Piece of me

The date. Chapter 3.

After much persuasion, Jay managed to secure a date night with me. It had been many weeks since we first met. I had previously refused him for two reasons, one our class differences & two he was supposed to be marrying Hilda Middleton. She was dead set on marrying in to the Phillips family too. Though rich, she wasn't that well connected. Her father had ruffled many feathers during his early business days.

The engagement was entirely one sided. It was upon Jay's announcement to the news that he was not marrying Hilda that I realised he was serious about getting to know me. This did not go down well with his father. Although poorly connected, the Middletons were exceptionally wealthy with many business investments. Mr Phillips was desperate to further his wealth. Living in a big mansion with a pool clearly was not enough for this social climber.

The Middletons were even less pleased. This was their chance at gaining connections. It wasn't easy to live amongst the rich without connections. You needed to know who was marrying in to your family to protect your wealth. Without those connections anyone could bring their debts in to your family.

It was rare that I got a weekend off. We were having some work done to tidy up the party room. It was needed for an important upcoming event for what was considered royalty in these parts. A local celebrity, Derek Roberts, who starred in a favourite soap. He was from a middle class family, hence his ability to afford acting classes.

I had agreed to the date for this weekend knowing it was unlikely I'd be free any other time in the run up to this party. I was at home going through my wardrobe whilst sighing internally at everything I owned. It had been quite some time since I'd bought anything new. My clothes didn't look worthy of such a date. I threw myself in to the mess on the bed & considered cancelling. But it was obvious he was in to me. My uniform wasn't anything special & he'd still pursued me. I pulled myself together & decided to chance the charity shop before it closed. It was only a few doors away.

I browsed through hoping that perhaps I'd strike gold with a fancy dress in good condition. As it happened a donation had been made this morning. The lady who worked here knew me well & allowed me to come through to the back to go through the recent donations. I found 3 dresses in mint condition. One was a long red, figure hugging dress with slits up either side of the legs as high as the knees, & lace detail around the bust. The other 2 were also in my size. I was unsure of them at first. But I figured I was unlikely to find anything as good next time. The black one was shorter. Knee length, 2 layers, the top being a lovely patterned lace. I liked it very much. The final one was purple. Like the red one, it was also a long dress. It didn't have slits or any fancy detail beyond a braided waist tie, but it was still pretty. It would make a great summer dress.

"I'll take these 3 please" I told Miss Wilkins. She was in her mid 40s maybe. A lovely woman with a heart of gold. She had been unlucky in love. She surrounded herself with good friends instead of worrying about dating. She was excited for me when I told her I had a date though. So many questions, what was his name, where was he taking me, how did we meet etc.

As much as I liked the woman I needed to get away & start getting ready. I didn't give away much information. I wasn't sure about people knowing. He was from the rich part of town & I was just a cafe employee. It was probably best to keep it to myself.

As I returned home I knew I needed to start getting ready now. I didn't often get a chance to pamper & glam myself up. I certainly wasn't going to waste another second. I made a cuppa first before cleansing my face & applying a face mask I'd been waiting to try. It was one of those moisturising sheet masks. I needed my skin to be at its best to pull off the no makeup makeup look.

I had bathed earlier so I all that was left to do was my makeup & hair really. I wasn't sure whether to wear it up or down.

Once the mask had been on for twenty minutes, I left it an extra five minutes for good luck, I massaged the last of the serum in to my skin & applied a day cream as well as an eye gel, no way was I getting crows feet before my time. I brushed powder through where my eyebrows were less full & then started on my eyes. A subtle brown smokey look would really bring out my eyes. I had unusual eyes, they weren't quite blue, but weren't quite green either, they were somewhere in the middle. They changed colour depending on the light. Brown was a very good colour on my eyes. It wasn't too dark or overpowering & made my eyes sparkle. I only applied 2 coats of mascara. I had good eyelashes. They were quite long & full already. Mascara helped to darken & curl them upwards a bit more so they really stood out.

I kept my face simple with a tinted BB cream, light touches of concealer where needed & blush. I wanted a dewy finish so I only powdered my Tzone to prevent shine. For lips I chose a colour close to my natural lip shade. It was a very toned down red. About as toned down as red could be. It wasn't detectable to the untrained mind. I didn't want to overdo it. Eyes or lips had to be the focus, but never both. I was well versed in the current makeup style. I wasn't a fashion victim though. Bushy brows just weren't for me. Mine were the perfect shape for my face. I only plucked the strays that didn't fall in line.

There I thought. I played about with my hair a while, trying out different styles. I was still undecided. Pulling my chosen dress, the red one with the slits on I figured I could force my decision based on what looked right with the neckline. In the end I went with a half & half do. It was plaited on one side, sweeping the hair over one shoulder. Half up, half down. It looked effortless.

