Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
The Moops Ruined It
Skye
Over the next several weeks, Sidney and I go on a handful of dates. Unfortunately, private time is scarce, and our kids thwart every plan to go back to either of our places.
Violet needs to be picked up early from Michael’s—that situation seems to have resolved itself now that Michael has a girlfriend—or Miller needs a ride home from his friend’s place. If it isn’t my daughter, it’s his son. On the upside, we’ve gotten to know each other and outside of the physical attraction, I really like him.
Tonight Violet is going to the movies and sleeping over at her friend’s house. Sidney is picking me up in ten minutes. He made dinner reservations and afterward we’re making use of my empty house.
Violet is still home when Sidney arrives, but she’s in the bathroom. The water isn’t running, so I knock on the door. “Honey, I’m on my way out! Have a great night with Sasha and text me if you need anything, okay?”
“Hold on!” A few seconds later she opens the door. She’s wearing a bathrobe and her hair is wrapped in a towel. Her glasses fog up as soon as she puts them on. “Oooh, you look pretty. Have fun on your date.”
“I will. And you have fun with your friends.” I kiss her on the cheek. “I’m only a phone call away.”
“Do you have your lactose pills?” she asks.
“Oh crap. Good call. Want to grab me a couple?”
“For sure.” A few seconds later she drops two pills into my palm and hands me a glass of water. Her glasses are foggy again.
I down them, thank her and leave her to get ready and meet Sidney at the front door. He’s wearing a navy suit with a blue tie that matches my dress.
He taps his bottom lip. “You look fantastic.”
“So do you. My daughter’s still home, otherwise I would invite you in now.”
“She’s here?”
“Yeah, her friend is picking her up in an hour. She just got out of the shower.”
“Ah, okay. Shall we go, then?”
I grab my purse. “Absolutely.” I pull the door closed behind me and make sure it’s locked before I lace my arm with his and walk down the driveway to his truck.
Thanks to Violet’s smart thinking I don’t have to completely avoid dairy. Not that I plan to consume it in copious quantities, just that sometimes they put whipping cream in the soups or to accent desserts and occasionally I enjoy those things.
Dinner is fabulous as usual. Sidney seems to know all the best restaurants in town. I order the butternut squash and pear soup as a starter and the scallops as my entrée, and we finish with the chocolate lava cake for dessert. The conversation is easy as it always seems to be, although our interests vary significantly. And maybe that’s why we get along so well. It’s easy to keep the conversation flowing when we can share our unique experiences.
Anticipation makes the tension between us flare and Sidney’s innocent brushes under the table are making me antsy to get home. I send Violet a text message asking how her night is going and get a quick reply:
Violet : At the movies now, don’t want to get in trouble for texting, talk ltr.
I send her a thumbs up and give Sidney a saucy grin. “My house is empty.”
He tosses his napkin on the table and signals the server.
Once the bill is paid, we rush to his truck. My stomach tightens in anticipation and I will myself to calm down. But that tightness in my stomach grows as we drive the short distance from the restaurant back to my house.
Sidney sets his hand palm up on the center console and I lace my fingers with his. “I’m excited to see your place.”
“I’m excited to get you into my bedroom.”
He chuckles. “I’m excited for that, too. It’s almost hard to believe it’s finally happening.”
“I know, right?” An unpleasant gurgle comes from my stomach, so I press my hand against it and feel the unsettling churn under my palm.
“Everything okay?” Sidney asks.
“Oh yeah, fine. Everything’s fine.” It’s probably just nerves and excitement.
But the closer we get to my house, the more noise my stomach makes and then the cramping begins. I can’t get my period. Not now. Not tonight.
“You’re sure you’re okay? You know if you’re not ready for me to come over that’s okay, Skye. We can take it as slowly as you want.”
“I’m really fine. Just nerves and anticipation I think.”
Suddenly, I break out in a cold sweat, and the cramps intensify. Thankfully, we’re almost at my place. I cross and uncross my legs. Then recross them again.
I don’t know what’s happening. I took lactose pills before dinner and the chocolate lava cake only had that dollop of whipped cream. I shouldn’t have a reaction. When I’m excited or anxious, my reaction is to word vomit and my palms sweat. But this is nothing like that.
As soon as we pull into the driveway, I slam my thumb down on the release and I’m out of the truck before Sidney even has it in park. Another cramp hits as I sprint for the front door, but I’m wearing heels and not tripping over my own feet is a challenge on a good day, let alone when I’m panicking. I’m pretty sure if I don’t make it to the bathroom in the next thirty seconds, bad things I won’t be able to recover from will happen, and I’ll never see Sidney again.
