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At Five to Seven, Phryne was trying to peek subtly through the net curtains. She was surprising herself with how excited she was about the prospect of the date, and very intrigued as to where exactly Jack would be taking her. He had said ‘understated’ and said there would be food, but definitely not The Windsor. She wondered if he had some little restaurant booked, somewhere off the beaten track that just he knew about.
She saw him arrive outside and waited for him to get out of the car. She continued to wait for the next four minutes, and when Jack finally made a move to get out of his car she threw herself across the parlour and demurely sat on the chaise, affecting an air of calm nonchalance.
At Seven O’clock exactly, Jack rang the doorbell. He took several deep breaths as he waited. He considered straightening his tie but decided against it.
When Phryne herself opened the door, Jack decided that her definition of ‘understated’ was significantly removed from his own. He was suddenly thankful that he had worn a slightly smarter suit. He had also traded in his usual slightly battered overcoat for the thicker black coat that Phryne had seemed to admire last week when he had come for supper.
Phryne was wearing a white pleated skirt and a light blue bandeau style top. Jack recognised this as the outfit she had worn to ride the Scenic Railway, and he smiled slightly at the remembrance of that day.
Jack stepped into the house and offered Phryne the bunch of flowers he had been holding gently, “forgive the predictability?” he asked, slightly nervously, bending forward to press a light kiss to her cheek.
Phryne looked at the offered blooms. They had obviously been purchased from a proper florist, rather than gathered from a garden, and had been quite lavishly wrapped. The flowers themselves were twelve of the deepest red coloured roses Phryne had ever seen. She inhaled the scent; it was surprisingly delicate. Phryne felt herself blushing slightly; “these are lovely Jack, thank you” she said as she raised herself up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek in return, “predictability like this is more than forgivable”. The glint in her eyes confirmed to Jack that she was teasing him slightly.
Phryne looked around for somewhere to put the flowers. Mr Butler appeared from the dining room, his timing as perfect as ever, “should I place those in a vase for you Miss?” he asked, with a small smile.
“Oh, yes, thank you Mr B, that would be most helpful” replied Phryne, handing the bunch to Mr Butler, who immediately vanished back into the kitchen.
Jack helped Phryne into her coat, a long white garment, trimmed with a white fur collar. She carefully donned a white cloche hat, and collected a small white handbag and a pair of gloves.
“Well then Jack, surprise me” she whispered in his ear. Jack offered his arm, which Phryne linked onto, and they swept out through the front door.
Jack discreetly checked his watch. They had twenty five minutes. Jack steered Phryne in the direction of the foreshore. Phryne was confused; where on earth was he taking her?
“Are we walking?” she asked, as they passed Jack’s car and kept on going.
“Yes, it’s not far” Jack replied, keeping a hold on Phryne’s arm, and noting that she was holding him tightly. As they rounded the corner near Luna Park, Jack stopped. He turned to Phryne and held her hand gently in his, “Phryne, I hope you’re going to enjoy this evening. I thought about this, for several days, and I realised, I could take you to dinner somewhere elegant and refined, but you’ll have been there before. I want us to have some fun, so I hope you are all right with this?” he gestured a hand vaguely towards the direction of the foreshore.
Phryne smiled. Jack was obviously nervous. She lightly gave him a peck on the lips before asking, “Well, where exactly are we going Jack? The not knowing is driving me to distraction.”
Jack considered how to phrase his answer. He pulled Phryne closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. “Well” he said, leaning forward and kissing her lightly on the lips, “Somewhere dark but light,” he leaned forwards and kissed the side of her mouth, “private but public,” he leaned forward and kissed her nose, ”loud but quiet”. He kissed her fully on the mouth, having to hold himself back from deepening the kiss. “Although, actually, given the way things are changing, mostly just loud” said Jack, cryptically. Seeing the curious look on Phryne’s face, he pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “the Pictures, Phryne. We’re going to the Pictures” he lent back and held his breath, waiting to see her reaction.
“I thought you didn’t go to the pictures unless you could help it?” Phryne asked, a quirk to her lips.
“Historically, that is correct” Jack said. He was aware he was probably going to take some flak from Phryne for this supposed u-turn, “but I find I am prepared to try expanding my horizons, and reconsidering my views, in, certain matters” Jack hesitantly added.
