
caught him smiling.
***
‘Dad, Mum is daydreaming about Antonio Banderas again,’ shouted
Kelly.
Steve walked through to the lounge and smiled. With my legs
curled under me on our plush leather lounge, I indulged in a piece of lemon
meringue pie.
I looked up through dark eyelashes at Steve and then re-started the
Banderas movie I watched.
‘Oh? Where did you meet him this time?’ Steve winked.
'Kathy’s Coffee Cuisine.’ My amber eyes sparkled as I held
Steve’s gaze. He laughed and kissed my cheek. 'See you tonight.'
‘Let’s go, Kels,’ he said as he grabbed his keys.
Really lovely story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, we all have our fantasies, don't we? LOL
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