The Dating Game (29 page)

October

Leaves fell hard and fast from the trees, as autumn took
hold.  The weather, wild and relentless, buffeted Gill around as she waited for
a bus into town.  She was meeting Liam at the cinema.  They were off to see a
thriller – a mutual choice.  It had been two weeks since the meal at his flat,
and they had been out a further four times.

She still hadn’t slept with him and although they had fooled
around with each other, they were in no hurry.  It was freeing to not be
constantly thinking about how to juggle her various dates, but know that she
had someone who liked her, a lot, who she could spend time with as part of a
couple.  They had no set routine, rather they just arranged at the end of each
date when they would see each other again; it was rarely more than a few days. 
Gill had stifled a laugh when Liam had suggested ten pin bowling.  Not about to
enlighten him with regard to Sean, she agreed.  This time, however, she made
sure she wore jeans and stayed well back from the line.

One night, Gill had joined Liam for coffee in town, where he
had been meeting some friends earlier in the day.  A few had hung around,
apparently because they had lost track of time. But, as Liam told her, they
were vetting her suitability.  She liked that his friends looked out for him.

Liam had been to her house for dinner.  She had bought posh
ready meals and champagne, and made a real effort with the table, the lighting
– candles of course – and the mood music.  Since she couldn’t cook, she’d
wanted to add a sense of occasion with the drinks, hence the bubbly.  They’d
also gone for Thai food to a restaurant in Argyle St, which was new to Gill. It
didn’t quite match up to Fountain of Siam, but it was decent.  Plus, it lacked
the melodrama of her last visit to a Thai restaurant.

Gill rounded the corner to the cinema and saw Liam lounging
against the pillar waiting for her.

‘Hi,’ he kissed her full on the mouth.  ‘Missed you.’

‘I missed you, too,’ Gill gave him a full-beam smile.  ‘Got
the tickets?’

‘Yep,’ Liam patted his pocket.  ‘Let’s go and get some
nachos.’

The film was pretty good, although a couple of times, Gill
hid her face at a scary part, whilst Liam laughed at her and cuddled into her. 
‘You’ve nothing to be afraid of.  I’m here.’

‘I know it’s just a film,’ she said, ‘but it seems so real. 
You could imagine that happening.’

Liam clasped her hand in his and they watched the rest of
the film, Gill occasionally resting her head on his shoulder.

‘So what do you want to do?  It’s still relatively early.  We
could go for a drink or a snack, if you like?’

‘We could,’ agreed Gill.

‘Or we could go back to mine,’ offered Liam.

‘We could do that, too.  Do you have any food in?’

‘Yep, I could rustle us up an omelette, pasta, or even some
cheese toasties.’

Gill laughed, ‘Do you know, I haven’t had a cheese toastie
for ages.  You’ve just put me in the mood for it.  C’mon.’

They headed over to the car park diagonally opposite the
cinema and retrieved Liam’s car.

Back in Maryhill, Liam busied himself making them cheese
& tomato toasties.  ‘Do you want Marmite on yours?’

‘Ugh, no!  Marmite’s evil,’ Gill pulled a face.

‘I love it, it’s delicious,’ Liam dipped a teaspoon in the
Marmite jar and then licked it clean.

‘That is disgusting.  I hope you’re not going to double
dip!’

‘Not at all,’ he replied, rinsing the teaspoon under the
tap.  ‘I suppose you either love Marmite or you hate it.  C’mere, give me a
kiss.’

‘No way!’ Gill pushed him away gently, but forcibly.  ‘I
can’t stand the smell of it, never mind the taste.  I’ll kiss you once you’ve
got rid of the Marmite taste.’

Laughing, Liam said, ‘You could be waiting some time.’

‘Well,’ said Gill wickedly, ‘we’ll just have to see who
caves in first.’

They took their toasties and mugs of tea through to the
living room, where they sat on the floor, side by side.

Liam flicked on the TV and said, ‘What do you want to watch?’

‘I don’t mind – another film perhaps?’

‘Let’s see what we’ve got then.’  He channel-hopped for a
few minutes, before leaving it on a romcom.

After they had finished their tea and toasties, Liam paused
the film and fetched them some wine.  They lay on the couch intertwined,
laughing at some of the heroine’s more hilarious escapades.

At eleven thirty, when the film was over, Gill said, ‘I
better go.  Can you call me a taxi?’

