All of me (3 page)

‘Actually after you,’ I insist frostily
and we exit the flat.

I sit in Matt’s BMW, ‘this is exquisite,’
I breathe, touching the dashboard of the expensive car.

‘Thank you, you like cars?’ he queries.

‘Contrary to the vehicle I drive you
mean?’ I glance over briefly.

‘Well, currently you are driving an Audi,
so….’ He mutters.

‘Well if you paid attention to your
driving, I wouldn’t be,’ I reply sweetly.

‘Who stops when there isn’t a car in
sight, really?’ he enquires sarcastically, I turn and glare at him.  His eyes
are fixed on the road ahead, but he adds, ‘you can glare all you want,’ he
shrugs and I turn to frown out of the window.

We pull into a showroom and Matt smoothly
enters a parking space, unfolding himself from the driver’s seat.  I unclasp my
belt and move my hand to the handle, the door is opened from outside, Matt
standing aside as I exit the vehicle.

‘Thank you,’ I mumble, testing a glance
up to a pair of amused, hazel eyes.

‘You are very welcome, Emily,’ he purrs,
he is laying on the charm today.

We make our way to the forecourt, where
Matt stops in front of a red Vauxhall Corsa, ‘well, what do you think?’ he
stands observing me as my eyes move over the shiny cars.

‘I think, that this isn’t a replacement,
this is near enough a new car,’ I astound.

‘It is five years old!’ he states.

‘Mine was ten years old,’ I inform him,
‘I thought it was like for like?’

‘Well, yours is unrepairable so it makes
absolutely no sense in getting another the same age,’ he frowns.

‘I don’t do well with charity, Matt.’ I
scold, my lips tightening.

‘Charity? Why are you so snippy? I ruined
your car and am attempting to make amends, that is all I assure you!’ he growls,
annoyed by my outburst.

I regard him as the air around us
sizzles, and suddenly feel foolish for analyzing his actions, the insurance
company would probably pay just this much to replace the written off vehicle
anyway.

‘Ok, in that case thank you,’ I reply
smiling stiffly in his direction, ‘it looks good. I appreciate your prompt
action in replacing the vehicle.’

His eyes pierce mine and my stomach flutters
unexpectedly causing me to place my hand on my middle as I take a breath of
air.  His eyes drop to my lips and, for a moment, I think he is going to kiss
me, before he his glance returns to my eyes.

‘You’re welcome,’ he sends a crooked
smile in my direction.

I circle the car to distract myself from
the sensations running through me.

‘So, you are ok with this one?’ he calls,
from the other side of the car.

‘Yes, it is great thanks,’ I return, he
nods before wandering into the office behind us.  I exhale a breath and place
my sunglasses on my nose to hide my emotions.

Matt enters the showroom and takes a
breath, what am I doing? I could quite easily have kissed the life out of her
right then, she has a fragility about her, despite spitting like a kitten that
has been cornered. Matt returns his glance outside to notice Emily exhaling a
deep breath and smiles to himself, she is definitely affected by him too.  The
woman intrigues him, a rarity these days he finds most of his dates tedious and
predictable that certainly could not be said for Miss Emily Taylor! 

‘They will deliver the car on Monday
evening, if that is ok,’ Matt notifies me as we pull away from the garage,  ‘it
will give you time to transfer the insurance.’

‘Ok, thank you again.’ I answer politely.

‘Do you fancy lunch?’ he enquires
casually. 

‘Erm….I don’t wish to monopolize your
Saturday, Matt,’ I notify him, slightly tempted to accept the invitation and enjoy
his company for a bit longer.

‘Not at all, why would I not wish to
spend my Saturday with a beautiful woman?’ he probes.

I am tongue-tied, what the hell is
happening?  ‘Do you have any other plans?’ he presses.

‘No.’ I mumble confusion filling my mind.

‘Great!’ he pulls onto the A road and
steps up the speed.

‘Wow,’ I smile over at him and he grins.

