24. Jess
24
Jess
I didn’t know what I was more nervous about: this talent show performance tonight or seeing Theo.
Ever since our rehearsal last Wednesday night, he’d avoided me. He left extra early to go for his run, didn’t eat his meals at the B&B, and on the few occasions that we bumped into each other, he could barely look me in the eye.
I got the message loud and clear. That almost kiss was a mistake. For all the obvious reasons to do with the pitch, but also because it was pointless. Someone like him would never want to be with someone like me.
That wasn’t a low self-esteem thing. I mean, yeah, I had my confidence issues like everyone else, but I knew I was a decent human being. I was sure that deep down, Theo knew it too. Well, at least I hoped he did. But I wasn’t naive. We came from opposite sides of the track. My ex had run his own business and made decent money, but not on the same level as Theo.
I’d done my research, and Eaves Enterprises was huge. Theo’s family wasn’t just well off, they were mega wealthy. His dad probably wiped his arse with fifty-pound notes.
Me and Theo were like oil and water. We didn’t mix. Which was why it was a good idea that we kept our distance. It meant that I could be totally focused on the presentation.
In theory.
I hadn’t been able to get that almost kiss out of my head. I was this close to feeling Theo’s lips. If I closed my eyes, I could still remember the sensation of his hard-on pressed against me and the way his woody scent had made me feel dizzy with lust.
God. In that moment, I didn’t think I’d wanted anyone more in my life.
But we’d had too much to drink. Neither of us was thinking clearly. Which was why tonight I was going to be stone-cold sober. I couldn’t afford anymore slip-ups. Especially not so close to the pitch.
Speaking of the presentation, it was finally starting to come together. When I wasn’t fantasising about Theo, I’d managed to knuckle down and come up with some cool ideas that I hoped Edwin would like.
I still wasn’t sure if it was enough, and I hadn’t done a presentation since I was at school, so that was another hurdle I’d have to overcome.
Cecil was busy this week, but D-Day was next Friday, so hopefully he’d have time to do a practice run-through with me the day before.
All I had to do was hold it together for eleven more days and I’d be good.
I glanced at my watch. It was quarter past six. Theo and I were due to meet at six thirty for one final rehearsal before the talent show started at eight.
My stomach churned again. I was too nervous to eat anything, but I should at least get a cup of hot water and lemon or something to help my voice.
Just as I was about to leave my room, I heard footsteps and then the key go in Theo’s door. He was back. My heart fluttered and my pulse raced.
I ordered both to calm down. Instead of going down to the kitchen, I went to the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth. Again . Not because I was expecting anything to happen between us. It was just, y’know, out of courtesy, because I’d be singing close to him. That was the only reason.
As I wiped my mouth, I heard Theo’s door close. I’d been at the B&B all day and yet he was still going to get to the living room before the agreed six thirty meet time. He was always early.
I quickly headed down after him and when I walked into the living room, he was setting up his keyboard.
‘Hi,’ I said softly.
‘Hi.’ As Theo looked up and our eyes locked, my stomach flip-flopped like a happy dolphin. Why did he have to look even more handsome than normal tonight of all nights? ‘How was your day?’
‘Good, thanks. Yours?’
‘Okay. I had meetings in town, but it was fine.’
We stood there. In silence. Still staring at each other.
Electricity crackled between us.
I wanted Theo to step forward, pull me into him and kiss me until I gasped for air. But instead I took a deep breath and told myself to focus .
‘Shall we, er…’ I stuttered.
‘Yes. Let’s get started.’ He dropped his gaze to the keyboard.
The first run-through of the song was awkward. The second was slightly better, then by the third we’d loosened up a bit.
‘What do you think? Next stop, Britain’s Got Talent ?’ I smiled.
‘Definitely. After that, world domination!’ He laughed and my belly did that annoying flip-flopping thing again.
‘Whoa. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. We can talk about world domination after our European tour.’ I grinned. ‘Baby steps.’
‘Good plan. Out of interest, what happened to the freestyle dance thing at the end that you did the first time?’
‘Ah.’ I waved my hand. ‘I don’t know. It’s a bit silly. Don’t want to make a fool of myself. It’s already nerve-wracking enough singing in front of the whole community.’
‘You’ve got a fantastic voice, seriously, Jessica.’ Theo stood up and stepped in front of me, our bodies now just inches apart. ‘They’re lucky they’re going to get a chance to hear it.’
Our eyes locked again.
‘Thanks,’ I said, maintaining eye contact.
Theo reached up and brushed away a curl that had fallen onto my cheek. I swallowed hard, trying not to let the heat radiating from his hand affect me.
No surprise that it didn’t work. My blood was on fire and my skin felt like it was hot enough to fry a full English breakfast.
My face inched forward. So did Theo’s .
I should pull back. I really should. But it was like there was a magnetic force pulling me towards him. My mouth was on a mission. Its only objective was to connect with Theo’s lips and it wasn’t going to stop until it’d succeeded.
Just as my head inched forward again, Theo’s snapped back.
‘We should get ready.’ He turned on his heel. ‘Show’s going to start in forty-five minutes. We don’t want to be late.’
