An Unforgotten Bet: (A Contemporary Romance) (6 page)

“Why does she have this effect on me?” he mumbles to himself.

Yet deep down, he knows all too well that Rose has always had this effect on him. Ever since he could remember she’d had him completely wrapped around her finger, but he always cared too much to ever disappoint her. Tonight, more than ever, he really does not want to disappoint her.

It’s only 5:45pm when Tom arrives at the restaurant, and the waiter smiles at him sympathetically when he asks for a table.

“You look great, she’ll be impressed,” he grins, leading him to his seat.

Tom forces a smile. “Thanks.”

The restaurant is much busier than he had expected. He hasn’t been here before, but it was the only Italian restaurant that he knew of off the top of his head, and he wanted to impress Rose by showing that he remembered little things about her, such as her love of pizza. Hopefully that still holds true, anyway.

It’s just before six when she walks through the glass doors into the restaurant, and she grins immediately as their eyes meet from across the room. He looks away as she makes her way towards him. Even her gaze makes him blush.

“You’re here early,” she says, smiling as she sits down.

“Yeah, I overestimated how long it would take to get here. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she laughs, sitting down and pulling herself closer to the table. He laughs nervously, unsure what to reply, but thankfully she keeps on talking. “It’s a nice place here, I like it. Good choice. Do you come here often?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve never been here before, actually. I thought we could try it out.”

She smiles at him again and he feels his cheeks reddening. To his relief, the waiter comes to take Rose’s attention.

“Are you ready to order?”

Tom gets ready to ask for a little while longer, but Rose nods her head. “I’ll have a coke and pepperoni pizza, please,” she says, and then turns to him expectantly. He glances at the menu, picking the first thing that he reads.

“Uh, I’ll have spaghetti bolognaise, please. Oh, and coke.”

“Certainly, sir,” says the waiter with a smile. “Won’t be long.” And then he’s gone again, and Tom is left alone with Rose.

“I see you still like pizza, then,” he says, grinning.

“Oh, of course. As long as it’s pepperoni, that is.”

“Yeah, I remember,” he smiles.

“We didn’t get to talk as much as I’d have liked last night,” says Rose. She bites her nails nervously as she speaks, her eyes staring right through Tom as if he’s not there.

“Oh, it’s okay,” he says. “I was pretty tired too.”

She smiles, but doesn’t say anything.

“It’s really good to see you, Rose.”

“It’s really good to see you too, Tom, I—”

“No, you don’t understand how happy I am right now.”

She laughs, but looks away again. “Yeah, I’ve been pretty happy, too. I honestly thought I’d never see you again.”

“I even tried to search for you on Facebook, but—”

“Oh,” she chuckles. “I don’t have Facebook. I’m not really into social networking or anything like that. Sorry.”

“That explains it, then,” he says with a laugh. “I feel pretty stupid now.”

“It’s okay, it’s kind of cute that you were searching for me,” she says, a twinkle in her eye as she smiles at him.

She’s much older now than she had been since they last met, but Rose still has the same quirky features about her that made her special — like the freckle above her lip on the left of her face, and the way her gums show a little when she smiles. Her hair is still as blonde as it always was, but it’s much longer now, curling right down to her breasts. She seems to be scrutinising Tom as well, and he can’t help but wonder what she might be thinking.

“Again, I’m sorry about your date last night,” she says eventually, looking away.

“Oh, it’s okay. It wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

She smiles again, but just as she looks as if she’s going to say something, her phone rings. She pulls it quickly from her pocket and glances at the screen, a startled expression on her face.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m going to have to take this. Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” says Tom, watching her as she stands up and scurries away out of view. He sighs when she’s gone and leans back in his chair, wiping the sweat from his brow. She’s only just arrived, but he can already tell that tonight isn’t going to go as well as he’d liked. He’s been thinking about this girl for over a decade since they last met, and now that he’s finally got her, all he can do is gawp at her. She seems as tense as he is, though, perhaps even worse. It’s almost like she’s nervous.
But why?