“Jack. That is very, magnanimous of you” Phryne was impressed, and feeling slightly giddy. She giggled, and then quickly clamped her hand to her mouth. She was somewhat distracted by the warmth of Jack’s lips, which she could still feel.
“Did you just giggle?” asked Jack, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ve never done this,” she said, noticing Jack’s raised eyebrow of disbelief, “I mean, obviously, I have been to a cinema before, but not, well, like this” she gestured between them, “but are you sure, Jack?”
“Phryne, I want to sit in the dark with you, and wrap my arm around you, and watch the light reflected from the screen in your eyes” rumbled Jack, whispering low into Phryne’s ear.
“Hmm, Jack” was all Phryne could manage, and she lightly brushed a kiss to his lips.
Jack smiled, and internally congratulated himself. He could have whisked Phryne off to dinner somewhere, but that would have been predictable, and conventional, and a little dull. Not to mention perilously expensive. They had already done a lot of talking, which is what dinner would have involved, and now he wanted a little action. Jack was aware that he often came across as serious and dour, and he was hoping to broaden Phryne’s understanding of him. It was true that he was generally averse to pictures, but his experience, albeit limited, in Phryne’s film, had piqued his interest, and he had started keeping tabs on the latest releases and sneaking off to late showings after his shift would finish. Sound, it seemed, had made all the difference.
Phryne realised that Jack really had thought this through. She felt herself relaxing as any concerns she may have had about the evening faded away. She hadn’t wanted Jack to spend a fortune, but had been slightly concerned that he would go over the top in an attempt to impress her. Phryne was coming to realise that Jack quite possibly had much more of an insight into her than she herself realised. As he said, he could have taken her for dinner, but didn’t everyone do that? This was something no-one had asked her to do before. The Pictures was not what she had expected, especially from Jack, and she was touched that he was prepared to indulge her interests.
Phryne suddenly felt young, and giggly, and she just wanted to kiss Jack, who was looking exceptionally dashing. She pulled him to her and kissed him on the lips, finding that her fingers almost automatically wound their way into his neck. Jack responded, and it was only the honking of a horn from a passing car that brought them back to reality and saw them parting.
Jack took Phryne’s arm gently as they made their way to the back of the small queue outside the Palais. He was very pleased that she had chosen not to rib him too greatly about his change of heart. He was learning that Phryne had a much softer side than she generally allowed people to see. He felt as if she was letting him into her inner life, revealing more of herself to him. The thought warmed him.
In a matter of a few minutes they were at the front of the queue and Jack was paying for two tickets in the Dress Circle. He held the door open for Phryne and removed his hat and overcoat as they moved into the foyer. Excitedly Phryne bounded up the stairs, Jack running to catch her up. As they got half way up the stairs, to a small landing, Jack caught up and grabbed Phryne, pulling her to him.
“Two steps behind, Jack?” teased Phryne, smiling at him.
“Always slow and close” replied Jack, tipping his head down and kissing her, lightly on the lips. Phryne kissed him back, humming to herself quietly as they broke the kiss. Phryne felt a trail of warmth suffuse down her spine. “Come on, we don’t want to miss the start” he whispered.
Phryne removed her gloves and overcoat before she took her seat. Jack sat next to her, carefully folding his overcoat over his lap, and placing his hat on top of the garment. Jack turned his body slightly towards Phryne, who was peering around at the auditorium. They were on the top tier of seats, and the view was quite steep down to the screen.
“What’s the film?” asked Phryne, realising that in her excitement she had quite neglected to take any notice of any of the posters.
“It’s ‘The Broadway Melody’, I’m afraid it’s not very new” answered Jack, “you haven’t seen it already have you?” he was suddenly concerned.
“No. I don’t get to come to the cinema very often, actually, despite how much I love it” Phryne wrinkled her face as she considered that fact, “and I make pictures! I should come more often” she said, determinedly.
“Phryne, you have made one picture!” Jack teased.
“Yes, but it was a box office smash!” Phryne was grinning with pleasure.
“Well, maybe this one has some ideas you can borrow for your next big success” said Jack, reaching out and squeezing her hand.
