The Wolf Of Penshaw Lake

I spent the whole week with my stomach in a knot and butterflies sending me crazy. I was lucky I had the cafe to keep me busy, otherwise I think I’d have spiraled and cancelled on Mason. Josie had to prise the phone out of my hand on multiple occasions during our lunch breaks and it was a miracle she succeeded so many times.

It was like the woman had a sixth sense.

I fastened the ties on my apron for the billionth time today, my nervous fidgeting meant that they were coming undone more often than not. I glanced at the clock and groaned, how could it only be eleven am? These next eight hours were going to drag painfully, especially if I continued to clock watch every five seconds. The same playlist on rotation did not help either. I outwardly groaned as Michael Buble sang ′haven’t met you yet′ for the fifth time since we opened. As though she could sense it, Josie came up behind me with her usual cheery disposition nowhere to be found.

“You know, staring at the clock won’t make it go any quicker,” She said, dodging past me to refill the cupcake stand.

I breathed out slowly through my nose, “Josie what if this is a bad idea?” I asked.

Josie furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to speak, when a customer clicking his fingers caught my attention.

“Excuse me? Can you have your conversation later? I’ve been waiting on two coffees for fifteen minutes now!”

Josie placed her fist on her hip, the tea-towel in her hand making a slap sound against her skirt. I, on the other hand, shrank back at the man’s obvious anger. I was making progress, but sudden outbursts like this were enough to send my heart irrationally racing. I took a deep breath and began to make my way over, when Josie held out her hand in front of my chest, effectively smacking it into my boobs. I looked at her, confusion written across my face.

She sauntered over to the man, who gulped a little as she approached. Josie was a lithe and delicate thing, but her eyes were fueled by fire and I knew never to mess with her. She folded her arms as she reached the table, and all I could do was watch helplessly as she sweetly berated the customer.

“Just because we’re waitresses you think we can’t tell the time? I know you don’t think I’m dumb enough to believe you sat there for fifteen minutes in a half empty cafe with no service?”

I stared at Josie, my open mouth catching flies as I couldn’t believe my ears. We had our fair share of rude customers, who believed that being old came with a be a bitch for free card, but Josie never retaliated in this manner. The man attempted to string a sentence along, but he was just as shocked as I was.

“I took your order at ten fifty five. It is now-” She paused to look at the clock, “Eleven oh four. If you took your eyes from the blonde in the corner, you’d see your coffees sitting at the machine waiting to be brought over.”

The man’s wife glared at him and all he could do was shrug at her as he waited for Josie to continue her tirade. Instead, Josie simply smiled at him and went to the counter for the coffees. She brought them over and placed them down gently on the table.

“Can I get you anything else Sir? Ma’am?”

Both shook their heads quickly and Josie left them alone, returning back to me where I still stood in shock.

“I can’t believe you just did that, what will Anna say?” I hissed, looking up as a new couple came in and taking out my notepad, ready to address and serve them.

Josie shrugged, “Nothing probably.”

Frowning, I left Josie to continue stacking cupcakes and headed over to greet the couple. I didn’t recognise them, but Mason’s family was so expansive, I could have seen them at the barbecue and not noticed.

“Hi, welcome to Blossoms’, can I get you anything or would you like a little more time?”

The woman smiled at me warmly, but there was no recognition in her eyes. I was grateful, it seemed like everyone knew me, but I barely knew anyone. Mason had said that he hadn’t told anyone about me, but from the looks in people’s eyes, they knew something.

“Just a latte and an a flat white please,” The woman replied. I took her order and returned back to Josie behind the counter. I watched as she fumbled with a cupcake that dropped onto the counter, frosting side down. She swore at it, something along the lines of, ‘you fucking halfwit’, and slammed her tea-towel down on the counter before storming into the kitchen.

I cleaned up the mess, but I was internally worrying about Josie. Something had really upset her, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. After serving the couple, I headed into the back to find her but instead was confronted by Anna.

“Have you seen Josie?” I asked.

“She’s taken her break early and gone for a run to calm down. She’ll be back soon.”

“Do you know what got her so riled up?” I pressed, I hadn’t known Josie all that long, but in the six weeks I had spent with her, I had never seen her angry.

Anna shrugged impassively, as though it wasn’t a big deal, “Never you mind. Now go back out before the lunch rush hits.”

The lunch rush well and truly hit and by two pm I felt shattered. By four, I was untying my apron with the speed of an escaped convict. I threw it haphazardly into my locker and grabbed my bag; I had never been so relieved to have finished a shift before. I left with a quick wave to Josie, who had a couple of hours left.

Arriving to the B&B, the place I had begun to consider home, the reality of what was happening tonight finally began to sink in. I unlocked the door, mum still out helping Jane in the antique shop, and headed straight for my bedroom.

If I was going to go on my first date, my first proper date that didn’t involve a Macdonalds, I would need a very, very long bath and some wine. I ran the bath and headed downstairs, donned in a towel, to grab a bottle of my favourite red wine and a glass. As I turned to go back upstairs, a shadow in my peripheral vision made me squeak and I spun back around to face the window where I thought I saw the shadow.

Nothing.