The waiter returns with their drinks, and Tom takes a big gulp to try and calm himself down, relishing the cooling sensation of the sweet beverage on his tongue. The dim lighting in the room provides quite a romantic ambience, but he can’t help feeling a sharp pang of jealousy as he looks around at some of the other couples who surround them, leaning over their tables and staring into each other’s eyes, holding hands and giggling as if they were back in high school. It’s the perfect atmosphere for romance, so why can’t he just come out and say what he wants to say? Does Rose even reciprocate
any
of his feelings?

He watches from the corner of his eye as she makes her way back across the restaurant towards him. She suddenly looks flustered, almost irritated, and he takes another big gulp of his drink as she pulls out the chair and sits back down.

“Is everything okay?” he asks, swallowing his drink.

“Oh, yeah, it’ll be fine,” she says with a nervous smile, but he can’t help noticing her trembling hands as she reaches for her drink. “Sorry, where were we?”

“I was just saying it was nice to see you after all this time apart.”

“Oh, yes, definitely.” Her voice is sharp, and it makes Tom flinch slightly.
Something is definitely wrong.

“So what have you done since we last saw each other? Come on, I want to know everything,” he says, trying to put her—and himself—at ease.

“Everything?” she laughs, her voice suddenly high and giggly.

Tom nods.

“Well, let me see. How old were we when we last saw one another?”

“Ten,” says Tom immediately.

“I went to school until I was eighteen, and then I went to university. I left when I was 22, and ever since then—well, for the past few months—I’ve been working as a waitress. That’s
everything,
really. I’m not sure what to tell you. I bet your story is much more exciting than mine.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “Definitely not. My story is very similar…except for the waitress part, of course. Did you go to university in Texas?”

She nods. “I wanted to move away, but my parents were going through a rough patch, so I wanted to be there in case they needed me for anything.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he says, hanging his head. “Was it serious?”

“Mom was diagnosed with cancer,” she says, her voice suddenly distant. “She’s alright now, but it was definitely a shock.”

“Wow, I’m sorry, I had no idea,” he says, his eyes fixed to the table.

“It’s alright, she’s better now. She still asks about you sometimes, you know.”

Tom’s head snaps up. “Really?”

“Yeah, our families were always pretty close. She always wondered how you turned out. At least now I can tell her.”

“Please make sure you say something nice about me,” snorts Tom.

“Of course,” she smiles.

“My Mom was asking about you as well, actually. She called me earlier and I mentioned that I’d spoken to you. She was asking about you and your family, but I couldn’t answer very much since we didn’t really have a chance to talk. Did the rest of your family move back to Texas?”

“Yeah. It was pretty much the opposite side to where we all used to live, though. But Mom wanted to come back when she was diagnosed, so we did — well, as soon as I’d finished school that is.

That’s why I went to college here. How about you?”

“Yeah, we just went to stay with my grandma in Louisiana for about a year…we came back here when she died.”

“I see. How did you find Louisiana compared to Texas?”

Tom shrugs. “I suppose I’ve never really compared them. We went through a lot of rough patches in Louisiana, though, so I guess that place will always have bad connotations for me.”

She nods slowly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

There’s another pause, and it takes all of Tom’s courage to open his mouth and speak. “So you don’t currently have a boyfriend, right?”

Rose throws her head back, laughing, and at that moment the waiter reappears with their food. Tom can’t stifle his sigh as he places it down in front of them, wishing he’d held his tongue for only a few seconds longer so his question wouldn’t have been interrupted. He looks back up at Rose when the waiter’s gone, waiting for her to answer, but she’s already digging into her pizza and he can’t muster up the courage to ask again.

“Wow, this is good,” she says with her mouth full. “It was a good idea to come here, nice choice.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles, picking up his fork and twirling the spaghetti around on his plate.
Something’s definitely wrong here.

“I haven’t been out for dinner in so long,” she sighs. “I forgot how nice it was.”

“Yeah.”

She pushes her pizza around on her plate as if wondering what to say. “So has much changed with you since we last saw each other?”

“It’s been quite a while, Rose, a lot has changed,” he says, twirling spaghetti around his fork.

“Okay, I’ll change the question…what’s the same?”

He cracks a smile. “Well, my Mom’s still an obsessive lunatic, if that’s the kind of thing you mean.”