Liam looked at her seriously, took her hand and said, ‘Gill,
I don’t want you to go.  I’d like you to stay.’

Gill hesitated.  They still hadn’t slept together and she
wasn’t sure she was mentally ready for that yet.  As if reading her mind, Liam
said hurriedly, ‘We don’t need to, you know.  I just want you to sleep beside
me and be there in the morning when I wake up.’

Gill was torn.  She wanted to stay, but she didn’t know if
her willpower would hold out if Liam did try to make love to her.  She liked
him a lot, but she had been very hurt by both Anton and Charlie, and she was
being very cautious.  Weighing everything up, she eventually said, ‘OK, but no
funny business,’ and she smacked him playfully on the arm.

‘None whatsoever,’ said Liam, as he tackled her and they
rolled on the floor, where they kissed and kissed and kissed.

Eventually Liam led her by the hand into his bedroom and,
after an inordinate amount of kissing, touching and stroking each other, they
fell asleep in each other’s arms.

‘Morning, sleepy,’ Liam shook Gill gently.

Gill struggled to open her eyes.  She’d had the best sleep
in ages and not even in her own bed. Although they hadn’t had sex, perhaps the
overall feeling of well-being had made her go into a deep sleep.  Gill often
thought foreplay without sex could be just as stimulating, and in many cases
better than the final act.  Having to hold herself back, wanting to do more,
but psychologically knowing she wasn’t ready, proved quite a turn-on.  Sleepily
she raised herself up on one elbow until she drew level with Liam, sitting on
the bed beside her.

‘Hope you’re hungry.  I’ve made quite a spread,’ he gestured
to the breakfast tray on the bedside cabinet.

‘You’re not kidding!’  Gill surveyed the contents which
would have fed a family of five.  She didn’t like to tell him she didn’t
usually eat much first thing in the morning, preferring to wait until a few
hours after waking. Her eyes fell upon the muesli with side order of fresh
raspberries and blueberries.  Hot buttered toast, pancakes, orange juice, and
freshly brewed coffee completed her sumptuous breakfast.

‘And if you’re still hungry after that, I can do you a full
cooked.’

‘I don’t think that’ll be necessary,’ Gill looked at him in
alarm.  ‘What are you having?’

‘Well, I’ve had some toast, but I’m going to make myself a
bacon roll in a minute.  I just wanted to bring you breakfast in bed and steal
one of your raspberries,’ he said, nicking one before Gill’s hand could swat
him away.

‘Paws off!  People have died for less,’ joked Gill.

‘OK, lesson learned.  Right, I’m off for a shower and then
I’m making bacon rolls.  Enjoy!’

Gill surveyed the laden tray in front of her.  She felt a
tear forming in her eye.  She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done
something so nice for her.  No one had ever brought her breakfast in bed.  At
thirty-seven, this was the first time someone had been kind enough to spoil her
in this way.  Wasn’t that rather sad?

By the time Liam returned, barefoot and wearing only a pair
of Levis, Gill had demolished a good portion of her breakfast.

Freshly shaved, his skin felt baby soft as he kissed her. 
Soon he removed the tray and climbed on the bed, reaching for her.

Retrieving his discarded Levis from the floor, Liam said,
‘Bacon roll?’

‘No, I’m good, thanks.’

‘Well, how about I make two and you eat half of one?  I
always find one is never enough, but two is too much.’

Gill reflected upon this and then said, ‘You’ve convinced
me.  I’m going to take a shower, if that’s OK?’

‘Yep, just don’t be too long.  Bacon roll will be on the
table in ten minutes.’

As Gill stood under the jets of Liam’s power shower, she
realised she felt happy – very happy.  When was the last time she had felt this
happy?  Unexpectedly her thoughts turned to Anton.  She did not want to go
there.  She wouldn’t let him spoil this moment.  He was the main reason she still
hadn’t slept with Liam.

After brunch, Liam drove Gill home for a change of clothes. 
Then they headed back to the west end and the Botanic Gardens. Gill had never
been and Liam said she absolutely had to go.

Liam was surprisingly knowledgeable about a lot of the
flowers found in the Botanic Gardens and could even tell Gill a little of the
gardens’ history.  Once they had examined the contents of the famous
glasshouses, they walked alongside the nature trails which flanked the River
Kelvin, chatting and laughing together.  Onlookers smiled, noticing the couple,
so clearly in love and enjoying their Saturday stroll.  As they visited the
arboretum on the return from their walk, Gill glanced over at Liam and couldn’t
believe how lucky she was.

