Good for Nothing

It’s Friday morning and the excitement I’m feeling is palpable. I couldn’t get the whole day off but Sarah (my lovely Sarah) has offered to take over from one-thirty. I decided to text Heath rather than phone.

“HEY HEATH – JUST 2 LET U KNOW: SARAH’S COVERING ME FROM 1:30 SO WHATEVER IT IS WE’RE DOING CAN BE DONE EARLIER NOW!”

I put my phone down on the kitchen counter and prepared toast and a cup of tea even though I didn’t know whether my nerves would allow me to consume it. My phone screen lit up.

“THAT’S COOL. I’LL B ROUND FOR 2PM. CAN’T WAIT. SEE U LATER.” Came Heath’s text. I replied, almost immediately.

“ME TOO! ARE U SURE I DON’T NEED TO PACK? I FEEL TOTALLY DISORGANISED.” This time, I didn’t even put my phone down; I held it in my hand, eagerly awaiting the response, which didn’t take long.

“NOPE! NOW STOP KEEP ASKING! JUST BE READY – THAT’S ALL I ASK.”

“FINE!” I tapped, “I GET THE HINT. SEE U LATER ALLIGATOR!”

Right; I best get changed. In only four and a half hours I’d be away for the weekend (or so I imagined). When I told Heath I couldn’t wait, I meant every word.

******

I’d been waiting at the window of the shop for the past half an hour. Sarah was already in the kitchen, brewing coffee in preparation for her shift behind the counter. The smell was heavenly and where I would never usually pass up a fresh, hot cup of coffee, today my stomach was doing somersaults and I was worried it might make me feel a bit squiffy.

Sarah took her position after her placing her mug of coffee on the counter top and pulling a book from the Teen Fiction shelves (Funny; we both preferred teen fiction to any other genre actually – the plots were usually far better).

“You know, honey,” Sarah spoke, startling me, “The longer you stand there, the longer the wait will be. Why don’t you come and sit with me and have a coffee? He won’t be late!” I explained that coffee was probably the worst idea at the moment but I thanked her anyhow.

“The problem is; you got ready far too early.” Sarah berated.

“I had to get ready – you know that thing I do called “running the shop”?” I shot back.

“Yes, I know that my little stress-head. What I mean is you would have had plenty of time to get ready once I got here. You know I would never have turned up late. I did have all this in mind when I turned up an hour before you asked me to!”

Sarah had (bless her) arrived just before twelve-thirty and couldn’t believe I was already fully “done up” to go. She was a little bemused to say the least.
“I know, I know,” I replied, “it just seemed silly for me to get ready for work just to get ready again to leave. I’m all done now, anyhow.”

“I can see that, hun.” Sarah said, patting her lap, gesturing me to sit on it. “Just come and relax. He’ll be here before you know it.”

******

Just as I managed to settle down and regain a modicum of composure, Sarah started to flap around like her arse was on fire.

“Um, Leia?” Sarah asked, “What car does Heath drive?” Now, that was a good question; I really hadn’t a clue.

“Not sure, why?” I replied, trying my hardest not to race up to Sarah, who by now had her face practically squashed up against the shop front. Without even so much as casting a glimpse my way, Sarah piped up again.

“Well, I have a feeling this is him!” Her mouth was agape. To see Sarah close to speechless was truly the stuff of legend. I looked towards where she was staring. An E Type Jaguar (with its top all the way down) had pulled up just past the shop. I gasped; this couldn’t be Heath, could it? No – surely not. Then the driver door opened. It was Heath; Heath drives a Jaguar.

Heath shot a beaming smile at me as he got out the car and slammed the door behind him. He casually jogged towards me; that smile still plastered across his face. I opened the door before he got to me; Sarah still had her mouth wide open.

“Hey sugar.” Heath said as he pulled me in for a hug and then a brief but glorious kiss. “You ready?”

“Yup, ready as I’ll ever be.” I replied, still entirely unsure about what I should be ready for. Heath shot a wink at Sarah who just smiled back dreamily and waved coquettishly. Heath then grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards the car. Being a complete gentleman, he opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in, before he skirted round the car to climb in next to me. He put the car into gear and turned to look at me with that sexy smirk on his face. He put his foot down and away we flew.

