The red dress Chapter nine

 Lisa and Alan stood on the deck of the ferry and watched the boat cast off. He studied her face as they watched the shoreline of Dunoon grow smaller and smaller, and was glad to see Lisa look less tense when it disappeared from sight
 
 Alan couldn't believe how happy he felt, considering what he and Lisa had just gone through. It wasn't so hard to work out. He knew in his heart of hearts he hadn't wanted Lisa to go to the Isle of Man and get engaged to someone else, but this bizarre twist of fate had allowed him to dictate where she went instead. He knew he was mad to get involved, especially after what he had just witnessed, but crazy though it was, he was glad that he had.
 
      As they started their long journey to Chelmsford, Lisa and Alan lapsed into silence, both deep in their own thoughts. There was one subject they hadn't discussed, and it was playing on both of their minds. After half an hour, Alan looked over at Lisa and asked her the question she'd been dreading.
 
     “What are you going to do about Nick? He must be wondering what the hell's going on...”
 
Since they'd left Dunoon, Lisa had done nothing but think about Nick. She knew she should at least phone him and try to explain. Lisa acknowledged it wasn't just escaping her mother that made her feel so relieved. She also realized she had only convinced herself  she could love Nick because she didn't know what else to do. He had been her only means of escaping her mother without alienating her family. She didn't want to talk to Nick because she knew he would do what he'd done when she'd turned him down the first time he’d asked her to marry him. He would talk her around, just like everyone else had. Alan had been the first person to make her face the truth about her feelings for Nick. Now he had, she couldn't even face the idea of talking to Nick, far less marrying him.
 
     “My mother will have phoned him within five minutes of us leaving and told him that A, I've been sleeping with you and B, we’ve run off together. He probably won't want to have anything to do with me, anyway. She said it herself before she attacked me.”
 
Alan doubted that very much. He'd worked out that Lisa didn't really love Nick from their conversation the night before, but it was obvious he was madly in love with her. Everything she had told him proved it. The poor guy would probably be devastated.
 
     Alan tried to imagine how he would feel if the roles were reversed, and for the first time since he'd made the suggestion that he took Lisa home with him, he started to feel guilty. He picked up his mobile phone from the dashboard and offered it to her.
 
     “Shouldn't you at least phone him and try to explain what really happened?” he asked, secretly hoping she wouldn't.
 
Lisa looked at the phone and shook her head. She knew if she phoned Nick, she would probably be in the Isle of Man before nightfall, irrespective of what her mother might have said to him. She knew he would probably understand, and move heaven and earth to get her back. Of that she was certain. She needed time to work out how she really felt before she spoke to him again. She looked at Alan and hoped he wouldn't think she was heartless.
 
     "I don’t want to, Alan. I can't face the idea of talking to him just now. Please understand...”
 
Alan put the proffered phone back on the dashboard. He had been right all along…
 
 
 
 
 
     When they crossed the border into England an hour later, they both felt easier, but Alan was already beginning to feel really tired. His long drive up to Scotland the day before, and his sleepless night thinking about Lisa, had drained him completely. By the time they reached Manchester, he was convinced he was going to fall asleep at the wheel.
 
     “Would you mind if we found somewhere to stay, Lisa?” he asked her. “I really don’t think I could manage to drive for much longer. I didn’t sleep very well last night and I’m absolutely knackered.”
 
Lisa didn’t mind at all. In fact she was almost relieved when he suggested it because the endless hours of silence were beginning to depress her. It was almost as though if she and Alan discussed what had happened that morning, it would make it seem even worse...more real. It had all happened so fast after her mother had tried to stab her. The fact that she’d left the house with nothing, in her haste to get away, was beginning to worry her more than she could admit to Alan.
 
     “Of course I don’t mind,” she answered immediately, and smiled at him gratefully. She still couldn’t get over the fact that he was helping her.
 
     So they started looking for somewhere to stay. Fortunately there was a small hotel signposted just off the motorway, which not only showed rooms available, but served dinner as well, so Alan pulled in with a thankful sigh. They only had one twin room left so Alan took it, knowing that he didn't have a choice. If he had tried to drive another mile, he might have killed them both. Anyway, the way he was feeling due to the lack of sleep the night before convinced him that sharing a room with Lisa was not a problem…all he wanted to do, was sleep.
 
