48. Not With Me
Not With Me
Fly
Alittle breather is required between kisses.
“I really like this conservatory. Maybe I should put one in my house?”
“Your whole house is a conservatory,” Sheri leans against me, panting.
“But there aren’t any plants inside.”
“Do you really like plants? Or do you just like kissing in the conservatory?” The grin in her voice is easy to hear.
“Can’t I like both?”
“Absolutely. But we should go back to the game.”
Those are my least favorite words. “First, we need to make plans for our next date. I was thinking about picking you up tomorrow after we run together for breakfast. Then we can spend the day on my bike. The weather shouldn’t be too cold, but we can pick you up some leathers after breakfast.”
“That sounds perfect, but—”
I don’t like the word but.
“I already have plans tomorrow,”
“Wedding prep…I guess we could make it Tuesday.”
“Tuesday is free so far. But it’s not wedding stuff. There’s this sweet old lady who needs my help. It’s kind of silly, but I promised I’d help her.”
My woman does sweet well even if it’s irritating because I want to see her. “Does she need an extra set of hands? I could come help.”
“I don’t think so, but I could ask. There’s definitely room on the helicopter.”
Heli—What? “What’s this sweet old lady’s name?”
“Viola Allan.”
Viola Allan? The only Viola I know is, “Viola Vincenti?”
“That’s her grandson’s last name. Her married name is Viola Allan.”
My girlfriend is helping Viola Vincenti. Vex was right. He was trying to warn me, and I didn’t listen. Is it too late? Has she decided to work her wily ways on my woman…I need to do something about this now.
“So, how about Tuesday for our date? Once Wednesday hits, I expect it to be all wedding stuff.”
“Tuesday sounds fine.” I need to figure out how to get my woman out of this grandmother’s clutches now, before I’m invited to the wedding as a guest.
***
If I can’t spend the day with her, I’m going to spend the morning running with Sheri, virtually at least.
She’s up and moving around already.
Fly
You ready to run with me this morning?
Sheri
Almost. I’m just trying to sneak out of the house.
Fly
Back to your teenage years?
Sheri
I never needed to sneak out.
Fly
Were you a nerdy teacher’s pet who never got in trouble?
Sheri
Hardly
Fly
What were you like as a kid?
Sheri
Mostly invisible.
Those words give me bad vibes.
Fly
What do you mean?
During the long pause in the conversation, I make my way onto the long trail…which needs to become my short one soon if I’m going to have a chance of keeping up with Sheri.
Sheri
Outside.
I immediately dial her number and pop in my earbuds. “Good morning, My Royal Highness.”
She giggles. “You’re way too cheerful early in the morning.”
“How many cups of coffee before you cheer up, or should I ask how many miles?”
“I only drink coffee when it’s going to be one of those days. Otherwise, I don’t know, seven, maybe ten miles. Sometimes more.”
“But rarely less?”
“Are you that afraid of how much I run?”
“No…yes. I keep thinking we could be cuddling and sleeping in every morning, jog five to seven miles, have a leisurely breakfast, and then go for a ride.” That feels like the perfect morning for us.
She snorts a giggle. “Do people actually live like that?”
“What would your ideal day be then?”
“Exactly that. But it’s more of a dream or a vacation. Not reality.”
“We could make it real.”
“How? In the real world, people have to cook, do laundry, clean that monstrosity of a house of yours, actually work for ten to twelve hours a day, then get up and do it all over again.”
What? “How long do you work?”
“I don’t know. Most days ten to twelve hours, plus a couple hours for social media, and an hour or two for administrative stuff. What about you? It must be at least ten or twelve hours a day?”
Sheri’s life is way too much. She’s going to burn herself out. How do I explain my life? “I keep busy.”
“Are we speaking in code here?”
Maybe, sort of. Giving people a straight answer isn’t always easy for me. “I don’t have a nine-to-five type job, but I spend quite a bit of my time working at the club.”
“Did you retire at thirty or something?”
“Twenty-five, actually. But I don’t sit around all day. Like I said, the club keeps me busy.”
“Wait, really? I was kidding. Though I guess I’m not too surprised. What did you do to retire at twenty-five…rob a bank?”
“You never rob a bank. At least not via a stick-up. But no. I started out in sales. When I had enough money, I went to Vegas and became a poker player for a few years.” Fleeced a few too many people to stay around there long.
Though it’s not like I cheated them. They were just so bad that they practically gave it to me.
“Then I took what was left and started investing it. Now, for the most part, I live off the returns on those investments.”
“Are you bored now that you aren’t working?”
“No. Not bored. Lonely sometimes. When I left my family, it was odd. Then my brothers became my family. So, no, I’m never bored. What about you?”
“I don’t have time to be bored.” She gives a half-hearted laugh. “I don’t really have time to do much but work. This vacation has been a really nice break from reality. Going back next week is going to be quite the culture shock to my system.”
She’s still planning on going home. Of course, she’s planning on going home.
You haven’t even been on two dates yet. How can you expect her to just turn her life upside down and move to a new place that is halfway across the country from her life, when I doubt she even considers you her boyfriend?
“I mean, just being up north had to be one. Have you ever lived anywhere but in Beach Haven?” How is it she knows so much about me, but I know almost nothing about her life before now?
“It is. But…it really hasn’t been that bad. I think that’s because I have so many friends around. Then again, it might just be vacation mentality. Everything is more fun on vacation. Though I could do without the cold.”
“You cold?”
“Not really now that I’m running, but those occasional bursts.” She audibly shivers. “I could do without the cold for sure.”
“Do you think you could get used to it?” That feels like a bigger question than it should be.
“Sure, you can get used to anything you need to. But I can’t see myself moving to Urbium.”
My heart sinks. I stumble, tripping over a rock that shouldn’t be there, and catch myself with a nearby branch.
“I’m just not a city girl. Small towns, even though it’s irritating when everyone knows your business, are where I was meant to be.”
Oh. Okay. That’s good. I stand up. “Silent Valley is a nice, quiet town.”
“It seems like it. I love that they do the movies in the town square.”
“They do tons of fun activities. There’s a winter festival coming up…”