******

We drove for three and a half hours before we finally pulled up outside a HUGE, Victorian style mansion-come-hotel. This was not what I expected. To start, I hadn’t packed any clothes. I thought enough to throw my toothbrush, toothpaste, facial wipes, deodorant and a few pairs of pants (just in case) but that was it. I was seriously worried and felt a little embarrassed.

Heath popped the boot and heaved out a large suitcase followed by two smaller ones – what the hell! Now, it really was obvious; we were staying. Heath seemed to sense my concern about not having packed a suitcase for myself.

“Leia, are you ok?” Heath asked.

“Not really, Heath!” irritation evident in my voice, “You might be all packed and sorted for a lovely weekend but I on the other hand……….” I didn’t get chance to finish my sentence.

“You honestly think all this is mine?” He laughed as he pointed at the cases. “You worry too much honey. I took the liberty of buying you some new threads. I hope you don’t mind. Our clothes are in the large case and everything else is in the other two.” I was at a loss for words.

“Look, why don’t we get in and once we’re settled in our room, you can have a good look at your new wardrobe?” Heath suggested. I nodded silently.

Heath dragged the large case to the steps of this stunning house and on coming to a halt, a Bell Boy exited the house and proceeded to hulk our luggage on to a cage before pulling it after him into the lobby.

“Mr and Mrs Jenkins, I presume?” the Bell Boy asked Heath politely.

“Indeed.” Heath replied. What? Two things took me by surprise here; firstly, why did I never ask Heath’s surname? We’ve known each other long enough now. Secondly; I’m his wife now?

“You’re on the third floor; room 4.” Bell Boy directed. “I’ll be up shortly with your luggage.”

“Thank you.” Said Heath before we stepped in to the lift and pressed number three. We went up in the lift in silence, shooting fleeting glances at each other. There was an air of excitement and anticipation; a charge.

The Bell Boy was waiting outside the lift as the doors opened. Our bags were already outside room number four.

“This is your key, Mr Jenkins,” Bell Boy said as he handed it over, “The key operates your room door and our main entrance. Reception is manned from seven am to midnight. The bar is manned from six pm right up until you want to stop drinking.” With this, Bell Boy let out a small giggle. “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask?” Heath looked at me and I shook my head.

“No, I think we’re fine, thank you.” Heath replied.

“Well, in that case Mr and Mrs Jenkins, please enjoy your stay” Bell Boy said with a smile, “If you require anything at all, any one of our friendly members of staff are just a phone call away; always happy to help.” With that, he turned on his heel and left us standing outside our room.

Heath popped the key in the door and turned it before pushing open the ornate, solid oak door. Wow; the room was just stunning and if I’m honest, quite breathtaking, and that was before we’d even set foot inside it. Heath shepherded me in; his right hand at the base of my spine, gently guiding me in. At this point, I’d totally forgotten about the clothing situation until Heath heaved the largest suitcase on to the bed.

“Open it.” Heath demanded. I approached the case like it was a present on Christmas morning before pulling the zip from right round to left and flipping the top. The case was separated in to two compartments; one for each of us. On first glance, my section looked amazing.

“Aren’t you going to take a closer look?” Heath asked, “Come on; the suspense is killing me!”

I dived in; eagerly pulling out the kind of clothes I knew would look great on me even though I’d probably never be able to afford them for myself. I didn’t quite know how he had got my style just right and a small part of me found that a little strange; surely he didn’t know me THAT well just yet. I was on the verge of asking whether he’d been snooping around on his first, glorious visit to my home, but he beat me to it.

“Before you ask,” Heath said, rolling his eyes like a child who had been caught doing something they shouldn’t, “I’ve not been stalking you or anything like that; I’m just pretty good at reading people. I hope I read right.” Heath knew he’d read right.

“You have sooooooo read right; too right, in fact!” I replied, a huge grin on my face.

“You want to go out?” Heath asked. I nodded. “Let’s get ready then!”

******

On deeper inspection, Heath had really pushed the boat out on my brand new wardrobe. My outfit for the night was a pair of black skinny jeans, black leather biker boots and a red, fitted, Basque style top. I applied makeup (Heath really had thought of everything) from a range of items of my favourite brand, Benefit. My underwear was stunning.

