Chapter 27 #2
As Suzie flopped back down onto her chair, she was convinced her ears were deceiving her. Floating out into the night air were the opening strains of what she could swear was the cherished song from her very distant past that she avoided at all costs.
Christian got to his feet and held out his hand.
‘Shall we?’
‘Seriously?’
‘Come on. Where’s your spirit of adventure?’
She couldn’t let him get away with that. Hand in hand they climbed the stairs to the stage, where the lyrics for ‘I Got You Babe’ flashed up on the big screen along with a picture of Sonny and Cher.
Charlie handed them both a microphone and stood back.
As the intro music swelled, Suzie couldn’t avoid looking into Christian’s eyes. The song was a duet, a love letter between two people. It was also the story of their youth.
She had the first line. ‘They say we’re young and we don’t know.
’ The first couple of words stuck in her throat, but she harnessed all her professional training to sing out clear and true.
Christian’s answering line was deep and strong.
Together they travelled through the song, their voices rising and falling, neither needing to look at the screen, the words so familiar to both of them.
The rest of the world fell away, and there was only now.
Suzie kept her eyes locked onto his for the duration of the song. It hit her as they neared the end and sang the words ‘I got you babe’ to each other. She loved him. Pure and simple. Who had she been kidding? She’d always loved him, and she loved him as much now as she’d ever done.
A tear escaped and ran down her cheek. She’d deliberately closed her heart to him to protect herself and her unborn child when she was barely more than a child herself.
The part of her life before Greece was done and dusted, or so she’d thought.
Now he’d blown everything wide open again, and the illusion of control had vanished with the daylight.
What she was going to do with the knowledge that he’d always been there, lodged in her heart, and impossible to escape from, she had absolutely no idea.
The last notes of the melody faded into the night, and there was complete silence in the room. You could hear the proverbial pin drop. Then the stamping and cheering began, shocking Suzie to the core. She’d forgotten anyone else was there.
Christian seemed equally fazed by the whole thing.
He took her hand, and they both bowed to the audience, who hadn’t stopped applauding.
The shouts of ‘more’ and ‘encore’ were loud in her ears, but that was the last thing on her mind.
He kept hold of her hand and led her out into the bar area, before indicating that he was going for a smoke.
‘Back in a minute. Wait for me.’
‘OK.’
Suzie sat down hard on a stool in the now almost deserted bar. The music had started up again next door, as the next victims were encouraged on stage. Kostas appeared from behind the bar and was joined by Giannis. They both had serious looks on their faces.
‘Is everything OK with you two?’
Kostas nodded.
‘That was amazing, Mama mou, really amazing. I didn’t get to hear you sing in Athens, but I was so proud of you in there.’
‘Thank you, darling.’
Giannis spoke next.
‘What we wanted to say … was that we’ve never seen you look at a man like that before in our lives, including Baba. And that we’re big boys now, if you wanted to take things further with Christian…’
‘Eew, Gianni.’ Kostas had his hands over his ears.
‘Stop being a baby, Kosta. If you wanted to take things further, we wouldn’t object. He’s a nice bloke, and if he makes you happy you should go for it.’
Suzie was genuinely shocked at their words of encouragement.
‘I’m not planning to go for anything with Christian. Why are you saying that?’
Kostas laughed.
‘You keep telling yourself that, Mama. We know what we saw … and heard.’
The man in question came back into the bar, and both her boys nodded in his direction.
Kostas picked up a couple of empty glasses from the counter.
‘I can close up here, honest.’
They’d both melted away again by the time Christian had reached her side.
‘Fancy a nightcap in my hotel? It’s an easy walk from here.’
Suzie had drunk just enough to be curious.
‘Yeah, why not.’
Once in his room in one of the best hotels in town, all neutral linens and expensive toiletries, Suzie suddenly felt the need to rid herself of the grime of the day. She’d hate to think she stank of the bar in these luxurious surroundings.
‘Do you mind if I have a quick shower? Smelling spilt beer on oneself is quite off-putting.’
‘Sure. I’ll order us a couple of Limoncellos with ice.’
He’d remembered her favourite drink, a big tick.
The shower itself was big enough for four. She’d already stepped in and let the hot water cover her body when she heard the bathroom door opening.
Christian waited at the opening of the walk-in shower.
‘Want some company?’
The hesitation in his voice tipped her over the edge into nodding her agreement. His mouth was on hers within seconds, and she felt an urgent, all-consuming need to have him inside her.
She tried not to smile when he unclenched his fist to reveal a condom, and waited impatiently while he put it on.
He picked her up with ease, and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as he pushed her back against the tiled wall and thrust into her over and over again. It was all over in seconds, but that song had been more foreplay than either of them could handle, nearly forty years’ worth.
Still entwined, he carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently.
They were both soaking wet from the shower, but she didn’t care.
He pulled another condom from the drawer, and the second time round was slow and unhurried, teasing each other to the point of no return and pulling back at the last minute, until the fury overtook them and they collapsed in a heap, crying out in unison.
It was so familiar, yet so new at the same time.
Lying back on the pillow, Suzie smiled into the eyes of the man who had always been her one and only. She could pretend she hadn’t known what she was doing when she agreed to a drink, but she’d only be fooling herself. Christian reached for her again.
‘That was way better than a nightcap.’
His mouth was already on her nipple.
‘Hang on, I’m not your sex toy. I actually want my Limoncello first.’
Christian swung his legs over the side of the bed.
‘I’ll see if they’ve left it outside the door. I did put up the Do Not Disturb sign.’
‘That was a bit presumptuous.’
His smiling eyes raked over her naked body.
‘Was it?’
The pillow hit his bottom fair and square.
‘Ow!’
Sure enough, he was back in seconds with a carved wooden tray and two large Limoncellos, ice, and a selection of snacks.
Suzie tried her best to focus on finishing her drink, but his fingers had started to wander insistently over her body, causing her to give involuntary yelps of pleasure.
She placed the half-drunk glass firmly on the bedside table and turned to kiss him.
Goodness knows what the dawn would bring, but, as Scarlett O’Hara famously said, tomorrow is another day.