First Date

Gemma moodily picked open another packet of sugar and poured it into the sludge that they called coffee in the supermarket canteen as she looked over at her friend who was cheerfully dissecting her cream doughnut into tiny squares on the opposite side of the grubby plastic table.

‘There’s not really less calories just because you eat it in smaller bits you know’ she said sulkily.

Claire sighed and carefully put down the cream and jam splattered knife on the side of her plate.

‘This is getting really boring Gem. When are you going to get over Grant Cotton? He's nothing but a giant sleaze ball, everyone seems to be able to see that except you? You've been moping around for ages now.’

Gemma gave an exaggerated sigh and scraped her auburn hair back off her forehead.

‘You just don’t get it do you? I love him, and I know that he really loves me. He’s just got a few issues, and I could help him if he would only let me’.

Claire snorted in disbelief and to Gemma’s total chagrin started laughing.

‘Get over yourself, why don’t you? The only issue Grant Cotton has got is who is going to buy him his next beer and which girl will let him shag her come the weekend. How much money did you give him anyway?’

‘Nothing’ Gemma mumbled as she flushed bright red and refused to meet Claire’s enquiring gaze.

‘Now there’s a bloke that you should think of going out with’ continued Claire as she spotted Stephen Gibbons wending his way towards them through the tables in the canteen precariously balancing a mug of tea and two plates containing cherry muffins.

‘Boring’ snuffled Gemma ungraciously ‘and I bet you he wouldn't be able to show me a good time like Grant did’.

‘What let you take him to a bar and buy him drinks all night while he eyes up other women?’ retorted Claire caustically ‘Stephen seems like a really nice guy and I bet that he would treat you like a lady unlike some!’

‘But he drives a Fiesta Claire!’ wailed Gemma.

Claire just rolled her eyes in frustration and raised her hand to give Stephen an encouraging wave.

‘Afternoon ladies’ he said politely as he plonked the two plates down on to the table, spilling his tea in the process ‘just thought that you two ladies could do with a muffin apiece to keep you going for the rest of the afternoon.’

‘That’s really thoughtful of you Stephen’ said Claire as she kicked Gemma under the table.

‘Uuh yeah Stephen that’s really great, thanks’ muttered Gemma.

‘I was just telling Gemma here that she should get out a bit more, Stephen, have a bit of fun’ hinted Claire heavily ‘maybe you two should go out one night, hit a club or something?’

Gemma’s mouth dropped open in horror, but Stephen just grinned broadly.

‘You know I think that’s a really great idea Claire, what do you think Gemma? Up for a night out? How about Saturday night around 7 o'clock?’

Gemma just continued to stare at Stephen in disbelief, so Claire kicked her hard again under the table.

‘She’d love to go out Stephen’ Claire chipped in eventually as the silence lengthened embarrassingly ‘pick her up at her place, you know in Sussex Gardens’.

Rather than looking discomfited, Stephen just grinned and winked at Gemma as he got up to leave, tea in hand.

‘See you Saturday then! Wear something sparkly as we are going somewhere special’

‘Somewhere special!’ scoffed Gemma bitterly as they flicked through the dress rails in the boutique on Saturday afternoon ‘probably taking me to the pub down the road for their two for one pasta meal deal and a game of bingo. And what does he mean by sparkly?’

‘How about showing a bit of gratitude for once? He’s a nice bloke and he’s taking you out on a Saturday night?’ asked Claire holding up a slip of black satin with a sequin collar for Gemma’s inspection ‘this will look great with your colouring’.

‘If you like him so much, why don’t you go out with him?’ growled Gemma in response grabbing the dress.

‘That would be because I’m already married. If I was single, you wouldn’t be getting a look in lady!’

‘You’d be welcome, trust me! Don’t you think he’s a bit weedy, not got nice broad shoulders like Grant?’

‘Just get over that creep Grant. What have got to lose by going out tonight and enjoying yourself?’ retorted Claire in exasperation as she propelled Gemma into the changing room.

As Gemma smoothed the black satin dress down over her hips that evening, she had to admit that Claire had good taste and that the dress really did set off her flaming hair, pale complexion and green eyes to perfection.

She was just giving herself a final spray of perfume when the doorbell rang and she could hear her Mum opening it and greeting Stephen in her usual friendly fashion,. She picked up her bag, flung her pashmina around her shoulders and ran down the stairs.

‘Wow, you look fantastic’ said Stephen as he watched her from his vantage in the doorway ‘these are for you’.

He produced a huge bunch of heavily scented lilies from behind his back with a flourish, which made her Mum beam with approval.

‘Er thanks’ said Gemma limply thinking that she couldn't repay the compliment as Stephen was wearing a shiny blue suit the same colour as his Fiesta with a clashing rust shirt and a lime green tie.

