"More coffee, sir?"
He looked up at the girl standing next to him, jug in hand, lips slightly parted. He nodded slowly. "Please."
He watched as she leant forwards, the neckline of her shirt-dress falling forwards to reveal a glimpse of white cotton bra. His eyes raked up towards her face, the full lips, the freckles across her nose, the brown curls that fell around her face. God, she was cute. He had already noted the name scrawled across the badge on her chest. Jessica: happy to help.
"Jessica, isn't it?" She looked up at him, surprised. "I know you probably get this all the time, but I was wondering if I could take you out sometime?" She blushed furiously.
"I... we... we're not really supposed to. Sorry." She straightened up, smoothing down her skirt with her free hand. He smiled.
"No, that's cool. Understandable." She almost returned his smile, he noticed -- her lips quirked a little at any rate. He watched her walk back to the counter in the middle of the café and took a sip of his coffee. The swish of her skirt and those legs... He imagined sliding a hand up her skirt, over her sweet little arse. Jesus. The things he could do to her.
He drank his coffee slowly, and signalled to another waitress to bring him the bill. He watched Jessica ring it through the till, watched her bend and scrawl something across the receipt. She walked across to his table and presented the bill with a barely perceptible nod. He unfolded the paper, noted the figure, and then something else at the bottom -- in what had to be Jessica's handwriting, the words "I finish at 6. Pick me up?"
His hands shook slightly as he counted out coins to cover his lunch. He dropped them neatly into the little silver tray, and carefully folded the bill into his pocket. As he left he nodded over to the waitresses behind the counter. "Thanks, ladies. See you later."
**
Six o'clock and he was sitting in his car in the café car park, waiting for Jessica to emerge. He felt oddly nervous. He hadn't had a date -- hell, even a real conversation with an attractive girl -- in way too long. He doubted he'd ever had one with someone as attractive as Jessica.
The café door swung open and she appeared, a hooded jacket pulled over her uniform, looking around her anxiously. He stepped out of the car to signal to her. She ran across and came to a stop just in front of him, slightly out of breath.
"Hi." He looked down at her. If he'd been nervous, he had nothing on Jessica -- she was almost shaking. And had he realised before how little she was? He wasn't exactly a big guy, but she was tiny. He towered over her.
"Jessica. Hi." She smiled.
"I don't even know your name."
"Does it matter?" She laughed.
"Well, no. I suppose not."
"Have a seat?" He gestured to the passenger side of the car. She nodded and went to get in as he slid back into the driver's seat. "How was the rest of your shift?"
"Okay. I suppose. I'd rather not talk about work."
"What would you rather talk about?" She glanced shyly at him.
"I don't know. You. How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven. How old are you?"
"Eighteen. Last week."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Good." She laughed at that, and he didn't know why he did it, but he leaned across her and in one swift movement pressed his mouth onto hers. She didn't respond at first, but after a couple of seconds her mouth moved in motion with his, and her lips parted to allow his tongue to dip inside. He moved his hand onto her soft thigh, gently squeezing the flesh beneath his fingers. When he pulled away she was blushing again, her eyes locked onto his. "Would you like to come to my house, Jessica?" She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.
"Yes."
The drive home had never felt so long. He drove quicker than he usually would, parking up with less care than usual, leading Jessica up the path to his front door and into the house. He watched her toe off her shoes, and took her jacket from her to hang up.
"The living room's just through there. You go and make yourself comfortable and I'll get us a drink."
He paused in the kitchen, wondering what to give her to drink. He should have asked. A quick glance in the fridge showed an unopened bottle of wine. He uncorked the bottle and poured out two large glasses. When he carried them into the living room she was perched on the sofa, hands clasped in her lap.
"Is wine ok?" She nodded, taking a glass from him.
"Fine. Thank you." She took a big gulp from the glass as he settled next to her on the sofa, and they sat in silence for a few moments. "It's very nice. Thanks."
"That's ok. Come here." He took the glass from her and placed both glasses unceremoniously on the floor. Jessica inched closer to him. He placed his hand on the side of her face to pull her towards him for a kiss. Her shy little tongue danced with his, his hand moving to tangle in her hair. His other hand moved again to her thigh, sliding past the hem of her skirt. She pulled away, looking anxious. "What's wrong?"
"I... I've never done this before."
"Never done what? Do you mean you're a virgin?" She nodded. "And how far have you gone? Have you kissed boys before?" Again, a nod.
"Yes. I've kissed. But never... never anything else."