7. Strong Possibility
7
STRONG POSSIBILITY
T here was no way Tori was letting Hyde pick her up for their “date” on Saturday night.
She’d never let anyone know where she lived on the first date.
Not even the third date unless she felt comfortable enough.
It didn’t matter to her that Hyde had a connection to her best friend and she trusted him. Well, trust was a strong word.
She trusted the fact that he wasn’t a serial killer or rapist. Not even a stalker. Which rated him higher than any other first date she went on with someone.
She’d looked up the restaurant they were meeting at, and saw it was just a casual steak house which meant dressing was easier.
Nope, it wasn’t.
She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to go about this night.
If they didn’t have the past they’d had, she’d be excited. Maybe almost giddy.
She wasn’t giddy. She didn’t even think she was excited.
She was nervous.
That wasn’t like her at all.
After looking through her closet, she picked up her phone and called Raina.
“Is this a bad time?” she asked when Raina answered the phone.
“No,” Raina said. “Are you trying to figure out what to wear for your date?”
“Yes,” she said. “And we aren’t sure it’s a date. I don’t know what it is and that is why I’m nervous. What if he says something to piss me off again?”
“Considering you’ve got a short fuse with him, that is a strong possibility.”
“You aren’t making this any easier,” she said, laughing.
“Just being truthful like you are with me,” Raina said.
“I need that too.”
“Go in like it’s a first date with anyone else. Put the past behind you. You’ve got all sorts of patience and remind yourself to have it tonight. Try not to be judgy based on the past.”
“It’s hard to do that even though I preach it enough. But I’m going to take your advice. Now I’m just trying to figure out what to wear.”
“I’ve been there. It’s casual. Jeans are good with a nice shirt.”
“I already knew that. But do I wear nice fitted jeans or more like trouser jeans?”
“Do you want to turn him on?” Raina asked, laughing.
She was afraid to say yes. “I don’t know,” she said.
“I love how honest you are. Go with what you feel comfortable and confident in. Who cares what his reaction is going to be? It’s about getting through the night and going from there, right?”
“Exactly,” she said. “Thanks for that.”
She hung up the phone a few minutes later, went into her closet with a much more purposeful mindset, grabbed her clothes and took a shower, then left for her date.
“Don’t you look nice,” Hyde said to her thirty minutes later.
They’d met outside the restaurant. It wasn’t their plan, but they pulled in at the same time.
“Thanks,” she said.
She’d pulled out her favorite dark jeans that fit her well. Not stretchy and tight like she was trying to show off her booty that she worked hard to get a delicate curve to with a ton of squats, but a pair that showed her curves without clinging.
Her sweater was aqua with a three-quarter sleeve and she’d put a few bangle bracelets on her right wrist, her watch that she was never without on her left.
She wore a pair of silver hoops, and she tucked her hair behind her ear again.
Her makeup was light and subtle. More than her daily wear, but not like she was out to pick up a guy.
The wider hem of her straight jeans hid her black pumps, but when she walked you could see the spike along with the pointy toe.
She was positive Hyde took it all in with his initial sweep of her while she strode toward him.
“Why don’t we go in and get a table,” he said. “You don’t need reservations here, but it looks pretty busy. We might have to wait a bit if you’re okay with that.”
“The only thing waiting for me at home are the towels I need to wash,” she said.
“Laundry,” he said. “Glad I made it over that chore.”
“It was close,” she said. “Thankfully I got my colors done today.”
“You’ve got a good personality on you,” he said. “Glad I’m getting a chance to see that.”
“We seem to be starting off on the right foot,” she said. “I’m trying to go in with an open mind.”
“The same,” he said. They waited in line and then he told the hostess it was just the two of them.
“It’s going to be about twenty minutes,” the hostess said.
He looked at her. “That’s fine,” she said.
“Person,” Hyde said, giving his last name.
“Can we get you a drink at the bar?” the hostess asked, punching into the screen in front of her. “We can have a tab started and the drinks brought out.” She handed over a disk for him to hold until their table was ready.
He looked at her again. Tori liked that he wasn’t just deciding on his own. She couldn’t tell you the number of dates she’d gone on that men assumed she had no brain.
“I could go for a glass of wine,” she said.
She told the hostess what she wanted and Hyde got a beer and the two of them moved off to the waiting area.
The first thing she noticed was that there weren’t a lot of seats. Or at least two seats next to each other.
He moved over by a window and gestured toward a chair. “Sit,” he said. “I’m sitting all day long. It will do me well to stand.”
“Guess your mother did teach you manners,” she said, smiling.
“My phone is on silent,” he said. “I won’t be tempted to even look at it. Only my parents’ number will go through in case of an emergency. You know, like when you asked me before.”
She laughed. “Thank you for that. The truth is, everyone does it now. It’s like we can’t disconnect from any electronic and I find that it hurts communication with everyone. Kids don’t learn how to interact face-to-face anymore. It’s easier to look at a device, type a response, and then stress that someone might have taken it the wrong way.”
“I’m guilty of that,” he said. “Not taking something the wrong way, just replying quickly without thought and the other person takes it the wrong way.”
Most likely a woman, she figured.
“It happens to us all. I try to keep my phone texts to a minimum. I’m one of those rare people who wants to talk on the phone.” She laughed. “You should see the look on your face.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m not a big one for talking on the phone. In person, sure. But the phone? Not so much.”
“I don’t do it much,” she said. “I won’t get on and talk for hours or anything like that. If I’m making plans with someone and we are confirming information, that is a text. If I’m concerned with my text getting misconstrued, then I’ll call.”
“So you’re not one of these women who wants to sit on the phone and talk to get to know someone.”
“No,” she said. “That is what dates are for.”
“Person?”
Hyde moved to the server to get their drinks and brought them over.
“Thanks,” she said.
“I’m good with what you’re saying.”
“What’s that? That I’m not my Aunt Jane and have to schedule an hour call every Wednesday night with friends?”
He laughed. “Definitely that. I’m not much for talking on the phone for several reasons. I can’t stand going out in public and seeing people walking around the store talking and you have to wonder if they are talking to you and then you see they have earbuds in.”
She felt the smile fill her face. “The worst is when they are walking around the store with their phone on speaker in the cart or on top of their purse and you can hear the entire conversation. I don’t understand that at all.”
“I have to say I haven’t witnessed that.”
“I have a few times and just walk by shaking my head. I don’t need the world to know my business.”
“The same,” he said. “If we are starting over and putting the past behind us and forgetting what an asshole I was.”
“And me a little bit of a witch,” she said, interrupting him.
He held his fingers up in a pinch. “Just a little.”
She laughed. “I should apologize too. I know Raina told you this and I have too. But it’s not like me at all. I reacted to you, but I could have been the bigger person and wasn’t.”
“Apology accepted,” he said. “So we can say this is a date now or am I pushing?”
“Not pushing it,” she said.