Taking Chances (8 page)

Clair

Clair
’s heart was racing. She’d been imagining what his kiss would feel like all night. Now he was telling her he was going to kiss her and she couldn’t breathe. He was so close; his breath seemed to caress her lips as he spoke. Leaning forward, he covered her mouth with his, weaving his fingers in her hair as he cupped the back of her head. His kiss was soft, a mere feather of a touch before he pulled away. She opened her eyes to see him looking back at her, his eyes questioning, longing for more. Clair responded to him, closing the distance between them, kissing him again. His palm slid across her neck, cupping her cheek. The sensation of his touch seemed foreign, like nothing she’d ever felt before; but she wanted more. He pulled back, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. It was only a casual touch, but to Clair, it was the most erotic feeling she’d ever felt. She closed her eyes, aching for more.  “Kiss me again,” she whispered.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him as she parted her lips. Alex deepened his kiss, letting their tongues slide together in a rhythmic dance. Her shirt fell
from around her shoulders, exposing the blouse beneath. Clair felt his hand move from her waist and glide up her arm to her shoulder. His fingers slid under one strap of her top, setting her skin on fire. Their kissing grew more urgent and Clair slid her palms over his firm chest, her fingers finding the buttons on his shirt. She undid the first few, brushing her fingers over his collarbone and up his neck. Alex moaned softly against her mouth before grasping her hands against his chest. He pulled away from her, resting his forehead against hers.

“We should stop,” he whispered, trying to catch his breath.

Clair pulled away; “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… I shouldn’t have acted like that.” She covered her face with her hands, mortified at her own behavior.

“No,” he said tenderly, pulling Clair’s hands away from her face, “
it’s okay.”

She looked down at the ground, her eyes burning with tears. Biting down on her lip, she tried desperately not to cry… again. One minute this date wasn’t a big deal and the next; she was aching for his touch. Her emotions were all over the place.

Alex pulled her strap back over her shoulder and tilted her face up with the tip of his finger. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “Trust me, Clair; it took
a lot
to make me stop myself.” He rubbed his thumb over her lips, “I wanted to kiss you all night.”

“You could have. I wanted you to,” she said shyly.

“
Now
you tell me. We could have skipped the ice cream,” he joked. “Come on, we better make our way to the house. I don’t think Roz would find it funny to see us sitting around in the grass when she comes home.” He stood up, helping her to her feet.

They walked hand in hand to the house. “Thank you for tonight. It wasn’t at all what I expected.” She smiled, “And for this necklace.” Clair held the pendant in her hand, “It means a lot, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Can I see you tomorrow?”

“I’d like that,” she said. “I don’t have to work, if you want to come over?”

“How about lunchtime? Is that okay?

“That’ll work. I’ll make us lunch.”

“Sounds good. Goodnight, Clair. Pleasant dreams,” he said brushing his fingers over her necklace once more. Leaning in, he kissed her softly, letting his lips linger for a moment before he pulled away.

“Goodnight, Alex.”

When Clair closed the door to her apartment, she leaned up against it, and let out the big breath she'd been holding. She couldn't believe how her emotions had taken hold of her. But Clair couldn't deny the way he made her feel either. She’d only known Alex for about a week, but never felt the kind of connection she had with him. Clair touched her lips, still feeling the tingle left behind from the hunger in their kiss. It was soft, sweet, passionate, and full of longing. But the little voice in her head made her wonder if Alex was just relieving all of his pent-up emotions on her. Was she on the receiving end of a really bad breakup? Clair didn’t know. They hadn’t discussed relationships yet. She wanted to know about his past; but it wasn’t fair to ask if she wasn’t ready to share the details of her own failed affairs.

A loud knock on the door nearly gave her a heart attack. She knew it had to be Roz since it came from the door in her
hallway. Opening it, Roz stood there, smiling.

"Hey. Did you just get home?” Clair asked. “You must have just pulled up after I came inside."

"Nope, I've been home for a few hours," she said, grinning.

Clair's eyes widened, feeling her face flushed. "But… but where's your car? We assumed you'd be at Stu's house."

"He brought me home earlier. He wanted to take my car to get it serviced, put some new tires on it and stuff like that. He didn't want anyone taking advantage of me because I'm a woman. I told him I could handle it, but rather than arguing about it, I just let him do it. But look at you,” Roz pointed at her, smiling while she looked her over. "Looks like you sure had a good time tonight."

Clair was speechless. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Had she been watching out of the window, seeing the scene unfold between them in the yard? Was she going to reprimand her for unacceptable behavior? Even if she was old enough to make her own decisions, Clair didn't want to cause any conflicts.

She tried to blow it off, as if their date wasn’t a big deal. "Yeah, it was all right; dinner was good."

"He didn't take you to a crappy restaurant, did he?"

Relief washed over her as she realized Roz was referring to their date. "No, it was a nice place. We had pizza. He even bought me ice cream afterwards."

She shook her head with approval. “What’s this?” she asked, picking up the pendant from around her neck.

“Oh, Alex saw me looking at this tonight. He insisted on buying it, even though I told him he shouldn’t have.”

Roz grinned, “Oh I see,” she said, dragging it out like she knew more than she was letting on.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Clair asked.

“Oh nothing, I’m just wondering when the last time Alex felt compelled to buy someone a gift.”

“He was just being nice,” Clair huffed. “Like I told you this afternoon, it’s not a big deal. We had a good time hanging out tonight. Alex is sweet, but we’re just friends.”

Roz laughed, “Yeah. I can clearly see that you two were just
hanging
out.”

“What are you talking about?”

Waving her off, Roz said, “Oh nothing, I’ll let you get ready for bed. It’s going to take a while to get all that out.”