“These seats are terribly small” voiced Phryne, “I can’t cuddle up to you at all”
“Ah” said Jack his mind awhirl with the possibility of cuddling. He folded down the arm rest between them, creating more space, “How’s this?” he asked.
Phryne looked to her other side, and tested the arm rest. It didn’t move. She reached past Jack and tested the arm rest behind him, which also failed to move. She looked around and noticed that other couples had done the same with the arm rests between them. The seats were cleverly designed in pairs. She raised an eyebrow quizzically, “these are couple’s seats?” it was half a question, half a statement.
“Yes” replied Jack.
“Did you ask for a couple’s seat?” Phryne was wondering how bold Jack was planning on being tonight.
“Yes” Jack answered with no hesitation.
“Interesting” said Phryne, half under her breath. She wondered how Jack knew about such things. The lights went down as Jack stretched his arm around Phryne. When she snuggled into his shoulder he visibly relaxed, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent.
As the film rolled, up in the projection box, the light flooded through the lens and towards the screen. Jack took a moment to look at Phryne, who was entirely caught up in the story of the film. She smiled as the film was revealed to be a musical, and Jack found himself stroking her arm lightly as she hummed gently into his shoulder. The third musical number in the film was a gently, lilting love song; the chorus opening with the words ‘You were meant for me’. Jack stilled his fingers and Phryne sat up slightly from her position leaning against Jack’s shoulder.
“Jack?” she questioned quietly.
“Yes?” replied Jack.
“I like this picture. Thank you for thinking of this” she murmured, aware of the need to be quiet in the darkened space.
The beam of light from the projector became brighter, allowing Jack and Phryne to see each other briefly. Phryne closed her eyes and closed the gap between her and Jack. The kiss was so gentle, so tender, yet it quite took Jack’s breath away. Phryne broke the kiss, but maintained the connection of their touching lips. Jack closed his eyes as the song continued. Neither of them moved, they remained quite still where they were, heads gently resting against one another. They could feel each other’s breath as the melody continued. Phryne could feel her heart pounding in her chest; how was Jack able to affect her so deeply? As the song drew to a close they both slowly opened their eyes. Jack pressed his lips to Phryne’s, who responded, and they kissed gently as the scene shifted and the story moved on. Phryne shifted back to lay her head against Jack’s shoulder, and wrapped her left hand over Jack’s lap, to gently rest on his waist, her right hand resting on his thigh. Jack brushed Phryne’s arm with the pad of his thumb. It occurred to Phryne how natural this all felt, how comfortable, sitting here wrapped around Jack.
The rest of the film passed in something of a blur, as Phryne’s mind wandered. She watched a scene which was in Technicolor, as the title cards had promised. Shortly after that she kissed Jack again, and if either of them had been asked later, neither would have been able to say how the story ended.
As the lights came up, they parted, blinking slightly to let their eyes become accustomed to the change in light. Phryne smiled at Jack, and sat up, adjusting her hat carefully. They stood up to leave, both donning their overcoats. As they shuffled from their seats and reached the end of the row, Jack took Phryne’s hand in his, squeezing it lightly. They stopped in the upstairs foyer to kiss once more, again on the landing half way down the stairs, and a third time in the main foyer of the building. They emerged from the Palais into darkness, the stars shining brightly in the sky.
Phryne looked around, and a huge smile broke across her face. She turned to Jack with a beaming smile, “Jack! Look! Luna Park is still open!”
“It’s a bit dark for The Scenic Railway isn’t it?” he asked, with a grin.
“Ah, but they have other delights Jack! Come on” she accelerated, dragging Jack with her towards the amusement park. It was brightly lit, with flashing neon adorning the entrance. Jack quickened his pace to match Phryne’s.
“What would you like to do first?” he asked, as they joined the throng of people inside the Park. Phryne looked around, and spotted a ride.
“Dodgems, Jack!” she exclaimed. They made their way to the ride, as Jack swiftly checked for the loose change in his pocket. He had anticipated that Phryne might want to come into Luna Park; he had not come unprepared, and had ensured he had sufficient small change for the amusements.
