It Was Always There

"So John, why didn't you ask me out in high school?"

John laughed before answering Amber.

"Because I asked so many girls out at school." He replied rolling his eyes.

Amber laughed at his answer.

"Seriously though Amber you knew me. I was an awkward, geeky kid back then. I had no idea how to talk to girls or get them to like me."

"I would have said yes." Amber said looking directly into John's eyes.

"If I had realised that, I would have asked you....... But I was too immature to have handled myself properly back then...... You were .... Are a great friend Amber...... I am so glad we saw each other again.

"Me too." Amber beamed.

"This gives me a second chance.... Although I technically didn't realise I had a first chance with you."

"Seeing you again, seeing the man you have become, has ... well let's just say that the chance has returned..... Although I didn't know if you'd be interested...."

"Of course I'm interested... Very interested. Why do you say that?"

Amber always had a direct, forthright personality, even back at school. She always spoke her mind.

"I thought that you might have been going out with Susie Woods. Nikki Gibson said saw you two leave the reunion together." Amber looked straight into John's eyes as she said this.

John had a clear conscience. He proceeded to tell her about it.

"Yes it was true, we did spend some of the night together...... It was strange though. I can only blame it on too much 'celebration' after you left and wanting to act on a juvenile high school crush. Susie has changed so much since school, and it showed me you can't relive the past."

"So it isn't an ongoing thing between you two?"

"Definitely not. She isn't the person she was.... Or perhaps I'm not the person I was... Either way I won't be seeing her again. "

"Well what about us?" Amber asked.

John's smile filled his face. He never had been a good poker player.

"Amber I like you very much. The more I get to know you again the more I like, the more I'm intrigued by you. I want to know you more."

Amber looked a little relieved as John said this.

"Me too. John, you are the same great guy from high school, but you have become a handsome, creative, intelligent man who I want to know more too." Amber said as she reached across the table and took his hand.

"Hmmmm a hot shot architect and handsome too. Definitely a good day for me." John chuckled. Amber laughed too. "And I get to have dinner with a beautiful woman."

Amber's laughter faded away and a warm smile filled her face. She squeezed John's hand. John scooted his chair around the table so he was sitting right next to Amber. Moving his face closer John noticed Amber moving into him. They kissed again. John's arm went around Amber and she ran her hand on John's chest. Lips parted and tongues sort each other. Passion flowed between the old school friends.

After their passionate embrace, Amber moved her face back slightly. Her blue eyes opened and she looked directly into John's green eyes. She bit her bottom lip.

"I'm so glad I saw you at the reunion John."

"So am I."

John thought for a few moments, looking into Amber's blue eyes.

"So how is a gorgeous woman like you single?"

Amber gave a wry smile.

"John.... Let's just say I haven't had the best track record with men. I have always gone for the wrong guy...... I haven't been in a relationship since before Adam was born."

Amber looked away from John for a second as she said this. John ran his hand down her arm in a consoling gesture. Turning her head back around to face him, she could see the look of genuine concern on John's face. That one look told her so much about John and it made her smile.

"And to make things worse my career isn't exactly conducive for finding dates." Amber smiled.

"Why is that?" John asked in genuine confusion.

"Well where do people go on dates?....To restaurants. What am I doing during prime dating times? I am working, serving people who are out on dates." Amber laughed.

John laughed too, understanding what she meant.

Amber leaned forward and kissed John again.

"It's nice to be on a date...... It is even better that it is with you." Amber purred before kissing John again.

When their lips disentangled, John was grinning from ear to ear.

"If a first date is good, imagine how good a second date would be."

"Well that's a yes from me John. I'd love to go out with you again."

John and Amber were arm in arm for the rest of the night, until it was time to take Amber back to her hotel. They kissed passionately in his car before she headed inside. Amber had the following Tuesday off from work and had some things to do in Sydney that day. They arranged for her to come down in the afternoon to John's office to see the design for her restaurant. John also asked her if she wanted to come to his house for dinner. Amber smiled at this and readily agreed.

