My Ten-Year Crush by Olivia Spring

Chapter Twenty-Six

It felt like there were dozens of butterflies in my stomach, dancing with excitement. I was standing outside a tube station in Kensington, waiting for Mike to meet me for our date.

I still didn’t know where he was taking me. When he’d texted last night, he said it was at a ‘secret location’. I couldn’t wait to find out where we were going.

‘Excuse me, miss, are you alone?’

I spun around to see Mike flashing his incredible smile. One thing he had told me was that the dress code for tonight was ‘Beach Party’, and he was definitely dressed for the occasion. He’d changed into a colourful Hawaiian shirt which looked surprisingly cool and a pair of dark jean shorts that showed off his solid calves.

‘Not anymore.’ I grinned before leaning over to kiss him firmly on the lips.

‘Mmm, lucky me. You look incredible.’ Mike kissed me again. I’d changed out of the jeans I wore to class and was wearing my favourite orange maxi dress and sandals. ‘I missed you last night.’

‘Me too.’ Hearing him say that made my heart sing.

Mike took my hand and led me down one road and then another. It was a lovely warm summer evening, so it was the perfect weather for a stroll. A few minutes later, Mike stopped in front of a hotel.

‘We’re here.’

‘A hotel?’ I frowned. So much for not making things between us just about sex…

‘Oh… no. We’re not here for that. Actually…’ Mike reached into a leather rucksack on his shoulder and pulled out his tie. ‘Do you mind if I blindfold you?’

‘So you take me to a hotel and then ask to blindfold me and yet I’m supposed to believe this has nothing to do with you wanting to have your wicked way with me?’ I laughed.

‘Yes! I promise. I want it to be a surprise.’

‘Okay. I warn you, though, I’m wearing mascara and eyeliner, so I can’t guarantee I won’t get it all over your tie.’

‘Don’t worry. And I’ll try not to smudge your make-up. I know how long it takes to do that pretty wing thing in the corners.’ He smiled. He was right. Thankfully when I’d done my eye make-up in the toilets at school this evening, it hadn’t taken too long, which was surprising as I didn’t normally wear a lot of eyeliner, but there were still days when I just couldn’t get it even.

Mike came up behind me and lifted the tie over my head. I could feel the heat from his body and his scent flooded my nostrils. Everything went dark as I felt him gently tie a knot at the back. He took my hand and a sense of calm rushed over me. Having his big palm wrapped over mine was just so reassuring somehow.

‘Okay, walk forward. There’s a small step coming up… just here,’ Mike said. I lifted my feet and then followed him slowly. ‘Not far to go now.’ I could hear music. The volume increased the more we walked. It sounded tropical. The smell of a barbecue hit me, and I felt my mouth watering. ‘Wait here, Bells.’

I heard Mike give his name to someone and say he had a reservation for two. A minute or so later I sensed him standing in front of me. ‘I’m just putting something over your head, okay?’

‘Okay,’ I said, intrigued to know where we were and when we could get stuck into the food because it smelt divine. Mike then went behind me and untied his tie.

‘You can look now.’

I opened my eyes, and wow. How was this even possible? It was like we’d been transported from the streets of London to some sort of tropical paradise. There were palm trees, real sand, a beach hut with a thatched roof and a guy dressed in a Hawaiian shirt serving a couple at the bar. At the back was a chef in front of a BBQ and it was all set against some sort of painted sea view backdrop which was really authentic.

I looked down to see that Mike had put a flower garland over my head. He was wearing one too, along with a pair of hilarious yellow-and-green sunglasses, which had palm trees on the top.

‘Welcome!’ said a waitress clutching a tray of coconut shells filled with bright red liquid. ‘Would you like a cocktail?’

‘I’d love one!’ I took the shell, which had a straw and umbrella inside. So cool. It smelt like it had a lot of rum in it. Reminded me of when Mum got together with Aunt Janet and they’d make cocktails and reminisce about their childhood in St Lucia. I’d love to go back there one day and learn more about where Mum had grown up.

After Mike took his cocktail, he led us over to a couple of deck chairs and we sat down. ‘This place is amazing!’