My shoes weren't exactly fancy. Simple black heels, toeless with a strap across the foot. Nice material though. The heels weren't so high I would risk losing balance. I was nervous enough as it was without worrying about falling arse over face.

I hadn't seen this person in a while. I rarely ever put in an effort. I didn't exactly go out much. I worked, came home, cooked tea, maybe read a few chapters of book & then went to bed. Sometimes I went to my parents house for tea. My mum maintained the importance of family meals. Her cooking was definitely worth giving up my reading time for.

I checked my phone as it beeped. Jay was here slightly early. He wanted to know if it was ok or if I needed him to wait. He was sweet.

I grabbed my bolero & headed downstairs to the door. He opened the car door & greeted me.

"Wow, you look, wow" he stuttered.

"Thanks, you look great too". He did. But then he always dressed well. He was wearing a light grey suit jacket, with a black shirt & black patterned tie. His trousers were a charcoal grey. The man had style. His deep emerald eyes appeared even brighter in the moonlight. His strong jawline & chiseled cheekbones became even more defined as he smiled.

He led me to the car & opened the passenger door for me. It was obvious he was very responsible by the fact he'd brought a driver. I grew more impressed with him by the minute. It wasn't his money that impressed me, it was his genuine caring nature that drew me in. He wasn't ruthless or thoughtless. He put safety first. That was a great first impression in itself. My nerves were already calming.

We pulled up to a popular restaurant in town. It was a busy place but we were seated in a nice quiet area. I knew he must've pulled some strings to get this table without the noise of other diners surrounding us. There were still some diners seated further away from us, but the tables closest to us were closed. This I must admit was nice. There was nothing worse than a date where you have to keep repeating yourself.

A waitress came over fairly quickly to offer us both the wine list & menu.

"Do you drink wine" Jay asked.

"Yes, I like wine" I didn't really drink often. I had only really tried a couple of types of alcohol. Wine was very much a cheap girls night in kind of drink. The only types of wine we had were red, white or rose. Not fancy wines where the flavour was savoured. In his world however, wine was important. There were such things as good wines.

"What wine would you like?" the waitress queried with her order pad & pen at the ready.

Before I knew what came over me I blurted out "red?". I was a red wine drinker. White was kind of mild for my liking in the flavour department. Red held a strong noticeable taste that white just couldn't satisfy.

I felt a complete i***t. She actually meant what bottle.

Jay was ever the gentleman, "I like red, I think you'll like this". He ordered a cabernet sauvignon noir. It wasn't an overpriced wine. "my mother used to drink this. Its a favourite of mine. I hope you will like it too".

"Certainly" The waitress then left to pass the wine order over to the bar.

"I'm sure its lovely. I don't really know much about wine but on girls night we favour red".

"Do you go out with your friends anywhere I know of?"

"It's mostly girls nights in. We sometimes go out to the pubs, but not often at all. I prefer nights in with a takeaway & netflix." I admitted.

"Sounds like a good night to me". He seemed genuine enough. "I am not much for partying either. My father as you know holds many parties for his connections. I attend out of duty, more than out of enjoyment".

"Ah, yes, I guess that must get dull after a while, all the champagne & great food". I meant it innocently enough. But I had no idea what these parties were actually like. I didn't really like being reminded of how low down the class system I was. "I meant that without the dripping sarcasm" I added.

"It does get dull to be perfectly honest. You wouldn't believe some of the things these supposed role models get up to. Its definitely not my scene. I try to leave before things get to that point".

I didn't respond, I just mulled over what he'd said. I knew he wasn't like the rest of the upper class. He wasn't embarassed to be seen with me for one thing. & he wasn't rude to anyone regardless of position.

Soon enough the waitress returned & served us our wine. Awaiting approval from mr Jayden Phillips, well known to all in these parts. We both took a sip & simultaneously "Mmmmed" at the rich plum & bitter chocolate flavour wrapping itself around our taste buds.

The waitress smiled at the response, though the focus of her attention was on this incredibly handsome man sat opposite me. She couldn't be more obvious if she tried.

"Are you ready to order yet" she said whilst gazing longingly at Jay. My eyes flicked back & forth between the two, he never even noticed her attempts to bat her eyelashes at him & pout her lips. I wasn't even offended, it was more amusing than anything.

I had only briefly skipped through the menu selection by this point. Jay was ready to order though. He chose a garlic bread starter & carbonara main. I was impressed, he liked the same food as me.

"That sounds great, I'll have the same" I added.

"If you order the same how can we share?" Jay stated.

"Oh right, good idea. Ok, I'll have the garlic mushroom starter & lasagne & chips main. Thanks" I corrected.

"Great" the waitress said again whilst smiling at my date.

He didn't even glance her way once. His eyes remained on me. Studying my facial features & mannerisms. Not in a creepy way, just in a curious manner.