I drop my keys before I can get them into the lock.
Sidney stoops to pick them up before I can. “Take it easy, we have all night, Skye.”
I brace a hand on the door. “I really need to get inside.” I’m full body sweating now and my stomach cramps again, this time making me double over in pain. This is so bad. So, so bad.
Sidney frowns. “You look like you’re not feeling the best.”
“It’s nerves.” My stomach sounds like there’s a whole gaggle of angry beasts living inside it.
Sidney slides the key into the lock and it seems to take eleven million years to open the door. I rush down the hall. “Make yourself at home! I’ll be down in a couple of minutes.” I kick off my heels and take the stairs two at a time, invariably I trip and slide halfway back down, my chin bumping the carpet on the way. I clamber to my feet and make it to the bathroom just in time, slamming the door and turning on the fan, grateful it’s old and noisy.
I spend the next several minutes in a death spiral. I’m shaking and sweating and not even a little okay. And then the wave of brutal nausea hits me. It doesn’t make sense. Violet gave me two lactose pills and I didn’t gorge on cheese or cream. Unless the soup had cream in it. Which is entirely possible. I check the medicine cabinet and realize Violet may have accidentally given me the antacids instead of the lactose pills.
After a while Sidney calls my name.
“I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I yell. “And please, if you like me at all, do not come up here!”
I hope he heeds my warning and stays where he is. The noise my stomach is making is obscene.
Finally, the worst of it seems to be over. But I’m still shaking and my stomach still sounds like there’s a beast living inside it. I’m sweaty and disheveled and I look like a nightmare.
I can’t leave him alone in my house forever, and I have no idea how long I’ve been locked in the bathroom. I spray deodorizer, leave the fan on and close the door, then trudge downstairs to face my date.
He’s sitting on the couch in the living room with his phone in his hand. As soon as he sees me, he tosses his device on the cushion beside him and stands. “Are you okay? Do you have food poisoning?” He crosses the room in three long strides and cups my face between his palms. “Babe, I mean this in the nicest possible way, you are always beautiful, but you really don’t look so good.”
“I think there was dairy in my soup.” My stomach yowls angrily.
Sidney’s eyebrow shoots up and his gaze darts down.
“I can’t really handle dairy. And I thought I took my lactose pills before our date because the last thing I wanted was to end up with gastro distress, but they were right beside the antacids in my cupboard and based on what’s happening to my intestines, I believe I took the wrong pills and the next twelve hours will be loud and angry. I basically feel like I have the flu and food poisoning, but I don’t have the flu or food poisoning. And sex would be a terrible idea unless you have some strange kinks, and then sex would still be a bad idea, but for very different reasons.”
“What can I do to help?” His thumbs brush back and forth along the edge of my jaw, lovely and soothing.
“Nothing really. My body just needs time to stop freaking out and then I’ll be fine. In the meantime, it’ll sound like there’s a battle happening in my stomach and there’s also a good chance I’ll get the sweats again, which is the opposite of sexy.” My word vomit is in full effect. “I’m sorry, Sidney. I was super looking forward to getting you naked and putting some dents in my drywall, but it’s not in the cards tonight.”
The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Denting the drywall, huh? Sounds like you had quite the night planned.”
“I really did. My lingerie game was on point.” I sigh. “This sucks so hard. We’ve been fighting for alone time for weeks and we finally get it and I ruin the night.”
“You didn’t ruin the night, Skye. I enjoy spending time with you. Do I want to find out if we connect in the bedroom like we do outside of it? Absolutely. But I can be patient.” He squeezes my hand. “Now I’m happy to hang out and watch a movie and cuddle on the couch, but I’m not sure if you want me to stick around when you’re not feeling great.”
I bite my lip, considering. “Maybe an action flick, one with lots of revving engines or fight scenes?” That will at least partially mask the horrifying gurgles from my stomach.
He smiles. “I’m good with action.”
I pour him a beer and myself a glass of water, and I take two lactose pills, even though the damage is already done. I’m half-hoping my stomach will settle by the end of the movie, but that doesn’t happen.
At midnight we’re both falling asleep on the couch, so Sidney kisses me goodnight and heads home. I drag myself up to my bedroom and sigh as I take in my perfectly made, unrumpled bed. I should have had to change the sheets tonight because we made a mess of them, not because I’m a sweaty mess.
At least the worst of it seems to be over.
I change into my pajamas and climb into bed, wishing tonight had gone differently.