Chapter Eight

As soon as Anna heard the knock on the door she raced to the hallway. Friday night, finally. Alec and Daisy were coming to dinner. Pausing for a moment, she brushed a tendril of hair out of her face and smoothed down the buttons on the front of her dress. It had taken her ages to get ready for tonight. It was hard to pick an outfit that was nice but without looking like she'd tried too hard. She wanted to appear effortlessly feminine. As if this is how she always looks every night while cooking dinner.

She opened the door to Alec and Daisy.
"Hi," she said warmly to them both.
Alec wore a long sleeve shirt tucked into his trousers, sleeves rolled up. A bottle of wine in each hand. He too had struggled to get ready this evening.
"I wasn't sure what you liked to drink so I decided on wine. But I didn't know if you would like red or white, so I bought one of each." Explained Alec, holding up both bottles.
Anna chuckled, Daisy cringed.
"Let's start with the white and see where the evening takes us," replied Anna, taking the bottles from him and welcoming them both into her home.

They followed her into a modestly combined kitchen, lounge room and dining room. It was neat and organized. A stack of books were in a pile on the coffee table next to a large notebook, papers and pens. Soft music played on the CD player. The smell of something delicious came from the kitchen.
"That smells so good," said Daisy hungrily. Her dad was an alright cook, and she was learning too, but dinner tonight was promising to be something ever better than normal.
"Good. I hope you're hungry. Dinner is just about ready."
"Can we help you with anything?" offered Alec.
"Actually you could look for some wine glasses. I think they're in that cupboard over there." Anna nodded towards a cupboard as she walked to the kitchen and placed both wine bottles on the counter. She then opened a drawer in search of a bottle opener.
Alec opened and closed cupboard doors until he found two glasses.
"Daisy, are you 18 yet? Would you like a glass?" asked Anna.
Daisy was about to answer before being interrupted by Alec. "No, she's not yet."
Daisy rolled her eyes. He was such a stickler for the rules. If only he'd known she'd been drinking alcohol with her friends for the last few years.
"Water's fine." replied Daisy as she looked around Anna's place. She noticed the guitar propped against the wall next to the tv.
"Do you play the guitar?" she asked Anna.
"Yes. Well, kind of. It's been a while, I'm relearning. Do you play?"
"No." replied Daisy, thoughtfully. "Could you teach me?"
"I could get you started, yeah."
"Cool."
Daisy took a seat at the table and checked her phone.

Anna and Alec moved around each other in the small kitchen as he placed the glasses on the counter and she opened the wine and poured them each a glass.
Their bodies were close and what felt like an electric current surged through them both as they looked at each other and silently toasted before taking a sip from their glasses.
Anna glanced at Daisy to see if she was witnessing this intimate encounter and was happy to see that her eyes were glued to her phone.
She felt her heart begin to quicken and wondered where, if anywhere, the night may lead.
Would the booze loosen them both up? she wondered, thinking about the box of condoms next to her bed that she had bought while shopping for tonight's dinner.
Anna liked to be prepared for anything.

During dinner the conversation between the three flowed smoothly. Jokes were made and laughed at, drinks were poured and drunk, conversations about school and work and travel and Broachchurch went back and forth, and an occasional sultry look was given to Alec from across the table. By 9pm Daisy had excused herself, her phone once again in her hand, tapping quickly on the screen and eager to escape what had shifted into date like territory after a bottle had been emptied.

"Is Daisy alright?" asked Anna, as she cleared the table and headed for the kitchen.
"I think she's more invested in her phone and her friends than anything else. I wouldn't take it personally." replied Alec, following Anna to the kitchen with the remaining crockery.
Again in the small kitchen, they danced around each other, their bodies closer, closer.
Anna tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and turned around to face Alec.
She could feel the alcohol coursing through her and she felt a little lightheaded. The liquid courage was making her want to confess her feelings for him. How she had been thinking about him constantly. How she would replay their bathroom kiss in her mind as she lay in bed each night, letting her mind and hands wander.
How she had begun to imagine a future together, the three of them, dinners every night around the table.
If she told him would it scare him off?
She put her hand to his cheek and stroked his face. He stared at her intensely, his lips parted, and in unison they came closer to one another. Their lips finally touching again, grazing softly together.
She loved how tenderly he kissed her.

