A Dark Fall [ORIGINAL & UNEDITED VERSION]

Nineteen

About twenty minutes later we arrive at the entrance to an underground garage at a converted warehouse on St Katherine's Docks overlooking the Thames.  I realise it's only a short walk from where he took me for dinner that night.  As we stop in front of the door Jake presses a button on his dashboard to open the gate, and drives down into the garage where he parks smoothly into a space marked 10/1.  I feel nervous.  Or am I excited?  Both probably.  Unbuckling my seatbelt, I take a deep breath to steady the butterflies that have started fluttering.   I'm going to see where he lives.  This is a seminal moment surely.  This must mean that I'm safe hands.  Safe-ish hands anyway. 

Jake gets my case from the boot and walks around to meet me just as I'm closing the passenger door.  He slips his hand into mine and raises his eyebrows playfully, which makes me smile.   He pulls me with him toward the entrance to the stairwell and once through the door towards a set of lifts, letting go of the case and not my hand to press the button to call it.  As we wait he strokes his thumb softly over the skin of my hand and smiles at me.  It's a sweet relaxed smile but definitely has promise behind it.  I want to kiss him again.   I lean forward, closing the distance between our mouths, but just as I'm about to touch my lips to his the doorway to the garage bursts open making me jerk back.   Through it struts a tall tanned blonde girl dressed in a barely there skintight white vest top (hiding what has to be implants surely?) and tight white cropped trousers.  Her heels have to be at least 6 inches.   As she comes to stand next to us I get a waft of strong, thick perfume that mixed with the butterflies, makes my stomach turn.   She looks round at Jake and smiles brightly.

"Hey Jay, how are you?" She says, batting long overdone eyelashes at him. Jay?  She calls him Jay?  Oh I don't like that.  I really don't like that. 

"Yeah good Dawn.  You?" He flashes her a small tight smile and nods before dropping his eyes and pulling me closer to him. Now this I do like.  I like it more because Dawn doesn't seem to like it; she gives me a weird look like I just sprouted a second head.

"Great thanks, yeah." she says.  Her accent sounds Essex and her appearance seems to back this up.  When the lift springs open Jake stands back to let me in first before stepping in behind me.  Dawn gets in last and we travel up in silence until Dawn gets out at level 5 and glances back at Jake with a look so subtle that she may as well have given him a lap dance.   I look sideways to see his reaction, which appears to be one of mild awkwardness, and its all the confirmation I need.  He's slept with her.  It's the sort of intimate awkwardness that can only come from them having seen each other naked.  Which means I've just become a love-rival to a glamour model.  Well I never thought that would happen in my life.  Jake steps forward and presses 10 and the doors close.

"So I guess you never called," I say quietly. 

He looks round at me. "What do you mean?" his eyes are wary.

"Dawn," I incline my head.   "Afterwards.  You never called her did you?" I try and keep my voice calm and even and my eyes soft even though inside some sort of green-eyed monster wants to snarl and spit.   He thinks about it a moment, making me think he may deny it, but finally he just shakes his head.

"No.  I didn't." His tone is casual. "It was months ago. It only happened the once.  Never shit on your own doorstep," He mutters with a shake of his head.

"Well Miss Nuts Magazine there is clearly still into you," I smile. 

"Yeah, I know.." He nods, watching me intently.

I nod back before shifting a little on my feet.  "So... that's your usual type then?" I ask.  I have no idea why I just asked him that.  The question comes from nowhere of substance; it just pops into my head and then out of my mouth.  His eyes flash with something and then he moves quickly, pressing me against the side of the lift, pushing his body into mine.  His scent and heat washes over me.