November

‘Do you want a Mai-Tai or a glass of wine?’ Gill called
through from the kitchen.

‘Mai-Tai,’ said Angela.

‘Wine for me,’ shouted Debbie.

‘Mai-Tai for me,’ Lisa yelled.

As Gill whisked up three Mai-Tais and poured a glass of wine
for Debbie, she smiled and thought how great this was.  Her life felt so right
– balanced.  Work was going really well.  The conversion rate since Angus
started had gone through the roof.  He just seemed to have the Midas touch. 
Amanda was enjoying her new role; she and Janice got on famously and
complemented each other well. Gill found herself with so much time to do things
that she had wanted to do for years; plan for the future and revise her five
year business plan among other things.  It wasn’t beyond the realm of
possibility that she would be able to take on another recruitment consultant in
the spring, if business continued to go so well. But then she’d need to start
thinking about getting larger premises.

It was Angela’s birthday and they had arranged to have a
girl’s night in at Gill’s house.  They would go out at the weekend for dinner,
but for now, they were having cocktails, wine, eighties music, a bit of chat
and perhaps a romantic comedy.

‘Thirty-eight, Angela, how does it feel?’ asked Lisa.

‘Er, exactly the same as thirty-seven.’

‘But you’re sooo much older now,’ Lisa loved to wind Angela
up. Just because it was Angela’s birthday, it didn’t mean Lisa would go easy on
her.  Angela, knowing her friend well, chose to ignore her.  Instead she
related to them the hilarious escapades at her school. The headmaster was
besotted with a new teaching assistant in her early twenties, who had a
gorgeous boyfriend, and who was completely unaware of her charms.  Angela,
herself, was apparently the object of a nerdy fourteen-year-old’s crush, and it
pained her to see the teenager go through the whole unrequited love process.

A once chubby girl had turned into a bit of a fox, in the
space of a few months, and the very same boys who had been teasing her last
term, were now ogling her and angling for a date. To her credit, she was having
none of it and politely, but firmly declined them all.

‘That’s what we need from our youth; more strong,
independent women.  Good for her,’ said Lisa, munching on a breadstick.  ‘Gill,
how long did you say this Chinese would be?’

‘They said forty minutes,’ Gill glanced at the clock.  ‘That
was about twenty minutes ago.  I have some olives if you’ve eaten all the
breadsticks,’ she gestured pointedly at the empty breadstick box.

‘You didn’t want any, did you, Debbie, Angela?’ said Lisa,
trying to justify her greediness.

‘Well, we didn’t get much of a chance.  I think we should
just call you The Bin,’ said Debbie.

‘Fine by me,’ said Lisa sweetly, ‘but I never put on any
weight, so I can eat what I like.’

‘And you do,’ muttered Angela.  ‘And here was me wanting a
birthday breadstick,’ she joked.

‘Ah, you know, once you hit forty it’s so much more
difficult to lose weight.’

‘I’m thirty-eight,’ Angela reminded Lisa through gritted
teeth.

‘Right, you two, ding ding,’  Debbie rang an imaginary
bell.  ‘Time out.’

Angela took the opportunity to change the subject.  ‘So,
Gill, tell us more about Luscious Liam?’

Gill sat cross-legged, sipping her Mai-Tai, and told the
girls what she and Liam had been up to, or most of what they had been up to,
since she last saw them.

‘So have you slept with him yet?’ Lisa asked straight out.

‘Lisa!’  Debbie chastised her.  ‘That’s up to Gill to tell
us if she wants.  You shouldn’t ask.’

‘We’re all wondering. I’m just verbalising.’

‘Something you should do less often,’ said Angela under her
breath.

‘Ahem, I am here you know,’ Gill gave them both a look,
which resulted in a
‘Sorry,’
from Debbie and a
‘Well?’
from Lisa.

‘If you must know, no, I haven’t slept with him yet.  Or
rather, I have slept with him, in his bed, several times, but we haven’t had
sex.’

Lisa snorted, ‘How is that even possible?’

‘It’s called self-control,’ said Gill, ‘and
self-preservation.’

‘But you’ve been seeing him for how long now, a month, a little
more than that?’ Lisa asked, ‘and you’ve seen each other at least two or three
times a week.  Don’t you want to?’

