Glam Metal (2 page)

It was past eleven when most of the guests were leaving. Sam was saying a last goodbye to the TV reporter. She looked over to where Damon was still chatting with his American friends. She was fascinated by Jay…

She hadn’t heard what the reporter had just said to her but she nodded as she closed the door behind him.

Oh how she would dearly love to go home right now and kick off her shoes and walk around barefoot on the cool floor.

“Do it,” a voice close to her left ear said in a very suggestive way. Sam jumped. She turned around coyly to find Jay standing with a glass held out to her.

“Excuse me, do what?” Jay laughed as he handed her the glass and said in his gorgeous accent.

“Close up for the night, kick off your shoes go wild!” She took a sip from the glass and smiled.

“I would love to but until the last of the
invited
guests leave I have to stay.” She knew that she had over emphasized ‘
invited guests
’
. Sam couldn’t believe what she was doing. Less than two months after her separation, here she was flirting with a handsome stranger. And she loved it.

“Want me to make them leave?” Jay teased. Sam laughed. Something in the way he said it made her think he was thinking exactly the same thing she was; she wanted to kiss him. If only she could remember where she saw this man before, but her mind was drawing a complete blank.

Just over an hour later, the last of the guests had departed. Sam locked the door of the gallery and smiled contentedly to herself. It had been a success. Five of the twenty five paintings were sold and expressions of interest were shown on another three.

She walked over to Damon who was putting on his jacket. She kissed him on both cheeks and said fondly.

“Congratulations, we sold five.” Damon punched the air and shouted.

“Yeahhhhhhh!” Jay and his friends cheered, they had made plans to go to their hotel for a drink and catch up on old times, as they all sauntered over to the door, Sam turned the key  and shook hands with them in turn.

Damon hugged her and said goodnight. She closed the door but a deep sense of disappointment filled her as she realized she didn’t want Jay to go just yet. She would have loved for him to ask her to join them, but she realized that they were old friends and besides she was only Damon
’
s agent and after tonight she probably wouldn’t ever meet them again.
Damn but they were so hot looking too
. She giggled to herself.

She locked the door and went to get her jacket. Perhaps Lisa would be up and they could talk she mused. But as she looked at her watch, she knew Lisa would be still at the banker
’
s dinner.

As she set the alarm, there was a light knocking on the door. Sam grabbed her bag and opened it.

There standing outside on the pavement wearing a cheeky grin and looking extremely sexy was Jay. For a moment Sam looked at him, wantonly, not really able to disguise what was going through her mind…

“Forgot to give you my number and ask if you would like to go for a drink or something to eat?” He was leaning against the door jam with his left arm level with his shoulder. His eyes were a lovely shade of blue and twinkled as he spoke. He was having a disarming effect on Sam’
s resolve as each moment passed.

“I’
d love to go for something to eat.” She closed the door and locked it. Her heart was doing somersaults. As they walked along they received lots of admiring looks from passers-by. He was so handsome and even though it was dark he wore shades.

They found a quaint Bistro on the corner of Carnaby Street and were seated at an intimate table upstairs with a fine view overlooking the street.

They talked for a long time about the show and Sam learned that Damon and Jay were friends in high school and that they were like brothers. Damon had always a talent for painting but for years had worked in odd jobs, only rediscovering his art in recent years. Jay told her how happy he was when Damon phoned him and asked them to come over for the opening.

Sam found herself getting really attracted to Jay but had to pull back, this guy would surely break her heart and not even realize he had done it. And perhaps not even care…

Sensing something Jay touched her hand with his as he refilled her glass.

“Hey you know I always talk too much about me.” He grinned. “What about you. I want to know everything.” He was so damn attractive, she could get lost in those eyes forever.

“I’
ve lived here most of my life. But I was born in Belfast. My father was an RAF pilot and was stationed there for the first eight years of my life.” She paused “I love what I do.”  
Should she ask him why he looked so familiar or should she just let it go?
She wasn
’
t sure. She decided not to.

Sam was about to say something when Jay
’
s phone rang. He looked at it, whispered he was sorry and answered it.

“Hey Darlin, how’
s my favourite girl?” He laughed loudly and said he was hanging out drinking wine, nothing special. Sam guessed that the person on the other end of the phone must be his girlfriend and he didn’t want to let her know that he was having dinner with another woman. That hurt her that he had used the term ‘nothing special
’
but she corrected herself. She didn’t know this guy and before tonight he had had a life before her and she really had no reason to be feeling upset. He was a good looking guy and probably had lots of admirers and took advantage of his good looks. His girlfriend was the one Sam felt sorry for.

