Reaching up, she pushed his hair off his forehead, pushing as much water as she could along with the locks of wet hair. “Thank you,” she said, the smile still forming on her lips as she was warmed by the heat of his body so close to hers.
Her hand hesitated, unsure what to do now that she’d initiated that kind of intimate touch. But when she tried to pull her hand away, he stopped her, putting it on his shoulder and leaning down for a soft, sweet kiss that stole her breath away with its tenderness.
The door opened and the moment passed as the owner of the small restaurant greeted them with warm towels.
“Come on in, you two. It’s freezing out there now that the rain has started,” she said, wrapping her arms around her and shivering even as she gestured towards the warmth of the homey restaurant. “You’re out on a crazy night!” she gushed. “How about a warm cup of tea or a hot toddy to get your bones back in working order?”
Claire accepted the towel gratefully and stepped into the inviting warmth and light from the restaurant. The delicious scents wafting through the rooms was heavenly and she was thrilled when the manager handed them each a cup of warm tea.
“Thank you so much,” Claire replied, smiling gratefully as her hands wrapped around the flowered tea cup. Looking over at Mitch, she almost burst out laughing as she caught him grimacing at the flower covered cup, but he took the obligatory sip of tea before nodding his appreciation to the hostess.
“You both look famished,” the owner said, introducing herself as Linda. “I’ll get you both some more towels and then how about a table by the back window with some warm, delicious food to get you back to fighting strength? The rain will pass and the lights on the patio are pretty spectacular, in my opinion.”
Claire was too hungry and tired from their traversing from one place to another, not to mention the stress of being around Mitch for longer than five minutes which always took extra energy just to stay on the top of her game.
“That would be great,” Mitch answered for both of them. “Any chance we could get some breadsticks right off?” he asked. “The lady here is about to pass out from hunger.”
Claire wanted to glare up at him, but she simply didn’t have the energy. Instead, she leaned against him, showing her gratitude for his understanding of her physical state through actions instead of trying to come up with words. She felt even more relaxed when he put his arm around her. Not really holding her up, just touching her gently as if to reassure her that the day would end soon.
As they sat down at the table and Linda brought not only bread sticks but also a basket of different flavored muffins. Mitch immediately took a warm corn muffin and buttered it, handing it to her and pouring her a glass of red wine, which he’d also ordered while they were being seated.
“Did I push you too hard today?” he asked, noting the exhaustion on her features.
She took a sip of wine and shrugged. “You’re right. I need to find Gary and get things in order. If he isn’t the man I thought he was, which it seems as if I was completely off target, then it would be better if I ended it now instead of waiting for him to show up and end it himself.”
Mitch was doubly impressed that, not only was she willing to admit that she was wrong about a guy, but that she was willing to admit it to him, swallowing her pride and giving in to the inevitable. She could have remained stubborn and maintained that Gary was the man for her no matter what. He had to see how far she’d admitted things to herself though. Bringing up a touchy subject, he started out carefully. “Claire, have you thought that perhaps his disappearance meant that he was trying to end things with you and he was too much of a coward to tell you to your face?”
She immediately shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I know he lied to me about his profession and his living arrangements. But there was something about him that just struck me as good and kind. I think he’s a basically honest person,” she smiled at his cynical expression, “But something is wrong and I’d like to help him even though I don’t know where or how to do that for him right at the moment. I don’t know what it is, but I can just feel it.”
He raised one eyebrow. “From all the lies he told you, there’s just something about a word or two that struck you as honest and now you’re sacrificing our sex life to save him?”
“We don’t have a sex life…” she started to say.
He interrupted her, “Only because you’re stuck on Gary.”
“Because you just want casual sex.”
“There won’t be anything casual about the sex between us.”
“There won’t be any sex between us.”
“That’s what you keep saying but we both know it isn’t true. And each time we kiss, the inevitable will come sooner.”
“Then we’ll stop kissing,” she said.
He snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Let’s be real.”
“I am being real,” she countered, feeling rejuvenated now that she’d gotten a bit of wine into her system and some carbohydrates.
“Claire, I could carry you out to my car and have you there and we both know it.”
She blushed painfully but didn’t deny anything since he wouldn’t believe her. She wasn’t sure she’d believe her either at this point. “Why do our conversations always degenerate into a discussion about when we’re going to have sex?”
“Because you won’t give in and get it out of the way. It’s like the pink elephant in the room. It has to be discussed because you’re being so arbitrary.”
“I’m not being arbitrary,” she said with outrage. “You know nothing about the issue so don’t make assumptions about my motivations.”
As Claire ate the corn bread and sipped the wine, she could feel her insides getting warmer. She assured herself it had nothing to do with sitting across the table from Mitch in the candle light.
The waitress arrived to take their order and Claire selected a stuffed chicken dish with rice pilaf while Mitch decided on salmon. “What?” he asked as he looked away from the waiter to see her astonished expression.
“Why didn’t you order the steak?”
“Why would I?”
“Because you look like a steak and potatoes kind of guy.”
Mitch shook his head. “Steak is great, but fish has good proteins and healthier oils.”