Stormy Summer by Suzy Turner

Chapter 3

'b****y hell, Summer, that's big—like real big—news. Why didn't you tell me when you first arrived? So who is he, then?'

'His name is Grayson Rosenblum, and he works at the Gazette. Actually, it was his car that I shunted.'

'You're joking,' she said in awe.

I shook my head. 'I put a note on his windscreen, not knowing that it belonged to him, and he called me up at lunchtime. We ended up having lunch—on him—and he wouldn't let me pay for the damage to his car. Mind you, it was only a little dent, and then he asked me out, and I said I'd love to. So we are. Going out, that is,' I explained.

'But I remember, once upon a time, when you told me that you'd never date anyone from work, remember?'

'Yeah, I know, but I reckon…' I stopped mid-speech, wondering whether to tell her or not, considering she'd only laugh. Oh, what the hell, 'I reckon my dream was a sign that I should try out some blokes from work!' There I said it.

'You what? You think your dream was a sign to shag anybody and everybody from work? Whoever you are, what have you done with the real Summer? I want her back, right now!' shouted Gwen, pretending she was surrounded by aliens or something.

'I'm not going to sleep with everyone from work!'

'Well, you've already slept with Gavin, and you're thinking of shagging this Grayson bloke. Right?'

'I have not shagged Gavin!' I said, feeling my face turning a weird crimson colour.

'Aha, but you didn't deny that you wanted to shag Grayson's brains out, did you?' Seeing the look on my face, Gwen softened, 'Oh honey, I'm sorry. I was just kiddin'. You're entitled to a bit of sexy fun, of course, you are. I'm just concerned, that's all. I know what offices can be like. If it doesn't work out with this bloke, yer know how people talk'.

'Yes, of course, I do, but I deserve to enjoy myself with a man for a change. After all, I haven't for a whole b****y year. I'm beginning to feel like a nun, for God's sake,' I said, crossing my body. 'Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet and Watch', we said in unison, laughing.

'Well, you enjoy him, then. But whatever you do, don't shag Mr Negativity!'

'Urgh, ooh! Gross!' I yelled as I threw a cushion at her in disgust.

'Watch the wine, watch the wine,' she shrieked.

'Does this mean that you give my little plan your blessing?'

'Of course! I'm behind yer all the way, girl. Just don't forget to give me all the little details. I hope this Grayson bloke is everything you've ever wanted in a man, and then you won't have to be tempted by the countless hunks—not—who work with you, will you?' she said.

I agreed, hoping she was right. 'Shall we open that other bottle of wine and watch a movie? What do you think? Dirty Dancing okay with you?'

'You always pick that one.'

'I wonder why! Patrick Swayze is such a hunk, and I want to be Jennifer Grey!' I swooned.

'Okay, good point. Very good point. Dirty Dancing it is,'

Chapter 3

The rest of the week went by relatively smoothly, the only problems were with Mr Negativity. On Thursday his ex-wife paid him a visit; not a good thing, as this meant he'd be in a particularly bad mood for the rest of the day, and the next day, and probably the next week, too.

Well, I didn't care, I was in a good mood and even he wasn't going to screw that up.

Grayson and I had spoken very little to each other, probably because we didn't want people to talk, plus we'd had a lot of work to do. He was only in the office for a couple of hours a day, as he was a reporter and photographer, so he was out reasonably regularly on stories. I made a point of seeing him on Friday morning to give him my address and make sure the date was still on.

'Good morning, Summer. How are you? I hope Willoughby isn't giving you too much hassle?' he asked in his smooth posh accent.

'I'm great, thanks. Mr Negativity over there is easy enough for me to handle. So, are we still on for tonight?'

'Of course. Can I have your address?'

I handed it to him. Our hands touched briefly for the first time, which made me gasp slightly. By the way, he looked at me, he obviously noticed. I went somewhat red and grinned.

'I'll pick you up at 07h30. Is that okay with you?'

'That'll be great. I'll see you then.'

He picked up his photography gear and headed out of the office, looking back once to nod his head and smile at me.

Unfortunately, Wankhorn and Gavin the nobster had noticed our brief 'meeting', and both made pathetic remarks.

I ignored them and tried to get some work done. However, it was a lot easier said than done, considering Mr Negativity's visit the day before and his increasingly annoying fits of coughing. A smoker's cough, too, I might add.

'Christ. Can't anyone get it right?' he shouted from his desk. 'Summer. Come here. You've done it again!'

I rolled my eyes backwards and went to see what I'd done wrong this time.

As it turned out, I hadn't done anything wrong; it was his fault, again. He'd made a spelling mistake and, as usual, was quick to blame everyone else for his little f**k-ups.

'Yes, Jack, no, Jack. Three bags full, Jack,' I whispered as I went back to my desk.

'If anybody wants me, I'll be outside,' he said, with some mention of a fag break, which was probably his twentieth that day.

When he came back, he was coughing his guts up once again. 'I really must get the doctor to check this out,' he muttered as he walked past.

'Stop smoking and the cough will quit, you silly arse,' said someone from the back of the office.

He chose to ignore the comment, knowing they were right, but not keen to acknowledge anybody else's intelligence over his. 'I don't want to be interrupted for the next couple of hours, everybody. I have a great deal of work to do,' he announced.

