Aurelia Rowl - Popping The Cherry

An arm slipped around my shoulders, giving me a shot of courage to risk a peek from beneath the blanket, only to find the chef standing directly in front of me, shielding me from view. All I could see of the new arrival was a pair of legs in dark-grey sweats—or lounge-pants as my dad called them—and scuffed once-white trainers. The figure came further into the room, and my self-appointed sentinels blocked his path as if they were doing some dodgy dance.

‘OK … umm … hi,’ said a confused, and slightly bemused-sounding voice. A voice I instantly recognised with its low, gentle lilt with just a hint of steely determination. ‘I’m here to collect Lena. Where is she, please?’

The lady must have felt me relax and asked, ‘Are you Jake?’

‘Yes, I am,’ Jake replied, sounding scarily grown-up. ‘And you must be the lady I spoke to before?’

‘Very good,’ she said.

Her words worked as effectively as ‘open sesame’ and my guard stepped aside. Jake peered around him, trying to seek me out, searching left and right before zooming in on the huddle that was me on the floor. Still half hidden beneath the blanket, I hadn’t really given any thought to what I must look like from the outside until that particular moment. It must have been proper car-crash viewing judging from Jake’s reaction. His face took on an Oh My God expression, complete with dropping jaw, unable to tear his wide-eyed gaze off me.

‘What the fu— I mean, what happened to you? Have you been …?’ His voice tailed off. I couldn’t let him carry on thinking the worst and just about managed to shake my head. ‘Thank God for that.’

An intoxicating mix of relief and embarrassment proved more than enough to set off my giggle sobs all over again. Jake joined us on the floor, sitting beside me so I was now sandwiched between him and the nice lady, whose name I still didn’t know. Together they helped me to drag the blanket back from over my head, my muscles protesting at the movement.

For the next few minutes, the only sound was my … I didn’t really know what to call it but ‘hysterics’ probably worked best. Nobody said anything, leaving me to get on with it, get it out of my system, I guess. When my fit of whatever-the-hell-they-were finally finished, the lady got up and moved away, leaving a chill down the entire left side of my body.

‘You are our guests,’ she said, looking down at me and Jake. ‘Please stay as long as you require.’ Jake and I watched as she crossed the shop floor, flipping the sign over on the door to read CLOSED. She released the latch with a satisfying clunk, locking us all in, then turned back to face us. ‘We will be out back, but please call for us if you need anything.’

‘Thank you,’ replied Jake on my behalf when I said nothing, and then it was just the two of us.

His arm replaced hers around my shoulders and I leaned into him, my head resting against him as he reached his other arm across the front to hold me in place. We sat like that for a while, in complete silence, his head resting gently against the top of mine. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat soothed me, his chest rising and falling with each breath, and I began to relax. So much so, a deep sigh escaped my lungs.

‘Hey, no going to sleep, d’you hear?’

A grunt was the best response I could muster. It was all well and good being told not to go to sleep, but not so easy to put into practice when I felt as if I’d gone ten rounds with Nicola Adams and Amir Khan.

‘I could get used to this mute version, you know. Just think how much quieter the house would be, especially if it rubs off on Gemma, too.’

‘Hmph!’ I tried to shrug his arm off and sit up under my own steam, but my snappy retort turned into more of a hiss and I collapsed back onto him.

‘Christ, Lena! Are you hurt?’

Too busy biting back a yelp and in no fit state to try moving anything else, I just about tilted my head to look up at him and blinked twice.

‘Where?’ Jake had flicked into efficient first-aider mode, so I knew he’d seen the flash of panic in my eyes, which were now filling up with yet more tears. ‘Or should I be asking you what doesn’t hurt?’

Despite the aches and pains, the corners of my mouth turned upwards for the first time in forever. OK, slight exaggeration, but it could be ten-thirty or midnight for all I knew—I’d lost all track of time.

Jake grinned in return. ‘At least your smile isn’t broken, but can I check the rest of you? Make sure there’s nothing serious before I try and move you?’

He took my lack of grunt as a green light, and propped me back up against the counter in order to take up position in front of me. For someone with such large hands, he had a surprisingly light touch as he reached first for my right leg, then my left, until they were both extended. Starting with my right foot, he eased off my shoe and began a very thorough examination, noting every wince and sharp intake of breath as if cataloguing them.

Next was my upper body, and I wasn’t altogether sure how I felt about that. I just had to keep reminding myself that it was only Jake. It worked though, I didn’t resist when he brought me back against his warm, hoody-covered chest. He lifted the blanket off me altogether and let it fall to the floor, then examined my shoulders and back. When he reached my head, I’d slipped into some kind of daze-like trance, a bit like the time mum had let me go with her for a massage.

‘Aside from a possible sprained ankle and the whopping great bump on the back of your head, I can’t find any major damage.’ Jake’s voice woke me up again, and brought me back to my painful reality. ‘You’re going to be covered in bruises for a while, though,’ he said, leaning me back against the counter. ‘Do you want to try walking? Standing, even?’

‘Umm … I guess.’ Hallelujah! My mouth seemed to be working again, even if no other part of my body was willing to try. ‘Can I put my socks and shoes back on first?’

‘Not yet. I need to check out that ankle first.’

‘Right. Here goes, then.’ I planted my bare feet on the cold floor, forced to stifle a groan as I did the same with my hands, all the while trying not to grind my teeth or show too much discomfort.

‘Hey, wait, let me help.’ Jake leaped to his feet and reached for my hands. I placed them into his open palms, huge compared with mine, and his paint-spattered fingers closed around my wrists, ready to haul me upright. ‘On the count of three?’

‘OK.’ I even risked a slight nod.

Come on, I can do this, nothing to it, right?

By the time I tuned back into what Jake was saying, he was already on ‘two’ and then whoosh , I was soaring upwards and trying to balance on my own two feet. Badly. The air must have been thinner higher up, because I went all light-headed and swayed precariously. Jake let go of one of my hands to grasp my upper arm.

‘Whoa, steady there,’ he said, staring right into my eyes. ‘Maybe not, huh? You’re all floppy like a rag doll.’

Yep, he nailed it. That’s exactly what I felt like. ‘I’m just a bit dizzy, I’ve not moved for a while. Give me a sec.’

‘No, I don’t think so, Lena, you’re turning green.’

He dropped my hand and grabbed me directly beneath my armpits, with his long fingers spanning my shoulder blades and his thumbs hooked around the front. No no no … Of all the things to be worrying about, sweaty pits shouldn’t have even made it onto the list, maybe not even the reserve list, but right at that precise moment it was all I could think about. I mean, eww ! A girl has to have some standards, right?