"But John.... What if it turns into a late night?" Amber grinned.

"Well you can always stay the night........ I do have a spare room." John replied. He wanted her to be comfortable with this turn of events, but also wanted her to know he wanted them to progress further in their relationship.

Amber had a sly grin on her face.

"Perhaps..." was all she said, somewhat enigmatically.

They said their goodbyes and goodnights. After kissing again Amber went into her hotel, and John drove home with a smile on his face he couldn't hide.

**********

John was into the office very early the next morning. He was hard at work on the design for Amber's restaurant. When Georgia arrived right on time at 8:30am for her day, John had already been working for nearly 3 hours. She went straight into his office and could see John working.

"Morning John. You must have got here early. I have a coffee for you."

"Thanks Georgia. Yes, I have been here for a while. Bit of a rush job to do."

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking at John's work.

"I'm designing a restaurant for an old friend. I have to get this all sorted by next Tuesday when they are coming down to see it. So I will be a bit out of action today... and probably Monday. Ok?"

"Ok John, minimal calls, only the really important ones."

"Thanks Georgia. You're great..... And can you get Nick to come in when he arrives. I have a couple of things I want to go over with him."

"Will do Boss.... It looks great by the way." Georgia said with a smile, running her hand down John's arm.

"Thanks Georgia." John replied, concentrating on his work.

A short while later Nick Jenkins, John's 2-I-C (second in command) in the business came in, and John gave him the rundown of what needed to be done while John was busy. They went over a few of the various projects the business was working on and John explained to him what he was doing. Nick looked over the design too and offered a couple of good ideas. He also suggested that John do a 3d walkthrough of the design as this would give a wow factor to the presentation. Nick was a great 2-I-C, colleague and friend, and John was thankful that he worked there.

Through the day and all over the weekend John worked hard on the design of Amber's restaurant. While it wasn't a big project, he loved turning Amber's dreams into reality. John felt really passionate about the project and these feelings were spilling into his personal affection for her too.

Over the next four nights, at about 10pm, he would get a message from Amber when she had finished her work. They would then message and talk for a couple of hours, just talking about their day. While Amber was excited about what John told her about the design, she was more excited about seeing him again on Tuesday.

********

Amber pulled up in the parking lot of John's office arriving right on time at 3:30pm. She hadn't had anything to do in Sydney that day, contrary to what she had said earlier. She just wanted to see John again and that was all. Amber straightened herself up, putting her blazer style jacket on over her t-shirt. Her blue jeans and RM Williams boots completed her look. She tidied her hair a little in the mirror of her 4wd Ute and then headed into the building. She took the lift to the 3^rd floor where John's business, 'AlliMac Design' occupied half of the floor.

As she entered the offices, Amber was greeted by Georgia. John's secretary did a double take when she realised Amber Hart was John's friend. Georgia greeted Amber and led her through to John's office. John's 3 other architects, and his 2-I-C, Nick all looked up from their work to see Amber being led through.

The door to John's office was open, and Georgia knocked as she entered.

"John... Amber Hart is here to see you."

"Thanks Georgia." John replied standing up from behind his main desk.

He was wearing a business shirt and nice trousers, wanting to make a good impression on Amber. His smile widened when he saw Amber enter the office. She beamed when she saw John. Georgia began to close the door to the office. As she did this she saw that John and Amber had reached each other.

Arms went around each other and they kissed. The kiss was deep and passionate. Even though it had only been 4 days since they saw each other, it felt like a lifetime apart. The feeling of being in each other's arms, their lips touching again was wonderful.

Georgia's head dropped as she saw this. She silently closed the door....

"Look at you John all dressed up. Did you do this for me? You look great by the way. How good is your office?" Amber babbled in excitement.

"Thanks Amber. I did get dressed up. It is not often I have a beautiful, very dateable client come in." John smiled.

