Car Share: The Recipe of Love
Chapter 2
The first thing which impressed Kayleigh very much about John's house was the colourful and patterned different wallpaper in each room. Nothing looked out of place, magazines stacked in the corner of the left-hand corner of the room and he has the 48-inch plasma TV attached to the wall which you can see as soon as you enter the living room. Mandy's living room was always left in a right mess, thanks to Steve's motorbike magazines, bike parts and Alfie and Chloe's homework.
Kayleigh decided to text Mandy. No doubt her younger sister will text back, gleefully teasing and texting her sister back, to ask her if she and John have given to the temptation of breaking their no sex pact. Kayleigh knew she wouldn't hear the end of it, once she sends this text message. She quickly types what she wants to say in her text message. "Won't be coming home tonight. Staying over at John's house instead. He asked me over for my tea, I said yes. I'll text you later xx" She sends it.
John hung his work jacket up on the coat hanger and took his shoes off in the hallway. John had certainly lived quite a quiet home life since he became single after splitting up with Charlotte. Kayleigh admired him for keeping his head down after this previous heartbreaking split which he had unfortunately experienced.
"Nice living room you've got, tidy." Kayleigh says as she steps into the main room and looks towards the window, where there's a lovely beautiful view of the garden. "Your garden's bigger than our Mandy's garden. Looks the same size as the Old Trafford pitch." She's got a point though because of what she's seen so far of the garden.
"Give over it's nothing like Old Trafford." John laughs off her suggestion before he slips into the kitchen to put the kettle on, so he could do them both a nice cup of tea or as he once taught her how to pronounce it as, "Kipper Tie" in a Brummie accent.
Kayleigh shrugs her blue jacket off from her shoulders and folds it up. She places it on the armchair of the sofa nearest to the window and then made herself comfy on the two-seater sofa behind her. She soon discovers how John's black leather sofa certainly has the feel of a bouncy castle, when she tries to bounce a little up and down on it. She couldn't resist doing a better bounce for the sake of it. She has a third go but is caught in the act by John who is bringing the mugs for them.
"You're such a child Kayleigh Kitson." John tells the truth of how sees Kayleigh's childlike behaviour. It's mostly bloody funny but it can also feel annoying to put up with especially when she's throwing glittery bits in his face and talking about Christmas as if it were happening the very next week.
"Ah, what about you?" Kayleigh randomly picks out a fault of John's but falls short of saying exactly which one it is.
"What about me?" This was bound to be fun, Kayleigh accusing him of behaving like a child. 'Pfft, she's the child, I'm the mature one here.' John awaits her claim with a knowing smile on his face as he hands her one of the mugs. He's put one teaspoon of sugar in her tea as he remembers she doesn't like her drinks being too sweet.
"Well, you're...you're..." Kayleigh can't get the words out properly.
"Go on..." John tries as much as possible not to laugh his head off while she's busy coming up with her silly accusation.
"Well, you love your Monster Trucks, don't you? Yes! Knew I could think of something eventually." Kayleigh celebrates with a victory hand gesture. 'Bugger' John knew she wasn't wrong there. He knew he acted like a big kid at heart when talking about how cool the Afterburner, Grizzly, Nitro and Glycerine trucks were to watch in a big arena.
"Alright, I admit I still behave like a child. Happy now?" John sighs with a small hint of relief.
"Oh, very." Kayleigh says, smiling before she takes a sip of her tea.
xxx
Half an hour later, the loved-up pair were now in the kitchen. John was cooking up a simple tasty meal for the both of them - Pasta sprinkled with grated cheese, herbs and potato wedges with a hot tomato sauce.
Kayleigh is sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen counter was already becoming a fond admirer of his excellent cooking skills and keen herself to be taught one or two skills by him. John was now wearing an apron with the words 'The Greatest' written in big bright letters.
"John."
"Kayleigh."
"Are you the greatest?" She asks, after taking three, four glances of his trendy looking apron.