The Dodgems were very busy, and Jack and Phryne had to wait two turns before they dashed onto the metal arena to claim their vehicle. “I’ll take the pedal” said Jack, eagerly. This earned a pout from Phryne,
“But you drive so slowly Jack”
“On the public highway, yes. I might surprise you yet,” he answered with a gleam in his eye. They squeezed into the car.
“Well, this is certainly close” said Phryne, practically exhaling onto Jack’s ear.
“Shall we both steer?” asked Jack, feigning nonchalance.
The bell rang for the start of their turn, and they both gripped the wheel.
“Ready?” asked Jack.
“Absolutely” said Phryne, shouting to be heard above the noise all around them.
Jack plunged his foot to the floor, and they took off like a rocket, straight into the side of another car. “Sorry!” yelled Jack, as he and Phryne steered out of the way. He floored the vehicle again, and they managed to steer a weaving path through the other cars on the floor. As Jack carried off a particularly sharp cornering manoeuvre, another vehicle collided into them from behind. Phryne laughed, her head falling back. “Oh Jack, this is fun” she bellowed.
Jack smiled, as he pushed the pedal as far as it would go. They whizzed around, bumping into other vehicles, and being bumped into, until the power faded and they slid gently to the wall of the battlefield. Jack stood up and moved around to the platform, offering his hand to Phryne. She stood up, but stumbled slightly as she did. Jack grabbed her and pulled her to him, making sure she was safely out of the way of the next round of eager dodgem drivers.
“All right?” he asked, his arms wrapped around her.
“Yes” she breathed, “that was exhilarating. I would never have believed you would have gone so fast”. She was slightly breathless with excitement.
Jack moved a hand, to lightly brush his fingers down Phryne’s cheek. “You have a glow” he said, simply.
“Do I?” Phryne asked, as she fixed eye contact with Jack.
“You do” he said, gently pulling her closer. The intent in his eyes was unmistakable, and Phryne suddenly worried for Jack’s wish for discretion.
“Here Jack?” she asked, quietly, afraid of scaring him off.
“I believe I said that I will not hide this” he answered, his eyes flicking between her eyes and her lips.
Phryne said nothing, and allowed Jack to close the distance between them. He kissed her, she kissed back, and they deepened the kiss, wrapping themselves tighter around each other, as the neon of the dodgem shed flashed all around them, and the noise of the cars started again.
It was the need to take a deep breath that saw them parting. Jack took Phryne’s hand as they parted from their embrace, and they left the covered area. Phryne felt slightly giddy, whether from the thrill of the dodgems or the intense feelings which Jack was stirring within her, she could not be sure. What she most realised was how comfortable she felt with Jack. When Jack had come for supper at her house, she had been concerned for his comfort, and she considered that Jack may be doing the same now; ensuring she felt comfortable in a world which was much more his than hers. She found herself bubbling with a warmth of intimacy; not merely arousal, and was realising that the thought did not scare her as much as she had always believed it would.
“What next?” asked Jack. Phryne looked around and spotted the Games Huts in the corner. Phryne tugged his hand as they ran over to them. They walked up and down in front of the stalls as Phryne perused the options.
“Coconut Shy” she stated, with calculation.
They made their way to the hawker, “Good Evening Sir, fancy your chances of winning a prize for the little lady?” the man asked. Jack smirked. The poor man was not prepared for the fire that was Phryne Fisher.
“I was thinking that ‘the little lady’ might want to have a try for herself” said Jack, turning to Phryne with a smile.
“Fair enough Gov’nor. Let her have a go before you show her ‘ow it’s done. Lovely!” the hawker attempted to butter Jack up. Jack handed over some pennies, and turned to Phryne.
“Shall I hold your handbag?” he asked; an expression of innocence plastered across his face.
“Well, a girl needs a fighting chance” said Phryne, acting up to her role. She passed Jack her handbag, removed her overcoat and handed that to him, and finally, removed her gloves. She picked up the first ball from the rough wooden surface in front of them.
“A hit wins a small prize; knock one clean off, it’s a big ‘un” the hawker brayed.
Phryne tossed the ball lightly in her hand, judging its weight. She carefully assessed the coconuts. Standing sideways on to the line of targets, she adopted a wide stance. She stretched her hand back and swung it forward. She released the ball at just the right point of its swing, and it flew at devastating speed towards its target. There was an almighty ‘thwack’ as the ball shattered the coconut, scattering shell in all directions. Phryne tried to maintain an air of innocence, as the hawker’s jaw dropped to the ground.
