Love Under Lockdown

Chapter 5

David looked up as the back door opened. The light shining made her a silhouette. He felt rather than saw the smile on Andrea's face, which was hidden behind a mask.

"Congratulations," he said as she came to sit next to him. He put up his fist for a bump and she reciprocated.

She laughed at the awkward greeting and he winked.

"Thank you. I'm so glad that's over."

"You were great."

She looked up at the sky and it gave him a good view of her elegant neck. What would it be like to kiss her?

"Well, I will have enough pastries to last me into next week. Don't tell my mother, but your recipe is better."

"I told you to cut the recipe in half." She nudged him with her shoulder, and he nudged right back.

"I didn't have a measuring cup, so I just dumped the entire bag in the bowl."

Andrea gasped and shook her head.

"Anyway, a toast." David grabbed the bottle that he'd stored in the cool grass and produced two wine glasses. He handed one to her then poured the white wine.

"You came prepared."

"Well, I'm not even sure that you should be drinking any more wine after what you did to that bottle on air." David quirked an eye at her then lowered his mask to take a sip from his glass.

Andrea bent her head between her knees and groaned. "I am so ashamed. I can't tell you the last time I drank so much."

"I'm surprised you're not smashed."

"That's my strong constitution. I won't get drunk until after the second bottle, but I will sleep like a baby tonight." Andrea took a sip of the wine then laid her head on his shoulder.

"You should probably be getting to bed then soon."

"In a minute," she yawned. "I wanted to tell you thank you for everything. You made it so easy."

"Glad I could help. Must be tough losing all of your business like that."

David heard her sigh. He wanted more than anything to make her sighs a thing of the past. How odd, a woman sighing had never bothered him before.

"Do you think it would be okay if I gave away the bread? I won't be selling it or anything."

"Well people won't be able to come to the house. How will you distribute it?"

"I can do what I do for you. Leave it on their doorstep. I won't go far. Just the neighbors around this loop. It's a shame to have that flour sitting there."

"Still, that's a lot of baking. I wish I could help."

Andrea lifted her head and looked at him. She put her fingers to her lips then touched them to his cheek. "You already helped more than I can say. How about you deliver to one side of the loop and I do the next? If we do it during exercise hours, then it should be kind of alright, you think?"

"I have no idea. We'll give it a try and pray we don't get caught."

He honestly had not read the fine print about the lockdown. As he hardly left his house except to get food, the idea of being inside for a week or two did not bother him.

"Deal. I should go and set some dough up then. Bake them in the morning."

David nodded. He would have liked to come inside to help. Just being in her company was doing good things to his spirit. He'd never felt this happy before.

"Don't stay up too late. It will be morning before you know it."

"I won't," she replied standing and reaching towards the sky in a big stretch.

David stood and placed his hands on her shoulders and began to squeeze the tension from them.

"Oh. That feels so good," a sound of pleasure escaped her lips.

He paused for a second before continuing. She was tense. It was understandable given her concerns about money and then taking a leap of faith and selling a cooking class for the first time. She had had a busy couple of days. Hard to imagine a week ago, he'd only seen her from afar.

"How about I make you a deal? We've got a couple of days left before this lockdown is lifted. How about we go to the beach on Saturday? A swim would do you good. Ryan and I can kick a ball around in the meantime."

"Great idea. Only one thing wrong with the plan?"

"We're not supposed to hang about with people not of our household even on the weekends."

David groaned. "Who comes up with this stuff?"

He stopped the massage and pulled her back against his chest. She felt good there, with her head tucked into his neck.

"I like the way you feel in my arms," he declared.

She turned and put her arms around his neck. "I like it too."

"New plan," he said rubbing her back gently.

"What?" she said, looking up at him.

"When this lockdown is over. You and I go on a date. In fact, several dates."

"How many is several?"

He laughed and tweaked her nose through the mask. "As many as is required to make sure by the next lockdown we will be one household and not two."

She gasped but it was quickly replaced with a sweet sigh as he placed his lips on her forehead.

THE END

Thank you for reading. Be sure to check out Love in Quarantine - https://www.wattpad.com/story/259676767-love-in-quarantine.