"So, your mum liked this wine?" Oh it was painful. I was attempting to revive the conversation. The silence wasn't even awkward. It was more of a comfortable realisation that 'we get each other' kind of silence. I should've known better than to bring up his mother. That poor woman. She had died under mysterious circumstances a couple of years ago.

I bit my tongue to punish my lack of sense.

"Yes, yes, it was her regular wine. She was never much fond of the idea that the price determined an items quality. She would often share a glass with me on an evening". He smiled, but it was a sad smile. The kind of smile that was fond of the memory, but pained by the reality.

"We were very grateful for her charity work around here. I met her once. She was very kind to me".

"She was always helping people. She didn't really fit in with the rest of the hill people, as we used to call them".

I laughed at the term hill people. I just wish I wasn't mid sip at the time. I choked so hard the wine came out of my nose. It wasn't the nicest feeling. It certainly wasn't an experience I care to repeat. We both laughed at the wine coming through my nostril. He used his napkin to dab at my face. We held each others gaze, it was such a strangely romantic moment despite being hilarious & I knew right then & there that I loved this man.

The food interrupted our moment. It was a welcome distraction from the fact I had just snorted wine though. I was definitely hungry by this point. I'd only eaten breakfast today. We placed both dishes close to each other & tasted our own, then each others. It was heaven. The garlic mushrooms melted in the mouth. & The crispness of the garlic bread crumbled away as you chewed. It was perfect.

We must have looked a sight sharing. It wasn't something most people do. However I was all for it. In some cultures this was a standard form of eating. I found this to be a very sociable style of dining. Definitely more fun than committing to just one dish with so much variety available. I wasn't bothered by anyone's opinion of how we were enjoying our meal. In my eyes they were missing out with their fear of stepping out of the norm.

Jay was definitely a foodie. I liked that about him. The way he talked about it, I swear he could convince me to taste anything at least once.

As we finished our starters the conversation naturally turned to our favourite foods. Mine is pizza.

"I love pizza too. But for me my first favourite has to be rag pudding" Jay admitted.

"What's rag pudding?" I questioned.

"Its a suet based pastry, with steak inside, boiled inside a rag".

"So similar to a steak & kidney pudding?" I replied.

"Yes similar, though rag pudding is much nicer".

"It sounds nice". I wasn't kidding, suet made all the best things from dumplings to jam roly poly pudding. My mouth watered at the thought of jam roly poly. I hadn't had that since school. I suddenly had the urge to make it.

"Yeah, sometimes I would help my mother make it. She was a great cook. She didn't get to cook as often as she would've liked. But when my father was away, we always did some cooking together. I learnt a lot from her".

"That's sweet. I cooked a little with my mum when I was younger as well. She made great bread. She cooked almost every meal from scratch, even made her own pasta sauces".

"That's great. Not many people cook from scratch these days". He said.

"True" I replied.

The main course arrived as we were reminiscing about our childhood years. The waitress asked if there was anything else, then left upon us shaking our heads. I think she must have got the message finally that he wasn't interested.

Again we tasted our own plate of food first, then Jay offered me a fork of his carbonara. I carefully accepted. I wasn't the tidiest of eaters, but I was determined not to have a food stain on my chest tonight. "Oh man, that's good" I told him.

"It's the best carbonara I've had in a long time". He acknowledged.

"Here try this" I offered him a fork full of my lasagne. Both meals were bursting with flavour. Carbs definitely made a meal worth eating.

"The Italians certainly know good food". He was so right about this. The Italians definitely knew how to eat.

"You're not wrong there". We continued eating. Every now & then stopping between mouthfuls of this flavour explosion to discuss our likes & dislikes. The typical first date topics of getting to know one another. Favourite colours, animals, places etc. Family members & what we do for fun. To be fair, it was mostly Jay getting to know me. Jay's life was often being broadcasted by the media. It didn't mean it was all true. I still had a lot to learn about who he really was. But things like his likes & dislikes had already been on a magazine page. He was afterall, not only the older son of councillor Phillips & therefore the focus of most of the heiresses, but also his favourite son. Hudson, the younger son was an avid partier & living confortably on his inheritance. He refused to live by his father's rules. & managed to almost always fade blissfully in to the background as the younger son.

Everything was going fine until the topic of best film came up. Jay was adamant that the accidental husband must be boring because its a rom-com. Jay was in to horror. His favourites being the saw films. I didn't mind horror occasionally. The saw films were kind of gory for my taste though.

"The accidental husband is brilliant. You can't judge it without at least watching it first".

"Ok, that's true. I probably wouldn't mind it if I was watching with you" He answered. It was sweet. I could see myself enjoying his company, cosied up on the sofa, the coal fire blaring away with a good film & some snacks. That was my ideal date night. Not that I didn't like this date. I enjoyed eating out. But this place was one of the fancier restaurants & I knew I couldn't afford to take him to such nice places. I was worried enough about the bill coming.

