Chapter 12: Thank you for the music!
1214 Words
Lisa and Matt carried on chatting as they ate pudding. Matt was pleased when he felt Lisa’s foot rub up and down his calf. At first, Matt thought it might be a mistake, but when she tried it again, he knew she was trying to reach out. He gently reciprocated by rubbing his foot against hers, and he smiled as Lisa looked down and blushed. Matt was sorry when their game of footsie had come to an end.
"Can I get you anything else?" Mama Prisha said, clearly delighted that her Jaata’s date went well.
"No Mama, I am well and truly stuffed," Lisa said, leaning back in her chair.
"And the handsome man?"Mama Prisha asked, smiling whilst looking at Matt.
"I am full, thanks to the exquisite food that has been served," Matt said. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he felt his cheeks being pinched.
"I knew you were a good boy, I told Yash just as much." Mama Prisha cooed.
"Thank you. Do you mind if we have the bill now? " Matt said, through squeezed cheeks.
"Bill? No, no, no! " Mama Prisha said, shaking her head.
"Please Mama Prisha, you must let us pay," Lisa said.
"Family does not pay, and Jaata is family. It is my pleasure to feed you both. Now, go with my blessing and make sure you show Lisa a good night. Understand? " Mama Prisha said, giving Matt’s cheeks one more hard squeeze before letting them go. She then shooed them out of the restaurant.
When Lisa and Matt got out onto Main Street, they both burst out laughing. "Are your cheeks OK?" Lisa asked, trying not to laugh.
"I think they have not been assaulted like that in a long time. Mama Prisha is certainly a force of nature. " Matt admitted as he rubbed them.
"She is the kindest hearted woman I know. She moved here as a young girl and has worked hard to build up her restaurant. She is somewhat of a legend in these parts. " Lisa explained as they walked down the road.
"With cooking like that, I am surprised that she has not expanded. Her restaurant certainly seems popular enough."
It takes a lot of capital to expand in London, and besides, she is happy enough. Oh, look, street musicians! Do you want to have a look? " Lisa asked, but she was already dragging Matt over to the group of musicians. There was a guitar player, a singer, and a man on the Irish drums. They were playing a jig. "Come, dance with me!"
"Dance?" Matt asked as Lisa took his arms and began dancing.
"Yes, dancing! I thought Brazilians had a sense of rhythm, " Lisa challenged him as she twirled around him. Matt chuckled as he took her in his arms. He tried to ignore the instinct of holding her close to him.
"Of course, I can!" Matt said with a smile as they began to twirl around to the music. They both laughed as they span around fast. The music stopped, and they both stopped, breathless.
For a split second, Lisa lost balance and was falling into a cycle lane, with a bike speeding towards her. Lisa gasped and braced herself for impact, but she felt a pair of strong arms catch her. She was pulled out of the way quickly into Matt’s chest as the bike sped by.
Lisa didn’t move for a second, her body wanting to be as close as possible to him. She looked up to see a pair of amber eyes gazing down at her.
"Thank you," she stuttered.
"Lisa," Matt whispered as he leaned down. Lisa gasped and moved up to meet his lips. The world seemed to stop, as the background seemed to melt away, leaving only them. Lisa's senses were filled with the taste of coffee and cinnamon. She turned her head, wanting more, and she heard Matt moan as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He teased her with his tongue, making silent promises of what was to come and sending Lisa’s senses haywire.
After a few moments, Matt broke off the kiss. Lisa opened her eyes, trying to focus them and slow her heartbeat. She needed a few moments to catch her breath. "I am sorry.." Lisa said, trying to pull away.
"Oh, Amoreco, you never apologise for kissing me so passionately, " Matt said as his arms tightened.
"We shouldn’t."
"Why shouldn’t we, amoreco?" Matt asked as he gently kissed her lips again.
"You will regret it," Lisa said as she moved her hands up his chest, feeling Matt’s muscles underneath her palms.
"Only if I don’t follow my heart."
There was the sudden sound of clapping as the musicians came to the end of their performance. It broke the moment and Lisa was released. She smiled and turned to join in the clapping, trying to process what had happened.
"Shall we carry on?" Matt said, and Lisa nodded. Before they carried on, Matt got his wallet out and put a wad of twenty pounds in the musicians’ pot.
"Wow! Thanks! " The singer said with a smile.
"You are most welcome, and thank you for the music," Matt said as he went back to Lisa’s side.
"Show off!" Lisa teased as she saw the musicians count the money.
"They earned it," Matt said as he took her hand in his.
"I suppose they did," Lisa admitted as they began to walk home.
Lisa and Matt walked back to Lisa’s home in comfortable silence. "Well, this is me," Lisa said sadly as she stopped in front of her home.
"Are you sure? I thought your home was at least another two streets away. " Matt teased.
"Hmmm, unfortunately not. But, you could come in and we could have coffee…" Lisa suggested. She was not used to being so forward with men, but the sparks that their kiss had caused in her body had made her a wanton woman.
Matt sighed and said, "Lisa, there is nothing I want more."
"But, you are not going to, are you?" Lisa said, trying not to show the rejection she felt. Matt saw this and quickly said, " I want to, but I also want to see you the day after and the day after that."
"I don’t understand," Lisa said, confused.
"I have a spectacular gift for messing things up, especially relationships. We had the most perfect date and the kiss..the kiss.." Matt said as he leaned in and softly kissed her as he cupped her face. "That kiss will be burned into my memory until my last breath. It also makes me incredibly greedy, amoreco. I want you, I want to kiss every one of your freckles and explore every inch of your skin. But, I also want this to work and to have this perfect date to build on. Do you understand, amoreco? "
"You want to take things slowly and you are scared of screwing this perfect date up. Is that about it?" Lisa said, in between kisses.
"Hmmm, I knew you'd get it. We have to stop this soon…I will lose control, amoreco! " Matt warned.
"Just a couple more…." Lisa said, crushing her lips against his.
- Writer