‘Your chariot awaits, Madame’ said Stephen totally unabashed by her lukewarm greeting ‘We’d better get going, as we are going over Dorchester way’.

An hour later Gemma found herself sitting in a gloomy basement bar rammed with people, decorated with heavy red velvet drapes, fake skulls and cobwebs desperately hoping that Stephen would come back from the bar with their drinks.

She had been introduced to two heavily made up girls in matching low-cut red velvet dresses that blended into the curtains and ushered onto the one remaining empty table in the corner, before Stephen had disappeared off into the crowd in the direction of the bar.

Stephen had laughingly told her that the two girls were called Pagan and MoonStorm, but they didn’t seem too impressed to see Gemma and were rather pointedly ignoring her, picking at their nails and staring into the crowd.

‘So how do you know Stephen?’ she asked brightly, thinking that she should make an effort.

‘We feel as if we have known Stephen forever’ replied one of the girls cryptically ‘he is the shining light in our lives’.

‘Stephen’ echoed Gemma incredulously ‘he works on the deli counter and drives a Fiesta?’

‘And your point is?’ said the other girl ‘Stephen is the most fascinating, sexual man that we have ever met’.

‘Really?’ said Gemma, completely taken aback by this frank statement.

Before she had time to think of anything else to say, Stephen had returned bringing with him an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne stuck in the ice and four glasses.

‘How are my favourite girls getting on?’ he asked cheerfully.

After a few hours in the bar where Stephen had jovially regaled the ill-assorted table with tales of his prowess in his latest fishing competition and how hard it had been to get hold of new mudguards for his car, he suggested that they moved onto a house party in the next village.

Gemma was by now feeling very uncomfortable. The two girls had stared hungrily at Stephen throughout the evening, and had not resisted any opportunity to rub themselves against his arm or flash their cleavage at him. In consequence, Gemma had probably drunk far more champagne than she would normally have, and would really rather have gone home than continued on with this rather bizarre date.

‘How are you doing, sweetheart?’ asked Stephen as he flung an arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the bar.

Aware that the girls were shooting her daggers behind them, Gemma suggested that perhaps it would be a better idea if she just got a taxi and went home.

‘Are you not enjoying yourself’ said Stephen looking upset ‘I promise that you will really enjoy this party. They are a bunch of really cool people and you will be the star of the show in that dress, Gemma. Please stay; you really don’t know how important you are to me.’

Walking into the cool air combined with the effects of the champagne made Gemma’s head spin, so she couldn’t defend herself against the wistful look on Stephen’s face.

‘Ok, I’ll go for half an hour’ she agreed weakly, thinking that if he mentioned the best way to gut a tench one more time that she would probably throw up.

The party proved to be one of those dark roomed affairs with obscure rock music throbbing from the speakers, free flowing vodka and suspiciously pungent smoke forming blue clouds in the air. The red velvet dress girls had released themselves from their constant vigil over Stephen, who was now busy strutting his stuff with a series of different girls on the dance floor, having lost the lime green tie and the jacket of his shiny blue suit.

Gemma had retired to a battered velvet sofa in the corner and from her vantage point she had to admit that with a few buttons undone Stephen’s chest wasn’t quite as puny as she had first thought. But so much for being very important to him, he hadn’t even bothered to ask her dance. As the cola in her plastic cup had gone flat, she was just about to go in search of another drink, when one of the red velvet dress girls plonked herself down beside her on the sofa.

‘I’ve seen you watching him, he totally turns you on doesn’t he?’ said the girl, who by now looked very drunk.

‘Not really’ replied Gemma as politely as she could, wondering what this strange girl would say next.

‘C’mon, you can tell me, we’re all sisters here. He really makes you hot doesn’t he, you so want him?’

The very thought of wanting to make out with Stephen, mixed with all the champagne that she had drunk, instantly made her want to retch.

The girl’s face, she couldn’t work out whether it was Pagan or MoonStorm, swam before her and she hastily slapped her hand in front of her mouth.

‘Sorry’ she managed to mumble ‘but I really think that I ought to go home’.

‘But you are already home’ replied the girl vaguely.

Gemma managed to drag herself to her feet and walked a little unsteadily towards the dance floor. Luckily, Stephen was jiving with a petite blonde in a leopard skin leotard and silver tights on the edge of the throng, and when Gemma tapped him on the arm he disengaged himself and led her out to the cooler air of the garden.

‘Look I really need to go home’ she said thankfully feeling the nausea subside a little ‘great party, but please call me a cab?’

Stephen put an arm around her shoulder, looking concerned.

‘Please stay, we’ve hardly had any time together tonight, and you are so important to me’.

‘You keep saying that, how important I am to you, but you have ignored me all night. Were you ever going to ask me to dance?’