‘Yeah.’ My stomach crashed through the floor. ‘Shall I meet you down here in half an hour?’
‘Actually, maybe it’s best if I meet you at the pub. I need to take the keyboard over and…’
‘Okay,’ I said, trying to suppress my disappointment. ‘See you there.’
I didn’t know what had happened between the talent show we’d watched a week ago and the one tonight, but the Sunshine Bay community had upped their game. Massively.
If you’d asked me a few days ago how I rated our chances of winning this competition, I would’ve said pretty good. But now, it was clear that it wasn’t going to be a slam dunk.
A young woman I hadn’t seen around town before had recited a beautiful poem which had everyone cheering. Elena, the local florist, had done some pretty impressive hula-hooping, and Lydia, who we’d met on the trip to Dreamland, had done some tricks with her cute little poodle on stage .
‘The competition is fierce tonight,’ Theo whispered in my ear, his warm breath causing goosebumps to erupt across my skin. ‘We’re going to have to up our game if we want to win this. I’ll be back in ten minutes.’
‘Where are you go—?’ Before I’d finished my sentence, Theo was already out the door.
We were due on in less than twenty minutes. I was already nervous without having to worry whether or not he’d be back on time.
But then I remembered. Theo was always early. And he’d said he wanted to win, so it was fine. He’d be here.
Ten minutes later, just like he’d promised, Theo breezed back in and when I saw what he was wearing, my jaw dropped.
He was dressed in the same tux he’d had that night Edwin had invited us to Candace’s fish and chips restaurant.
Theo had looked great then, but tonight he was so hot he could melt iron.
Seconds later, Barbara the landlady ushered us to the corner of the stage so we were ready to go on.
My heart thundered against my ribcage as the realisation hit me that we were about to perform in front of a packed pub.
There were more people here than last week too, which didn’t help my nerves.
‘What’s with the tux?’ I said, trying to distract myself.
‘You’ll see.’ Theo smirked. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Terrified.’
‘You’ll be fine.’ Theo took my hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.
My head bolted up and my eyes widened. The sensation of his hand sent a jolt of electricity racing through me. But as my gaze connected with his and I saw the genuine softness in his eyes, I felt better. Stronger. Like he had my back. Just like on that roller coaster.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Barbara announced, ‘it’s my pleasure to introduce to you our final act. Please put your hands together for Sunshine Bay’s newest residents: Jessica Johnson and Theo Eaves!’
As the whole pub clapped, still holding my hand, Theo led me to the stage. It was only when he went to sit in front of his keyboard that he let go. But it was enough. Feeling his palm wrapped in mine gave me the shot of adrenaline I needed to start.
‘Ready?’ He looked up at me.
‘Yep.’
Theo played the first notes, and after taking a deep breath, I started singing a slowed-down, gentle version of Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’.
When the audience realised what the song was, they cheered loudly.
Yes! This was a great start.
At the end of the chorus, Theo paused, just like we’d planned. But what he did next definitely wasn’t in the script.
Theo reached for his bow tie and tugged it off, followed by his tux jacket, which he threw into the crowd of women who’d gathered in front of the stage. They all screamed and clambered for it like they were groupies at a Harry Styles concert.
Next he rolled up his sleeves, unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt and turned to face me.
Wow. That was hot .
‘Let’s go!’ he shouted before kicking away his stool, standing behind the keyboard and resuming the song.
After I’d composed myself, I started singing along, this time at the faster pace, just like the original version.
Theo played the keyboard more dramatically this time, rocking his head to the beat and swinging his hips, and the same group of women, which I now noticed included Janine, went wild.
As the song got closer to the end, Theo gave Barbara a nod, and seconds later, the backing track sounded around the pub. Theo came out from the keyboard, took my hand and started dancing.
‘Time to freestyle!’ He smiled at me.
‘Oh!’ My eyes widened. When I’d tried to get him up on his feet with me during our first rehearsal, Theo had said he wasn’t much of a dancer. But from the way he was flicking his hips, I knew that wasn’t true.
Theo spun me around the stage and I giggled like a schoolgirl. We both shimmied and shook our arses around, dancing and laughing together like no one was watching.
‘Now to seal the deal,’ he said just loud enough that I could hear. He went to the front of the stage, held out his hand and helped Nancy, the Dreamland trip organiser, onto the stage. Then he got Glenda up too, twirling them around just like he’d done with me.
The smiles on their faces were bigger than a jumbo jet, and as I looked out to the crowd and saw everyone on their feet dancing along, my heart bloomed. They were enjoying our performance. And most importantly, they were enjoying themselves.
When the song came to an end, Barbara returned to the stage .
‘Wow! What a performance! That was so much fun! Ladies and gents, give it up for Jessica and Theo!’
The cheers and applause were deafening, but in the best way. Theo looked at me, a wide grin spread across his face and he took my hand again. This time, he held it up in the air triumphantly, then we both took a bow.
‘Thank you!’ we said in unison.
‘Results will be announced in half an hour!’ Barbara said just before we headed off the stage.
Theo was still holding my hand as he led me out the pub door, then we ran across the road to the beach laughing, still high on adrenaline.
