Meg & Leo: Chapter 5
Leo Blake.
Leo Blake is sitting opposite me drinking coffee.
Leo Blake asked me to join him for coffee.
Leo Blake, whose coat I reattached a button to earlier.
Leo Blake, who caught me when I feel off that stepladder this morning.
Leo Blake, world renowned, award winning pianist, whose music I listen to every single day, and sends me into raptures as I lie in bed at the risk of being late for work just to hear the end of whichever piece is playing on the radio.
Leo Blake, who I have apparently never once googled or seen a photo of, otherwise I’m certain I would have recognised him.
Leo Blake, who is still smiling and talking to me, despite my humiliating outburst and subsequent babbling.
Leo Blake, whose eyes are captivating, whose voice is making my insides melt, whose hair I still want to brush back from his forehead, and whose hands are setting my imagination – and every nerve ending in my body – on fire as they caress the mug on the table in front of him and I can feel it as if they were on my skin.
Leo Blake.
Leo.
Blake.
Oh. My. God.
Just a brief snapshot of the astonished, disbelieving, and befuddled litany that’s circling my brain as we sit here, in the middle of Costa on Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon.
This kind of thing NEVER happens to me.
Literally. Never.
And yet, with the evidence sat right there across the table from me, I have to believe it’s happening now.
The thing is, far from being a starstruck, mumbling mess, somehow I’m managing to keep up my side of the conversation.
And it feels normal. Natural. Flowing without any of the awkwardness I usually associate with meeting new people.
Not that I do that very often.
Well, OK, I suppose I do. I speak to new people all day, every day at work, but it’s different when it’s customers. That’s my job. And I can put on my best customer service mask and just get on with it. Pointing them in the direction of something they’re looking for, offering advice on different products, the usual ‘have a nice day’ small talk at the till.
But outside of work? Making new friends?
Not so much.
I’m introverted and shy and never feel like I know what to say that won’t come across as silly or too intense.
I mean, yes, clearly ‘I wake up with you every morning’ was very definitely in the extremely intense category.
But for some reason, now that I’ve moved passed the instant embarrassment, I’m not having any trouble chatting with Leo.
I’m not sure how he’s doing it, or what it is about him, but I feel comfortable. At ease. Like I’m talking with someone I’ve known for ages.
We talk more about music, and what I do at work, and he compliments me on the embroidered collar of my blouse – which actually, I’m really pleased with, so it’s nice that he noticed – and I don’t really know what else, except that I have fun, we laugh, and I can’t stop looking at him.
Because underneath the easy conversation is the simmering attraction that started the second I turned round and saw him, and hasn’t gone off the boil since. In fact, it only seems to be getting stronger by the minute.
My goodness he’s handsome.
But he also seems kind, and interested in what I have to say, and has a sense of humour that matches my own, and obviously cares about what he does.
In fact, now that he’s warmed up to sharing it with me, he seems really quite passionate about it. I’ve rarely heard a guy talk about something with such enthusiasm as Leo does about music.
And that passion is so very appealing.
The way it lights up his face, broadens his smile, even the way his body moves as he describes one of the pieces he’s rehearsing at the moment. The way his hands move, picking out the imaginary notes on the edge of the table.
I’m entranced.
Until the spell is eventually broken by Jas approaching the table.
Honestly, I’d totally forgotten I asked her to come as my back up.
“Hey, uh…Meg? I just got a message from Sal to say that she’s putting a lasagne in the oven for girls’ night, are you coming?
I blink, looking up at her. Then notice that outside the café darkness has fallen. How long have we been sitting here?
“Oh, right, Jas, yeah, sorry.” I glance at my watch.
An hour and a half has flown by.
“Oh my goodness I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise the time! Yeah, of course...”
“I’m sorry to interrupt when you’re clearly having such a good time” Jas says with a pointed look at me, then at Leo.
“Oh! Right, yes…Leo, this is my housemate Jas. Well, housemate, colleague, and best friend.” I offer her a smile, hoping it conveys my apologies and gratitude for sitting there and keeping an eye on me for so long.
“Jas, nice to meet you,” Leo stands and puts out his hand for Jas to shake, which she does, with perhaps a little bit of a stronger grip than strictly necessary. To his credit, and knowing how important his hands are, he doesn’t so much as wince. “Sorry to keep Meg here so long, I wouldn’t want to keep you from other plans.”
God, he’s charming. But not in a false, smarmy way at all. It’s genuine. And Jas is certainly charmed.
“It’s no problem at all Leo, it’s great to meet you, and great to see Meg enjoying herself.”
“Right. Well. I guess we’d better get moving. Don’t want Sal to eat all the lasagne without us!” I laugh, and start pulling on my coat.
Leo reaches out to help when I get tangled in one sleeve, and the smile of thanks I bestow om him is returned with one that shows his dimple.
Yup, still internally swooning every time that happens.
“Well, thank you for this Leo,” I say, gesturing at our now empty mugs, but not really sure what else to say. Apparently my conversational limit has been reached.
“No problem, as I said, it’s my pleasure, and the least I could do to thank you for helping me out earlier.”
A spark of…something…flashes in his eyes which melts for a moment, before he seems to catch himself with the merest hint of a confused frown.
I don’t have the brain power to analyse that, because my system is on overdrive again from the way the word ‘pleasure’ rolls out of his mouth and somehow curls its way low in my belly, warm and purring, making me want to clench my thighs together. To stop the sensation, or keep hold of it, I’m not entirely sure.
It’s been a really long time since I thought or felt this way about a man.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve felt this much ever.
It’s… Unsettling.
But enticing.
So I do what any sensible woman would do.
I grab my best friend by the arm, turn us both in the direction of the exit, and call over my shoulder as I all but run towards it – “It was great meeting you, bye!”
Coward. I know.
I can feel Jas almost bursting to ask me everything as we weave our way through the crowds towards the tube station, but it’s too noisy for any kind of conversation.
As we miraculously find a couple of seats on the train heading towards home, she looks at me quizzically.
“Nope. Sal needs to hear all of this. No talking ‘til we get home and have steaming plates of lasagne in front of us.” She ends this decision with a firm nod.
Not that I could say anything right now anyway.
My head is still a muddled mixture of tangled thoughts.
Oh my goodness I just had coffee with Leo Blake.
Wow he’s so handsome in real life.
Did I imagine that he seemed really interested in me?
Probably, he was just being a gentleman and thanking me.
But oh my, those eyes, that smile, those hands…
Down girl, get those hormones under control!
Besides, he’s just a man I’m never likely to see again.
Right, because he didn’t even ask for my phone number.
I could have asked for his.
Would that have been weird?
I bet Jas would have asked him.
But then, I did rush us out of there in a hurry, what if he was going to?
I guess I’ll never know.
It’ll just be a fun story to recount over dinner with the girls, probably to dream about tonight, and then tomorrow I go back to my normal life.
I can’t help a sigh at this last thought. My heart flopping over with the wish that it wasn’t the end of mine and Leo’s story.
Need to catch up on the previous chapter? Read here:
