Jump Start

9. Nine

Nin e

Thomas

I t had been a few days since I asked Harper out on a date, and I had almost cancelled several times. I wasn’t sure if starting something was a good idea or not. There wasn’t a lot of room in my life for a partner. I was away a lot and the time we’d have together would be short. I did get the feeling, however, that Harper would understand. She was more than accomplished in her own right.

I chose a Thai restaurant not far from Harper’s work, which came highly recommended from the engineers at work. It had views of the city and the food sounded tasty as fuck. Unlike most Sydney restaurants, this one had a car park, and I was able to get out of my car without the prospect of dinting the one next to me, a novelty in itself.

I was greeted at the door by a friendly waitress who led me to a table by an open bifold window. Those sorts of windows always reminded me of my parents’ house back on the farm. I remember standing at the kitchen window looking out towards the paddocks with my horse, Roo, munching on grass. I should go and visit home.

I sat down with my back to the entrance as I thought Harper might like to sit on the booth seat rather than the chair. It was quite uncomfortable, but I was used to sitting on shit chairs.

I wasn’t sure how this was going to play out. I felt like I might have to spend the next few months of my life profusely apologising to Harper. The way I acted around her was inexcusable and I needed to get a reality check, one I could count on my brother giving me at any given time during our phone calls.

One of the benefits of growing up on a racehorse stud in the Hunter Valley was living in the vicinity of many world-class wineries, and it was my party trick, of sorts, to be able to pick a quality red wine out of any menu. It was something that most people didn’t expect from me, but I liked doing it. Sometimes, I felt like I was a walking juxtaposition.

I was pleasantly pulled from my thoughts by a light tap on my shoulder, followed by Harper’s glowing face.

“Thomas, hey.”

I smiled and motioned with my hands for her to sit in the booth. Her blonde curls fell past her shoulder as I kissed her cheek. This was going to be fun.

Harper

Thomas decided he would meet me at a Thai restaurant. Luckily, it wasn’t far from my work. After compulsively checking myself in the mirror, I strutted out of the Sydney Daily foyer and headed for the restaurant. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, nerves that maybe this was all a ploy on Thomas’s behalf, that he had asked me out as a joke. I took a deep breath in as I walked into the bar and was pleasantly surprised by the décor; deep green booths lined the large, open bifold window, and the middle of the restaurant had rustic wooden tables with mismatched chairs. I spotted Thomas by the open window, back to me. I smiled. I always preferred the booth seat.

Walking up behind him, I tapped him on the shoulder.

“Thomas, hey,” I said and offered a genuine smile.

He turned around and stood up immediately. “Harper!” he said and motioned for me to sit down. His hand guided my elbow as I sat, and he kissed me on the cheek. My analytical brain was trying to decipher the act of gentlemanly manners.

Thomas sat down opposite me, and we stared at each other in brief silence.

“So, this place looks really good. How did you land on it?” I asked, shifting my hair off my shoulders. I had curled my hair this morning before work and even though I loved the look, it was super bouncy and a little untameable. His eyes followed my movements.

He took a moment before speaking, shifting his weight from one elbow to another on the table. “Well, some guys on the team were talking about it, said it was good.” His reply was stiff. He was fidgeting a lot, and his voice seemed a little shaky.

He was cute when he was nervous.

Thankfully, a server walked over to take our drink order.

“So, how was your day?” he asked me as he looked down at his watch. I wondered if he was waiting for an escape.

“It was fine. The usual humdrum of a newspaper…I’m sorry, am I boring you?” I blurted, noticing his eyes dance around the restaurant. I started to feel frustrated with him again, the dull small talk, looking at his watch.

“Do you even want to be here?” I asked out loud, almost as an accident.

Thomas’s eyes darted back to me, and he straightened up instantly. He laid his arms flat on the table, hands pointing towards me.

“Why do you always assume the worst of me, Harper?” he spoke slightly louder than normal. “I do want to be here, I’m just nervous as hell.” His eyes flickered down to the table when he spoke.

I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise. “You know, you say you’re nervous, but it feels like you can’t stand me most of the time,” I confessed.

He rubbed his chin with his hand, clearly getting exasperated with me. “Can’t we just enjoy dinner together?” His voice lowered again.

