Chapter 5 #2
“It sure is. Look.” He glanced down at the cup in his grasp, as if that rewired the crossed neurons in his brain.
“Is it weird that we’ve met here? Yes. Am I going to act scandalized after what we got up to last weekend?
Absolutely not. It’s not in my nature, Eden.
But I do apologize if this has you hyperventilating a little. ”
She made a small gesture with her thumb and forefinger. “Just a little.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I promise, I don’t make a habit of bumping into Butterflies out in the real world. In fact, it’s only happened once before.”
“Oh, it’s happened before?”
“Yes. But not in public. At a very exclusive nightclub in the big city.”
“Thought as much.”
“She was very much employed there.”
“I figured.”
Liam – and it was already strange to know his name – stared into the distance before refocusing on her. “I pulled you over here because I figured it was better than us gasping at each other in front of a bunch of people.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to explain.”
“Oh. Good.”
Wasn’t it strange, though? That silence could fall between them, and it wasn’t…
weird? Bizarre, maybe, but that didn’t imply ill intent on the universe’s part.
If anything, Eden was in the perfect position to make a graceful exit.
She saved her face, and Liam didn’t come out looking like a creep when he was just out getting coffee.
In my city, but that’s neither here nor there. The world worked in mysterious ways.
Much like how this silence didn’t perturb her. If anything, Eden welcomed it. She needed a bit of a reprieve after all of the emotions from the past two days. I sent the other guy a naughty pic of myself last night after jilling off to him. I mean… That was the state of her life right now.
“For what it’s worth,” Liam said, cutting into her thoughts, “and I realize I risk sounding like an idiot right now who really loves the taste of his own foot…”
Eden sat up. “Yeah?”
“I’m glad I bumped into you. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since this weekend, Br – I mean, Eden.”
“Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like ‘Brim’ does, huh?”
“I think it suits you more.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because being with you was like playing in the Garden of Eden.”
From any other guy, that would have made her roll her eyes and gag, but there was something effortlessly endearing about a man who openly confessed he liked sharing women with other men. Boy, did I take advantage of that last weekend. The proof was in Eden’s bank account right now.
“Do you think you’re the first guy to say that to me?”
“Absolutely not. I would high-five any guy to lay that one on you. Absolute poetry.”
That was it. That was what made Eden fall over laughing. What else was she supposed to do?
“I’m glad I can entertain you, Ms. Eden.”
She pushed herself back up, swiping her hair out of her face. Hair I paid way too much for. “I’m glad you can entertain me as well, Mr. Liam.”
What was that look in his eye? He was gonna shoot his shot, wasn’t he? “How about I entertain you sometime this weekend? A proper date between you and me. No islands have to know.”
She pressed her fingers against her mouth, her eyes glazing over as she recalled that she was seeing Benson that night.
“Ah, I’m sorry. That was too forward of me. You’re probably already spoken for outside of work, anyway.”
“I’m not a…” She shut her eyes and instantly regretted saying it like that. “The island was a, uh, a one-time thing. For cash.”
“Hey, I’m the last guy to judge.”
“Pretty sure it was, anyway.”
“Like I said, no judgment.”
“And I’m not attached to anyone,” Eden told him. “I’m just also kinda dating around right now. If I’m being honest.”
“As it so happens, I am also dating around. In fact, I had a terrible date last night.”
“Really?”
“The apps are truly the worst. She tried her luck with another guy right there at the bar.”
“Really!”
“And all I could think was, gee, wish that beautiful woman from the island was here.”
He really was a charmer, wasn’t he?
“So, you’re seeing other people, I’m seeing other people… it’s perfect. We should also meet up again soon and see where it goes.”
“You’re not bothered by that?” Eden had to make sure before she followed the whim of this breeze blowing her way. “About you possibly not being the only man in my life?”
“Not at all. As long as you’re honest. And I appreciate your honesty.”
“I also appreciate honesty. Like you promising that this is all a crazy coincidence and I’m not insane for questioning my reality right now?”
“I can’t answer to the latter part, but I do believe ‘this is all a crazy coincidence.’ I was planning on thinking about you for the rest of my life without a chance in hell of ever seeing you again. Now I have a chance. Isn’t that something?”
“Boy, it sure is.”
He took out his phone. “Let’s exchange numbers. Ball’s in your court.”
“I see… not going to ask me out tonight?”
“Tonight?” Liam scoffed. “That’s a bit soon. Woman like you is already booked tonight. Right?”
She sheepishly blushed.
“Uh-huh. That’s all right.” He showed her the place at the top of his phone screen where she could punch in her number. “I have a work dinner tonight. I must lay it on thick with a couple of Gen-Z entrepreneurs who need angel investors for their fumbling startup.”
She stared at the blank space, but her focus was on him. “Sounds like you’ve already decided not to invest.”
“Ah, we’ll see. My instincts don’t usually fail me, so I might feel a pull when having steaks and beer with guys in sweats and broccoli haircuts.”
“That’s my generation you’re talking about, you crusty Millennial.”
Liam’s mouth fell agape as she wrote in her number. In the name field, she merely wrote an emoji smiley face before handing his phone back to him. “What?” she asked.
He slowly palmed his phone. “You called me crusty.”
“I called your generation crusty. And cringe.”
He pretended that it constituted two shots to the chest.
“Cheugy,” she said with a finger pointing at the table. “Cheu. Gy. Mi. Len. Ni. Al.”
“How did you know I was thirty-five?”
“Because none of you look like you’re still in your twenties, despite what you say.”
“I’ll have you know I’m only ten pounds heavier than in my frat days.”
“Do you think weight is the only thing that makes a man look older?”
“I’m not answering that. It’s entrapment.”
She laughed so hard that she almost knocked over her drink.
“Tomorrow,” Liam said, cutting into her laughter as it sputtered over the table. “I’ll take you out tomorrow night, assuming you’re available.”
Eden couldn’t reply until she had recollected her bearings, which meant swallowing some of her white mocha and pulling hair out of her mouth. “I am.”
“Great. How does dinner and drinks sound?”
“Take me somewhere I can wear a cheap dress,” she withdrew her phone from her jacket pocket and opened her contacts’ app, “and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
He looked like he had won a million dollars when she handed him her phone. The fact that he now held a dark purple case with a holographic flower stickered on the back only made him sexier as his big thumbs and nimble fingers played her screen like he had played her pussy a week ago.
“We’ll go to any kind of place you want.” His tongue slightly stuck out of his mouth as he concentrated on a typo he had just made. “Punk rock concert. High-end lounge.” He handed back her phone. “Big titty goth bar.”
“Yeah, you would be the type to want a big titty goth girlfriend.”
“Don’t suppose you…”
“Sorry.” She put her phone away, grabbed her mocha, and slipped out of her seat. “Not a goth.”
“And I already know about the—”
She covered his mouth with her hand. It wasn’t until she was two feet away that she had to pull her hand back and instead twiddle her fingers as she swung her hips out of the coffee shop.
Just like that, Eden Hailstone had two dates lined up. She couldn’t wait for either.