‘Yeah. When I saw it, I thought it’d be perfect for our date. Bells…’ He took my hands in his. ‘I’m really sorry that we didn’t get to Bali together. I’d always wanted to go on holiday with you, so I know this doesn’t exactly compare, but I thought for the evening we could just, you know, pretend that we are away together.’

‘That’s so lovely. I already feel like I’m on holiday. They’ve done a great job with the place. The surroundings, the music and these cocktails. It’s perfect. And even though we haven’t been on holiday yet, there will be plenty of time to do that in the future. We can still go there.’

‘I hope so. What would you like to eat?’ Mike quickly picked up the menu. ‘They’ve got burgers, so that’s definitely a given, and seafood. I hear the ice creams are pretty good too.’

‘Yes, to everything!’

‘Great!’ Mike jumped up. ‘I’m on it.’

Whilst Mike sorted out the food, I slipped off my sandals. It felt so nice to feel the sand beneath my toes. Being here made me long for a holiday, somewhere hot.

I wondered what Mike’s plans were for the half-term holidays in October. Maybe we could go somewhere together.

‘Juicy burger, fresh off the barbecue, along with seafood skewers and a spicy hot dog for my beautiful Bells.’

‘Why, thank you.’ I took the plate from Mike as he sat down on the deck chair beside me.

‘I see you’ve made yourself comfortable.’ He glanced down at my feet.

‘Couldn’t resist. I feel like I’m on holiday. Thanks for arranging this. You were right. It’s nice to get out and make the most of the weather.’

‘You’re welcome. Glad you like it.’

‘So, I was just thinking about holidays. You were always one to have a million and one destinations on your to-visit list. What’s on it these days?’ I thought this was a safer question than asking directly whether he wanted us to go away in a couple of months. I didn’t want to come on too strong.

‘So many places.’

‘Like where?’

‘Um, Asia, you know… like Vietnam… places like that.’

‘Haven’t you been there already?’

‘Yeah.’ Mike glanced down at his cocktail, then took a large sip. ‘What about you?’

‘I haven’t really thought about it that much. Normally I’d go and visit my parents at their other place in Cornwall, but obviously I’ve been busy. Maybe I could squeeze in a mini-break or long weekend somewhere once the course is over, before I have to go back to work.’ I left the comment in the air, hoping he’d pick up on it or maybe suggest we do something together.

‘Cool…’ He shifted in his seat.

‘How about you?’ I filled the silence. He hadn’t got the hint, so I tried being more direct. ‘What’s your plan once the course finishes next Friday?’

‘Um, I’ve got some stuff… kind of in the pipeline.’ He took a bite of his burger, removed the straw from the cocktail, then downed the rest. ‘Talking of work, did you speak to Sophia about getting some voluntary business English teaching experience? We could look at some websites now to see if any companies are looking for volunteers.’

‘Now?’ I frowned. ‘But we’re supposed to be on a date.’

‘I don’t mind. Why don’t you do a search on your phone whilst I go and get us some more drinks?’ Mike jumped up and headed to the bar. I looked down at the little table. The waitress had just bought over two extra coconut shells, which were resting in front of us. They were both full, so I didn’t understand why he’d got up so abruptly.

And I knew it was kind of him to offer to help me look for opportunities, but why now? I didn’t want it to dominate our night together.

Whilst Mike was waiting to be served, a woman with a clipboard approached him. Mike looked over at me, smiled and nodded. Then he left the queue and started walking back towards me.

‘Change of plan. You’re right. This is supposed to be a fun date. All career stuff is now banned. So no more talk of lessons, teaching, work or future plans. Let’s just focus on tonight. Deal?’ He held out his hand.

I paused for a moment, feeling confused about what he’d said earlier, but then pushed it out of my mind. I wasn’t going to overthink. I liked the sound of enjoying ourselves much more.

‘Deal.’ I shook it firmly.

‘Glad to hear it. Because I’ve just signed us up for a limbo competition.’ He grinned.

‘Limbo?’

‘Yep.’ Oh no. I winced, thinking about how embarrassing it would be. I’d never been good at beach games.

‘The winner gets a bottle of champers. We can totally do it. Starts in ten minutes, so just enough time to finish our food.’