He slid his hand into Amber's and he gave her a tour of his office. The large corner office had floor to ceiling windows, a main traditional desk and a secondary architect's desk where John did his designs. There were bookcases with volumes of books and some awards John had won. There was also a nice lounge suite and a large flat screen television on one wall.

He sat Amber down near his main desk and brought his chair around so he could sit next to her. Opening a folder John showed her his designs for her new restaurant. Amber sat there looking at the designs, not really believing what she was seeing. John had brought her ideas to life and it looked even better than she had imagined. Her mouth had dropped open as she looked at all of the work John had done.

John was a little worried as she hadn't said anything for a while.

"Is it ok Amber? Did I get what you wanted?"

Amber turned in her chair and smiled at John. She bit her lip and moved across to John, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tight. John did the same and they embraced for a while, Amber with her head buried in John's shoulder. When she finally emerged she had the biggest grin on her face. She kissed John and hugged him again.

"John that is amazing! I can't believe it. It is perfect. It is more than perfect. You have done more... Made more than I could have ever thought of. It's so, so good." Amber enthused.

John's smile was a mixture of relief and happiness. He reached across and took Amber's hand, leading her over to the lounge. They sat down together and John grabbed the remote control.

"There is something else I want to show you Amber."

He turned on the TV screen and pressed a few buttons. On the screen a video presentation of the designs for the restaurant came up. Amber was wide eyed as she watched. Then the presentation showed the outside of the building. It looked like the camera is walking into the restaurant. Amber sat forward as the presentation took her through her restaurant. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was like she was actually in there. She could see the tables all set out, the bar, the open view to the kitchen, even the specific cooking equipment she had requested.

The smile on John's face grew as he watched Amber's reaction to the walk through video. She called out little details as she saw them in the production. When the video finished she wrapped her arms around John again kissing him hard.

"So you like it Amber?" John asked in a deadpan way when they finished kissing. He already had a feeling he knew her answer.

"Like it? I love it. Thank you so much John." Amber exclaimed with exuberance.

She asked to see the video again and they watched it together. Amber noticed more details the second time through and thought it was beyond words.

John went back to his desk and picked up some paperwork.

"Now before you get too excited here are a couple of quotes to get the restaurant remodelled and fitted out to the designs I've created. They are with two building companies we have worked with here before and they are both good to work with. I will let you decide who and if you want to go ahead with these. You might have builders you already know who you want to work with and that is good too. I have also itemised the list of equipment and fixtures you wanted, including all of the kitchen equipment you specified, as well as table and chairs. I haven't included cutlery, plates kitchen utensils etc."

"John you have done so much. I can't thank you enough.... I will need to consult with my backers before I decide which way we will go, but I know that this design is just perfect. Thank you so much John."

"My pleasure Amber."

They spent the remainder of the afternoon looking over the designs, making a few little changes and being together. Before they knew it 5:30pm arrived. John realised that his office had gone quiet as everyone else had gone home for the night. He suggested to Amber that it was time to go, and she agreed.

They left the building arm in arm, being close together. John gave her his address and she followed him on the 20 minute drive to his house. She followed him into the driveway, parking her vehicle behind John's Mustang. Amber's heart began to pound seeing John's home. She fixed her hair again in the mirror before getting out of her Ute.

Once in the house Amber was given the tour by John. She loved his house as it was modern, yet traditional. Walking through hand in hand the two of them chatted the whole time. Showing her back into the living room, John told Amber to make herself comfortable as he was just going to change out of his work clothes.

Amber took the time to look around. The home was so much like John; warm, inviting, modern yet traditional. She liked everything about it. She snuck a peek into the kitchen and she was impressed by what she saw. She could see John had already prepared their dinner for the evening. Just then John appeared in the kitchen.

"I should have known the chef would go into the kitchen." He grinned.

"I was just taking a peek. It looks good John and smells great.... Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just your being here is help enough. I'm cooking for you tonight, it is your day off remember. And you deserve to be treated."