As we finished our meal & the last of the wine the waitress quickly took our plates away. She had glanced at Jay a little longer than was necessary, but again was defeated by his indifference. He was the best looking bloke I'd ever seen so I really wasn't surprised he drew so much attention. He was also well known as being from a money background so that obviously appealed to many women looking for the easy life also.

"Would you like to see the desert menu" The waitress asked upon her return.

"Erm I'm ok"

"Yes" We spoke at the same time.

"Oh, if you want to"

"Are you full, we can go?" again we spoke at the same time, this time followed by a mild laugh.

"They really do offer great puddings here. If you can manage any more food?" Jay finally asked, letting me know as politely as possible that it was ok to order more.

"I could manage something"

Jay seemed relieved at that. "Great, now I don't have to look like such a greedy git on my own" he chuckled.

I burst out laughing. He was saving me the embarrassment of knowing I wasn't feeling ok about the meal price.

My eyes flicked across the menu as Jay ordered the chocolate sundae. Knowing he'd want to share & seeing he definitely liked chocolate I ordered the chocolate brownie with icecream.

"ooh great choice, you'll share of course" Jay was such a foodie I thought.

"Naturally" I responded.

The puddings arrived fairly quickly. Although I was full, I definitely had room for this chocolaty goodness. The brownie was melt in your mouth good. Every bite offering a warm goey & rich chocolate experience. The cornish clotted cream ice cream complimented it perfectly. After 3 mouthfuls I realised I hadn't offered Jay any. He was just watching me enjoy. "Here" I offered a spoon to him.

He took it. But replied "just how big do you think my mouth is?".

I laughed before saying "I owed you 3 mouthfuls"

"Not in one go" he laughed.

Jay then offered me the first spoon of his sundae.

"Oh that's definitely the best out of these two" I told him.

Jay took his first spoonful & he definitely looked to agree. We continued sharing. It was the best meal I'd ever had. I couldn't have asked for better company, or food.

As we finished our puddings Jay asked if I would like to take a walk along the beach before he took me home. I agreed. There was nothing better than the beach. Even at night time it was still a beautiful sight. The stars & the moon softly lighting the sea. The sound of waves slithering in & crashing against each other.

The bill came & I offered to pay towards.

"Just pay the tip, whatever you think is fair" Jay suggested.

"Ok, if you're sure". I placed down a £20 tip. Though the waitress was somewhat irksome, she had provided good service & the food was definitely well worth the tip. I couldn't afford more than that. I was also on low wages & relied on tips so I knew this girls struggle.

I had noticed some people looking at us & chattering more so as we were leaving. I guess I was very out of place here, with this wonderful man.

Jay called his driver round & we drove back down towards the beach.

"We could have walked"

"Your poor feet would've hurt walking this far in heels". He was right, of course. "You can leave your shoes in the car now & enjoy the relief of the soft sand between your toes".

We both removed our shoes & walked towards the sea. Correct again, the utter relief my feet felt from being free to stand naturally. It was on par with the sheer satisfaction of removing your bra after a long day at work.

The tide was already pretty far out. It was nice just to be here though.

"I thought it was sweet you wanted to pay towards the meal" Jay mentioned.

"Its only fair". I whispered softly.

"I think the rule is, that whomever does the asking pays for the date" Jay countered.

"Is that right".

"The one asking also plans the date". Prompted Jay.

"In that case, would you like to have a second date" I asked him.

"I'm glad you asked" his half grin was adorable. His eyes glimmering even more so under the gentle glow of the night sky.

"That wasn't a yes" I reminded him. As the words left my mouth he turned towards me & placed one hand on the side of my face, his fingertips slightly entangled in my hair. As he pressed his lips to mine I slowly melted in to him. Our first kiss. His mouth opened slightly & I allowed his tongue to meet with mine, as they danced in rhythm with each other. He tasted like chocolate & wine. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was definitely memorable.

"I've been wanting to do that all night" he admitted.

"That still wasn't a yes" I chuckled in response. "It was definitely more of a maybe" I continued.

"Oh its more than a maybe". He stroked the strands of hair his hand had loosened back behind my ears & looked longingly in to my eyes.

"We should get you home. Its late".

I looked at my phone & sure enough it was 11.14pm. "Yes, it is late".

We returned to the car & the driver took me to my home. We put our shoes back on & Jay walked me to the door to ensure I got inside safely. Before he left there was this lingering moment where our eyes held each others gaze.

"Well, goodnight" I finally managed to speak.

"Yes, goodnight indeed" he smiled. "The next date is your responsibility. Give me a text or call whenever".

I smiled. "Of course". I closed my door & stood for a moment. Just enjoying the rush of excitement from knowing we would have another date.