‘Want to drive?’ he tempts.

‘I would love to drive, would you really
allow me to drive your car?’ I am astonished.

‘Sure, I mean you have to be a better
driver than me right?’ his eyes sparkle with humor, as he pulls in at the next
available spot.

My heart is thumping with adrenaline as I
jump out and pass an amused Matt. I am attempting to adjust the seat as Matt
leans over me, ‘this one here,’ he explains, directing me to the lever.  I am
suddenly surrounded by his presence, my body tingling at the close proximity of
his frame to mine. I inhale his male scent of what I can only assume is body
wash and Matt.  I all but hum at the sensations rushing through my body as Matt
smiles up at me, before relaxing back in the passenger seat.

I feel the heat in my face as I pull the
seat belt across me, opening the window to bring some air into the small
space. 

‘Do you want the roof down?’ Matt
enquires.

‘The roof goes down?’ I shock my eyes
round.

‘Sure,’ he looks entertained at my
naivety, he pushes on a button in the middle console and the hard roof folds
into the boot, likened to something from a Transformers movie.  I am grinning from
ear to ear.

‘You like?’ his eyes regard my happy
face.

‘I like!’ I settle myself and indicate
before moving off, pressing the pedal to the floor.

********

Matt is enjoying himself watching Emily
come alive behind the wheel of his vehicle, her face is comparable to a child
receiving a sparkly new toy.  The wind is flying through her pony tail sending
it flowing behind her, I am eager to release her hair tie to view her dark
locks cascade in the breeze.  She is a skilled driver, but a complete speed
freak!

Her scent is alluring, when I leaned over
to show her the seat controls, I inhaled her subtle fragrance wanting to do
nothing more than bury myself in her.  I need to taste her and watch as she
combusts around me.  I feel a stirring in my groin at the images I have running
through my imagination and almost groan.

‘Pull in there,’ I direct to a small
quaint pub that I am aware serves food.  She expertly pulls into a vacant
parking space and turns to me.

‘Thank you Matt,’ she smiles angelically
up to me.

‘You enjoyed that, didn’t you?’ I note.

‘It was the best thing ever!’ she
expresses eagerly.

‘Better than sex?’ I tease, and she
flushes her mouth opening and closing, ‘come on, Lewis Hamilton.’ I rescue her
from answering, before I unfold myself from the vehicle.

********

We are seated at the rear of the pub in
the courtyard area, over-looking a stunning lake, ‘you been here before?’ Emily
enquires.

‘I have, the food is home cooked,’ he
smiles.

‘Do you cook?’ I continue, intrigued by
this man.

‘Only the basics I’m afraid, you?’ he
questions.

‘A bit,’ I answer vaguely.

‘So you and your sister are obviously
very close?’ he begins.

‘Yes, very much so.’ I nod.

‘No other family?’ he gentles.

‘No,’ is all I reply.  I scrutinize the
menu, ‘any recommendations?’

‘They do a mean ploughman’s, or the prawn
salad is good,’ he is regarding me strangely.

‘Tell me about your work, Matt,’ I direct
the conversation away from myself.

He smiles as if he is aware of my tactics,
‘I own a chain of gyms,’ he answers, ‘so temping, you enjoy it, or you prefer
not to form any type of attachments?’ he raises an eyebrow.

I flush as my insides squirm at the
accuracy of his assumptions, his eyes can read me I knew this immediately the
moment we met. 

As if he senses my displeasure, he calls,
‘Emily, relax you don’t have to indulge anything about yourself that you don’t wish
to,’ he calls the waiter over, ‘what do you want to drink, wine, beer, soft
drink?’

‘Cranberry and soda please,’ I answer
politely and he orders a diet coke for himself.

‘So, diet coke? Surely not on a diet?’ I
gaze at his toned body, which I now realize is from his gym.

‘No, I prefer to keep fit.  Do you work
out?’ he tests.

‘Not really, I run a bit, just to keep my
lungs going.’

