Elle's fictional prose

Can I Hit Rewind? (18+)

His hand was large and warm. As my friend Jen introduced us, I ran my gaze up his broad chest and shoulders to his face and witnessed a smile so infectious that I couldn’t help but smile back. His twinkling blue eyes were crinkled at the corners as if he laughed a lot.
I felt a small tug on my hand, and realised that I’d been standing there staring at him while he was waiting for me to let go of his hand. My face heated and I momentarily closed my eyes, wishing I could just sink through the floor.
“Nice to meet you, Katie.”
Oh god, his voice was delicious. It reminded me of hot chocolate with a shot of Baileys. Smooth and rich.
My eyes snapped open again at his chuckle and I realized I’d drifted off in thought again. I am such a moron. Kill me now.
“Nice to meet you too,” I squeaked, then cleared my throat. I couldn’t even remember his name, my mind had gone blank. Was it Chris?
“Are you okay, Katie?” I heard my friend ask. I’d completely forgotten she was standing there. I turned to her with a sheepish smile.
“Sure. Sorry, just… I don’t know.” I couldn’t even come up with an excuse. I hadn’t had a bad day, it wasn’t late, nor was I tired or drunk. God, I wish I was drunk. Then I’d just throw myself at him and see if he caught me. Shut up, Katie!
I glanced back to the guy, whatever his name was, and caught him raising an eyebrow at my friend. Great, he thinks I’m some kind of dimwit. Perfect.
My friend smirked. She’d clearly figured out I was suffering from a bad case of holy-crap-he’s-so-hot-he’s-fried-my-brain-cells. “I’ve gotta go and check on a few things in the kitchen. Will you two be okay to chat for a few moments?” She managed to pull off an innocent look that I knew was completely fake, and we both nodded at her.

“So, Katie… What…? Ah, what do you do? For a living, I mean.” A faint blush rose on his cheeks, and I felt instantly better. Thank God I’m not the only one!
I was telling him about my current role working as project administrator for a local firm, when I felt a shove from behind that knocked me straight into the chest I’d been admiring. My hands flattened against warm muscles, and I breathed in a masculine, woodsy smell that made me want to drool.
“Are you okay?”
I looked up without stepping back and grinned at him. “You smell good.” The next instant, I clamped my hand over my mouth and backed away in horror. Oh my god, I’d said that out loud! He reached out and grabbed my free arm, just as I felt myself step back into someone. I shuddered as cold liquid spilled down my back, all the while maintaining eye contact with the guy in front of me. I was glad I’d forgotten his name now. Hopefully he’d do me a favour and forget mine.

I spun on my heel and apologised profusely to the poor partygoer I’d bumped into as I weaved around people, making my way to the door. So what if it was only 8pm? If I didn’t leave now, at the rate things were going I’d end up dancing on the tables or something. I’m not even sure that would be more mortifying than actually telling a guy he smelled good. I smacked myself in the forehead. Geez, Katie, no wonder you’re single! First seriously attractive guy you’ve met in a long time and you behave like a complete idiot.

I grimaced at the smell of beer that wafted from my shirt. Yuck. At least it wasn’t a cold night. I was marching to my car when I heard footsteps behind me. As I turned to look, I realised the cute guy from the party had followed me. I felt my eyebrows shoot up with disbelief. How could he not realise I just wanted to escape and the night to be over?
“Wait, please.”
“Why? I think I’m done with making a fool of myself for one night.”
“Aw come on, you didn’t make a fool of yourself.”
“Seriously? Girls tell you that you smell good all the time?”
“Well, no.” He had the grace to look sheepish. “Would it help if I told you that I’ve had trouble keeping my eyes off your lips since Jen pointed you out?”
My eyes widened and he grinned. “Are you serious?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. Reckon that guy would bump into you again if I paid him? I promise I'd catch you.”
I felt myself relax and smiled, extending a hand towards him. “Let’s start again. Hi, I’m Katie.”
“Chris,” he said, shaking my hand. Oh good, it was Chris! “Nice to meet you. Let’s see if Jen has a spare top you can borrow, and we can maybe chat some more. What do you say?” He turned his hand so that he was holding mine and tugged me back towards the house. I breathed in deep. Yeah, okay, I could do this.


Written 30 March 2014