[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 248 & 249. (Patreon)

Chapter 248: Intermission - Going for it (Part 2).

Seriously, even though Thomas was serious about asking Maria out on a date, he had no idea how to do it. Truth was, most of the time it was him who was getting asked out, so he didn’t have that much experience. And even then, the experience he did have was practically useless here because asking out an older woman was another thing entirely.

Another group of girls came into the shop, not in uniform and looking a bit older than senior high school girls. Oliver was quick to attend to them with that charming, professional smile of his that made all girls swoon. Thomas snickered.

“Is Oliver even bringing college girls here?” he asked Maria.

Maria smirked. “I feel bad using him like this, but hiring him was the smartest choice I’ve ever made. I’m waiting to see if this amount of customers remains consistent, and if it does, I’ll give the boy a raise. He’s not just a pretty magnet for customers, but he does good work.”

“Don’t feel guilty. He’s always saying he’s happy he dared to take this job. He says it’s helped him get over his fear of people. Or at least get better at hiding it.”

“Yeah, he does thank me every once in a while. I don’t have the heart to tell him I hired him for his looks.” Maria frowned, as if realizing what she’d just admitted. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

Thomas shrugged. “I don’t think he’d be too insulted.”

Oliver had to go close to them to grab some pastries, set them on a tray and take them to a table full of whispering, giggling girls. He did so quickly, and Thomas would bet it was to give him more time alone with Maria.

“Doesn’t that get annoying, though?” he asked jokingly, subtly gesturing with his head to where Oliver was getting hit on by the college girls.

Maria laughed. “Not particularly. Actually… it bothers me a little more when those girls come over.” Like Thomas, she subtly gestured with a nod towards the table where Grace, Alice and Noelle were.

“Them? Why?” Thomas asked, his chest tightening.

Maria smiled wryly, narrowing her eyes. “Makes me a little jealous. The way they look at him makes me wish I had someone like that for myself.”

Thomas snorted. “Really? So I’m not the only one.”

Maria smirked teasingly. “Jealous of your friend?”

“Yes, and I admitted as much. He… sort of had a fight over it a couple of days ago. I was jealous of what he has and… said some things I didn’t mean.”

Maria’s expression softened. “You guys made up?”

Thomas nodded with a smile. “I apologized, he forgave me. It was the way I said it that was out of line.”

Maria giggled. “It’s rare to see guy friends as close as you two.”

“Is it?”

“Yes. Maybe it’s different now, but all the guys I knew acted like they were too tough to be vulnerable, even with their friends. Oliver talks about you a lot, and you come to see him often. I like that. I’m happy for you guys.”

Thomas swallowed a groan. He rubbed the back of his neck with a wry grin. “I mean… Oliver is my best friend, that’s true. I can talk to him about things I can’t talk to anyone else. That said, that’s… not the main reason I come here.”

“Oh?” Maria’s grin was replaced with a look of surprise.

It wouldn’t shock Thomas if she had put two and two just from that, but he wasn’t gonna stop there. His heart raced, pounding hard against his chest. His ears burned, too, and with mouth was getting dry.

“Yeah. I might have developed a crush on the shop owner. I’m basically just like those girls.” He tried to be casual, taking a sip of his orange juice to moisten his mouth and his lips.

Maria pursed her lips and stared at Thomas. He was glad she was keeping her eyes on him, at least, instead of looking away. It was stuff like that that made him appreciate the maturity of older women.

She sighed with a frown. “Didn’t think I’d be attracting customers, too.”

“You should’ve seen it coming.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I keep trying to think of a surefire way to ask you out on a date, but nothing comes to mind.”

That in itself was the best way he could think of at the moment. Maybe the fear of being rejected had something to do with it, but being casual felt more appropriate than trying to be a romantic with a woman who had already seen all that before.

Maria smiled with a regretful frown. “I’m 27, Thomas.”

He nodded. “I figured it was around that age.”

“And you still want to ask me out?”

“Would it be off-putting if I said it was at least part of the reason?”

Maria couldn’t help but chuckle. She shook her head with a smile. “You’re serious.”

“I am.”

When Maria turned to look at Oliver as he walked from one table to another, Thomas’ heart almost stopped. However, he then saw Maria smirk.

“Oh, what the hell. Your friends can handle something even more complicated. This is tame by comparison.”

Thomas swallowed. His hands shook and he had to force himself not to smile yet. “You mean…”

“On one condition. Don’t tell anyone about this. Oh, who am I kidding? You’ll tell Oliver. Then… Don’t brag to people that you got a date with me. You might be 18, but that’s not gonna stop people from spreading the word that I went on a date with a high school boy.”

Thomas nodded. “I wasn’t planning to.”

“Are you free this Saturday night?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll call you later, then. Leave the planning to me.”

“A-Are you sure?”

Maria smiled. “Do YOU want to stress over what to do for our first date?”

“...I’ll leave it to you, then.”

Maria’s smile widened. “We’ll have a good time, I promise. Now, I better start helping out your best friend before all these girls eat him alive.”

Thomas remained there, sitting at the counter, watching as Maria got to work like nothing major had happened. Meanwhile, Thomas was stunned.

She said yes. There had been something in the back of his mind telling him he had a good shot, but he still believed he was aiming out of his league. Yet… she said yes.

Holy crap.

************

Chapter 249: Intermission - Thomas and Maria’s date.

Thomas was given an address and he went there at the appointed time, 9:00 pm. He had half-expected it, but he didn’t fully believe Maria would invite him to her own house for their first date. She had.

