Authors: K Carr
We ran faster, screaming like lunatics. It was crazy fun, adrenaline pumping through my veins as we tried to dodge passersby. People were stopping to watch three ballerinas running like gazelles and laughing breathlessly. The copper was getting further away when I turned back to check, but he wasn’t giving up. Damn, they normally stopped giving chase relatively quick. The only conclusion I came to was the fact we’d been in front of the palace, setting off those stupid canisters of confetti. It had sounded like a small rocket.
“Split up,” Lisa yelled. “See you two at the meet point.” She diverted to the left and raced away with her tutu bobbing madly around her.
Brianna slung her arm around me as we ran. “Don’t get caught.” She slipped away with a wave and I continued running like a madwoman.
<><><>
“Matt,” Nathan called sharply. “Are those…look?”
Matt twisted around in his seat and caught sight of three ballerinas racing down the Mall with a bobby in pursuit.
“Do you think it’s her?” he asked, wondering if he’d get a ticket for attempting an illegal U-turn, or worse. He slowed down, much to the consternation of the car behind him. Matt watched as the girls suddenly split up. “Bollocks.”
“Indeed,” Nathan said in disbelief. “Wait. That’s her. She’s taken off the mask.”
Matt twisted around again trying to catch a glimpse of her, but all he could see was the flash of a sparkly tutu racing away in the opposite direction. He suddenly sped up. There was a space he could make a daring turn, and he did.
“Are you mad?” Nathan cursed as he was flung into his door. Matt stayed silent, face set with determination while other drivers tooted their horns in anger. In minutes, he saw the cop running through the crowd of people walking about. Matt checked he was well within the speed limit, so he gave it a little more petrol. There she was, running like the wind, mask clasped tightly to her chest as she held the shoulder strap of a large knapsack that bobbed every step she took. Matt checked his rear view mirror, the cop was nowhere to be seen. His window rolled down and he tooted the horn as he drove alongside her. She didn’t pay attention, too focused on running in those ballet shoes. Matt was surprised she hadn’t hurt her feet running on the hard concrete.
“DuMont,” he shouted out his window, and she turned in surprise.
<><><>
I pulled my mask off. It was biting into my face as I ran as fast as possible. Oh man, if I got arrested Aunt Cleo would never let me forget it. The cop was still chasing me. Why me? Because you’re black, my mind supplied nastily. I ignored the immediate knee jerk reaction, certain the cop hadn’t seen whether I was black or white. We’d taken off so fast he couldn’t have known.
“DuMont.”
I stopped, turning in surprise at the voice. The voice. Matt’s voice. Sure enough, it was him, grinning at me from inside a black car with tinted windows.
“Matt,” I gasped in shock.
“Get in, poppet,” he ordered, grey eyes crinkling at the edges as his grin widened. I glanced behind me. Had the cop given up? I skipped up to the car, the door handle was in the wrong place. Opening from the middle of the vehicle. Weird. I pushed the unimportant thought out of my mind and tossed my bag inside, before getting in myself.
“Oh my God. What are you doing here?” I said, out of breath as I closed the door and slid over the leather upholstery, pushing a briefcase out of my way. “You’re the best knight ever.” I wriggled over to his side and flung my arms around his neck, taking no notice of the headrest.
“Thank you. Can you let go off me, please? It’s a bit difficult to drive with you cutting off my air supply.”
“Sorry,” I gushed, then noticed the blonde man staring at me with horrified fascination. “Hi, I’m his poppet.”
Matt chuckled and sent me a sideways smile. I couldn’t believe it. What a coincidence.
“Nathan Walthamstow.” The blonde held a hand out. I shook it vigorously, hyped up from evading the policeman. I spun around on the seat peering out the back.
“Do you mind telling me why you were running away from the police?” Matt queried.
I could detect the slightest hint of reproach in his voice as I faced frontward and made myself comfortable in the back seat.
“You saw that?”
