I Lost key

Lost Key
"Hang on a sec - won't be a minute!"
Laura's cold fingers fumbled frantically in the mysterious depths of
her handbag and her heart pounded painfully. Panic was making her even
more clumsy than usual and she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as
she tried to steady her frayed nerves. Despite the cold, she could feel
an embarrassing sheen of perspiration forming on her upper lip and she
bowed her head over the bag, hoping that her companion hadn't
noticed.
This was so typical of her, she thought. Driving herself into a state
of agitation by over reacting! Of course she hadn't lost it! It was
there - somewhere amongst the accumulated jumble of rubbish that she
kept meaning to clear out but never found time.
She cast an apologetic glance at the tall dark man who stood silently
beside her in the chilly damp night air and she giggled nervously,
trying to cover the tide of despair that was rising in her throat. But
the man averted his eyes and stared fixedly at the toe of his shoe,
with which he scuffed an impatient tattoo on the step. He wasn't used
to being kept waiting, thought Laura. And certainly not by a silly fat
woman who was as scatter-brained as she was. She had behaved quite
normally until now - showing what she hoped was just the right amount
of self-restraint and sophistication. She had even feigned a touch of
indifference so that he hadn't guessed that she was just another
frustrated middle-aged divorc?e who would stop at nothing to ensnare a
man for the night&;#8230;..
Where was it? Laura chewed at her lip. If she didn't find it soon he
would walk away, and then she would miss this rare opportunity for a
night of passion with a handsome man. She groaned inwardly. God knew
when she would get another chance, since this was the first time for
years that she had asked a man back to her place. (Well - not strictly
true - it was the first time for years that a man had accepted her
invitation to go back with her for coffee&;#8230;..)
"It must have slipped to the bottom of my bag," she said with forced
cheerfulness as her index finger made contact with fresh air through a
hole in the bottom left hand corner.
Tears of frustration sprang into her eyes as she realised with
sickening certainty that her key had met with the same fate as her
finger.
"Why don't you tip your bag out?" suggested Mark through chattering
teeth. Laura felt her own teeth begin to grind together - a sure sign
that she was stressed. She shuddered at the idea of anyone else seeing
the junk that she carried round with her and she stared back
doubtfully.
"I don't think&;#8230;.." she began. But it was too late. Mark had
whipped her bag from her hands and was tipping it upside down so that
the contents tumbled onto the step. Her heart sank as she saw an
expression of disgust cloud his iron-grey eyes. It didn't look as
though she would be brewing her delicious Colombian blend that night
after all.
"Oh God!" she wailed as she tried to gather up the sweet wrappers,
receipts, loose and sticky fruit gums, paper clips, staples, post-its,
old credit cards and mountains of fluff that glared accusingly at her
in the stark light of the street lamp. "It's not there, I'm afraid,"
she admitted at last, looking helplessly into his eyes with what she
hoped was the sort of 'damsel-in-distress' expression that would appeal
to his Sir Gallahad instincts.
Mark sighed audibly and rolled his eyes. Clearly his intentions that
night had been far from chivalrous and he wasn't about to start acting
like a knight in shining armour now. But then, Laura's intentions had
been less than virtuous, so she could hardly criticise him.
"I'll pop down the 'phone box and call my sister," she offered. "She's
got a key and it won't take her five minutes to bring it." She was
surprised at how reassuringly she spoke the words that were so
blatantly untrue. It would take Helen at least half an hour to arrive
from the other side of the city.
She didn't dare to look at his face as she scurried away in the
direction of the 'phone box, cursing the fact that it was a good ten
minutes walk away. The tops of her thighs chafed painfully together and
a cold trickle of sweat ran down her spine. She should have stuck to
that diet.
Inside the 'phone box she reached feverishly in her bag for her purse,
praying that she would have enough change. Her plump fingers struggled
with the dainty little clip and suddenly all her loose change tumbled
onto the floor. Exasperatedly she bent down. If she could just find
twenty pence she would leave the rest&;#8230;.And then she saw
it!
It was gleaming brassily beneath a mountain of dull copper - and her
heart soared! Her key! She remembered now - she had put it into her
purse after she had bought the last round in the pub. Her lips curved
into a smile as her fingers closed round it triumphantly. She could
smell the freshly-brewed coffee already!
Then she hesitated. Now she remembered something else about that round
of drinks, and the smile froze on her lips. She frowned with
concentration as she recalled how she had returned to the table to find
Mark talking on his mobile 'phone. His mobile 'phone! Why hadn't he
offered to let her use that to call her sister? Was he so tight-fisted
that he wouldn't spare the cost of one call to save her the long walk
to the 'phone box? Come to think of it - he had only bought one drink
all evening - and she had bought four or five! She had been trying to
please him so much that she hadn't even noticed until now! But now her
anger was helping her to see things more clearly.
And suddenly the idea of having sex with this selfish man became
abhorrent to her. He didn't care tuppence for her so it was obvious
that he wouldn't bother trying to satisfy her in bed. She shook her
head in wonder at her own stupidity as she remembered how she had hung
onto his every word all evening. How she had agreed with everything he
had said. How she had satisfied his ego and boosted his self esteem
with words of flattery. What a fool she was! She tucked the key back in
her purse and walked back slowly, half expecting him to have gone. To
her surprise he was still there.
'He's probably called a taxi on his mobile,' said a little voice in
her head. But she managed a bright smile as she sank down on the step
beside him.
"Is she coming?" he asked shortly. Laura nodded.
"In about ten minutes." She began to weaken slightly. If he would just
talk nicely to her, she might just give in and let him in. If he would
just give her one tiny sign that he thought of her as a human being
with feelings, then she might let him into her bed. If he would just
pretend to court her a little&;#8230;..But he didn't even speak to
her during the fifty tense minutes that they sat waiting for the sister
who wasn't going to arrive.
Finally he rose and looked down at her.
"I think I'll go to that 'phone box and call a taxi," he said
expressionlessly. Laura looked back at him coldly. He would wait until
he was round the corner and then make the call from his own 'phone, she
thought. What a cruel, devious man he was! If he cared about her at all
he would have waited until he knew that she was safe. Or even invited
her back to his place.
"Goodnight, then," he muttered and turned away. For a wild moment
Laura wanted to beg him not to leave her sitting alone on a cold step
in the middle of the night. But she resisted the temptation. She had
made enough of a fool of herself.
"Goodnight," she responded dully.
When he had turned the corner she stood up and took the key out of her
purse. With a shuddering sigh she slipped it into the lock and opened
the door, uncaring now of the tears that streamed down her cheeks and
smudged her mascara.
At the same moment that the door closed behind her Mark reappeared
from around the corner. A little voice that had been his conscience had
chastised him for leaving her alone and he had decided to go back and
wait with her until her sister arrived. He clicked his teeth with
annoyance as he turned the corner. If only his mobile 'phone hadn't
chosen to break down earlier in the evening, she could have used it to
ring her sister.
On the corner he stopped in amazement as he saw her disappearing into
the house.
She had had her key all along! His heart felt like lead as he wondered
at the lengths to which she had gone to avoid letting him into her
house that night. She was certainly a strange one, he thought. He had
been so sure that she had fancied him as much as he had fancied her.
And he cursed himself for the tongue-tying shyness that had always
stood between himself and members of the opposite sex.

END
1,595 words