It was a relatively small house, at least compared to the others in the neighborhood. A single story, white clapboard house in a residential area where most other houses looked more like small mansions. It stood out due to its size and its more austere aesthetics, with a simple front garden with a stone path curving through the green grass. Thomas followed that path, not setting a single foot on the lawn. His heart would not stop pounding hard against his chest.

“Come on, you’re the ladies man! Give me some advice!” Thomas had pleaded to Oliver the day before while hanging out at the latter’s house.

“Do I need to remind you I am where I am because those girls are all insane?” Oliver asked him. Thomas snorted. “I’m just as insane, for that matter. Why would you want my advice?”

“Because I’m desperate, because I have no one else to ask, and because you set me up for this. Take responsibility, dammit!”

Oliver groaned into his hands. “Fine. A few things come to mind, at least.”

“Hit me!”

“First of all, be punctual. If my sources are to be believed, arriving late will only make the rest of the date harder. That said, I’ve never been late to a date, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Show off.”

“Second of all, ask her questions. She might act like she doesn’t want to at first, but Maria actually loves talking about herself.”

Made sense that he knew. He’d been working about two months with her already.

“And finally… She said yes to you, right?” Oliver asked.

“Y-Yeah.”

“That means she’s interested. She also said yes despite the age gap, which means she’s not just doing it to see where it goes. She’s into you, so be confident.”

Thomas smirked. “You’ve become a love guru, huh?”

Oliver shrugged. “There’s a 50-50 chance you’ll come to hate my advice, so do what you will with it. It’s just my gut feeling.”

There were worse things to trust than the gut feeling of the guy with five girlfriends. Be confident, Thomas. Maria is interested in you to the point of inviting you to her house.

He took a deep breath before he rang the bell, and as he waited, he checked himself one more time. Dark corduroy pants, matching shoes, a white t-shirt and a loose denim jacket. When he looked himself in the mirror before heading out, he fully believed he look good, attractive, even hot. Now, at Maria’s door, he was second guessing himself. Should he have gone for something more formal? Was this TOO casual?

The door suddenly opening almost sent his heart to his throat. Seeing Maria made it skip a beat.

Straight, shoulder-length pink hair, with her bangs to the side; a white, puffy, short-sleeved blouse; a long blue skirt. She looked gorgeous, in a different way than she did at work.

Maria grinned. “Perfectly punctual, huh? Very nice.”

Thomas managed to smile despite his own nerves. “Not too early, then?”

“I’m just finishing up here. Come in.”

She led him directly to her living room, which, as expected, was fairly small yet gave off a cozy atmosphere. Dark brown laminate flooring under a large, black carpet where the coffee table and loveseat were set. Across from the sofa was a large TV hanging on the wall with a huge sound system at the sides.

“Take a seat. I’ll be right back.”

Thomas saw Maria going into the kitchen. He stiffly sat down on the loveseat. Everything was so neat, so clean, so organized. The antique cupboards in the corners, the flowerpots on top of decorative tables… There was even an antique phone on one of those tables, one of those where you had to turn a dial.

Soon. Maria came back with a tray of mini sandwiches, appetizer meatballs, a cheese board with different types of not only cheese, but hams, too, like cubes of caramelized ham and slices of cured ham.

She set them on the coffee table before she went over to a cupboard. “Do you drink wine, Thomas?” she asked.

“Yes, a bit. My dad practically only drinks wine, and I share a glass with him during meals from time to time.”

“Really? That’s sweet.” She brought out a bottle from the cupboard. “Would you like to share a couple of glasses with me?”

“Only a couple?” he asked jokingly.

Maria laughed. “Yes, only a couple. I’m not trying to get you drunk. Or, well, get drunk myself.”

She opened the bottle and poured two glasses before she sat down next to Thomas. She smiled at him and raised her glass.

“Cheers.”

Thomas clicked his glass with hers. “Cheers.”

They both took a small sip. Thomas blinked at the taste, surprised. “Oh wow.”

“It’s good, isn’t it? I have a friend who knows a lot about liquors and she gave me this bottle as a gift. Told me to open it when I finally got a date, so who am I to argue?”

Thomas chuckled. “Sorry. I still can’t believe you said yes.”

“Let’s say I’m open-minded.” She took the TV remote and showed it to Thomas. “Music?”

“Sure.”

Maria put some soft, ambient music perfect to leave room for conversation.

“By the way, I like this house. You’ve been living here a long time?”

“Only a couple of years, actually. It was my grandfather’s, but he left it to me when he passed.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Maria chuckled. “Don’t be. He went out like he wanted, drifting off quietly into his sleep. The house itself is really old, so I had to do some renovations.”

“But you kept some of the furniture.”

“It’s just too nice to get rid of, don’t you think?” Maria beamed. “It IS a little weird to have things like this TV and sound system next to antiques, but I like it.”

She grabbed a mini sandwich, prompting Thomas to do the same.

“So you live here alone?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

Maria laughed. “And that’s another reason I caved and accepted your invitation. It HAS been too long since I had a date. Been too busy getting the shop set up.”

They settled into a comfortable atmosphere, talking about nothing of particular importance, yet getting to know each other better. Thomas asked about her time in university, her relationship with her mother, Maria senior, and other things she liked to do. Like Oliver had told him, that got her going.

Maria told him of her friends, of how her mother’s baking business started from practically nothing, and of how she loved going on bike rides out of town. It was all very pleasant and calm. Thomas’ initial nerves and excitement were replaced by the heartwarming pleasure of listening to Maria tell him about herself.

Two glasses of wine later, however, the excitement would begin to resurface.