“Mmm,” he replied, eyes catching mine in the rear view mirror. “Put your seatbelt on, Madi.”
I buckled up, then let out a shaky breath of relief as I undid the tight bun holding my hair up. “I can’t believe it. This is the second time you’ve rescued me, Matt. I must be the luckiest girl in the world, or you must be my guardian angel.”
His friend chuckled dryly and I could see Matt scowling at him as I combed my fingers through my hair.
“You haven’t answered my question.” Matt got back on point.
I grinned at him in the rear view mirror. “I told you I was a ballet dancer.”
He nodded.
“I own a dance studio in Greenwich,” I explained. “We have this thing we do where we go around London putting on impromptu shows for the public.”
“That sounds interesting,” Matt said, with sincerity shining from his beautiful eyes. I blushed with pleasure, thankful my dark skin hid the rush of blood to my cheeks.
“What are you doing here? Driving along the Mall?” I asked, unable to believe he’d shown up at the exact moment I needed him—like that night we first met.
“Yes, Matthew,” his friend, Nathan, said lightly. “Tell her how you happened to be driving along—”
“I sometimes drive this way after work.” Matt cut him off. He sent another scowl in his friend’s direction. It puzzled me.
Matt totally threw me into a spin when he asked, “What on earth did you do to your lovely curls? Your hair looks straight.”
“Brazilian blow-dry,” I answered, knowing he would probably have no idea what I was talking about. The blank expression on his face confirmed it.
“Is it permanent?” he asked bluntly.
“Dude,” I said jokingly, “don’t you know you should never question a black woman about her hair.”
Matt exchanged a look with his friend, who cleared his throat nervously. I almost giggled. White people were funny when they found themselves in situations like these. They didn’t know how to react.
“Well,” he persisted, a defiant well-defined eyebrow arching at me in the rear view mirror. “Is it?”
I would have answered, but my cell rang. I fumbled around in my bag and pulled it out. It was Dante. “Hey, hon, did they catch you?”
Matt looked a bit put out and I realized how rude my behaviour was. Ah, well.
“No, they didn’t catch me, but we split up so I don’t know about the others. They should be heading to the meet point.”
Matt and his friend were chatting in low voices. I focused on my conversation with Dante. “Yes, yes, I’ll head back to the studio. Do you want me to bring food? I’m starving and my ankle is twinging. I think I came down too hard from the last lift.”
Dante said not to bother with food as they would get something on the way back to the studio. Lisa and Brianna weren’t at the meet point yet. Everyone else was there, but us three. Dante asked where I was.
“Umm,” I whispered, not wanting Matt to hear the lie. “I’m in a taxi.” The front of the car went quiet. I looked up to see Matt staring at me in the rear view mirror.
“I’ll see you in a bit, Dante. Gotta go, bye.” I hung up and flashed a bright smile at my second-time rescuer. “Matt, you can drop me off anywhere here. I know you’re probably busy. So, ah, that bus stop will do fine.”
“Don’t be silly.” He brushed my words aside with a shake of his head. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go. Did you say you’re hungry? We could get a bite to eat before I drop you off.”
I was starving and it was nice seeing him again. He was better looking than I remembered. And wearing a nice suit from what I could see.
“I don’t know, Matt.”
“Come on, poppet,” he cajoled, turning around quickly to wink at me. “You can at least buy me dinner. I think I’ve earned it.”
I smiled at him, making a snap decision. I did owe him. Big time. “Okay, Matt.”
My cell rang again. “Where are you, Lis? Dante called and he was getting worried.”
“I ducked into a café, Madi. That was crazy, wasn’t it? Have you heard from the others?”
“Just Dante. Have you heard from Brianna?”
“She sent a text. Are you close to the meet point?” she asked.
“No, I’m going to get something to eat first. Oh my God, did you see Liam’s face when those two guys checked out his junk? I swear he’s never going to wear a leotard for another snap dance.”
“Ha. Um, listen. Eddie’s been griping about the choreography, Madi. He said you and Dante never take his views on board.”