‘Lisa, leave it,’ snapped Debbie, uncharacteristically.

They waited for Gill to say something.  Finally after a long
pause, she said, ‘I do want to make love to him and to be honest, we already
have, loads of foreplay, and it’s all amazing, but something’s holding me back
from taking that final step.’

Lisa, realising she’d overstepped the mark, said a bit more
diplomatically, ‘and he’s been OK about it?  About you not…’

‘He’s been great.  I  think he may have had a rough time in
the past, too.’

‘When it’s the right time, you’ll know,’ Debbie rubbed her
friend’s back and gave her a hug.

‘I know.  I’ll feel it.’

Angela threw Lisa a warning glance, as she knew it was on
the tip of her tongue to make a smutty remark.

The buzzer rang, signalling the arrival of their Chinese. 
The girls busied themselves arranging the food onto plates to be heated up in
the microwave, and the subject was forgotten.

They had a fantastic evening; bitching about men, drooling
over the lead in the romcom, and reliving all their yesterdays via the medium
of music.

Around one, the girls left as they all had work in the
morning.  Just as she was going to bed, Gill noticed a light flashing on her
phone, signalling a new text message.  Liam. 
‘Hope you had a great night
with the girls.  I missed you tonight and can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Liam,
x.’

Smiling, Gill prepared for bed, thinking of the question
Lisa had asked her.  She felt the answer was
soon
.  The right moment
would be very soon.

The rest of the week flew by and soon Friday night arrived. 
Gill was due to meet Liam’s friends properly for the first time.  They were
going for drinks in Merchant City.  It was one of the group’s birthdays and
apparently they always celebrated in style.  Gill deliberated at length over
what to wear, even though Liam had told her not to fuss, she looked great in
anything.  But she could tell that he was secretly pleased at her extra effort.

The evening went well.  The birthday drinks event was pretty
raucous.  They were a very sociable crowd and two of the girls, Kirstin and
Petra, took Gill under their wing, keen that she shouldn’t feel intimidated by
some of the louder components in their party.  Liam stayed by her side most of
the evening, apart from when called upon to sing karaoke as a forfeit.  The
girls tried to quiz Gill on her feelings for Liam, but Gill shrugged
noncommittally, and just said things were going well.  A look exchanged between
the two made Gill think she was missing something, but she let it go.  She was
having too good a time to stop and analyse anything.

Liam and Gill had decided in advance that they would stay at
Gill’s that night.  It would be the first time Liam had slept over at hers. 
But it made sense since they were out in the Merchant City and they planned to
visit Pollok House, on the south side of the city on Sunday morning.  Then Gill
would head up to Balloch for Sunday lunch with Christopher and Sarah.

They said their goodbyes to Liam’s motley crew of friends,
all in various states of drunkenness, and flagged down a taxi.  They crossed
the River Clyde around midnight and by quarter past were already back at Gill’s
flat.

‘I’ve had enough to drink,’ said Liam.

‘Me too.  I think I’m going to have a hot chocolate.’

‘Hot chocolate!  I haven’t had that in years.  Can I have
some, too?’ he asked, wrapping his arms around Gill’s waist and laying his head
on her shoulder.

‘I feel quite tired, actually.’

‘Me too.  Your friends must have taken it out of us,’ Gill
smiled at him.

‘They are a bit mad, but their hearts are in the right
place.’

Gill handed Liam a steaming mug of hot chocolate and took a
sip of hers.

‘What do you fancy?’  She was just about to say film or
music, when she saw the familiar gleam in his eye.  ‘OK, on second thoughts,
why don’t we just go through to the living room and see?’

Liam followed her and they sat on the sofa, mugs perched
beside them.  Something was brewing.  Something irrevocable had changed – for
Gill at least.  She was ready.  When Liam kissed her, she let him know
something was out of the ordinary, by responding even more ardently than
usual.  Untucking his shirt, her hands pressed against the firm contours of his
chest and stomach, before sliding up his back.  Suddenly their movements became
more urgent.  Gill knew, beyond doubt, that she wanted Liam, all of him,
tonight.  As they discarded layer after layer of clothing, Liam kissed Gill’s
throat, then her eyelids, then finally her lips.  As they reached the point of
no return, Gill gasped, ‘Liam, I want you.’

