I Need You Now

Forever and Ever

Forever and Ever

Six weeks later

“Come on!” he tugged at my hand and I grinned like an idiot. I still got those damn stupid butterflies every time he even looked at me.

“What are we rushing for?” I asked and he just smiled evilly;

“You’ll see….” he winked at me and I laughed freely as I blushed and stumbled along after him.

“Almost there!” he called and I winced as his fingers started to chafe against the skin of my wrist, his grip getting tighter the faster he ran.

“Where’s there?!” he ignored me and I flipped him off – well to the back of his head anyway. “Tell me!” I whined desperately and he jerked to a halt. I’d barely noticed we’d stopped moving when his lips crashed onto mine and he held my mouth there, kissing me long and deep.

“Shush.” he said and tapped the end of my nose with one finger. My stomach twisted at his cuteness.

Eventually we reached a coffee shop, a hole in the wall just a couple of streets away from where I lived. The paint was chipped and the door a bit battered, but it was breathtaking. You could see patches where the varnish had worn off the old wooden door and the chalk board perched precariously outside didn’t hold a menu, just the name in swirling white and purple. I stared, wide-eyed as Eli led me up the beaten path to the door, where a wind-chime tinkled hauntingly as we entered the place. From the outside I’d expected it to be dark and dingy inside, but the sunlight found intricate ways to filter through cracks and holes to illuminate little polished round tables and plush purple armchairs. There was a round counter in the middle, with glasses and crockery lining shelves that looped round the whole of the inside of the shiny oak. It looked as if it used to be a bar.  

“What is this place?” I turned to Eli, smiling excitedly beside me. He held up one finger, making me wait as he called to the man behind the bar.

“Hey, Jerry!” the tanned guy almost asleep whilst drying coffee shot glasses jerked up to see Eli and signalled for us to go somewhere behind him, a knowing smile plastered all over his face. He had crinkly eyes and dimples and a cheeky smirk that I would’ve found attractive if I didn’t have the one person capable of making me tingle right there, latched onto my hand. Jerry gave me a wink;

“Hey. You must be Rimmie?” He asked, a soft Scottish lilt in his voice.

“The one and only,” I replied and smiled at him. He chuckled.

“Go have fun, you two. Be as loud as you want.” I blushed scarlet as his laughter boomed out to fill every empty space in the room.

“Dude,” Eli’s tone was full of reproach but I pulled him away before he could finish. If I was right, he had no way to finish that thought anyway.

Moving round the counter I saw a heavy door, propped ajar by a heavy wooden cat ornament. Eli guided me through, unwrapping his hand from round mine to place it at the small of my back to gently push me through into the room.

The back room was darker than the main shop, but light still filtered through from behind hazy purple chiffon curtains. The room looked like someone’s living room, with chocolate brown couches forming an L shape against two of the walls, purple and red cushions scattered everywhere. Lamps in the same jewel colours stood on a sideboard next to an old TV stand with a television on top of it, one that still had a video player built into it. There was an elegant window seat covered in purple cushioning and had dark wood sliding panels underneath. This was all just background though, as my eyes were immediately drawn to the coffee table and the massive box that sat proudly in front of it.