“You started it,” I retorted. I cursed at myself for that one, it felt like a low blow.

Thomas suddenly grabbed my hand. I went to pull it away, but he held on tighter, and he placed his other hand on top to secure it.

“How many times do I need to apologise to you before you believe me?” His warm brown eyes pleaded with me.

I felt my face relax into a slight smile. “At least a few more.”

Our drinks arrived and Thomas picked his glass up and signalled for me to do the same. “To forgiveness,” he toasted, and we clinked our glasses together.

I took a sip of wine, letting the smooth taste liven my taste buds. “Oh, this is delicious! Great choice. Do you know wine?” I asked, hoping to move the conversation along.

“Yeah, well my family’s farm was not far from a vineyard. Picked up a few things, I suppose,” he answered with a slight smirk. I suspected there was more to the story, so I dug.

“Tell me about your farm. What was that like?”

He leaned in closer to me and took another sip of wine before saying, “Well, it was great. My brother and I ran amuck. We rode horses and quad bikes and drove our parents nuts. It was the best. My parents own a horse racing stud and have done for my whole life. They live out in the Hunter Valley in the same house I grew up in.”

I smiled. “That explains the wine thing then,” I said, interrupting his story, even though I already knew this from my research on him prior to my first day at Echidna. “What’s the name of the horse stud? Did you have any other animals?” I could feel my journalistic tendencies rearing up, and I was wary of his feelings about such things, so I made a mental note in my head to stop firing so many questions at him.

“Yes, I guess that does explain the wine thing. Jackson Racing Stud, it’s called. We had a few cows and sheep, but they were mainly just for eating down the grass, not selling. Mind if I take the heat off me now?” he asked with a chuckle.

I felt my face flush. “Sorry, I was just thinking that I needed to chill with the questions.” I felt my face heat in embarrassment.

“Tell me about your family, where did you grow up?” he asked before taking another sip.

“Well, originally, I’m from Sydney, but we moved around a lot. My father was in the Army for thirty-five years. He and Mum are retired and live in Nelson Bay now. I have two brothers who are much older than me, Andy and Brendan, and they are both in the Navy and live in Perth.”

“So, what you’re saying is, I should never piss off anyone in your family,” he said, squeezing my hand softly. I shook my head and laughed, thinking of my brothers.

“Not very wise to, no. You’ve almost pissed me off in every interaction we’ve had, though, so what would you call that?” I teased, hoping my sarcastic retort fell into the conversation the way I intended. He took a moment to answer.

“Stupidity.”

***

After the initial awkward start to the date, the night flowed rather easily. Whether it was the food and drink that helped move the night along or both of us slightly relaxing as we learnt more about each other, I wasn’t sure. Probably both. I was not entirely convinced that it was a romantic date. Maybe it was just two people getting better acquainted. Thomas paid for dinner, which I insisted I wanted to split. I was more than capable of paying for myself.

We walked out to our cars, his ute parked in the distance. We stood at the open door of my small sporty hatch and spoke a little longer.

“Well, Harper, this has been great. I hope we can catch up again soon,” he said.

I smiled at him, his nerves clearly back. “So formal. Yes, thank you, Mr Henry-Jackson, let us meet again,” I replied sarcastically.

His face cracked into a bright, warm smile and I don’t know what came over me, but before I knew it, I was stretching up and kissing him straight on the lips.

It took him a moment to register, and then his arms coiled around me, and he leant into the kiss more. His lips were soft against mine, and I could tell he was hesitating. I decided to reassure him and place my hands against his chest, digging in slightly. Making a noise in his throat, he responded by wrapping his hands around my waist, pulling me in. His arms were warm and comforting and I felt a sense of sweet victory, like my mind and body had been yearning for this since the first time he touched me on the test day.

I had lost all sense of time, but we eventually pulled away from each other, a little breathless.

“Okay, well that’s settled, you don’t hate me.” I poked him in the chest and turned to jump into my car. His face was unreadable as he walked to his own car. I didn’t know what had come over me. I guess I wanted to see if there was anything between us. My lips were still tingling, and the thought of his large hands spread across my back made me feel all kinds of things, which I was not ready to admit to myself.

I think I have a crush, I thought as I started my car.