“I will get the menus out of my office. You can already go into my living room.” Cora said, when they entered her home. She had loved walking home with Robert. He suggested walking instead of taking the tube. She had loved walking next to him, she had hooked her arm in his and they had talked about everything and nothing. It amazed her that even after having dinner together, they still had things to talk about.
She walked out of her office and heard music coming out of the living room. She chuckled, he must have found her record player. She had a record of Tchaikovsky on it, and the sounds of ‘serenade for strings in C’ came out of the record player. Cora walked into her living room, Robert was facing the record player. Softly she touched his arm. “You like classical music?”
Robert turned around with a big smile, “I love it and especially this one. Do you know how to waltz?” He asked.
Cora nodded, not sure where Robert wanted to go from here. Suddenly Robert took her hands and started to dance around. Quickly she got in step with him, he really knew how to dance. It was one of the things she liked about English men, they had a sense of tradition. Robert moved her around and she was like butter in his hands, they really fitted each other like a glove. His hand was resting on her lower back and it gave her a warm tingling feeling.
She looked up at him and saw his eyes looking down at her. What did she see in them? It was something she had never seen before. Before she realized it herself she rested her head on Robert’s shoulder when the song changed into ‘The Seasons, Op. 37: May’. Her nose into his neck, they slowly moved together. Robert’s hand pushing her close to him. She didn’t mind, she loved this feeling. His strong hand on her back.
Robert looked down at Cora, he couldn’t believe he was dancing with Cora. She was really good at it, he tried dancing with Judith, but she didn’t know how to waltz. But Cora, that was something different, the way she moved with him was incredible.
He saw Cora had her eyes closed, her hand rested on his shoulder and he felt she was relaxed. He kissed her cheek and whispered. “Thank you.”
Cora lifted her head and kissed him. First briefly, but then she got on her tippy toes and pressed her lips firm against his. Her hand had moved to Robert’s neck. He parted his lips to grant her access. She eagerly took the chance.
Robert walked her backwards. He pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the wall, while not breaking the connection. He pressed a little harder and moved his hand to her cheek. He felt her hands still their movements on his back, her whole body stiffened up.
Quickly Robert stepped back, seeing a tear roll down Cora’s cheek. She was trembling. “I am sorry.” She said in a whisper. “So sorry.”
Carefully Robert touched her arm, he felt her scared reaction, but decided to leave his hand there. “Don’t be. I moved quickly. I have to be sorry.”
Cora sighed. “The sensation of your hand close to my throat was too much.”
“I believe I made the mistake already by pinning you against the wall. I should not have done that.”
Cora stepped aside. “Well, we were coming here for coffee and the menus. How do you like your coffee?”
Robert got confused for a second, Cora changed the subject really fast. But he followed her lead. “Just black is alright, and I can’t wait to see your work.” He wanted to follow her into the kitchen, but knew it was better to give her some space.
Cora retrieved herself into the kitchen, she needed to compose herself again. The moment Robert’s hand went up, she got a flashback of Anthony. She was glad she had an appointment with her therapist at the end of this week. She wanted to go on, give this thing with Robert a chance. She didn’t know what it was, what was happening between them, but she wanted to explore. She loved his taste on her lips.
Robert sat down on Cora’s sofa. He could slap himself, why did he move this fast? He ruined the moment by forcing Cora. He could have known she wasn’t ready, but the moment their lips touched and she put her hands in his neck he couldn’t stop himself. He let out a deep sigh, how was he ever going to do this. He was falling hard for her, but he knew he needed to slow himself down.
He picked up the menus Cora had left on the table. They looked wonderful, Cora had captured exactly what he was telling her. She had a real talent. Suddenly he felt her fingers in his neck.
Cora bent down and kissed his cheek. “I am sorry for how I reacted.”
Robert looked up. “Don’t you worry about that. I moved too fast.”
Cora brushed her finger over Robert’s cheek. “Let’s leave it at that. I made coffee. Do you like the menus?” She walked around the sofa and sat down next to Robert. Her thigh touched his.
“I love the menus.” Robert moved his hand to Cora’s knee. “Thank you for understanding what I meant.”
Cora chuckled. “That wasn’t that hard. Did you already see the website?” She pushed her thigh a bit more against Robert’s
Robert looked surprised. “No I haven’t, can you show me?”
Cora opened the laptop that was sitting on the table. “This will be the homepage.” She leaned with her upper body against Robert’s while she showed the website.
Robert was looking at a beautiful picture of his own restaurant. The website really looked amazing and it was easy to navigate. “You did a wonderful job. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t have to thank me. It is my job.”
“If I remember correctly, it isn’t anymore.” He turned towards Cora.
She smiled up at him. “You indeed remember correctly, but I loved doing this for you. It was a good goodbye to my old job.”
Robert leaned in, just enough to let Cora know he would love another kiss, but not too much to force her. “One day I need new menus, but I will need to accept another colleague of yours.”
“We will see about that. Now what are you waiting for, kiss me!”
Just before their lips touched, Robert said: “are you sure?”
Cora pressed her lips against his. Robert made sure to keep his hands low, they were resting on her hips. He couldn’t believe he was here at Cora’s place, kissing her.
Cora’s mind started spinning the moment Robert touched her hips, but she managed to stay calm. She wanted this, she said to herself.
Verhalen van Traan 