"Eh?" As he has been making every effort possible to whip up a memorable meal for them that evening, John hasn't the faintest of ideas of what she's actually referring to. He stands away from the stove for a minute while the pasta is simmering away in the pan and starts to pay her more attention.
"Are you the greatest at winning a woman's heart with your cooking?" She tries to guess if this is what the message on his apron is trying to tell her. Surely it couldn't have meant anything else, sporting related or non-romantic related.
John looks at his apron and soon realises she's been wondering what the message on his apron meant. "Well, I guess you'll have to wait and find out the answer for yourself soon, Kayleigh" He answers, grinning and winking his left eye as if to say 'That's all the beaver's gonna tell you for now.'
"Oi cheeky." Kayleigh banters back, finding the funny side of this. She's eyeing up the potato wedges he has chopped up on the chopping board and lined up, ready to be baked in the oven. John returns his focus on the pan with the pasta in and carefully draining the water from it.
A short time later, Kayleigh was more than happy to taste the freshly made tomato sauce John had blended for the wedges. She enjoys it's taste so much, that she can't resist helping herself to a few mouthfuls of it.
"Mmm John this is so good. You should take up making homemade tomato sauce for the Supermarkets and then use a different name to promote them." She thinks it would be a great way for him to earn more money.
"I'm not JK Rowling, you know?" John laughs, he doesn't want to pull a page out of the Harry Potter author's book, by going under an alias name for when he got the opportunity to promote his homemade tomato sauce.
"Who?" Kayleigh looks completely clueless about who this person he's referring to is.
"JK Rowling. She wrote the Harry Potter books. Don't tell me you've never read the books as well." John chuckles. He's not going to say much else otherwise he'll leave her feeling even more confused. That is what he adores about Kayleigh the most, the 'John stop talking shit' looks she gives him. He felt like the luckiest man ever to have this amazing, funny and beautiful woman gracing his life right now. She makes him laugh, she makes him happy and most importantly she makes John feel loved in a unique way not even Anna and Charlotte could have possibly loved him.
"John, I said I haven't watched Harry Potter...or read the books. Besides I'm a Twilight fan." She happily reveals.
"Twilight! urgh, that vampire film trilogy with whats-his-face from Harry Potter?" John means Robert Pattinson but the name is failing to make an appearance in his mind. "Please tell me you're 'avin' a laugh?!" John asks. He's watched all three of the films but can't say he's a fan of any of them. The pair might not have shared the same taste in films but their taste in music is what helped to connect them to each other other than being head over heels in love with one another.
"No, I'm not 'avin a laugh' John. You know, if you watched Twilight with me, you might actually appreciate the film more." Kayleigh thinks he might slowly warm to the first film if he sits down and watches it with her.
"Not going to happen, Kayleigh." John is adamant. She accepts he's going to need plenty of persuading. She knows she will need to work her charm on him one way or another.
"Ok. Fine. Maybe you'll watch Top Gun with me instead the next time it's on the telly." Kayleigh's certainly not giving up on persuading to watch one of her favourite films with him.
"Fine, you've won me over with Top Gun, Kayleigh. Just don't start fantasizing me dressed as Tom Cruise in that fighter pilot gear and the sunglasses will ya when we finally get a chance of watching it together." John laughs. He knows she will though because she knows she likes her having one or two fantasies especially when she's meant to be getting customers to sample her Dairylea Dunkers at work.
Kayleigh's phone suddenly vibrates, Mandy's responded to her text message. John is adding the final touches to their meals for the evening, 40 minutes after making a start on it.
"LOL! You're not fooling me, sis. Bet you're already fancying trying more than John's food tonight. Text me back with all the glory details, Mand xx"
"What's up?" John asks her just as he's indicating for her to follow him over to the kitchen table, which was in a much smaller room next to the living room.
"Our Mandy's winding me up that's what. I text her to say I'm staying here tonight. She sent me a text back just now, saying she thinks I'll be fancying more than just your food" Kayleigh wasn't exactly sure how the night might pan out for the both of them, if there will be any romantic surprises awaiting them or not for later in the evening. Mandy's text wasn't exactly helping matters for her either.