Heath looked amazing! His outfit almost matched mine (apart from the Basque); black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and over that, a red and black chequered shirt. It was simple but so very stylish.

“Right then; we all ready?” Heath asked.

“Yup!” I replied, “Heath, I just have to say thank you! All of this; the place, the clothes, the make up – EVERYTHING – it’s just perfect! I really cannot thank you enough.”

“Oh, I’m sure you can honey.” Heath replied, that cheeky, dirty smirk playing on his face. I do wish he’d stop that. I smiled back and headed towards the door. Just as I was about to pull it open, Heath grabbed me round the waist and span me round to face him.

“Leia, could you check your pockets please?” Heath asked. I felt like I was being accused of stealing.

“Pardon?” I replied, dumbfounded.

“Your pockets; check them.”

I shoved both hands into the front pockets of my jeans and felt something in my right pocket. Was that tissue paper? I looked at Heath, puzzled. He was looking directly at my right hand just as I started pulling the ball of paper out. His eyes were sparkling and he excitedly clapped his hands together, just as I felt something hard inside it.

“Open it!” Heath demanded, rubbing his hands together. I did as I was told.

“Oh Heath…….. It’s beautiful!” I stammered, “You really shouldn’t have.”

“You like it then?” Heath asked nervously.

“Yes, of course! I… well, I just love it!” I was almost speechless; a real rarity. What I held in my open palms was quite honestly the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It was large and a little chunky; something else Heath had got spot on. It was solid silver with a large, oval, pitch black stone set in the middle. Heath went on to explain the stone was Jet, a rare mineral found only in Whitby, Yorkshire.

“Seriously, Heath; it’s stunning. Thank you so much.”

“It’s an absolute pleasure.” Heath replied sincerely. How or why he had bought this was beyond me and a very small part of me thought it was a little strange; buying a ring for someone you had only just met seemed rather full on but, hey; no one has ever done anything like this for me. No one has ever treated me this way. For the whole, this was the happiest I’d been in such a long time. I needed to start learning how to trust again and Heath seemed the perfect man to do that with.

I slipped the ring on the middle finger of my right hand; it fit perfectly. I couldn’t take my eyes off it but then realised we were going out, so I looked up at Heath who was staring at me, his eyes full of pride.

“You ready to go then, sugar?” Heath asked.

“Sooooo ready!” I replied, hooking my arm in his as we made our exit.

******

I felt somewhat underdressed as we arrived at the restaurant. In fact, had I known we were going to anywhere as stunning as here; I would have really gone the whole hog.

The Cliffs was the most beautiful and most unusual restaurant I had ever seen, let alone set foot in. It was set in, as the name suggests, cliffs – the cliffs of Invention. It was dark inside but not at all gloomy. Warm lighting came courtesy of the glowing candles on each table, along with dozens of wall lights and just above us, an enormous, gothic looking chandelier.

We were promptly seated at a table, situated on the balcony, right in the mouth of the cliff and overlooking the ocean. The lights from the various buildings and residences scattered around the bay looked like little fairy lights, glinting in the darkness. I’d never sat anywhere so perfect and with such a perfect man. I felt like I should pinch myself – nothing this good ever happens to me, so I was going to make the most of every moment.

Some would find an acoustic performance of their favourite song a little embarrassing. I didn’t; especially as one of the waiters came out, especially for us and proceeded to play ‘Man Of The World’ by Fleetwood Mac. To say I was emotional is an understatement – I was barely able to stop the tears falling down my cheek. I didn’t quite know exactly how Heath knew that this was one of my all time favourite songs but it really didn’t matter.

Heath’s eyes were on me; intense. It was almost as if he was searching for something. I wanted him to know me, inside and out. I was more than happy to let him in; to let him take whatever he wanted. I was all his.

A further waiter appeared, popping the cork from a bottle of Bollinger on his way to our table before proceeding to pour two flutes for us. This was too amazing. I was being utterly spoilt.

Heath and I took sips of our champagne; Heath looked to be a connoisseur as he chugged at and swilled the liquid around in his beautiful mouth before swallowing. I, on the other hand, just enjoyed the taste and of course, the company.
“Would Madam like to order?” asked the singing waiter who had by now obviously stopped singing.