     After he took his bag to their room, he joined Lisa back down in reception and they went through to the dining room.
 
     Although they'd only had a sandwich from the garage when they'd stopped for petrol, neither of them were hungry and they both picked at their food in silence. Every time their eyes met, Alan looked away and concentrated on pushing his food around his plate. Because Alan had hardly said a word since they'd arrived, Lisa thought he was having second thoughts about taking her home with him, but she couldn't have been more wrong. Alan wasn't having second thoughts, quite the opposite. In the cold light of day the twin bedded room didn't present a problem, but seeing the two beds pushed together when he'd gone up to the room, looking to all intents and purposes like a large double, was a different story altogether. He was concerned about having Lisa so close to him when they went upstairs to bed. He knew Lisa trusted him--- the problem was, could he trust himself?
 
     By the time they finished dinner, Alan just wanted to take Lisa in his arms and tell her how he felt. He couldn't put his finger on what it was she had actually done, but her body language had sucked him in, and he felt as though she was in control of all his nerve endings. He had been aware of her scent all day at his side, but face to face, in candlelight, it was proving a lot harder to cope with.
 
     “What perfume are you wearing?” He asked, after eventually giving up on his food and pushing his plate away.
 
     “Jean Paul Gaultier,” she answered; glad he was at last making conversation.

Alan wanted to tell Lisa how beautiful it smelt on her but knew he couldn't. If he did, she would realise how he felt, and it wasn't the time or the place to complicate things further.
 
     'I must get some for Carla. I'm sure she would love it," he added.
 
By mentioning Carla's name, he'd managed to break the spell... and he was glad. It reminded him that neither of them was free, and any feelings he had for Lisa had to remain in his head.
 
 Alan stood up. He just wanted to go to bed, sleep--- and put the awful day behind them.
 
     When they got up to their room, Alan dug out his only tee shirt, and after he gave it to Lisa, he quickly got undressed while she was in the bathroom getting changed. He usually slept in his boxers and a tee shirt, but because Lisa now had  the top half of that combination, he slipped out of his jeans and got into bed before she came out of the bathroom.
 
     Alan tried not to look at Lisa when she came out, but he couldn't help it. He was relieved that the tee shirt he'd given her totally swamped her and came down almost to her knees---but she still looked gorgeous. She'd let down her hair and it fell down her back, making her look younger and even sexier than she had during the day. Alan just hoped he was going to be able to sleep.
 
     There was an embarrassed silence between them, and then Lisa looked at his bare chest, her eyebrows raised.

      "I hope you're wearing something under there!” she teased.
 
Alan thanked God that he was. He tried to make light of the situation.
 
     “Too right… I've got to have some protection in case some sex starved female tries to attack me in the middle of the night!” he replied, hoping the joke would convince her she was safe.
 
It did. Lisa climbed into her bed and lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she knew what might happen if she did. She didn't know he was thinking exactly the same thing.
 
     They both lay there in silence for a few moments before Lisa turned onto her side and looked at him.
 
     “Alan, thank you for what you did today. You don't know what it means to me knowing someone cares...”
 
Her simple words of gratitude hung in the air like a bond between them. Any lustful thoughts Alan had felt earlier were replaced with something much deeper than he’d ever felt before. As the tiredness thankfully numbed his body and his eyes started to close, he stretched out and took her hand.
 
     “Pleasure,” he replied softly, before mercifully falling asleep.
 
     Lisa lay on her bed and listened to Alan's soft breathing. He still held her hand, but the grip had relaxed to a gentle curl in his fingers. She didn't let go, and if anything tightened her grip so his hand couldn’t slip away from her. Lisa wondered what would have happened if Alan hadn't been so tired and fallen asleep. She would probably never know. She'd always thought  she was still a virgin because she was so scared of her mother, but she realised, as she lay holding Alan's hand,  the reason she was still a virgin was because she had never met anyone before who she wanted to make love to her---that is, until now.
 
     Letting go of his hand she stretched over and kissed Alan gently on the lips, her hair falling onto his bare chest as she lent over him. His breathing altered as her lips lingered on his and she moved back in case she woke him up, which she momentarily had. When he'd felt her moist lips on his, he'd struggled back from sleep to savour the moment, wanting to take her in his arms… but by then she was gone.