"Well, you will be, won't you? Look I'm not going to fob you off if that's what you're thinking. I'm glad you invited yourself over for tea. You can cuddle me as much as you like, you know while we're both pissing ourselves laughing at whatever's on BBC One or BBC Two after 9." John tries to reassure her, he has no intention of pushing her away and making her feel unwelcome in his own home after she's eaten the lovely meal he's done for her. Mandy's text had really put the cat amongst the pigeons with her. His promise soon feels reassuring enough to calm her down.
"Really? You fancy receiving one of my cuddles, John?" She's genuinely touched to witness him opening his heart to her. They both take their seats at the table. Sitting intimately together. John tucks into a mouthful of the meal straight away as he ponders what to tell her next. When he's digested the food, he decides to be more sincere and open with her.
"Yeah. We love each other, don't we? Sorry that it's taken me a few days to say it. I do want to take things further with you in time but not just now, tonight. Cos I'm still trying to get my head around aren't a few things, aren't I? The best one, me having such a wonderful and sexy girlfriend being a part of my life right now." John wants them to take the relationship to the next level when the time feels right. He knows he isn't going to make her wait forever.
"So, you think I'm sexy?" Her face glows like a Blackpool illumination light when she realises this is the loveliest compliment he's given her.
"Of course you're sexy. Kayleigh Kitson, I've got you to thank haven't I? for making me believe in love again." John admits. He can tell from her body language, she's busy trying to fight the urge to stop herself from jumping him and riding him like a buffalo bronco. He smiles to himself, knowing they can both make this certain fantasy happen for real very soon indeed.
Kayleigh doesn't say a word. She gazes at him lovingly before she dips two potato wedges into the tomato sauce, which she can't get enough of. She licks her lips the sauce from her mouth in a rather seductive manner. John wonders if she's doing this intentionally to turn him on a little or if she's aiming to awaken his sexual excitement. He was now sweating like a horse being presented at winner's enclosure in hot weather and feeling undoubtedly drawn to her more, as he watched her.
Kayleigh quietly congratulates herself for achieving her goal of making him feel hot under the collar.
"Oh, John. This is so delicious." Kayleigh says before grabbing a few wedges and dipping them in the sauce.
"Christ slow down will ya. This isn't a race of who can finish their meal first ya know." John cries with tears of laughter.
"I know but I'm so hungry John. I could eat like four tables worth of food." Kayleigh admits.
"You greedy woman." John almost falls off his chair because he's laughing his head off so much at her comment.
"John!" Kayleigh pretends to be offended.
xxx
Around 8:30, they had finished their meal and were sitting next to each other. They look the absolute picture of happiness. Kayleigh has snuggled herself in his arms. Well seeing as it had been an awfully long and tiring day and now that the day itself was nearly all over, all Kayleigh longed, for now, was to stay like this forever with him.
They're currently watching an episode of Death in Paradise and separately attempting to work out who is the killer. A woman has been found murdered in one of the villa pool's and everything about this mystery makes it appear to look as though the woman had somehow slipped and accidentally drowned but had she? that was the question. Kayleigh thinks it's the shifty husband and John thinks it's the betrayed friend who has a look about her like butter wouldn't melt.
"Ooh get you, Detective Redmond," Kayleigh says as she admires him, observing every scene of the episode like a real-life detective.
"Thanks, Detective Kitson." John banters back. "I've gotta love my crime shows more than the soaps. Better stuff happens in these shows."
"Have you watched Death in Paradise before?" She likes his enthusiasm for a tv crime drama such as this one.
"Have I? I've got every bloody series on the DVD. You can borrow Series 1 off me anytime you want, you know if you fancy binge-watching your way through the show from the start." John offers, hoping she might agree to borrow every Death in Paradise DVD he owns.