Again somebody stated the obvious, 'You wouldn't be so busy if you stopped taking so many b****y fag breaks.'

He eyed his staff to see who'd made the comment and then realised he didn't have a decent retort, so he gave up.

At last, it was five o'clock and I was the first out of the office. I needed as much time as possible to get ready for my date.

'Enjoy your little date, Summer. Summer and Grayson sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…' sang Gavin and Geoff.

'Give it a break, you two. You're just jealous!' I said as I walked out of the door without a single glance back. Prats.

oOo

Gwen had agreed to help me choose what to wear so, as usual, she was waiting for me at my front door.

'Hello, you. Excited, are you?'

'Extremely. And I stopped at the off-licence to pick up a bottle of wine so we could have a glass while I got ready'.

'Super idea, luv.'

We walked into my flat and Gwen put on some groovy music while I poured the wine.

'Here you go. I'm just going to pop into the shower. Come in and chat?'

We took our wine into the bathroom. Gwen sat herself down on the loo while I undressed and stepped under the blissfully hot water.

'So, are you seeing Hugh tonight?' I asked from behind the shower curtain.

'Yep. He's comin' round at eight-ish. Bringing pizza with him. And wine.'

'So, yet another night of unbridled passion with the huge one, is it?'

'It certainly is,' she giggled.

'You're so lucky. Pass me the shower gel, please. Thanks.'

I leaned out of the shower to have a quick swig of wine, then washed my hair and shaved everywhere that needed it. And believe me—it needed it.

'I take it you're planning on getting laid tonight, then?' Gwen asked, pointing to the fact that I'd just made sure I was hairless in all the right places.

'No, I don't think so. It's a bit too soon. Not on a first date. That would make me a bit of a tart, wouldn't it? I don't particularly want that kind of label.' I thought about it some more. 'Actually, Gwen, sod it. I'm feeling really horny, and if we hit it off, then I'm more than happy to get laid tonight,' I said with a satisfied smile as the two of us clinked wine glasses. 'Here's to a great lay.'

'Hear, hear!' she answered.

In my bedroom (which I'd cleaned particularly well the night before - just in case), Gwen and I went through my wardrobe, trying to find something suitable to wear.

'So, do you know where you're going?'

'Not a clue.'

's**t, then. Okay, well you're pretty restricted with the weather. It's b****y cold outside, so you'd be better off wearing your boots,' Gwen commented as she pulled out my favourite boots from the bottom of the cupboard.

'Okay, so I wear my sexy high-heeled knee-high black suede boots and nothing else,' I said, putting the boots on, dropping the towel and doing a twirl.

'Well, if I were a man, I'd have a major hard-on!' laughed Gwen.

'Well, thank you, kind sir. You've made my day.'

Together, we decided on a simple tight black knee-length dress with long flared sleeves. Beneath it, I decided to be really naughty and wear absolutely nothing except for hold-up-stockings. I wore black mascara, grey eye shadow, a little blusher and pale pink lipstick. Gwen did my hair, just-fell-out-of-bed style. I must admit I looked good. In fact, I was so pleased with the result that we decided to have another glass of wine to celebrate the new s****l me.

At precisely 7.30, there was a knock at the door. It was Grayson.

'Wow! You look gorgeous, Summer.' He'd brought a big bunch of carnations (not exactly my favourite, but I guess he wasn't to know that), which was a lovely thought.

Gwen was just about to leave, so I introduced the two. She winked at me as she left, whispering, 'Go, girl.'

'Would you like a glass of wine before we go out?' I asked.

'Why not? Just a small one, thanks.'

I poured us both a glass of red, and we sat down in the living room.

'This is a nice place you've got here. Have you been here long?'

'About five years now. I love it. It's home. What about you? Where do you live?'

'A couple of blocks away from here, on Clifton Avenue. I rent a small flat down there.'

'Yeah, I know the area. Actually, my mum lives fairly close.'

I handed him a small dish of black olives. 'Help yourself. I realise they're not everyone's cup of tea, but I love them.'

'I agree, olives are definitely an acquired taste, but once acquired, you can't get enough of them. So you're a fan of Mediterranean food, are you?' he asked.

'I love it. Mind you, I like most foreign food. English stuff is a bit bland if you ask me. Although my friend Gwen—the girl you just met, she's a great cook. She can make anything, and everything tastes delicious. Unfortunately, though, I'm not so great at it. I prefer to stick to pasta and stuff like that. Simple but tasty.'

'Well you sure are fabulous at pouring a glass of wine and putting olives in a bowl,' he commented with a wide grin.

Gosh, he really was handsome—but in a slightly feminine kind of way. A strange description, I know, but perhaps it was because he didn't have any hardness about him. Although I was hoping he was going to have plenty of hardness elsewhere.

'What were you thinking just then?' he asked.

I almost spat my wine everywhere, my eyes wide with embarrassment. 'Why do you ask?'

'The look on your face. You looked… naughty.' He almost sounded like Nicholas Cage, too! Especially the way he said 'naughty'. Ooh.

'Well then, I must have been thinking naughty thoughts,' I said sensuously. At least I hoped it was sensuous.

He stood up, and I couldn't help eyeing his crotch—yes, there was hope for hardness, alright. I became warm at the thought, and my face flushed a little.