“How, what, how…” the hawker stammered.
“Gosh, that must be what they call beginner’s luck!” exclaimed Phryne, looking towards Jack. In a display of excitement she flung her arms around Jack and kissed him playfully on the cheek. Jack could say nothing; he feared to attempt to do so would lead to him laughing uncontrollably. He pulled himself together enough to turn to the hawker and say,
“I believe that would be the big prize?”
The hawker nodded, mutely, and moved to extract Phryne’s prize from his display. As he moved away Jack handed her belongings back to her and she re-donned the various items. Jack kissed her lightly on the cheek, “congratulations” he whispered, “but why do I get the feeling that we’ve just hustled a hustler?” Phryne merely smiled beatifically towards Jack.
The hawker returned, proffering in Phryne’s direction a very large, plumply stuffed Teddy Bear. “Thank you” said Phryne, in a tone that Jack recognised as entirely false demureness.
“Yes, thank you. Well, I think I can’t out do ‘the little lady’ after that display, good night” said Jack, quickly steering Phryne back into the open air. “Should I ask?” he whispered into her ear.
“Murderer’s Row” replied Phryne, noting Jack’s response of raised eyebrows and faint alarm. “The New York Yankees Baseball Team?” she added, “I spent some time with them on a trip to New York. Terribly educational. Taught me all about ‘how to really pitch a ball’…” Phryne drawled in a fair approximation of an American accent, by way of something of an explanation.
“Useful to know” Jack responded. He shook his head lightly; was there anywhere Phryne hadn’t been, anything she couldn’t turn her hand to? As they meandered through the open ground, he spotted a ride on the far side of the forecourt, “my turn to pick” he said, steering Phryne towards the Carousel.
The Carousel was considerably quieter than the dodgems. Its sedate horses and chariots were slowly rotating. The horses were brightly painted in luxurious colours, the chariots on opposite sides of the raised platform light and dark to fit their respective themes.
Phryne thought the ride to be a tad sedate, but they had experienced the thrill of the dodgems, so she acknowledged to herself that something more gentle would not go amiss.
“War or Peace?” Jack asked, indicating the two halves of the ride.
“Peace, definitely” replied Phryne. The ride had stopped now, the previous riders had left the platform, and they could take their places. Phryne dashed round to find a suitable horse. She found a galloper in the second row, and waited for Jack to catch up to her. She juggled the bear and her handbag, “could you hold these?” she thrust the items at him before she demurely mounted the horse, sitting side saddle and as far forwards as possible towards the upright support. “Thank you” she held her hands out and Jack handed back the items. She indicated the remainder of the ‘saddle’ behind her, “up you get” she said, a smile in her eyes.
“Behind you?” asked Jack, uncertain. He was sure the horses weren’t made for two, “but there’s no support for me to hold”
“Well, you’ll just have to hold on tight to me then, won’t you Jack” smouldered Phryne. Jack decided that the opportunity was too good to refuse.
“If you insist, Phryne” he said, stepping onto the side bar and throwing his leg over the horse. He shunted himself as far forward as possible, discovering that the flat back of the horse perhaps afforded more room than he had anticipated. He wrapped his arm carefully around Phryne, and paid the Carousel assistant when they came round. His other hand no longer needed, he wrapped that around Phryne also, trapping her prize bear between them.
They had but a minute to wait until the ride began. As the carousel reached its highest, yet still somewhat sedate speed, Jack noted that other couples had also decided to fit two to a horse, but that all of them, all much younger than he and Phryne, had opted for both facing forwards, one behind the other. He wondered why Phryne had chosen to sit the way she had. He supposed that Honourable Ladies always rode Side Saddle. A part of Jack’s mind briefly queried how on earth it was possible that he was out on a Friday night, on a date, with a woman who was, after all, a member of the aristocracy. And she appeared to be enjoying herself; with him! Jack mused that life had taken him to some unexpected places, this being one of the most unexpected of all, and he was not going to waste the opportunities that fate appeared determined to place in front of him. Jack already knew he loved Phryne, he was coming to realise now that he never wanted that to end.
