Tomorrow Never Knows, part six

Neala stood by her sink, wearing a cotton top and denim shorts, rinsing off her breakfast dishes and gazing absentmindedly out the kitchen window. She thought about the work week ahead, the load of laundry she had yet to fold, and of course, the memory of which she could still taste on her lips, kissing Fergus.

As she stared off into the blurry space beyond her window pane, Fergus arrived at her screen door. He paused for a moment and just looked at her. He gawked at the back of her legs and noticed how the pockets on her shorts served to hug her pretty little bum. He smiled and felt the butterflies surface once again. He was nervous but fresh as a daisy in his jeans, crew neck sweater and clean-shaven face.

He steadied himself and announced his presence.

“Hello there, neighbour,” he offered, opening the screen door and stepping into the foyer. “Got a few minutes?”

Jolted from her haze, Neala turned towards him and back to the present moment. “Sure,” she managed to utter.

They stepped hesitantly toward one another and stammered at the exact same time “I’m sorry”.

“Sorry for what?” they once again both stated in unison, their heads tilted to the side in wonderment.

“I’m sorry for kissing you,” confessed Fergus. “And yet, I’m not sorry at all. I’m sorry that I was clumsy and that I left so suddenly, but I’m not sorry it happened. Not one bit. But tell me,” he paused, both curious and concerned. “What are you sorry about?”

“Almost exactly the same thing,” she acknowledged. “I’m sorry you left. I thought perhaps I’d done something wrong or to offend you.”

“Christ no, Neala. Not at all.” He reached out his hand to hold hers. Although gentle, his touch caused an electric current to move through her body. She sighed, dreamily and contentedly.

He went on. “I haven’t been with anyone or felt this way since Anna… I’m not ashamed either. And it’s not that I feel guilty… it’s just that I feel…. Brand new again. Does that make sense?”

She nodded and smiled. Because she did know what he meant and it made perfect sense. “Yes,” she agreed, almost in a whisper.

“I don’t want to mess this up, Neala.”

“I know,” she said. “Me neither, but…,” she hesitated briefly before continuing, “I really do want to see where this might go. Does that make sense to you?”

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“It does indeed,” and now Fergus smiled and nodded as well. “I would like to take you out on a proper date, Neala. I want to do this right.”

“A date?” she giggled. It had been years! “Oh yes, that would be very nice,” she conceded happily. Then she chided herself for acting like such a teenager. “Jesus, Neala, keep it together. Now is hardly the time to melt.” she thought to herself. “Ahem,” she cleared her throat in an effort to bring the tone of her voice back down to its deeper default setting. “I mean, yes, that would be cool”.

Fergus smirked. There she was: Neala the Tough Nut. But he knew better - or at least, he was beginning to learn more. He was drawn to her and her many layers. He would try to take his time peeling them away, if she would let him.

“Cool,” he said. “How about Friday evening?”

She almost felt disappointed. She could feel herself beginning to pout. Friday was five nights away. Then she reconsidered. She could slow burn for a few more days. It would give her something to look forward to as the week progressed.

“Sounds great,” she beamed, her eyes twinkling as they met his.

He leaned in to kiss her, holding both of her hands in his and pulling her closer. They closed their eyes and let their lips find one another. Neala only opened one eye for a split second to make sure there would be no head butt this time. Then she surrendered to allow their bodies to complete the journey towards one another.

Their lips met… and sparks ensued. Mouths open, their tongues touched lightly in a gentle, exploring way, curiously tasting each other and finding a rhythm. Their hands moved to each other’s face, steadying and supporting, keeping each other close.

They paused to breathe. They gazed into each other’s eyes, longingly, intensely, and then kissed again.

The kissing came to a halt when Fergus felt a rumble in his belly. Fearing he might fart and ruin this whole sexy vibe they had going on, he pulled away from Neala and rested his forehead on hers.

“I’m afraid I have to go now,” he said, patting his belly with one hand and her bottom with the other. “But I am looking forward to picking up where we left off… and dinner, of course”, he said as he began to step backwards gingerly, trying not to disturb his innards.

“Of course”, she said.

He gave her lips a quick peck, adjusted the front of his pants so as not to reveal his excitement, and then turned to go.

“Oh Fergus,” she beckoned as he reached the screen door, “your banana bread was delicious”.

“Oh good,” he said. With a sense of panic, he suddenly remembered that he’d ingested a fair amount of it before bed last night, eating his feelings. It dawned on him that this could be the source of his current intestinal discomfort. “Um…. Please don’t eat too much!” And with that, he turned once more and left her house in a flash. She scurried to the screen door to watch him leave and noticed that he was speed-walking, intently and with purpose, seemingly clenching his buttocks as he moved.

She chuckled to herself and put her hands to her lips. Whether it was the banana bread or the kiss, she felt pretty chuffed to see that she could still summon a physiological response in a man.

“Still got it…”, she said aloud, shoulders back, chest out, hands on her hips, and head held high.

Then she made a beeline to her closet to find an outfit for Friday night.

**********

Thank you for reading!

If you’d like to see how Neala & Fergus’ story first began, go to this link:

https://vocal.media/fiction/tomorrow-never-knows-coq8uj0i7e

And if you want to see what happens next… go to this link:

https://vocal.media/fiction/tomorrow-never-knows-part-seven