“And mine is still as strict as ever,” she laughs.

“Really? That’s hard to believe.”

“Yeah. She relaxed a little when she was ill, but now that she’s better she’s worse than ever. I don’t see them very often, though. They live pretty far away so she’s usually pretty cool when I go to visit.”

“You should definitely invite them over sometime. My family would love to see them again.”

“I definitely will,” she says, smiling. “If that doesn’t cheer my Mom up, nothing will. I’ve been meaning to give her a call for a few days, actually. I’ll bring it up the next time we speak.”

They spend the rest of the meal making small-talk and blushing under one another’s gaze. By the time the waiter comes to collect their empty plates, Tom can’t control his feelings any longer.

“Will you come home with me?”

Rose’s eyes widen as she stares at him. “Tom, I couldn’t, I wouldn’t want to—”

“I want you to, Rose,” he says, choking on her name.

“I have to be up early for work tomorrow—”

“I’ll take you.” His voice is getting increasingly desperate.

She hesitates and reaches for her phone.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” he says, suddenly embarrassed.

“It’s not that, it’s just…”

“What? What is it?”

She stares at him for a moment, her mouth opening and closing. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

The huge imaginary weight that seemed to be pressing down on Tom’s chest suddenly disappears, and he can feel himself grinning as he pulls out his wallet to pay the bill.

“I can pay for my own food,” she offers politely, but he shakes his head.

“No, really, I want to pay,” she says, delving into her bag and pulling out her purse.

“Rose, please let me do this for you,” he says soothingly, pulling the money from his wallet and placing it in the middle of the table.

She scrunches up her nose, but eventually puts her purse back into her bag.

Tom stands up as soon as the money is on the table, eager to get home — and take Rose with him.

“What about my car?” she asks as they head outside.

“I’ll drop you off in the morning. What time do you start work?”

“Uhh, early.”

“That’s alright,” he says with a smile, holding the door open so she can slide into the passenger seat.

“Nice car,” she says, looking around as he climbs into the driver’s seat.

“Thanks,” he says triumphantly as he starts the engine and pulls away, still in awe that Rose Evans is in his car. And what’s more,
she’s actually coming home with him.
 

Rose bites her nails as they drive through the neighbourhood.
I need to tell him,
she thinks to herself.
He deserves to know the truth.
She takes a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Tom asks, glancing at her from behind the wheel.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she says as cheerfully as she can manage. “Just a little tired.”

“That was an awful lot of pizza you managed to eat,” he jokes.

“Yeah,” she says, smiling.

“It’s still your favourite?”

She blinks at him. “Sorry?”

“Pepperoni? It’s still your favourite?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” she says, rubbing her eyes as if to try and clear her thoughts.

“I like that one, too.”

They sit in silence for the rest of the journey, and when the car stops Tom leaps out of the driving seat and runs to open the door to let her out. He holds out a clammy hand for Rose to take, and her breath hitches as their fingers brush. They remain silent as he leads her up the narrow staircase to his apartment, and it’s only when they’re inside and the door is closed that he speaks.

“It’s not much, sorry. I should have tidied it up before I left, but…”

“Don’t apologise, it’s great,” she says reassuringly. “Really, it is.”

“I have some alcohol in the fridge if you’d like any.”

“I’ll just have whatever you’re having,” she says. She waits until he has disappeared into the kitchen before she shouts, “can I use your bathroom?”

“Of course, it’s just the door on the other side of the room.”

Once inside, Rose makes sure that the bathroom door is firmly locked before she pulls out her phone and dials Danny’s number.

“Where are you?” he demands. “You said you’d be home over an hour ago.”

“I’m at Gina’s. She’s having some trouble and wants me to stay over, so I won’t be coming home tonight.”

“Fine, whatever,” he sighs.

“Is that okay?”

“I suppose it’ll have to be.”

“Okay.”

There’s a quiet ‘click,’ and then he’s gone. Rose sighs, planting her head in her hands.
What the hell is she doing?