The ride had circled a few times now, and Jack was struck by the warmth in Phryne’s eyes. They had agreed to always be honest with each other, to communicate openly. Jack leaned forward and whispered into Phryne’s ear, “I just want to kiss you, all the time”
Phryne looked at Jack, and could see nothing but tenderness in his eyes. Phryne liked kissing Jack, an awful lot, even if she knew it was not, in any given circumstance, going to lead to anything more. She found that she was in fact, learning to enjoy kissing Jack just for the experience of kissing Jack, “I dare say, I could get very used to that” she said.
As the galloper rose and fell, with Phryne and Jack sat upon it, Phryne freed the arm which was not wrapped around the support, and stroked her fingers down Jack’s cheek. Jack knew now why she had sat the way she had, and needed no further encouragement to lean forwards and kiss her. Their lips met, slowly at first, then more eagerly, and they lost themselves in each other as their horse continued in its fixed path, the rise and fall becoming more pronounced as the ride reached its crescendo. They were still kissing, Jack holding Phryne tightly to him as the ride slowed and the horse’s path became smoother, the rise and fall less obvious than before. As the ride stopped, they broke their kiss and Jack released one hand to lightly caress Phryne’s cheek, a mirror of her own action just moments before. “One more time?” he asked, gently. Phryne nodded, and Jack handed more money to the assistant.
The ride started up again, but Jack and Phryne were already kissing before the first movement had begun.
Phryne wondered whether the flipping of her stomach was due to the ride, or to Jack. When Jack had come for Supper she had found herself able to express her fears; that she was scared, of letting him in and of being hurt. She found now that her fears were fading. She had admitted to Mac that she loved Jack, and she found now that she would not be scared to admit the full depth of her feelings to him. Tonight was not the night however for serious declarations; tonight was for fun, and, she was discovering, quite a lot of kissing. At some point Jack would ask to come to her bed, but she found that she was not particularly in any hurry to force that situation, a further realisation which surprised her. For this moment, as she sat on a Carousel horse, in an amusement park on the seafront in St Kilda, a world away from the demands of her family, her life and her responsibilities, she just wanted to feel Jack’s warmth and care.
The world could have been just the two of them, wrapped around each other, as the carousel rode on. It was only the polite cough of the carousel assistant which brought them back to reality, the ride now ended once more, and they broke their kiss before carefully alighting from the horse and stepping off the raised platform.
As Jack took Phryne’s hand in his, and considered their next option, Phryne’s stomach rumbled slightly. She blushed slightly as Jack looked at her.
“Oh, I promised food!” he realised. He recalled now that he hadn’t eaten himself. He had been so busy with the rush to return home from his shift, prepare himself for the evening and to return to St Kilda that eating anything had been far from his mind.
“You did” said Phryne, lightly.
“Fish and Chips?” asked Jack, knowing there was a shop which would still be open just around the corner.
Phryne smiled, memories of lying under the pier at Queenscliff with Jack coming to her mind. “That sounds lovely. Shall we eat on a bench overlooking the sea?” Phryne knew the St Kilda foreshore was not perhaps the most glamorous of locations, but she felt that if they stayed away from the beach huts and the pier, they should be relatively un-scandalised, and sufficiently removed from the seedier activities that occurred that Jack wouldn’t feel compelled to remember his position.
They walked to the shop, queued up and Jack ordered their food, confirming it to be ‘open’, for eating now, to the man behind the heated counter. Jack bought a bottle of Dandelion & Burdock for himself and a Pink Lemonade for Phryne. They walked back to the sea front, picking chips from the newspaper as they went. They settled themselves on the first unoccupied bench they found and allowed their eyes to adjust to the relative dark. They tucked into their food, facing each other as they talked about the film they had seen and the look on the Coconut Shy runner’s face when Phryne had won. They finished the food and slowly sipped their drinks from the bottles. In the crisp winter air their breath could be seen as small clouds as they each exhaled. Phryne took a swig from her Pink Lemonade.
“May I have a taste?” asked Jack.
“Of course” said Phryne, offering him the bottle.