Clair looked down at her pants confused. “Get what out?”

Roz giggled. “Hon, you have grass all over you. It’s even in your hair.”

Clair gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. It was as if she’d been caught, even though there was no rolling-around-in-the-grass-make-out session, her appearance insinuated as much.

Roz patted her on the shoulder, smiling. “Like I told Alex earlier, I’ve been around a little while. Don’t think for a second you can fool me.” She turned and walked out the door, laughing. “See you in the morning, Clair.” 

Clair woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She stumbled in the dark until she found the doorknob. Opening the door, she squinted in the light to see Roz standing in front of her, already dressed, holding a coffee cup.

“Hey,
hon,” she said, extending the mug to Clair. “I know you were up late and I’m sorry I had to wake you, but I’ve got a favor to ask.”

Taking the mug between her hands, Clair leaned against the doorframe, using it to hold her body upright. “And this favor couldn’t wait ‘til the sun came up?”

“I know. I’m sorry. Theresa called in sick today and I remember you said you wanted any extra hours I could give you, so I was hoping you’d take her shift this morning.” Roz looked apologetic, “Like in thirty minutes.”

Clair bolted upright, spilling her coffee down the side of the mug. “Thirty minutes?
Seriously?” Running her fingers through her hair, she added, “Thank God I took a shower last night.”

“I see you were able to get all that grass out. How many times did you have to wash it, anyway?” She gave Clair a wink and a sly grin.

“Before I do you
any
favors, you have to promise not to bring up my appearance last night or whatever you may suspect might have happened. I already feel embarrassed enough as it is without having to hear your comments about it, too. Got it?”

Holding her hands up in surrender, Roz laughed. “Sure, whatever you say, hon.” She backed away from the door. “I’m sorry I can’t drive you since Stu took my car last night.”

“It’s alright, I could use the walk anyway. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Oh, one more thing,” Roz yelled from halfway down the staircase. “You’ll be waitressing today but don’t…”

“I’m what?” Clair rushed to the staircase, “Oh no Roz, this isn’t good. I will run every customer you have away; I’m just not that coordinated.” She knew she’d make a fool out of herself in front of everyone.

“Don’t worry about it, hon.
You’ll be fine. Just take it slow and remember that, even if you do mess up, remain professional about it. Don’t take any crap from anyone. Sometimes it can get pretty hectic. You’ll do fine. Now hurry, go get ready.”

Clair walked down the staircase in Roz’s house to let her know she was leaving. She was dreading the shift but knew she needed the hours. She couldn’t let Roz keep buying her things when she could basically afford them now. Walking through the living room, Roz sat on the couch, papers spread out on the coffee table in front of her. “Alright, I just wanted to let you know I’m heading out now.”

“Okay,
hon., I already called Janis and told her you’d be filling in for Theresa today, and she is going to help you as much as she can. You have any problem, just call me.”

“Yeah okay, sure. What’s your cell phone number just in case I get chased out with the mop?” Clair joked.

“Oh, that reminds me. I completely forgot to give this to you last night.” Roz grinned, “Something else had my attention and I lost focus.”

“Do I need to revoke my favor right now Roz? We had a deal.”

“Just kidding, lighten up, will ya?”

It was too early for jokes and Clair just wanted to be back in her bed. “What’s your number?”

She stood up and walked to the bar in the kitchen, digging into her purse and pulling out a cell phone. “Okay, don’t freak out,” she said, turning around with it in her hand, “I got you this cell phone…”

“Roz quit buying me stuff!” Clair huffed, crossing her arms. “I make my own money now.”

“I know, I know, but I was paying my bill and the sales guy told me I could add another line for only twenty bucks more a month. So if it makes you feel better, just pay me every month. Okay? It’ll be cheaper that way anyway, and you should have a phone.”

“Okay fine. But don’t buy me anything else.” Clair glared at her, “I mean it, Roz. Don’t. You’ve done enough for me.”

“Fine. Chill out. I won’t.”

“Now, can you program your number for me? I don’t have time to figure it out.”

“I already did. I added my cell number and the diner’s. I also added Stu’s just in case you need me and can’t reach me. Oh! And I added Alex’s number too.” Roz beamed. “But he doesn’t know I got you a phone, so it will be up to you if you want to give him your number.”

“Oh crap,” Clair slapped her forehead with her hand. “I completely forgot Alex was coming over later and I was
supposed to make us lunch. It’s too early to call him now; can you let him know you asked me to come in?”

“Sure, no problem.
You’ll be off later this afternoon so maybe you two can still hang out. I’m sorry I ruined your plans, you should have told me.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t a big deal. Thanks for the phone and don’t forget to let me know when the bill comes.” She tucked the phone in her pocket. “Wish me luck!”

Roz patted her on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, you’ll do great. I’ll come by when your shift is over and pick you up, okay? I should have my car back by then.”

“Sounds great, I’ll see you later.”

Clair successfully made it through the busy breakfast hour without spilling any food or drinks on anyone. But the mop received a good workout from what she managed to drop on the floor. As lunch picked up, Clair was starting to get tired, causing her to make more mistakes. She kept being pulled this way and that, and it was hard for her to differentiate the customers who had already ordered from the ones who hadn’t. As soon as she
cleared one table of its dirty dishes, it was re-occupied. Clair was ready for her shift to be over. Her feet ached and she felt like she was running a marathon back and forth from the kitchen to the tables.

After clearing away the mess from two empty tables, Clair carried a stack of plates in her arms, balancing two cups on top of the stack. She started walking back to the kitchen, but before she could react, a woman jumped out of her chair. Still talking to the other girls at her table, she didn’t see Clair behind her as she started walking backwards.