She can hear Tom coming back into the living room, so she quickly washes her hands and flushes the toilet. He’s smiling at her when she comes out, and holds up her drink. But all she can think about when she looks at him is her own guilt as Gina’s words ring in her ears.
Don’t hurt Tom like Danny hurt you.

He beckons her over to the sofa and they sit there together, their knees barely touching. She’s so nervous that she’s finished her glass of wine within five minutes, and Tom winces as she slams it to the table.

“Wow, you can really knock it back,”

She laughs loudly. “Yes, I’ve had lots of practice.”

“I can keep up,” he says with a grin, and finishes his own drink with a single large gulp. “More?”

“Yes, please.”
 

Three glasses later, Rose is sprawled over the entire sofa, her head resting on Tom’s lap. She listens to his heavy breathing as he strokes her hair, giggling when he pulls a little too hard and makes her scalp tingle.

“I wish you could stay here forever,” he says. His voice is so quiet that at first she wonders if she was even meant to hear him. She hauls herself up and turns to face him, and his lips curl into a smile when their eyes meet.

“I do, too,” she whispers, biting her bottom lip.

He moves closer, but she doesn’t flinch. His breath tickles her cheeks as he laughs, and the sickly smell of alcohol on his breath makes her wince slightly. Before she knows what she’s doing she’s leaning forward, her lips heading straight towards his. At first he looks startled, but then he closes his eyes, moving his own head forward towards hers until their lips are touching.
She inhales as he kisses her, breathing in his musky scent. His lips are much softer than she’d have imagined, but it feels good. Her heart pounds as he raises his hands to her cheeks to pull her forward a little, and she can feel herself getting hot.

“I want to take your clothes off, Rose,” he says softly, his voice trembling as he speaks. She smiles and nods her head to let him know it’s okay, but doesn’t pull away from the kiss. Her entire body shivers as he slides his hands down her neck, past her shoulders, and down to her stomach, before he eventually reaches the bottom of her dress. He raises it slowly while he kisses her, and she can feel her excitement rising as he pulls it over her breasts. His breathing quickens when she lifts up her arms, granting him with permission to view her entire body by letting him pull the dress over her head.

“You’re beautiful, Rose,” he mumbles, pulling her close. She can feel his erection pressing into her stomach through his tight black trousers as he hugs her, and that’s all it takes for her to reach out and begin to undo the buttons of his shirt.

“You’re quite a natural at this,” he says as she unclips the buttons.

Rose blushes, unsure what to say. But thankfully she doesn’t have to worry about words, because Tom immediately resumes kissing her. His milk-white skin underneath his shirt is soft, smooth, and drenched with sweat.

“Are you nervous?” she teases as she peels away the material.

“A little,” he admits, blushing.

“Don’t be.”

“Would you like to go to my room?” he says, gesturing to a door in the corner.

“Yes,” she replies, standing up and walking over to it. He follows like a puppy, the large bulge in his trousers now evident.

“You look really hot,” he says, following her to the bed where she sits down. She giggles, reaching down undo his zipper. He watches her face as she loosens his belt and undoes the button, groaning slightly as she pulls them past his erection and down to the floor. They stand in their underwear, each one of them too afraid to make the move on the other.

Eventually, realising that Tom is probably even more inexperienced than she had ever imagined, Rose reaches out a hand to touch his erection. His entire body seems to shudder at her touch, and she withdraws immediately.

“Sorry,” he murmurs. “I’m just nervous. It feels good.”

She smiles, reassured, and reaches out again. But this time she slips her hand down his boxers, wrapping her entire hand around his cock so that he gasps.

“Rose,” he breathes, clenching his teeth.

She smiles and leans up to kiss him. “Yes?”

“This feels so good, don’t stop,”

She begins to move her hand up and down his shaft, watching his face intently as he tries to stifle his groans.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, moving closer until their bodies are touching. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“I like everything you do, Rose,” he says, reaching for her bra straps. She can still feel his clammy hands trembling as he slides them down her shoulders and reaches behind her back to undo her bra. Her breath hitches as he peels it away from her, and she smiles as his eyes widen.

“You look so good,” he breathes, pulling her towards him and holding her tight so that her breasts press against his chest. She can feel his heart thumping against her body, and he must be aware of it too, as he laughs a little in her ear.

