Page 25 of Here Comes Trouble
‘I’m just going to find the bathroom,’ she said, dumping the napkin on the table, pushing her chair back and going to stand up, then jerking to a stop, mid-rise and sitting back down again, a look of horror on her face.
‘Jess? What’s wrong?’
‘Um, I think my top’s caught on the chair. I don’t seem to be able to move.’
He couldn’t help but laugh at her predicament, until he noticed the look of mortification on her face. She tried standing up again, but the wrought iron chair kept her in her place. Her eyes were wide with panic now.
‘I’m stuck!’
He got up and scooted round to the back of her chair to find that some of the loops of her knitted top had somehow wound themselves around the swirls of the patterned metal back.
‘Sit still, I’ll get you free,’ he said, trying to get his hands through the narrow gap between her body and the back of the chair. He worked on the caught threads for a few moments, feeling the heat of Jess’s humiliation burning into him as she sat as still as she could.
His large, clumsy fingers couldn’t get the loops out from where they were caught in the iron maze, which seemed to have inexplicably closed around them.
‘Jess, I’m sorry, it’s no good, you’re going to have to take your top off so I can get it free. I can’t work in such a small space.’
He went to lift the hem of her jumper but she put her hand firmly on top of his, stopping him. She shook her head, anxiety flashing in her eyes.
What the hell?
‘I don’t have anything underneath and I don’t want you to see my body.’ She was trembling.
He frowned. ‘Why not? What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing, nothing… it’s just… I can’t take my top off in the middle of the restaurant.’ Her voice came out all squeaky and panicked.
‘Well, you’re going to have to wear the chair home then,’ he said, exasperation at not being able to help her coming through in his tone. ‘Whatever possessed you to wear a wool top in this heat anyway?’
He stepped away as she started jerking madly away from the chair as if it would miraculously let her go if she showed enough determination.
‘Jess you’re going to ruin…’ But it was too late. There was a tearing noise as the delicate material came apart under the force of her tugging. Unfortunately, some of the strands were still wound tightly around the chair back so the top still wouldn’t come free.
Jess stilled, as if she’d been turned to stone, then pressed herself back against the chair to hide the ruined back of her top, staring up at him with such a look of abject misery it made his stomach turn over.
‘Okay, this is ridiculous,’ he pulled open the buttons on his shirt and took it off, ignoring the titters and murmurs of the diners around them who were clearly enjoying the show. ‘I’ll hold this around you while you take your top off then you can wear it while we free your jumper.’
‘Okay,’ Jess said, nodding her head unhappily in agreement, managing to look as if he’d just suggested she leap across a pit of poisonous snakes.
He looked away as he held his shirt around her so she could struggle out of her jumper without flashing the entire restaurant, then slide her arms into the sleeves. He let go as she pulled it closed around her and attempted to do up the buttons with trembling fingers.
After a couple of frustrating moments of watching her totally fail to do up one single button, he gently pushed her hands away, knelt down next to the chair and did them up for her.
He could feel her eyes on his face as he worked his way down the shirt, his fingers skirting tantalisingly close to the swell of her breasts.
‘Some people might suspect this was a cunning ploy to get me to take my shirt off in public,’ he murmured, flipping her a grin, which she returned, albeit humbly. ‘There you go.’ He stood back so she could get up from the chair.
‘Thank you.’ She looked really grateful for his help, and something fluttered in his chest.
He quickly released the jumper from the chair back. ‘My pleasure. Shall we get out of here, before this crowd asks for an encore?’
‘Yes. Good idea,’ Jess said, reaching into her handbag and grabbing a handful of euros, which she dropped onto the table. He dropped his own share for the meal next to it and handed some of her money back to her. ‘You don’t need to pay for me.’
She didn’t answer, just nodded and gave him a grateful smile. He had no idea what she was thinking; from the look in her eyes, she seemed to have retreated far away into her own head.
He strode out of the restaurant, aware of the amused glances of the other diners as he passed by them, half naked and standing out like a sore thumb, with Jess hot on his heels. He gave them all a salute as he reached the door and ushered Jess outside. She ran over to the car and he bipped the doors so she could get straight in. He swung himself into the driving seat and burst out laughing, turning to look at her and share the joke, but she was staring straight ahead, her back ramrod straight and her hands clutched tightly in her lap.
‘Jess?’