My eyes widened. “Did he really say that?”
“Yes, was a bit rude about it too. I don’t know. He must have been having a bad day or something. Do you want me to let Dante know?”
“No, there’s no need to get Dante involved. It’s my dance company, I’ll sort it out. Look, I’ll see you later and we can talk then. Bye.” I hung up, fuming internally at what Lisa had confided in me.
“You okay?” Matt asked after a moment of silence.
“Yeah, I mean, yes. Where would you like to grab something to eat? That pub coming up looks okay.”
Matt and Nathan exchanged a look. A snotty sort of look. I noticed that Nathan was wearing a suit similar to Matt’s. Great. He was probably another rich white man. It was expected, the wealthy were a cliquey group.
“I’m starving, Matt. I know you’ve probably never eaten in a place like that, but I doubt I could afford the sort of restaurants you normally frequent.”
“It’s fine, Madi,” he replied.
“Great,” I said, a touch too brightly. “Now both of you keep your eyes front, I have to change my clothes.”
They both looked at each other, then their heads jerked forward. Matt’s gaze was jumping between the road in front and the rear view mirror though.
“No peeking,” I warned as I pulled my t-shirt out of my bag.
“You’re no fun, poppet,” he drawled, then started looking for a parking spot while I changed in the backseat.
<><><>
Matt felt like a teenaged boy on a first date. Over-excited, nervous and hoping to go all the way. He stole a look in the mirror, willing her to flash him some more of her smooth dark skin. Beautiful. She was so damn beautiful it made him ache. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nathan reaching up towards the sun visor.
“Don’t even think about it,” he growled in a low voice to his friend.
“What?” Nathan whispered back, trying for an innocent look and failing miserably. “The sun’s in my eyes.”
“My fist will be in your eye if you touch that visor,” he warned quietly.
“What was that?” she called from behind his seat, sounding muffled.
“Nothing. Are you finished, Madi? I need to reverse into that spot.”
<><><>
I told him I was done as I pulled my favourite cowboy boots out my bag and stuffed my ballet shoes in. I thought about freshening up my make-up, but what the hell? It wasn’t like we were on a date. We were going to get something to eat, a thank you for him rescuing me again. I was trying my best not to think about what we’d gotten up to that night in his bed.
Shit. Had he told his friend about that?
Matt parked as I pulled my hair up into a loose ponytail. Nathan was openly staring at me. Was he a weirdo?
Once the car was parked, Matt jumped out to open the door for me. I stepped out of the car, then flung myself into his arms. He stood frozen for a second before wrapping his arms tightly around me.
“You’re the best, Matt,” I murmured into his neck. He smelt so good. “I can’t believe you rescued me again.”
He didn’t say anything and I leaned back to gaze up at him. He licked his lips slowly, then twisted his head in Nathan’s direction. His friend had exited the car and was watching us curiously over the top of Matt’s car.
“Go get a ticket,” Matt ordered, before turning back to me. “I’m going to kiss you, poppet. I think I’ve earned it.”
I stayed absolutely still as he lowered his lips towards mine. Then we made contact. And the world disappeared as he ravished my lips with a kiss so intense it took my breath away. Man, he could kiss.
“Wow,” I whispered when we broke apart.
“Wow, indeed,” he agreed. I struggled in his arms and he let me slide back to the ground. I checked him out. In his expensive suit, he looked every bit the wealthy, successful business man I suspected him to be. It was unnerving to think I had been swapping saliva with him.
“You’re overdressed for a pub,” I teased, trying to affect a casual demeanour. My body was shaking. How could I be light-headed from a kiss?
Matt’s gaze ran over me, taking in my sleeveless t-shirt and khaki shorts, complete with brown knee-high cowboy boots.
“I like your top,” he finally said, eyes lingering around my boobs. The t-shirt had a picture of a cupcake with the words ‘eat me’ underneath. He stroked my mouth with his thumb. “I hoping to do exactly that.”