“Um, yes please.” I replied, having already set my mind on the Seafood Linguine. I gave the waiter my order.

“Ah, an excellent choice Miss and you Sir?” He asked Heath.

“Oh, yes,” Heath replied; rubbing his chin – deep in thought. “I’ll go for the Feather Steak please and a side order of garlic and rosemary wedges.”

“Again, an excellent choice Sir.” The waiter replied with a nod, “Would you like any more drinks to go with your meal?” Heath looked at me, a slow grin spreading across his face.

“Yes, that would be lovely. I’ll order the Wolfblass Silver Label for myself and a nice, crisp Pinot Grigio for the lady.” With that, the waiter smiled and nodded at both of us before gliding away to prepare our order.

“You’re trying to get me drunk.” I whispered across to Heath.

“Nope; not drunk honey,” Heath replied, “I just think it’s nice to have the right wine with a meal. If, by any chance, you do become a little giddy; well, so be it. My only intention is for us to have a lovely evening.”

Why was he such a gentleman? I almost felt like I didn’t deserve all this but in the same breath, it really is about time. I had picked myself up and started my own business; surely my personal life deserved just as much happiness.

“Fine; I suppose I can let you off then!” I told Heath, a note of sarcasm in my voice. “Seriously though Heath, I really cannot thank you enough. You’re spoiling me rotten. That’s all I can say.” Heath slid his hands across the table to mine which were feeling a little clammy. He rested his hands on mine before stroking them and cupping them, gently in his.

“You saying ‘thank you’ is MORE than enough,” Heath said, sincerely, “and anyway, I’ve bought you here and arranged this weekend purely because I wanted to. You’ve been nothing but amazing to me so just think of this as my way of a treat. Oh, and if I couldn’t afford it; we wouldn’t be doing it.” Heath lifted my hands and kissed my knuckles.

“Well, thank you, again.” I replied and I could see that he knew I really meant it. We didn’t take our eyes off each other for what felt like forever until the Waiter made a feeble coughing noise to signal his presence. He went on to unscrew both bottles of wine and poured a little of each into our wine glasses. He gestured for us both to take a sip. My wine was perfect and I’m sure Heath’s was too. We both nodded our approval and the Waiter topped up our glasses. The other Waiter then appeared, carrying our food; mine a deep pasta bowl full of creamy, luscious ribbons of Linguine and succulent morsels of assorted seafood – Heath’s a large charger style plate with a tenderised fillet of steak that almost covered the entire plate. Then there were the wedges! These weren’t your usual potato wedges; these were the MOTHER of all wedges. I started to salivate and really had to hold back from drooling and smacking my lips.

“Wow! Heath, this all looks….” I trailed off slightly, surveying all that was laid out in front of us, “…just amazing.”

“It sure does,” Heath agreed, looking a little gobsmacked himself, “but it’s doing us no good just staring at it – dig in!”

There was a distinct lack of conversation between us as we ate; only sounds of appreciation emanated from our mouths. You could clearly see that Heath enjoyed food, as did I. I didn’t realise it, but in the time it had taken me to devour my linguine, I had polished off almost a glass and a half of wine. I felt slightly embarrassed about this until I looked across at Heath; he’d almost finished his second glass. Heath slumped back in his chair, looking well and truly stuffed to the brim.

“That was AMAZING!” Heath said, “How was yours?”

“Ditto!” I replied, feeling tipsy and full of food. Heath smiled, sensing that I was well on my way to being drunk. This didn’t stop him from pouring me another glass of wine after I practically threw the remains of my second glass down my throat. He then poured on his third glass. I had a feeling I would seriously regret this (the drinking only) in the morning, but, as the saying goes; ‘in for a penny – in for a pound’.” I was enjoying myself far too much to give a damn.

I heard a repeated buzzing sound and looked over at Heath. His patting down of every pocket he had confirmed it was his phone. I can’t quite explain the look on his face as he stared, blinking at the screen; shock with a hint of confusion and maybe even a little anger thrown in.

“Excuse me honey,” Heath said with an exasperated sigh, “I really have to take this.”

“It’s fine, Heath – no problem.” I replied. Whatever and whomever it was; it was important.