Jack shook his head slowly, and leaned towards Phryne. He pulled her gently towards him and kissed her lips. They tasted of the sharpness of the lemon and the sweetness of the pomegranate, and the mixture was all Phryne; a combination that was unexpected yet delightful. Phryne could taste the earthiness of Jack’s drink on his lips as he kissed her. It was subtle yet sweet, and not at all what one would anticipate. They broke the kiss, both of them wanting to hold onto the moment but aware that it was becoming late.
“I should walk you home” said Jack, rising from the bench and offering Phryne his hand. She rose, and wrapped her arm through his, the giant bear curled under her free arm. Jack threw their rubbish in a bin as they passed by, and they walked slowly back along The Esplanade towards Phryne’s house.
Jack walked Phryne to the front door, where Phryne placed the bear and her handbag carefully on a low table which had a pot plant cascading off it. Phryne turned to face Jack, her back to the front door. She wrapped her arms around him, reaching underneath his still unbuttoned overcoat. Jack moved an arm to her back, splaying his fingers widely to support her. Phryne reached up and lightly kissed Jack’s cheek.
“Thank you Jack. I have had a wonderful time” she smiled brightly; she had not felt so relaxed for a long time.
“Thank you Phryne, for agreeing to come out with me. I am glad you enjoyed yourself.” Jack brushed his other hand along Phryne’s cheek, rotating his fingers as they met her jawline and gently stroking down her neck before rotating again to sweep along her shoulder. Jack leaned forward and kissed Phryne, gently at first. She freed a hand, and moved it up, gently tugging him even closer to her. They both deepened the kiss, their tongues gently exploring, hands gently stroking the other, weight shifting as they attempted to hold each other even closer. Phryne felt Jack manoeuvre her so that her back bumped lightly against the door frame. She did not break the kiss, but allowed him to free the hand which had been wrapped around her back. Jack moved his hand down to her waist, his arm lying across the small of her back. Eventually, when their breathing became laboured, they broke the kiss, both sighing deeply at the loss of contact.
“When can I see you again?” asked Jack.
“Jack, I hope you know you have an open invitation.” Phryne kissed his cheek, his jaw line, and finally his lips, lightly humming as she leaned back, “but I am going away for a few days. To celebrate ‘Christmas in July’. It was arranged a week or so ago, my aunt is all in favour.”
“Oh” said Jack, somewhat disappointed, and failing to hide it.
“Mac’s coming too. And Dot”
Jack kissed Phryne, slowly, but with as much passion as he had ever shown, “I’ll miss you” he whispered, worried if his obvious disappointment would scare Phryne off, even after the time they had now spent together.
“I’ll miss you” said Phryne, with such softness that Jack knew that the sands beneath them were shifting and settling once more, “But I’m sure it will be glorious fun. Open fires, stockings, presents, a little light relief, and I’ll have stories of Mac’s skiing and Aunt P’s fussing to regale you with.”
“But no need for a Detective Inspector” Jack stroked Phryne’s cheek.
“Unfortunately not. No chance whatsoever of a murder” she reached up and kissed him again. She didn’t want the night to end.
“But after you get back?” Jack asked.
“Yes, after I get back” confirmed Phryne. Jack kissed her again now, a gently kiss to the lips, which she repeated. She wished she could take him with her, but there was no decent excuse, and as much as they both knew they were not hiding their relationship, Phryne was not in any hurry to tell Aunt P about something which was still so new, and somewhat undefined. Lack of labelling would not go down well with Mrs Stanley. Best that Jack remain just ‘her Inspector’ for the time being.
“When you get there, have Miss Williams telephone Collins. To let him know she’s got their safely. He worries about her”. Jack caressed her cheek again, and the sub-text was not lost on Phryne.
“I know he does. And she appreciates it” Phryne reached up and kissed Jack once more, a tender touch to his cheek. “Thank you for a lovely evening, Jack”
“Good night Phryne” said Jack, loosening her grip before taking her hand in his and lightly kissing it. He handed her the bear, and her handbag, and took a step backwards as she turned and let herself into the house. She smiled at Jack as she carefully shut the door. Jack turned and slowly walked down the path.
As Phryne pushed the front door shut behind her, she hugged the bear to her. It smelt lightly of Jack’s cologne where he had held it and her close to him on the Carousel. She considered that perhaps the bear could stay in her room for a few days…