Jay hung up and took a long sip from his glass.

“You’
re very pretty but you should smile more.”

Sam looked at him stunned. He was so sure of himself. He was extremely confident.

The waiter brought the check and Jay took out his credit card and handed it to the waiter. The young waiter seemed to recognize him and just said:

“Dude!” Jay smiled and shook hands with him. Sam raised an eyebrow and Jay just grinned at her.

Outside as they waited for a cab Jay put his arm around her shoulder, she felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch. This was crazy. No man had ever made her feel like this. She was behaving like a giddy teenager.

Jay took the key from Sam
’
s hand and opened the door for her. She wanted desperately to invite him in but was afraid of what might happen if she did. She wasn
’
t a fool, she knew exactly what would happen and she wanted it to. She wanted to feel what it would be like to have uncomplicated sex with this very attractive man.  Not since Dan had she been intimate with any man. And here she was, six months since Dan had moved out; she wanted to go to bed with this total stranger.

“I make a great cappuccino, fancy one?” She was hoping he’
d say yes but something about him said he would be a gentleman and just have the coffee and leave.

“There is nothing I’
d like more, Darlin,” He followed Sam inside. She turned on the light and went into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, there was a nice bottle of chardonnay she took it out and poured two generous glasses.

She went over to Jay and handed him the glass. He was holding her CD of Glam Metal. Sam felt faintly embarrassed. She blushed. She had forgotten that she had been listening to it earlier. It wasn
’
t exactly the kind of sophisticated music an art gallery manager would have in her collection.

“You’re a fan?” He teased. Sam laughed and told him she had had a secret crush on the guitar player when she was younger.

“He was so sexy, when I first saw him prance across the TV screen, I was hooked,” with the help of the wine, Sam felt more relaxed. He laughed and said:

“Wasn’
t his ability on the guitar that did it for you?” Sam blushed and realized perhaps, she was a little inebriated.

Jay sat on the window ledge, still holding the CD case. Sam looked at him; he was having a strange effect on her. Perhaps it was the wine she had had.

Suddenly she felt Jay
’
s arms around her and his mouth urgently searching for hers. She responded hungrily to him. She wanted him so badly. She ached to have him.

Her arms went round his neck and she ran her fingers through his disheveled hair. God she wanted him. He wanted her too. Sam felt the hardness of his body through her flimsy dress.

Jay released her and with a big grin on his face kissed her cheek.

“You’
re a sexy woman. There
’
s nothing more I want right now than to take you right here and now.”
Yes dear god yes
, Sam thought. Sensing what she was thinking Jay laughed, pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. Then he released her and picked up his jacket and looked deep in her eyes.

“I want you Sam. Only not like this.” He wrote something on a piece of paper and put it on the window ledge. Jay walked over to the door, opened it, turned back to her and said softly.

“These days I only have sober sex. Call me babe!” He blew her a kiss and was gone.

Sam walked over to the door, locked it and leaned against it for a while. What had just happened? Did she miss something? He didn’t fancy her, that must be it or he was being faithful to his “Favourite girl.” But she was aching to have him. Never had she felt such wanting for any man than she did for Jay. Or perhaps it was because she hadn
’
t been with a man in such a long time.       

Sam turned off the light and went to bed.

The phone was ringing. Its shrill noise broke the silence in the room and awakened the army of hangover hell inside of Sam
’
s head. She groaned.

“Yes!” she said in a low muffled voice. She barely recognised as her own. There was a pause then the chirpy voice of Lisa said:

“Wakey! Wakey! Rise and shine sleepyhead!” Sam groaned louder. It was Saturday. She was hung-over and she needed sleep.

“It’
s early. Call me back.”

“I have coffee and croissants ordered, get your butt down to the café on the corner.” This was torture. But Sam knew that it was pointless trying to argue the point.

“Alright get it to go. I’
ll leave the door open OK?” Lisa laughed and hung up.

Sam managed to shower and dress in less than ten minutes. But it still didn’t cure the banging sound in her head. She walked over to the window and looked out. The closing of the door made her jump as she caught sight of the note Jay had left last night. Sam picked it up and read it.