‘That was brilliant!’ I said when we eventually stopped.
The gentle sea breeze tickled my face. Moonlight and the lamps dotting the street behind us dimly lit the beach.
‘It was!’
‘And that whole bow-tie-ripping, jacket-throwing, stool-kicking thing was very hot!’ The words slipped out before I could stop it.
‘You thought it was hot, eh?’ Theo wrapped his arms around my waist.
‘I did.’ I locked my eyes on his. My heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour. The heat from Theo’s arms was electrifying. ‘And I thought you said you couldn’t dance?’
‘It’s not my forte, but I get by.’ He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. ‘I liked when you did your freestyle dance back at the B&B. I saw how happy it made you, and I wanted to make you smile.’
‘Mission accomplished,’ I said.
‘Good. And you were incredible. You are incredible.’
‘Thanks. You’re pretty cool yourself. ’
‘Fuck.’ He squeezed his eyes shut as his face inched forward. ‘Jessica, I want to kiss you. Tell me you don’t want it. Please . Tell me it’s a mistake.’
‘I could tell you that I don’t want it. That I want you to walk away. I could say that I hate you and don’t want you to kiss me. But I’d be lying. Because right now, there’s nothing I want more.’
Without saying another word, Theo crushed his lips onto mine. I stumbled on the sand, but Theo caught me so I still managed to stay upright as our hands roamed everywhere and our mouths moved hungrily against each other’s.
I parted my lips and Theo wasted no time sliding his tongue inside.
Every time it flicked against mine, my pulse rocketed and a zing of excitement shot down my spine.
‘Oh God,’ I groaned into his mouth as my knees buckled. Theo was kissing me like he’d been struggling to breathe underwater and I was air. The kiss was passionate, wild and nothing short of amazing.
There was a chance that anyone walking by or standing outside the pub might see us, but right now I didn’t care. Even if a TV crew rocked up, shoved a camera in our faces and threatened to broadcast live to the world, I’d still carry on. I didn’t want anything to interrupt this kiss.
My hands tugged at Theo’s hair, then moved down to his back before gripping his arse. I pushed him into me and felt his hard-on press against my belly. Before I’d even realised what I was doing, I lifted my leg and hooked it around him. My knickers were soaked through. I wanted him so badly.
‘Fuck,’ he growled, and the sound sent a fresh wave of tingles down my spine. ‘I want you, but not here. Not now.’ Theo pulled away slowly. ‘If I’m going to fuck you, Jessica, I’m going to do it properly.’
‘Let’s go back to the B&B.’
‘The results will be announced soon.’ He looked at his watch. ‘We’d better go back inside.’
‘Shit, you’re right.’ I’d completely forgotten about the show. That kiss was so hot it melted all my brain cells. ‘Um, maybe you should go first. I’ll be in soon.’
‘Okay.’
‘Wait.’ I reached into my bag and handed him a tissue. ‘Might be a good idea to wipe my lipstick off your mouth first, though.’
‘Thanks.’ He swiped it over his face. ‘See you inside.’
Once Theo had gone in, I slipped inside and headed straight to the toilets to try to make myself look like I hadn’t just had the hottest kiss of my life.
My hair was dishevelled from where Theo had been touching it, my top was twisted and I had lipstick smeared over my mouth, cheeks and neck from where Theo had kissed me.
As I relived the kiss, butterflies erupted within me.
‘There you are!’ Barbara poked her head around the toilet door. ‘Come on. We’re about to announce the results!’
I followed her back into the main area, then slid into the seat next to Theo, my heart still racing.
‘You okay?’ He looked at me.
‘Yeah. All good.’ I smiled at him. I should regret what we just did. I should be feeling terrible. But as my eyes dropped to his lips. All I could think about was how soon I’d be able to kiss him again .
‘And the winners of tonight’s talent show,’ said Barbara, appearing on the stage, ‘are… Jessica and Theo!’
‘Yes!’ we both shouted as we jumped to our feet. Theo picked me up in the air and I swear he was about to kiss me but must’ve remembered that we were surrounded by the entire town and swerved his head away.
After putting me down, he took my hand and led me to the stage.
‘Congratulations!’ Barbara presented us with a bottle of bubbly and then gave us both a big hug.
‘Thank you so much!’ I said into the mic.
‘We really appreciate it!’ Theo said before we both left the stage. ‘We did it!’ he said, still beaming.
‘Well done!’ Edwin approached us. ‘That was quite the performance. You two make a great team. Enjoy your celebrations!’
‘Thank you,’ Theo and I replied together.
My heart bloomed.
‘That was really fun,’ I said.
‘Never thought I’d say I enjoyed taking part in a small-town talent show, but you’re right. I had a great time. We should celebrate.’
‘Yeah. The question is: would you like to celebrate here, or take our celebrations somewhere more private?’
Theo’s eyes darkened and I knew I didn’t need to spell it out. He got the message loud and clear.
‘I think this pub has seen enough of us for tonight.’ He waved to Barbara and a few of the others as we stepped through the doors. ‘So we should definitely go somewhere more private. So the real question now is: would you like me to fuck you in your bed or mine?’