Amber beamed at John as she moved the couple of steps to him. She wrapped her arms around him and they kissed. It was a long, slow, lustful kiss. John's hands slid down Amber's back and gently came to rest on her backside. Amber returned the favour and squeezed his.

The kiss eventually subsided and Amber looked at John.

"Thank you John. It is.... I haven't had anyone cook for me in a long time." Amber said quietly.

"My pleasure. Although you haven't tasted my cooking yet." John chortled.

John selected some wine for the two of them, and Amber took a seat on one side of the kitchen bench and John worked away on the other. Their conversation filled the room, as did the aromas from John's cooking. He had prepared chicken stew and dumplings ahead of time and it had been cooking all day in the slow cooker. He finished the salad to go with it while talking and laughing with Amber.

She watched the way John moved around the kitchen with a smile. He was a man comfortable with himself, and she really liked that. When the meal was ready they moved to the dining table. Amber really enjoyed John's cooking, and she jokingly offered him a job in her new restaurant. He declined as his only previous experience was flipping burgers at McDonalds.

As they finished their meal and enjoyed the wine, the conversation turned a little more serious.

"John I remember at the reunion you said you had been engaged but it didn't work out." Amber said. She wanted to know a little more, but wasn't sure if John wanted to talk. John knew this would be coming.

"Well Amber I was engaged to Callie for nearly 2 years, and we had been going out for another 2 years before that. We started going out when I was at my second job after Uni. I met her on a night out in town with my colleagues. She was out for Friday night drinks with her work friends. She was a legal secretary, red haired, friendly..... We hooked up that night and started dating from there. There isn't a lot to say really. We were happy together, we got engaged a couple of years into the relationship. We didn't move in together till after we got engaged......"

John went quiet for a moment. Amber looked into his eyes, and John smiled at her.

"We just grew apart. Callie went back to University to become a lawyer. I wanted to start my business. We spent no time together. I was working so much, doing my own private work as well as for my regular job. Our relationship was dragging. It felt like it was holding us back. We stopped liking each other and ..... Well we broke up...... That was 5 years ago."

Amber could see John wasn't torn up by this.

"I have had a couple of short term relationships since then, the last finishing about a year ago." John paused and looked at Amber. The look of seriousness on his face changed to a more wistful look.

"I have come to realise that previously, I have put way too much importance on my work and not on my relationships. That is why they have all failed, yet my business has thrived. I am at the point now where I am able to spend less time on my work and more time on.... Me and the things important to me." John reached out and took her hand. He ran his thumb on the back of Amber's hand as he said this. Amber squeezed his hand and her eyes captured John's. He didn't need to say anything more.

After a moments silence John asked Amber what was on his mind.

"Amber you said on our last date that you haven't made the best choices when you've dated. What did you mean?"

Amber smiled and sighed.

"I knew you were going to ask me this."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to...."

"No John I should... I should tell you."

Amber looked away for a second before picking up her wine glass and drinking the remaining contents. She looked back at John.

"I said I haven't made the best choices because I haven't. I have always gone out with the wrong guy. Even Adam's father....." Amber turned her head away again. The normally confident, forthright person she was ebbed away as she spoke.

John could sense this conversation was difficult for Amber, so he took her hand and they went and sat down together on his lounge in the living room. John sat right next to her and put his arm around her. Amber smiled a weak smile at John and kissed him. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Every guy I have been close too... Loved.... Has left me." Amber said quietly. John could see the hurt in her eyes. He held her close but didn't say anything.

"My first boyfriend left me as he wanted to date other girls, as did my next one when I moved to England...... I had a few short relationships that were never going to go anywhere.... I had just turned 30 and was working in London when I met Henry. He was English, a fellow chef where we worked. We started going out.... It felt so real to me.... We went out for over a year. We didn't live together but saw each other a lot of the time. It was passionate and intense...." Amber paused for a second. She took a deep breath before continuing.