"I'm glad you came tonight." Anna said softly as they sat together on her sofa.
"Me too," replied Alec.
A floor lamp in the corner of the lounge cast soft warm light across the room. The music had stopped and the room was quiet, only the sounds of the outside could be heard. Waves crashed onto the distant shore. The back door was open and a gentle breeze blew the sheer curtains back and forth lazily.
Anna and Alec sat close together, their bodies facing each other. They had decided, perhaps against their better judgement, to open the second bottle of wine.
Their glasses sat on the coffee table in front of them.
"So," started Anna, laying her head sideways against the back of the sofa, eyes focused on Alec's. She wondered what he was thinking behind those brown eyes. His face didn't give much away.
She bit her lip.
"I like you," she whispered.
"Do you?" he replied, eyebrows furrowing. He couldn't quite believe it.
"Why do you seem surprised?" she asked, her own eyebrows creasing.
"Well…" he trailed off and looked out across the room in thought. He knew he wasn't very likable or agreeable in a lot of ways. His colleagues had said as much about him, as had Tess during their divorce, and he'd always had few friends. As close as he was with Miller these days he knew he irritated her too. Even his father had few kind words to say about him.
Anna brushed the hair from Alec's eyes and smiled at him.
"Well, I do. I like you very much." she said, moving closer to him.
Looking at her in that moment he felt a flicker of something warm and comforting inside.
"I like you, too," he offered back, but the words seemed limp on his lips. They couldn't possibly convey how he was really feeling. Reinvigorated and alive again, heady at the thought of her all week, the anticipation of tonight. It felt too good to be true. At any moment he expected the rush to be over, for reality to kick in and leave him disappointed and lonely again.
He reached for her hand and held it softly in his own.
God, he had missed touching, and being touched, by a woman. They both paused for a moment. Both silently agreeing to what was to come next. Both aching for each other.
Their lips once again kissing, deeper, passionately. He ran a hand through her hair.
Anna began to lean back, pulling Alec down with her, wanting him on top of her, to feel his weight on her. She moved her legs so he was in between her, leaving no doubt in his mind that she wanted him.
He was wanted, he was wanted.
She began to unbutton the front of her dress and praised herself for buying all new underwear before moving to Broadchurch. Alec, arms on either side of her, looked down and watched. She held his gaze as she undressed herself like she was unwrapping a present. A present for him.
Slowly, slowly, each button revealing a little more lace, a little more flesh.
God, he felt lightheaded at the sight of her delicate lace bra, sheer enough to reveal the shape of her breasts beneath. He leaned into her, kissing her neck, kissing her collarbone.
Letting out a soft groan, Anna held the back of his head, pulling his hair slightly, urging him on.
She began to grind her hips softly against him, feeling him harden completely. He ran his fingers lightly down her neck, along her collarbone, tracing where he'd just kissed her. He looked up at Anna, but her eyes were closed, her mouth open in pleasure, her breathing deep.
He continued to kiss her, down, down.
He cupped her breast in his hand as he kissed her soft skin. Alec could feel Anna reaching down. She fumbled with his belt, then his trousers, her fingers moving quickly to release him. Her hands moved rhythmically, holding him, rubbing him, back and forth, back and forth.
Alec lets out a gasp of pleasure.

Suddenly the shrill tone of Alec's phone rang out from inside his trouser pocket. For a split second he looked down at Anna, stupefied by what was happening.
The mood shattered.
"For god's sake," he said angrily.
For a moment he contemplates ignoring it or flicking his phone to silent, to get back to Anna's body, but he succumbs to the call of duty and reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone.
It was Miller.
"What?" he barked into the phone.
She's coming to pick him up. A domestic issue in the village over. Probably going to be a late one. She'll be there in 10 minutes.
He hangs up the phone and looks over at Anna, who is sitting up and buttoning up her dress.
As always, he comes crashing back to reality.