‘Ellie, I’ve really enjoyed tonight,’ he says.
‘I’m not sure I want it to end just yet,’ I reply, surprising myself.
‘Me neither,’ he says before I get a chance to be embarrassed about being so forward. Things between us seem to be moving much faster than I’m used to, but then I know I can’t hide away from my life anymore, pretending the café is all I need.
‘I’d invite you back to mine,’ I say quietly, trying not to blush. ‘But Marcus is there and that will be weird.’
‘I can sneak you into the hotel,’ he says.
‘Why do you need to sneak me in? My best friend owns it!’
‘These signs have appeared in the rooms about not having overnight guests,’ he replies, his eyes twinkling, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. ‘And I don’t want to be seen breaking the rules.’
‘That doesn’t sound like the sort of thing Sascha would…’ I stop, realising who is responsible for the signs. ‘Celia.’ I say.
‘Who’s Celia?’
‘Sascha’s mother-in-law,’ I reply. ‘She’s staying at the moment and Sascha is convinced she’s changing things. I thought she was being paranoid but apparently not.’
He still looks confused.
‘Basically you can ignore the signs,’ I say. ‘Leave Celia and Sascha to me.’
He gets out of the car and walks around to the passenger side to open the door for me.
‘Are you OK in those heels?’ he asks as I swing my legs out. The snow is quite deep now and still coming down at a fast pace.
‘I’m fine,’ I reply. ‘Good traction.’
He shuts the car door and presses the button on the key to lock it. ‘Because I can carry you if you like.’ He smiles.
‘That’s not—’ I begin, but before I can finish he’s picked me up as though I weigh nothing and slung me over his shoulder. I squeal with laughter.
‘Shhh…’ he says, barely containing laughter himself and walking towards the front of the hotel. ‘Guests who return after 11pm must use their keys and make as little noise as possible.’
‘Is that from the notice in the rooms too?’ I ask as he places me down on the front step of the hotel and unlocks the front door.
‘Yes,’ he says. ‘So please don’t make any noise – I don’t want to get thrown out.’
The hotel is in darkness and nobody else seems to be about, for which I’m grateful. An interrogation by Sascha or her mother-in-law is not what I need right now.
We walk along the first-floor corridor and he unlocks the door of his room, holding it open for me to walk inside. I take my coat off and drape it over one of the chairs as I look about the room.
Each room of the hotel is decorated differently and Ben has been given one of my favourites – it has a nautical theme with blue and white striped wallpaper and chambray-style bedding.
‘Can I make you a cup of tea?’ he says as he takes his coat and suit jacket off. ‘Sorry stupid question, you’re not going to want tea from a teabag are you?’ He smiles at me and something inside me that I’ve been holding on to for far too long melts away. ‘I’ve brought some of that night-time tea you made for me if you—’
‘No, no tea,’ I interrupt. My mouth feels dry again.
‘Come here,’ he says gently and I step towards him. He ducks his head, kissing the side of my neck, my throat, his hands caressing my lower back. I trail my fingers down the front of his body until I find his belt buckle and as I do so he unties the bow of my wrap dress and lets it slide off my shoulders on to the floor.’
‘God you’re so beautiful, Ellie,’ he says.
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of him, forgetting about all the things I know he hasn’t told me yet. The time will come for us to share more about ourselves with each other. Right now I know I’m exactly where I want to be.
19
‘I should go,’ I say very early the next morning as I snuggle into Ben’s embrace, showing no eagerness to leave whatsoever.
He groans softly. ‘Do you have to?’ he asks kissing the top of my head. ‘Can’t you just stay a little bit longer?’
‘I can’t risk Marcus on his own at the café for too long,’ I reply. ‘Plus I need to sneak out before anyone else is up or you’ll be in trouble for having overnight guests.’
‘I don’t care,’ he says. ‘Let them throw me out. I have no regrets.’
I prop myself up on one elbow and look down at him. ‘No, me neither,’ I say and he draws me towards him, kissing me softly.
‘But I really do have to go,’ I say, pulling away from the warm temptation of him and getting out of bed. The nearest item of clothing I can find is Ben’s shirt so I wrap that around me and go to the window to see how deep the snow is. ‘How long are you staying?’ I ask.
‘Until tomorrow,’ he says, sitting up in bed and stretching. ‘Then I’m going to see Mum for Christmas.’
I peek out of the curtains. It’s still dark outside but I can see the snow lying like a thick white blanket on the ground and the roofs of the cars in the car park.
‘Well I hope you’ll be able to get back to York,’ I say. ‘The roads are going to be blocked for a while – come and see.’
He gets out of bed, wrapping the sheet around his waist, and stands behind me snaking his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. ‘Like I said, getting snowed in with you won’t be so bad.’
‘I still have to go,’ I say dragging myself reluctantly away from him and towards the bathroom.
‘You look good in my clothes,’ he says.
*
I end up leaving later than I intended after Ben decided to join me in the shower and my hopes of getting out of the hotel without the Spanish Inquisition are dashed when I see Sascha standing by the front door as I come down the stairs.
‘Well, well, well,’ she says, her arms folded across her chest and a huge grin on her face. ‘I can see that somebody didn’t go home last night.’
I can feel myself blushing. ‘Shh,’ I say as I walk up to her. ‘Keep your voice down. I don’t want your mother-in-law to hear.’
‘What’s it got to do with her?’
I smile innocently. ‘Haven’t you seen the notices she’s put up in the rooms? I thought you were watching,’ I say pointing to my eyes.
‘What the hell?’ She turns away looking for Celia and I take my opportunity to leave as quickly as possible.
‘Bye, Sascha,’ I call. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’
I walk along the High Street towards the café. I must be one of the first people out this morning as there are hardly any footprints in the snow. I’m not wearing the most suitable footwear and I’m definitely not wearing enough clothes but I can’t stop smiling to myself. Spending the night with Ben might have been wildly out of character, and I’m fairly sure the gossip will be all over town by lunchtime, but I can’t remember the last time I felt so content. Last night felt right, as though it was meant to be and all my doubts about Ben and the fact that he works for Moby’s have disappeared. There is so much more to him than his job and it feels good to spend time with someone who understands why Christmas can be so hard, someone who seems to just get me as I am without wanting me to be something different.