"Ok, I don't see why not. It's always nice to try something new to watch, you know when there isn't anything worth watching on tv." Kayleigh says. John silently agrees with her.
When the killer is eventually revealed, there's a twist in the tale; it turns out it was the son in law who killed his stepmother. "Well, I wasn't expecting that." John says. "That's what so good about this show. As the viewer, you think you know who it is but they only go and reveal the killer to be the character you least expected."
"I know! I never get to watch the tv shows I want in our Mandy's house when all of us sit down to watch whatever's on the telly. Oh, John, she and Steve don't half watch so much shit on tv. I thought I was bad but Our Mandy and Steve definitely beat me at this." Kayleigh has to tell him of the boredom she faces over a few nights while she's in the living room.
"Why? What do they watch?" John asks.
"Well Steve's got his Guy Martin boxset to watch and Our Mandy watches Game of Thrones. Urgh can't stand those type of shows. TV violence always makes my arms and legs go like jelly." Kayleigh quickly demonstrates the precise way her legs turn to jelly at the sight of one of the characters who looks a goner in a battle scene.
"Game of Thrones. Our Paul loves that show. Christ, I'm glad I don't." John shares her dislike for the show. She's thrilled to know he doesn't like tv dramas which are a bit too violent and risque.
Once Death in Paradise finishes, John sees no point of leaving the tv on, so he switches it off and puts music on for them to listen to instead. John temporarily frees himself from her embrace. His stereo player which is beneath the plasma tv looks expensive. Kayleigh thinks John must have paid at least £350 for it. He presses play on the remote control, to play the first song. Kayleigh sits up and forwards on the sofa, with the palm of her hands placed flatly on the edge of the sofa.
Adele's Make You Feel My Love is appropriately the first song that's on John's playlist. "Fancy a dance with me, Miss Kitson?" John chivalrously makes his next intentions known. He would like to share a dance or two with her, that's if she's happy to accept his offer. He extends his hand out in her direction, which she gladly obliges by grasping it and then happily allows him to pull her up from the sofa.
"When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love."
John places his other hand on her waist. He makes sure he's holding her close to him. Kayleigh rests her head on his shoulder as they begin their romantic dance.
"When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
Oh, I hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love."
They dance marvellously and uniquely in full view of the window. In a way, they were giving some of John's nosy neighbours a dance performance worthy of being performed as a Waltz on Strictly Come Dancing. John's heart is melting because of the closeness and emotional connection he's feeling with Kayleigh right at that moment. He wants to sweep her up in his arms and carry her up the stairs to his bedroom, lay her down on his bed and then make love to her but knows he can't yet. He knows it was only a matter of time before he gave into his feelings quicker than you can say 'I'm going to kick Dave Thompson's arse'.
"I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I will never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong"
John and Kayleigh continue their dance as the next song comes on. "I swear Adele wasn't on my playlist. Our Paul must have added it behind my back when he was here the other day. Cheeky arseclown." John laughs. Paul had come over to the house two days ago, to borrow a litter picker from his brother. His brother must have fiddled around with the songs on the stereo while he was in the garden.
The next song is Wet, Wet, Wet's Love is All Around. "Oh, I love this song." Kayleigh says excitedly.
"I feel it in my fingers
I feel it in my toes
The love that's all around me
And so the feeling grows"
"It's written on the wind
It's everywhere I go
So if you really love me
Come on and let it show"
Kayleigh removes her head from his shoulder and gazes up at him. Her eyes sparkling like two beautiful glitter balls and John knows from that moment on, he's succumbing to the unrequited passion that's been building up between them since she stepped inside his house over two hours ago. She cups his cheek with her left hand.
She leans in for the kiss as does John but it doesn't quite according to plan as they hoped as John soon finds the tip of her nose resting against his lips instead of her lips. Kayleigh has surprisingly fallen asleep. John smiles to himself. He quietly turns the music off and guides her back over to the sofa, where he lays her down and props her head up against the arm of the sofa. He then finds a cushy pillow and carefully places it underneath her head. John then throws a Manchester City printed duvet over her, he makes sure that it's enough to keep her warm.