Then his hands move downwards, lingering on her hips before he hooks his fingers over either side of her panties. She can feel herself getting excited again as he slowly pulls them down, inch by inch, and soon she feels that familiar sensation between her thighs. When she can’t control herself any longer, she reaches out her own hands and hooks her fingers over either side of his boxers, yanking them down past his knees. Her sudden aggression takes Tom by surprise, and he pulls her panties down the rest of the way with a single sharp tug so they pool around her ankles.

“I can’t keep my hands off you,” he breathes, lurching towards her. She gasps as he pins her to the bed and begins kissing her, his lips starting at the top and then slowly moving his mouth downwards. By the time he’s reached her neck, his kisses are so passionate that she’s almost certain they will leave bruises. But it feels so good that she doesn’t dare to ask him to stop.

She gasps, closes her eyes, and tilts her head back as his tongue circles her nipples, her hands clutching at the bed sheets in desperation. Her reaction encourages Tom even more, and he trails his lips down past her stomach, only stopping when he reaches her hips. She opens her eyes to look at him when he hesitates, and he raises his head to look back at her, as if asking for permission. She smiles and nods, and then closes her eyes again, her heart booming with every shallow breath.

Her entire body convulses the instant she feels his tongue between her thighs, and she lets out a cry.

“Do you like that?” he asks, pausing to look up at her.

“God, yes, don’t stop,” she breathes, arching her back and trying to tilt her hips towards him.

He obeys her command, smiling as he buries his head between her thighs once again. But it’s only a few minutes later when she’s calling out his name again.

“Tom, stop,” she breathes. He looks up, puzzled.

“Sorry, did I do something wrong?” he asks, startled.

“I don’t want to come yet,” she whispers breathlessly, shoving him away with her knees and then crawling towards him to kiss him again. She breathes in her own scent as his lips crush against hers, pushing him back down onto the bed. His eyes widen as she hovers her body over his, and his breathing quickens.

“Are you okay?” she asks with a grin, slowly lowering herself down.

“Yeah,” he says, his voice so low that barely any sound comes out.

Her muscles clench as he slides into her, filling her completely, and Rose smiles at the dazed expression on his face. But when she slowly begins to rock back and forth he suddenly jerks into action, his teeth clamping down hard onto his bottom lip.

“Fuck me, Rose,” he mumbles, his hands making their way up to grope her breasts. She grins and increases her pace. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long, I’ve never stopped thinking about you,” he moans, increasing the thrusting of his own hips.

Aside from the sounds of their grunts, the room is silent. Just when Rose begins to think that she can’t contain herself for much longer, Tom lets out a loud groan.

“I’m going to come.”

A couple of more thrusts is all it takes to push Rose over the edge, too, and she collapses on top of him as the orgasm ricochets through her trembling body, her head resting on his chest. They lie still, listening to the sound of one another’s heavy breathing, until Rose lifts herself up to roll off him, planting a kiss on his forehead as she does so.

“That was good,” she mumbles, a smile creeping across her face as she relaxes. Her back is turned to him, and she soon feels another warm shiver as he scoots up behind her and wraps his arms around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Tom has never been the type to work out very much, but she can still feel his biceps flexing slightly as they cover her body. It’s nice to feel protected for once.

“Would you like to turn off the light?” she asks with a giggle.

“No,” he mumbles, nuzzling his face into her hair and kissing her neck in a way that makes more giddy shivers cascade down her spine until they reach her toes. “I want to lie here with you.”

She laughs, but shakes him off so that he has no choice but to stand up and turn off the light. He groans as he rolls out of bed and pads over to it to flick the switch, and suddenly they’re encompassed in darkness.

She feels Tom against her body before she sees him when he slides in behind her and wraps his arms back around her shoulders, pulling her so close that she has to gasp for breath. She giggles as his stubble tickles her neck, nuzzling closer. They lie still, listening to one another’s slow breathing, and Rose’s eyes begin to close.

Just before she falls asleep, she hears Tom’s voice in her ear. It is slow, quiet, and at first she thinks she’s dreaming.

“I bet I can make you love me, Rose.”