Mike made quick work of the rest of his burger, kebab and sausages and we both inhaled our cocktails. It was so sweet I almost forgot there was any alcohol in it, but I quickly remembered when I went to stand up. Wobbly, alcohol-fuelled legs probably weren’t ideal for limboing, but I definitely felt a bit more relaxed. Mike took my hand and led me over to the back of the garden, where the limbo pole had been set up. It looked like the woman was signing up a few more guests.

‘Ready to win?’ He kissed me softly on the lips.

‘I don’t know about winning, but I’ll give it my best shot!’

The lady explained the rules, and before we knew it, we were all lined up ready to see how low we could go. The calypso music blared from the speakers, and we all took it in turns to walk underneath the limbo stick.

The bar started really high, so I was instantly lured into a false sense of security. But as it got lower, I realised my weak knees weren’t going to last much longer.

Everyone clapped as I approached the pole once again with my back facing towards the ground, then bent myself backwards. I narrowly missed it touching my chest. Mike whooped with pride at my efforts before gliding underneath like the stick was twenty feet high.

A few of the guests started dropping out. That meant my turn came round even faster. I looked at the bar and didn’t rate my chances. I had to try, though. I edged closer and bent my knees and body as far back as I could. Just as I thought I’d made it, my chin caught the bar. I lost my balance and fell backwards into the sand. Dammit.

Mike rushed over and scooped me up. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah.’ I wrapped my hands around his neck. ‘Just wounded pride. I was so close.’

‘You did great.’ He pushed his mouth on mine and gave me the sweetest kiss.

‘Mmm, I might have to topple over more often if that’s what I get as a reward,’ I said when we came up for air.

‘You know you don’t have to do anything to get a kiss from me. I’m already yours.’

My heart melted and I pushed my lips firmer onto his. At that moment I didn’t care that we were surrounded by people or in the middle of a competition. Mike was the only person that existed.

The cheers from the other guests brought us back to our senses.

‘Look at us. Getting carried away again like a couple of horny teenagers!’ I laughed. ‘You’re a bad influence. Let’s continue this kiss later. You’ve got a bottle of champagne to win for us.’

‘Okay.’ He put me back down on the ground. ‘If my Bells wants a bottle of champagne, that’s exactly what she’s going to get!’

He gave me another swift kiss, then ran back over to the pole and breezed underneath again. There were only two other people in the running, and my money was definitely on Mike. It would be difficult for anyone else to match the power of his strong, muscular legs.

Three quickly became two. Mike swung his hips to the music as he approached. He was confident and it showed. After he glided below the pole, I cheered. The other guy didn’t even get halfway underneath before tumbling over, and Mike was declared the winner.

‘Congratulations!’ shouted the organiser.

Mike lifted me up, spun me around and kissed me. We then walked over to claim our bottle of champagne.

‘You did it!’

‘We did it!’ Mike corrected. ‘Your kiss gave me the power to win, so it was a team effort.’

‘If you say so,’ I laughed.

‘Do you mind posing for a photo?’ said the organiser, who was now clutching a camera.

‘Only if you send us copies,’ said Mike. ‘You up for a photo together?’

‘Yeah, okay.’ I smiled.

Mike and I struck a few different poses, culminating in him wrapping his arms around me and giving me another lingering kiss, whilst the lady continued snapping away.

‘You two make a beautiful couple,’ she said. My heart fluttered with happiness. ‘If you write down your email addresses, I’ll send you the photos.’

‘Thanks.’ I scribbled down my address. Mike wrote down his and we returned to the bar.

‘Up for one more cocktail before we head home?’

‘Definitely.’

‘And I hope you don’t mind’—Mike turned to face me—‘but I packed a few bits to leave at your place. You know, toothbrush, toiletries, change of boxers so I can stay tonight. Those early-morning treks back to get changed were killing me. I left my trousers, shoes and a shirt in my locker at school. Or you’re welcome to come and stay at mine, but it’s a bit basic and not as close to a station as your flat is.’

‘Of course I don’t mind.’ I beamed. We’d had a wonderful date together and he wanted to leave some stuff at my place. That was a good sign. Not just for tonight. It showed he was thinking ahead. About staying over for multiple nights. ‘It’s a great idea!’

And just like that I knew. This really was the start of something special. He was on exactly the same page as me. Mike wanted us to have a proper relationship and a real future together just as much as I did. There was no need for Sophia to worry about Mike’s commitment. Everything between us was going to be just fine.