He wasn't planning on attending the party, but the day before, she had stopped him on his way out of his management office and asked, "Are you coming tomorrow?"
"Comin where?" He asked.
"To my last day celebration. Tomorrow is my last day here." She said.
"Oh, right." He said, but had no clue who she was or what she was talking about.
"I'd really love to see you there." She said and reached out and touched his arm.
"Yeah, I'll come." He said reluctantly.
"Great!" Her face lit up "See you there." She said then turned and walked back to her office.
He walked out of the office and got in a cab. He texted Kat, his PA.
"What's goin on tomorrow?" He sent.
"We're having a party for Ruth. Tomorrow is her last day." She sent back.
"Who the fuck is Ruth?" He sent.
"Really? The intern who has been working in the office for the last four months?" She replied
"I never met her."
"Yes you did! I introduced her to everyone on her first day and you were most certainly there." She sent.
"I don't remember that." He sent.
"You had more important matters on your mind I suppose." She replied.
"Well she's just insisted I show up tomorrow." He sent
"You should, she would love it. You probably didn't notice she has a massive crush on you then." She sent.
"Really?" He replied.
"Yes. She only stares at you everytime you come to the office." She sent.
"I didn't know." He sent.
"We are meeting at the office for drinks then going to see The Cure at Wembley."
"The Cure? Fuckin 'ell, why didn't anyone tell me about this?" He sent.
"I'm sure I told you a couple weeks ago and I'm sure you told me you weren't interested." She sent.
"Well I am and I'll be there."
"Ok. See you tomorrow at 7 then." She replied.
He arrived promptly at seven, but was the last one to turn up. The office was filled with voices and laughter when he walked in. He saw Kat and smiled as she walked over with a glass of wine in her hand.
"The boss has arrived!" She yelled and handed him the wine glass. He took it and took a sip then greeted everyone that was there, last of which was Ruth.
"Ello Ruth." He gave her a nod.
"Hi Noel. Thanks for coming." She smiled.
"Of course. How could I not come to a party that's celebrating you." He smiled then suddenly felt a little embarrassed to be openly flirting in front of his office staff. He glanced around and no one seemed to have noticed. Except Ruth, who was grinning ear to ear.
"So where did ya find work?" He asked her.
"I'm going to be a media marketing specialist for a tv station in France." She answered.
"Oh wow. That's great." He said, impressed.
"Yeah. I really like it here, but that is a more permanent position and it pays better so."
"Sounds like a great opportunity." He said.
"So you like The Cure?" She smiled.
"Love 'em. Listened to them alot when I was at school and have recently gotten back into them since my..."
He stopped, still unable to say the word "divorce" outloud.
Ruth saw the flash of sadness in his eyes and changed the subject.
"So Kat was telling me that you're thinking of moving to L.A.?" She asked.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it. It would be great, but I don't want to be too far away from my kids." He said.
"Yeah, that would be hard." She smiled.
Kat interrupted them to tell them it was time to head over to Wembley. They took two black cabs. Noel ended up being sat next to Ruth in one. They didn't talk during the ride, but both of them felt a little spark between them as they headed to Wembley.
They made their way inside and found their seats. Their group had a whole balcony to themselves and Noel was happy to see that once again, he was sitting next to Ruth. They chatted and each sipped on a beer as they waited for the show to start.
The show started and Noel was enjoying it until they played "Pictures of You". As he heard the lyrics "If only I'd thought of the right words
I could have held on to your heart",
he felt his eyes welling up as he thought about his ex wife. He quickly wiped his eyes, hoping no one had noticed, but he felt a hand on his back a second later. He looked over and Ruth gave him a warm smile and gently rubbed his back then removed her hand. He gave her a small smile then continued watching the show.
After the show ended everyone decided to go to the nearby club except Noel and Ruth. They stood on the street as everyone else piled into cabs and when they drove away, Ruth looked at Noel.
"Do you want to go get some coffee or something?" She asked.
"Nah, I don't like to drink coffee this late." He said then saw disappointment on her face and realized she may have just been asking him out. He felt like an idiot. He thought she was very attractive, but also didn't want to lead her on since he knew she had a crush on him. But he figured he would see how it went.
"I could use a glass of wine though. D'ya wanna go to back to mine? I can make you some coffee." He asked.
A smile spread on her lips.
"Yeah, I'd like that." She said.
They took a cab to Noel's house and went inside. He watched her as she looked around the house in awe.
"This place is great!" She smiled.
He shrugged.
"It's alright."
She followed him into the kitchen.
"Coffee?" He asked.
"Actually, I'll have a glass of wine." She said.
"Ok." He said and got two wine glasses out of the cupboard. He set them on the counter then got a bottle of wine. He poured some in each glass then handed one to Ruth.
"Thank you" She said as she took it from him and took a sip.
He took a sip also then they sat at the kitchen table.
"Kat said she will really miss you around the office. She said you were the best intern she's ever worked with." Noel said.
