Two months after Lise had left Algonquin Bay, John was finally able to find some time away from work to make the trip down to Toronto. Ostensibly, he was taking the trip to see Kelly, but in reality, seeing Lise felt like much more than just an added extra.
"I'm coming down to see Kelly next weekend," he had told Lise on one of their now routine evening FaceTime calls.
"Oh yeah?" she had replied, excited in anticipation of where his words might be heading.
"So, if you'd erm," he cleared his throat, "if you want...I mean, if you have the time, we could...meet up. Just for dinner, or...coffee even."
"That would be...great," she beamed.
So, the day after John had spent some time with Kelly, it was at last time for him to meet with Lise.
He was early to the coffee shop she had chosen, but still found himself unfixing his stare from the door and compulsively checking his watch every 30 seconds, in some hope that the 15 minutes until she was due to arrive might disappear.
In truth, John was relieved that she had picked coffee as it felt much less pressure for a first date than dinner. 'First date,' he repeated internally, wondering if Lise saw their future relationship as romantic, while also pondering what a more appropriate term might be for meeting up with a woman you'd known for years prior and had even already had sex with.
Now of course, his mind was on the night they'd spent together months earlier. He had found himself replaying the events more times than he'd like to admit, especially on nights where he felt down and lonely, and the prospect of being with a woman again - let alone one as intelligent and beautiful as Lise - felt like a distant dream.
It wasn't like he didn't get any female attention; he saw the way women would sometimes look at him or make clumsy attempts at flirting, but more often than not, it just made him feel uncomfortable. He had been with Catherine from a young age, and he always enjoyed the security of that; even as a younger man, he hadn't enjoyed "dating", hating the pretences and falsities that came with it.
Lost in thought, he was jolted back to the present when Lise finally walked into the coffee shop. Wrapped warmly in a padded coat, her face lit up as she made eye contact with John.
"Hi," she greeted him with a smile.
Not sure how to react, John stood and met with her in a slightly awkward embrace; with neither one sure where to put their arms or place their heads, they almost bumped heads, before eventually finding a comfortable position and hugging for a brief second. As they parted, they both laughed nervously. John, ever the gentleman, automatically and without thought, pulled Lise's chair out for her and her cheeks warmed with gratitude over how lucky she was to know him.
"Still just black?" John asked Lise as he headed to the counter.
Lise nodded, smiling to herself that John still remembered how she took her coffee.
She watched John across the cafe as he paid for the drinks. He looked tired, she thought. FaceTime hadn't shown the dark circles under his eyes, or accurately portrayed the slight hollowing in his cheeks that indicated he'd lost a few pounds. Lise knew Kelly worried about him, so she made a mental note to text her later and ask how the visit with John had gone, thus giving Kelly the opportunity to unburden any worries she may have had about her father.
"Here," John said, setting the drink down in front of Lise before taking a seat opposite her.
"It's so good to finally see you," Lise told him. "I've missed you," she added, her tone softer than before.
"I've…" John struggled to get his feelings out, "I've missed you too."
Lise gave him the kind of smile that brought him instant warmth. "You look," she frowned in worry, "tired."
John gave a half smile, half grimace. "Yeah, work has just been…" he sighed. "You know how it can get."
Lise nodded stoically. "I do."
A moment of silent stillness came between them, and without thinking, Lise found herself reaching across the table to touch John's hand. He remained quiet, glancing down as her fingers grazed the back of his hand. Looking up slowly, he met her gaze as he moved his thumb purposefully to brush against hers, moving it back and forth in a slow rhythm. Lise looked at him and smiled warmly.
They continued to sit this way, hands touching across the table, for the remainder of their stay, as they chatted and remanised. As the minutes ticked away, the touch they shared became bolder and more solid, John's hand eventually engulfing Lise's much smaller one.
"The cottage is really coming along," he picked up his phone with one handed and swiped through to show her a few pictures. "The contractors think they should be done in a couple of months."
"It looks great. I know Kelly can't wait to get up there."
John chuckled slightly. "It's going to be a while until it's warm enough for her to go jumping off the dock like she did when she was a kid." An easy silence fell between them. "Work still going well?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's good," Lise nodded firmly. "I'm still settling in, but I'm getting there."
"No regrets about leaving Algonquin Bay?"
"No," Lise answered quickly, before thinking better of it. "Well, maybe one," she told him, making eye contact to solidify her point, and John gave a smile as he squeezed her hand in response. "What time are you leaving?"
"Er," John looked at his watch, surprise on his face when he saw the time, "soon actually." He saw Lise's face fall slightly. "I've got an early start tomorrow and I don't want to do too much of the drive in the dark."
Lise bit her lip and nodded. "You'll have to stay longer next time."
"Yeah," he agreed. "I will."
After bundling themselves back up in coats and scarves, they stood outside the coffee shop to say their goodbyes. John leaned in for a hug that Lise was only too happy to return as she held onto him tightly, closing her eyes. After a few seconds, they moved back from each other, but their arms remained wrapped around each other as warm breath tickled each of their faces.
It was odd that they had slept together and knew each other so well, yet this would be the first time they'd kissed out in the real world, not behind closed doors. Other people seeing them, even if they were strangers, somehow made the whole thing that much realer.
It was a soft kiss, hesitant at first on both their parts. They parted an inch after the initial meeting of lips, and on the second touch the kiss grew surer and more tender, mouths opening and tongues touching as John pulled Lise close. Knowing now was not the time to get carried away, he pulled back after a few seconds.
"I erm," he fumbled, flustered, with his face flushed and his heart racing. "I should probably get going."
"Right," Lise nodded, understanding implicitly that this wasn't a rejection of her: instead the opposite, in that John didn't want to be making out in public like a horny teenager. "You'll come down again soon?"
John nodded solidly. "I'll er...I'll text you when I get home. FaceTime tomorrow, the usual time?"
"Yes," Lise smiled.
They stood awkwardly for a moment before Lise went in for a final hug. She closed her eyes when his arms wrapped around her, soaking in the comfort of the closeness. When they parted and stepped away from each other, John mouthed a goodbye and Lise followed suit, holding her hand up for a second in a vague waving motion, as John smiled and walked away.
Over a week later, on one of their FaceTime calls, Lise braved her fears and asked John a question.
"I was wondering if you could...I mean, if you wanted to…" she fumbled nervously, "come down next Friday?" Her brows raised in an expression of hope. "There's this...work thing, a charity gala..."
"Sure," John replied with a gentle smile, flattered she wanted him with her.
"If you can't get time off, I understand," Lise continued, giving him an easy way to back out, lest he feel obligated to say yes.
"No, no, I've got some leave I can take," he insisted, shaking his head in certainty. "Dyson still owes me a favour anyway after I agreed to take some extra shifts last month."
"OK, great," Lise smiled in relief. "It's er, black tie, so you'd need a suit or a tux."
"OK."
"OK," Lise echoed, as she began mentally planning what the hell she was going to wear.
