“Yes, Patrickyou old dog, it has been a very good night.” He reclined the seat,closed his eyes and waited for their waitress to finish hershift.
Todd poured himself anightcap and silently toasted the success of his plan. Earlier inthe evening he had stopped off at Chloe’s house on his way home,expecting Patrick to be long gone. Instead he noticed Patrick’s carwas still parked outside. Putting two and two together, and knowingPatrick’s luck with the ladies, he began to worry. He hadn’tconsidered Chloe would be interested in his unsophisticated youngerbrother.
The side gatehad been left open. He had walked around the side of the housetowards the backyard. When he saw them through the unadorned openwindow, talking and laughing as if they were old friends, hestopped dead in his tracks. Jealousy had burnt in the pit of hisstomach, and he backtracked noiselessly to the car. He knew thenthat he would have to something before they became anything morethan friends.
Ironically, hewasn’t aware that his call had been so perfectly timed, changingthe course of Patrick and Chloe’s evening. More importantly, hewasn’t aware of Patrick’s persistence in his pursuit ofChloe.
CHAPTERSIX
Chloe perched expectantly on herfront steps, dressed in black jeans and a pale blue chambray shirt,waiting to be picked up by Patrick. Lingering inside the house andwasting such a sensational sunset would have been a sin.
As the sun slowlydescended into the midnight blue water, a deep red wash adorned thesky directly above the horizon. She gazed at the ribbons of lilacclouds drifting overhead, shot with slivers of dusky pink, whichrapidly turned purple. Red sky at night,shepherd’s delight. On such a warm andbalmy evening, she wanted to infuse her body with the night air andenjoy the day coming to a close around her.
When Patrick had called earlierin the week, he had suggested an informal dinner at a local hotel.She had taken her cue from the words “informal dinner”, and triednot to read too much into this date. To any passer-by she wouldappear relaxed; a pretty blonde, her bag by her side, patientlywaiting on her front step for her date to pick her up. The realitywas she had changed clothes several times before she backtrackedand decided on the first outfit she had selected from her wardrobe.Initially she had tried a messy bun, opting in the end for a simpleponytail, more in keeping with the jeans theme. First date nerveshad caused her to lose sleep last night. She fervently hoped shewould not be too tired to enjoy herself.
In Patrick’s opinion,if Chloe had been going for the “girl next door” look she hadnailed it. She rose to her feet when he approached her. Withoutgiving it too much thought, he grasped her shoulders and gentlypulled her towards him, kissing her lightly on the lips. She didn’tresist. In fact, she happily responded, visibly relaxing in hisarms. Their lips met several times more. Friendly kisses. Soft andteasing. The barest brush of lips, the slightest hint of a tonguesweeping over her bottom lip. Kisses to test the waters.Luscious lips.He pulled back and smiled at her.
“There, that gets thefirst kiss out of the way. I’ve wanted to do that since we met. Nomore awkwardness now. Shall we go?”
He clasped her hand as theywalked to the car parked beside the kerb, a sleek black Audi sedan,and held open the door until she settled inside the leatherinterior. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
She turned towards him. A smilelifting the corners of her mouth drew his attention, and hecouldn’t resist sampling another quick taste of her desirable lips,before he closed the door. She blushed and lowered hereyes.
Patrick suggestedChloe select the music as they drove. She silently ticked boxes. Hedemonstrated thoughtfulness and good manners with everygesture. He certainly knows how to tease,those kisses got me interested. They hadintensified her desire for more of the same.
Renowned for its eclectic menuand boutique beer, the hotel in Williamstown pulsed with energy.Patrick had intended to keep this evening light to get to knowChloe, and hoped she would enjoy the ambience and the live music.She intrigued him, unlike his usual casual encounters, and he knewthere were hidden depths to her worth investigating.
Several local bands playedthroughout the week. A personal favourite, ‘True Lies’ were playingtonight. Hopefully ‘The Boss’ were not rostered on to play a set.The female lead singer had made a play for him a while back, andmight be a little annoyed seeing him out with a tall, attractiveblonde on his arm. She had a reputation of being too intense. Nothis thing at all. Footloose and fancy-free was more hisstyle.
When they arrived at the bar,they found the stage empty, and located a table in the corner. Theconversation flowed easily. No painful silences or pregnant pauses.After consulting Chloe on her choices, Patrick ordered some shareplates of antipasto, bread and dips, accompanied by a chilledbottle of sauvignon blanc, and a beer from the extensivemenu.
He discovered that Chloe, unlikea few of his recent dates, was interested in travel.
“I would love to goskiing in Canada. Tell me about the countryside. Where did youstay? “
“I travelled to Canadawith a couple of guys from uni. We rented a private chalet for afew weeks and skied every day. It was so different to Australianskiing, so surreal on the slopes the first time. Just being there,I mean. A vast expanse of snow and picture perfect, like out of aTV commercial, or a movie. I half expected James Bond to comeswooping down the mountain.”
“Yes when I think ofthe Alps, or any snow-covered mountain, I can see Roger Moore onskis in The Spy Who Loved Mebeing chased by the bad guys.”
“Are you a James Bondfan?”
“I am, actually. Itwas the first movie my father took me to. He had to look after mewhen Mum was shopping. He never considered I would be too young orunenthusiastic about James Bond. He always wanted a boy anyway.Just as well I enjoyed it.”
The band appeared up on stage andpicked up their instruments. The female band member immediatelyregistered their