‘I want you, too,’ Liam groaned.

‘No, Liam, I want you inside me.’

Exhaling sharply, Liam scrabbled for his trousers, withdrew
his wallet and took out a condom, which he deftly put on.

Kissing Gill gently on the lips, he asked, ‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeees,’ Gill could barely contain herself.  Needing no more
invitation, as they were both already very aroused, Liam entered her and
suddenly Gill wondered why she had waited so long.

They had to slow down a few times.  Liam was afraid he might
come, and he wanted Gill to enjoy the experience as much as he was.

They made love three times, before deciding they really did
need some sleep.

As Gill lay in Liam’s embrace, she felt content and glad
that she had met this wonderful man who was starting to mean so much to her.

The following week

Gill’s parents would be arriving any minute.  They hadn’t
visited her for over a year.  They hadn’t exactly given her a great deal of
notice either.  Just the week before, her mother rang to say they were coming
up to Scotland to spend a few days with Christopher and their grandchildren,
and then on the return leg they would spend the weekend in Glasgow with Gill. 
Perhaps they could go to a show, have some dinner?  Normally Gill would have
been delighted to spend some time and go to the Kings’ with her parents, but
she was in the first flush of love, and eager to spend every minute with Liam. 
Even the girls had said they didn’t mind, as long as they saw her in a few
weeks’ time.  They all remembered how it felt, even if for some, it had been
too long since they had last experienced it.

Plus Gill’s parents didn’t know about Liam.  She hadn’t met
his brother yet and his parents were dead.  She supposed she
had
met his
friends, whereas he hadn’t met hers.  But it was still a bit of a stressful
situation.  It meant something – meeting your girlfriend’s parents.  Was that
what she was – Liam’s girlfriend?  Did he view her as such?  How did you know? 
Was there a deadline that you observed, after which you were termed as being
exclusive to each other?  Gill had debated for a few days whether to fob Liam
off that weekend, but in the end, she decided to tell him about her parents’
visit, invite him to dinner, and if he fancied going to see a show, then she’d
get him a ticket, too.

Liam had been surprisingly relaxed about it all and said he
would love to meet her parents.  Gill definitely felt more nervous than he
did.  She’d spoken to Christopher to ensure he didn’t fill his mother in on
Gill’s love-life.  He had agreed, as long as he and Sarah were next on the list
to meet Liam.  After all, Christopher pointed out; they did only live in
Balloch.

‘Mum, Dad,’ Gill hugged and kissed her parents.  ‘Let me help
you with your bags.’

As Gill brought in the bags, her mother walked alongside
her.  ‘No, not that one, Gill.  That’s just dirty washing.  That can stay in
the car.

‘You can use my machine, you know.’

‘No, it’s quite all right.  It can wait until we get home. 
Robert, where did you put the wine we bought for Gill?’ Gill’s mother asked.

‘It’s behind the passenger seat,’ Gill’s father called to
his wife, from where he was busy trying to wedge open the outer door to Gill’s
flat.

‘It’s good to see you, Mum.’

‘And you, darling.  You do look well.  You’re positively
glowing.  Or maybe it’s just the cold weather?’

Gill tried not to sigh.  It was typical of her mother to
give a compliment and just as quickly snatch it away.  Carrying the remainder
of the bags towards the flat, Gill took a deep breath and ascended the stairs.

‘Tea or coffee?’ Gill asked her parents, once they were
suitably ensconced on her sofas.  Her father appeared a little out of breath
and she couldn’t help feeling concerned for him.  He seemed much frailer than
last time she had seen him.  She made a mental note to call them more often. 
Her mother, of course, was much more resilient.  She’d probably outlive them
all.

‘Gill, there are some biscuits in that bag.  No, not that
one,’ her mother scolded, ‘the blue and white checked one.  That’s it – a
luxury chocolate biscuit selection.’

‘I do have biscuits, Mum.’

‘I know, dear, but I know what we like.’

Gill bit her tongue.  Her mother could be infuriating
sometimes and she needed to keep the peace, since she was about to hit them
with a major piece of news.

As they sat catching up on the gossip from her brother’s and
from her parents’ neighbours, Gill waited for the right moment to bring up
Liam, and the fact that he would be joining them for dinner and the theatre
that evening.

Her opportunity soon appeared, when her mother asked her
what she had been up to, after, of course, reprimanding her for rarely calling
them.