"Really? That's so nice of her. I'm going to miss her. She's such a lovely person."
"Yeah, she's great. She's been my PA for over twenty years." Noel said.
"That's a long time. You seem like a really loyal guy." Ruth said.
"I am." He smiled then took a sip of wine.
"I don't know if I should even tell you this, but I've had a crush on you for months." She said and looked into his eyes.
"Kat may have mentioned that too." He said as he looked into her eyes.
"That's so embarrassing." She laughed and took a sip of wine.
"Don't be embarrassed. It happens alot, what can I say?" He shrugged.
They looked at each other and smiled.
"You're a very beautiful girl." He said and his face turned serious.
"Thank you." She managed to get out.
"Listen, uh, I just want to make this clear. I'm not looking for a relationship or anything, but if you wanna have some fun..." He looked into her eyes.
"We can have fun. I love fun." She smiled.
"Let's get more comfortable." He said then stood up. They brought their glasses and she followed him into the living room. They sat next to each other on the couch. Both of them were nervous and scared to make the first move, but both of them knew they wanted the same thing.
Finally, Noel set his wine glass down on the coffee table and turned his body toward her. She set her glass down too. They looked at each other until Noel leaned in and kissed her. They took it slow and kissed for awhile before they started touching each other's bodies. She had been fantasizing about him for months and couldn't believe it was now actually happening. Noel pulled his lips away and they shared a smile.
"D'ya wanna go to the bedroom?" He asked.
"Yes." She quickly answered.
They stood and she followed him to his bedroom. It was dark and their eyes adjusted as they walked over to the bed. He reached down and turned on the bedside lamp. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. He pulled back and looked at her.
"Are ya sure about this?" He asked softly.
"Absolutely." She smiled.
"Ok, let's do it." He said and they both chuckled then undressed and got onto the bed. She laid down and looked over and noticed a picture of his ex wife in a photo frame by the bed. He followed her gaze.
"Sorry." He said then reached over and laid the picture frame down so the picture was face down.
"Where were we?" He smiled as he climbed on top of her.
He kissed her lips then her neck then went back to her lips. She held onto his bare body and kissed him back. He went back to her neck then kissed down her chest to her stomach then her thigh. He nudged her legs open then she felt his finger touching her clit before he pushed it inside her gently. She moaned as she looked down and watched him. He pulled his finger out then his tongue went to work. She clutched his hair at the top of his head as she gyrated her hips. She moaned until she knew she couldn't take any more. She pushed his head away.
"I need you inside me." She said softly.
He crawled back up to her and kissed her lips slowly as he pushed his dick inside her. He pulled his lips away and looked into her eyes as he began slowly moving.
She closed her eyes and he kissed her neck as he kept moving slowly. She held onto him tightly and moved her body with his. They kept it slow and steady until she was eventually brought to orgasm.
He knew he was close as well.
"Are ya on birth control?" He asked.
"Yes." She answered with a satisfied sigh.
He quickened his pace until he finished inside her. He moaned then thought to himself he should buy some condoms to have around just in case.
They kissed then he pulled away and laid next to her. They caught their breath then they were both suddenly feeling very tired.
"D'ya wanna sleep here for the night?" He asked.
"Sure." She answered.
They got under the blankets and he turned off the bedside lamp. He turned onto his side and draped his arm over her body. She smiled and looked at him in the dark.
"Goodnight Noel." She said softly before closing her eyes.
"Goodnight Ruth." He said back and closed his own eyes.
In the morning, Noel woke up to the smell of coffee. It reminded him of when his ex used to make coffee every morning and he felt sadness wash over him. He sighed and pushed her out of his mind. He got out of bed and put his clothes on then walked to the kitchen.
Ruth smiled as she saw him. She was sitting at the table.
"Good morning. I hope you don't mind, I made some toast and coffee." She smiled.
"Morning. No, I don't mind at all." He said as he poured himself a cup of coffee then sat at the table with her.
"You know what? I slept great last night. Best sleep I've gotten in months. Did ya sleep ok?" He said before sipping some coffee
"I slept great." She smiled.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute then she looked at him.
"Noel can I just say thank you. You made my last night in London so special and I'll never forget it."
"No worries. I had a nice night too." He gave her a smile.
"I should get going. I need to do some last minute things before I leave this afternoon." She said and stood up.
"Ok." Noel stood and walked her to the door.
"Good luck with the new job and all that." He said.
Thank you." She said.
"And if you're ever in London, give me a call." He said.
"Ok." She smiled.
He opened the door. They smiled at each other then he pulled her into a hug. She squeezed him tight then they seperated and looked at each other.
"Bye Noel."
"Bye Ruth."
She walked out the door and he closed it behind her. He went back into the kitchen and finished his coffee then he sat on the couch. He turned the tv on, turned the volume down all the way, then picked up his guitar and began strumming.
Song Inspiration:
Pictures of You by The Cure