‘On the road?’

‘Yes. I think I will go for the tuna
salad,’ I murmur ‘I will buy lunch to thank you for sorting the car out for me.’
I add.

‘No, I am a traditional guy, I will buy
lunch’, he mutters sternly. ‘I think I will go for the prawn. I have a gym not
far from you, feel free to try it…complimentary,’ he smiles.

‘Thank you.  Are you insinuating I
require a gym?’ I tease.

‘Absolutely not!’ his eyes appraise me
leisurely.

He is a good guy I can tell.  I imagine
he has the women circling him at work, ‘do you spend a lot of time in the gym?’

‘I train once a day.  These days, I find
myself mainly travelling around sorting issues out.’

‘Do you have a personal trainer?’ I
query.

‘No,’ he grins ‘I am a personal trainer. 
Do you fancy a bit of personal training?’ I do not miss his innuendo for a moment,
but for some unknown reason my mouth refuses to locate an appropriate reply.

We sit and enjoy the views and the warm
weather, we are experiencing, in a contented silence.  The waiter brings our
food and we eat chatting mildly at intervals.

‘You are very easy to be with,’ Matt
states, ‘most woman have a constant need to talk.’

‘I am not really a talker.’ I smile.

‘I have noticed,’ his eyes penetrate
mine, ‘are you dating anyone?’

‘No,’ my eyes find my plate once again,
before I realize I cannot keep on shutting him down, ‘I don’t date. I don’t
have the time, or the inclination.’ My chins inches up a notch, in preparation
of what, I presume, is his opinion on the matter.

‘You have time now,’ he reminds me
lightly as he chews habitually against his bottom lip.

I shrug, ‘this isn’t a date, I am
happiest when I am in my own company.’

‘Emily, you are a very intriguing woman,’
he regards me, ‘you must have dated at some point in your life.’

I sigh, placing my cutlery down, ‘I have
spent the past eleven years bringing my sister up dating wasn’t really my top
priority.’

‘How come?’ he probes lightly, as he
forks some food into his mouth?

‘My sister and I were in foster care,’ I
reply, as if that information alone was explanation enough.

He nods, ‘yet your sister has found time
to find a husband and a career,’ he enlightens sarcastically.

My eyes fly to his, ‘that’s because I
ensured her damage was limited,’ his hazel eyes clash with mine as I become
defensive.

‘So, you have never dated?’ he continues.

‘No.’ I murmur cautiously, becoming
irritated by his insistence in gaining the knowledge.

 I realize what he is questioning, my
experience with men.

Matt drives back, his brain absorbing the
small amount of information that she has chosen to share.  Surely, she has some
experience with men at twenty-four, she must just mean she doesn’t do
relationships, which is fine, he isn’t interested in anything long term either
at this point in his life.

Work has taken over for the past ten
years, he was twenty one when he purchased his first gym, out of some money his
beloved granddad had left him, and built up from there working day and night to
improve the facilities and employ the best trainers.

Matt’s granddad had been like a father to
him as he never knew his real father who apparently fled when informed that his
mum was pregnant.  He had enjoyed a happy childhood, they had little money, but
a lot of love.

‘Thank you for lunch, but you really should
have let me pay,’ she informs me sternly.

I smile, she is an easy person to be with
but battles unnecessarily, ‘you can buy next time,’ I promise, she turns silent
and I shake my head in frustration.

********

Emily sits quietly on the drive back,
clouds had appeared so they had restored the roof to its original position. 
She had enjoyed Matt’s company but finds all this dating very stressful, not that
this was a date or anything.  Who is she kidding, he makes her insides warm by
a simple glance his eyes see right into her most intimate thoughts.

‘Would you like a cup of tea or anything,’
I ask, out of politeness as we pull up outside my flat.

‘No, I have to pop into work, thank you
though.’

‘Well thank you again for lunch, and for
sorting the car out.’ I unclasp my belt and move to open the door.