I held a hand against my chest to calm my heaving breasts and settle my erratic heart. I shook my head to my rid myself of any scary thoughts and quickly headed back upstairs where I locked the door to my bedroom and the bathroom. Feeling safer, I dropped the towel, threw my hair into a bun and slipped into the blissfully steaming mass of grapefruit and mango scented bubbles.

***

The warmth of the water, the red wine and Andre Rieu playing from my phone were the perfect way to slip into something of a slumber. I only woke when the water began to grow cold and startled I sat up straight in the water, sloshing it around me, just as the crescendo ofThe Second Waltzhit its peak. Grabbing my phone in a daze, I checked the time and swore when I saw that it was almost six.

I jumped out of the bath and ran, naked, into the bedroom. I had an hour before Mason was due to pick me up and I looked like a raisin. Wrapping a towel around my now shivering body, I looked in the mirror at myself.

“Bloody hell,” was all I could up with as I took in my panda eyes, half-wet hair and pruned fingers. I towel-dried and grabbed a tank top and some grey, cotton shorts.I’ll put underwear on later,I thought as I sat down in front of the mirror to do my makeup.

Trying not to rush, but ultimately failing, I dabbed the ever loving fuck out my face with some foundation and a beauty blender.

“Oh for love of all that is holy,” I muttered as I messed up my eyeliner for the third time. “Sod it,” I cried out loud and rubbed it all off once again. I needed to calm down, otherwise I would end up looking like I needed to audition for Ru Paul’s drag race. Not that I’d ever make it anywhere, their makeup was like a work of art.

I took a few gulps from the red wine that was teasing me from where I had placed it on the dresser. I took a deep breath and slowly began to redo my makeup. By the time I was done with it and had managed to put my hair into a half up half down style with help of dry shampoo, it was five to seven.

I threw off the shorts and replaced them a black, faux leather skirt. I heard the doorbell go and internally screeched, “Fuck!” I darted across to my wardrobe, finding a cute off the shoulder top and my saviors; the open toed boots. I shoved them on my feet, not caring that one day Mason was going to wonder if I only wore one pair of shoes.

The doorbell rang again and I almost leaped down the stairs to get to the door before Mason thought I was bailing. I hooked my bag off the banister and grabbed my cropped leather-look jacket in case it got cooler later. As I got to the door, I paused for the first time in the past hour. I took a deep breath in and smoothed down my hair.

Then I opened the door.

Mason stood there, effortlessly clad in dark blue jeans, a cream top and a beautiful brown leather jacket. He looked so ethereal, it was like he had been chopped out of a magazine. Scratch that, he looked like a bearded Dean Winchester.

I was not complaining.

Mason’s eyes took on that same black colour I had seen before. I chalked it up to excessive pupil dilation...or something. I didn’t really know what I was talking about, all I knew was that Mason’s eyes changed colour. His hands shifted from open to closed and he looked as though he was wrestling with himself.

“You look...stunning,” he managed to say eventually, running a hand through his tousled locks.

“Thank you,” I replied, stepping out to lock the door. I had been in that much of a rush, I had forgotten my knife, but truth be told, I was truly hoping I would never need to use it again. Not with Mason. He gestured towards his car, a sleek black Mercedes.

Of course he owned a Mercedes.

Gentlemanly as ever, Mason opened the passenger side door for me and I slid in as gracefully I could. As soon as I clicked in my seat belt, we were off.

“Any music preference?” He asked, turning the radio on.

I shook my head, “Just not Capital FM. I can’t be doing with it.”

Mason laughed heartily, “Radio two?” He asked and I nodded. The familiar tune of aBellamy Brotherssong drifted out of the speakers and I relaxed against the plush seat. The car ride was smooth, once we were out of Penshaw Lake, it was straight onto the M6 motorway.

“Tell me something Sophie,” Mason asked, his eyes staring straight at the motorway, heading towards the dark sky, the sun setting behind us.

“What?” I asked.

He chuckled, “Where did you get your music taste from? Honestly, when I first met you I thought you would definitely be a charts person.”

I made a ‘pfft’ noise at him, “Well, I’m definitely a little more rounded than that. I like a lot of music. Classical, the oldies and some pop is definitely not bad. Although I think I enjoyed music of the early tens’ than now.”

Mason grinned, “Does WAP not appease you?”

I visibly shuddered, “I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than listen to that. I don’t think I’ve got through the full song.” I laughed suddenly, “Give me ABBA over Cardi B any day of the week.”

Mason hummed a little of ‘Mamma Mia’ before making his way off the motorway towards the signs for another much bigger town than little Penshaw Lake. We drove for a little while through streets that were very unfamiliar to me, until we came across a restaurant. Wondering if this was the one, my thoughts were confirmed when Mason pulled into the car park.

“Why here?” I asked, as Mason opened my door and took my hand to help me out.

“Penshaw doesn’t have much to offer in terms of fine dining. We come here for special occasions.”

I felt warm inside at the notion that Mason was treating our date as something special. I realised suddenly, that I wanted to be something special to him, because he was already becoming someone important in my life. Reaching the door, a member of staff pulled it open for us and Mason’s hand on the small of my back, guiding me in, sent sparks of electricity through me.

They were something I had never felt before.

Until now.