‘Oh, feeling a little bit jealous are you? Sorry I didn’t mean to make you feel neglected, sweetheart, but this is such a big night for me, that I have a lot of people to catch up with.’

‘You don’t usually catch up with other people on a first date’ retorted Gemma tartly ‘look just get me that cab, it’s getting late’.

Stephen spun her around gently to face him.

‘Look just stay for a few more minutes. I’ll go and get you a drink and then we can sit out here for a while and gaze at the stars. You will have my entire attention, I promise you’.

He really did have quite a deep, caressing voice when he tried and his eyes were actually like deep pools of amber when you gazed into them thought Gemma dreamily as she sank gently under his spell.

‘Look why don’t you just sit down over here on that bench, while I fetch you a drink’ he said flashing her a dazzlingly sexy smile as he propelled her over to an old stone bench tucked into an arbour of heavenly perfumed roses and honeysuckle.

Gemma plucked one of the pink roses and idly started pulling off the petals one by one. The summer’s night air was warm and fragrant and she felt herself beginning to relax and feel sleepy. Her eyelids were like lead weights and she was having real trouble trying to stay awake. She thought she could see a row of lights bobbing into the field behind the house, but when she blinked and tried to focus harder they were no longer there. And she thought she could hear chanting in the distance, voices chanting rhythmically, hypnotically, saying sleep now, sleep now, sleep now......

‘Hey sleepy head, here’s your drink’ came Stephen’s cheerful voice, which partially snapped her out of her dozy, dreamy state.

‘What is it?’ she asked warily as he handed her an elaborate goblet made of translucent horn banded with copper that was brimming with a dark liquid.

‘Mead, our local speciality’ said Stephen proudly ‘you’ll like it and it will settle that tummy of yours’.

Gemma didn’t like the look of the strange drink that had a pungent, earthy smell, but was too polite to refuse it. She took a few tentative sips and then wrinkled her nose up with distaste.

‘Come on Gemma, drink it. It’ll make you feel better, and then I’ll call you that cab’.

As Stephen had started lazily caressing the back of Gemma’s neck with his long probing fingers, she managed to gulp back a couple more mouthfuls.

‘Taste good’ he asked seductively.

‘Not really’ she gulped ‘I don’t think that I can drink any more.’

‘Just a few more sips’ said Stephen soothingly ‘I got it especially for you, and not many people ever get to drink out of that cup’.

‘Looks really old’ said Gemma, feeling like she was beginning to slur her words, before she managed to slug back a few more mouthfuls.

‘Ancient’ said Stephen simply.

Gemma realised that she had nearly drained the goblet, and when she swirled the dregs around she could see grounds of some sort were settled on the bottom.

‘Gemma look at me’ said Stephen imperatively.

She raised her head and looked deep into those amazing eyes. He’s going to kiss me she thought dreamily as she watched myriad tiny Gemma’s reflecting back at her from their amber depths. But as she gazed, the tiny Gemma’s started spinning and spinning and suddenly her world went black.

She could hear the chanting again, voices that seemed to repeating Gemma, Gemma, Gemma, over and over again. Her eyelids still felt as though they were glued together, but her body was beginning to float back into focus. It was like she was lying on her back, with something rough like a log propped up under her neck to support her head. She stretched her fingers out and felt the grass damp with dew. She tried to move her limbs, but realised to her horror that she was tethered in some way and could not move.

The panic snapped her eyes open in shock and she found that she was facing up to the stars still twinkling coldly in the night sky. She could sense that there were people around her, and the chanting was coming closer and closer as though they were all crowding in around her.

‘So you are awake at last, sweetheart?’ came Stephen’s voice, sounding to Gemma like he was talking to her from down a long tunnel.

She tried to turn her head frantically from side to side trying to catch sight of him, when a fantastical figure swam into her view and gazed down at her. She stared back up in horror, transfixed by the tall, male figure looming over her, tracing her eyes over copper and green toned skin and a head crowned with huge antlers like a stag.

‘Stephen, Stephen’ she called frantically ‘where are you! Help me, please help me!’

‘Sweetheart’ said the terrifying horned figure ‘don’t you recognise me? It’s Stephen, I’m here!’

Gemma looked up at the chilling vision floating above her with total incomprehension. How could this appalling creature, part man and part beast, be Stephen? It couldn’t be real, it couldn’t possibly be real her brain screamed at her, she must be dreaming ...this could not be real!

‘No’ she managed to croak ‘I’m just dreaming, I’ll wake up soon’.

The horned creature just smiled at her pityingly.

‘This is the most real thing that you will ever experience in your life, sweetheart. I told you how important you are to me’.

‘But this is our first date’ squeaked Gemma feebly.

‘But there was never going to be a second date, sweetheart’ said the creature as he flashed the knife down towards Gemma’s heart.

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