Deep down he does feel somewhat disappointed that things between them had come to an abrupt end for the evening. He stood there for nearly 10 minutes. All he could think of was what it would be like to kiss her during the intimate moment which they'd just shared but he knows that wait to kiss this amazing woman shouldn't be too long. He places a soft kiss on her forehead before he makes his way up to the upstairs bathroom for a quick face wash and then finally to his bedroom.
xxx
John couldn't sleep a wink, knowing Kayleigh was sleeping alone downstairs and the thought of himself sleeping there wide awake was driving him crazy. As his eyes outstared the next door neighbour's cat Chuckles, who is occupying the garden. He finds himself considering writing another cheesy love song to help him, describe his latest feelings.
He checks the clock on the bedside table; it reads 1:01am in big blue neon letters. He sticks a leg out the bed but is soon stopped in his tracks by the sound of what appears to be light footsteps slowly making their way up the stairs. "Kayleigh." He mouths. Perhaps she wanted to use the upstairs toilet at the top of the stairs. He gets back in bed and covers the duvet over "I Will Rock You" pyjama t-shirt.
The door opens. John looks up and sees Kayleigh standing there. She's still in her uniform which looks crumpled.
"Kayleigh, what's up?" John's eyes are blurry as he talks to her.
"Do you mind if I sleep in here you? Can't sleep on sofas because I'm a sleep roller."
"Of course, you can. You don't need to ask" John can't say he's heard of Sleep Rolling before.
"Aww, thanks, John." Kayleigh is so thrilled that he's not telling to go back downstairs. She knows how caring, sweet-natured and lovely John can be whenever he's looking out for her or his Nana Rose. She climbs onto the bed and crawls up to lie next to John. She lifts the duvet up and immediately sees John's Queen inspired pyjama top. "Do you mean me?" She asks as she pulls the duvet up over their fully clothed bodies and then rests her head back on the bed pillow next to John.
"Eh?" John asks. Of the four months, he's known her for, Kayleigh had asked some daft questions but this one definitely got the award for the daftest question of the lot, which she's asked.
"You know, as if you're telling me, I will rock you when the time's right, Kayleigh." She winks and says not much else.
"I dunno. It might mean many things other than what you think it means. Who knows." John winks back at her.
They lay facing each other with John's hand caressing her shoulder. Kayleigh still looks overdressed for bed minus her court shoes which she had left in the living room. He literally couldn't take his eyes off her. He knows she's the woman he wants to have children with someday. His mum had only said it would be lovely to have another grandchild one day.
"I think the both of us should get some sleep." John suggests, knowing that they both unfortunately needed to be up early, ready for work in a few hours time.
"I'll only go asleep if you promise to hold me." Kayleigh asks nicely.
"Go on then." John agrees, flashing one of his typical idiotic but adorable smiles. Kayleigh moves across to him, she lifts his arm up and positions it around the back of her neck, making sure his hand is resting on her shoulder.
"Sorry I made the silly mistake of falling asleep as you were trying to kiss me. It must have been my lady time getting the better of me again." Kayleigh reveals a possible reason as to why she had unintentionally fallen asleep.
John pulls a face as if to say 'Too much information, Kayleigh'. She laughs when she's how he's cringing at what she thinks, is him picturing the thought of what the bloody heck goes on with her lady time, seeing as she drops into their conversations at least three times a week.
"Sorry." She mouths a silent apology. John doesn't think she needs to apology because she's just having one of her Kayleigh moments as per normal. He yawns a little, signalling tiredness is finally getting on top of him. Before he goes to sleep, he dips his head down to kiss. It's a brief and tender kiss which tells Kayleigh all she needs to know about John's love for her.
"Night Kayleigh," John says as soon as he pulls away.
"Night John." She smiles. "My hero." She whispers as she watches him close his eyes and fall into a peaceful sleep. She does the same, a short while later.
End of Chapter
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