Chapter 2 - Blair
Brandon’s grin widens. “Sure, we can meet at eight? Are you in the mood for seafood? Seeing as you mentioned prawns?”
“Seafood would be nice,” I nod, my heart hammering in my chest as I nervously fidget with the corner of some book pages.
I never say yes. I hardly ever get asked out anymore, though, but there’s a reason for that. It’s because I prefer to blend in and not stand out. I prefer not to draw attention to myself.
After having as many bad experiences with men as I’ve had in my life, I decided it was better to just avoid the whole dating thing altogether.
And that’s what I’ve been doing for a full two years already.
The last breakup was especially hard on me.
I still have nightmares about it. It still hurts to think about it.
But maybe it’s time to give this a chance again. Brandon is sweet. He’s been working with me for a year already, and I know him well enough.
Besides, as scared as I am to get back into dating, I don’t exactly want to die a virgin. I’ll end up an old woman, single with five cats and a house full of books. It sounds depressing. I need to get over my fears and just go for it.
“Eight then. I’ll find us a nice spot and make a booking. I’ll text you the details,” Brandon says, taking a step back. He’s grinning like a schoolboy. I’m not even sure if he’s my type. But apparently, my type has all been assholes in the past, so maybe it’s a good thing he isn’t.
“Eight,” I nod, already regretting my decision but sticking to it anyway. It’s just dinner. It’s not like we’re going to get married straight after. It’s just dinner. Conversation. Totally normal stuff.
I don’t actually care about changing. I could have gone straight from work with him. I’m even hungry enough now. But the truth is, I needed some time to prepare mentally. I need to take a few very deep breaths and try to ease the anxiety already building in my stomach.
Our last customer for the day leaves while I’m in the back putting things away, but Brandon walks him out, chats with him, and locks up after he’s gone.
I sling my purse over my shoulder, throw a nervous smile at Brandon, and tell him I’ll see him in a bit before I let myself out and turn right to walk to the bus stop.
Thank goodness that heat wave that started last week is easing up a little.
My phone chimes, and I pull it from my back pocket to check the message. It’s Brandon, texting me the restaurant name.
I’m busy typing out a quick thanks when I walk headfirst into a very solid, very tall man.
As we collide, his iced coffee spills all over the front of his shirt.
I yelp in surprise, taking a quick step back and almost tripping over my own feet. He moves quickly, wrapping his arm around my waist to steady me.
My cheeks are burning red with embarrassment when I look up at him.
His clothes look really fancy, even covered in iced coffee.
“I’m so sorry,” I stammer as our eyes meet. My mind goes blank as he stares down at me with a mischievous grin on his gorgeous lips. Dark green eyes. Intense and piercing.
Without realizing it, I am biting my lip. He is definitely my type. The attraction is instant. How could it not be? He’s freaking gorgeous.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice is so deep it vibrates through my chest. His hand is still resting on my waist.
I stammer, tripping over my words as I reply. “Yes, oh my goodness, your shirt is ruined. I’m really sorry. I wasn’t even looking where I was going. Stupid phones. They are so distracting.”
“Seriously, it’s fine. It’s not a problem,” he smiles, amused.
I narrow my eyes at him, captivated, caught in his stare again. “Um, at least let me get you a new shirt?” I ask. “You can’t walk around in that one with coffee all over it.”
“It’s not necessary. Seriously.”
“Well, I insist. It’s good manners,” I smile.
He chuckles. A delicious sound that runs over me like dark caramel.
“Alright, if you insist, I can hardly argue, but only if you help me choose one,” he smiles. The gorgeous man holds out his hand. “Simon,” he says.
As I place mine in my heart beats even faster. “Blair. It’s nice to meet you, Simon.”
Instead of carrying on toward the bus stop, I walk with Simon to the mall across the street from the bookshop where I work.
At first, it’s really awkward browsing shirts with a total stranger.
Especially one who is this good-looking.
I haven’t felt self-conscious in a very long time, but he has me nervously brushing my fingers through my hair to try and neaten it and wishing I’d worn something a little more flattering today.
But Simon has a way about him that sets me at ease. And dammit, he is sexy!
He’s so calm and easy-going that it’s impossible not to feel drawn to him.
He isn’t in any kind of rush, and soon I’m actually having fun helping him choose a shift.
“You’re quite fussy,” I tease, bolder than I usually am.
“I know what I like in life. Is that fussy or decisive?” he counters with a grin.
“Fussy,” I grin too, scrunching my nose.
His laughter is infectious.
Strangely, I’ve been friends with Brandon for a year, and I’ve never once thought of him as a potential attraction.
There was never a spark. But in such a short time with Simon, I’m blushing, being playful, and finding myself staring at his lips.
The spark is so obvious it’s almost blinding me.
This is how it’s supposed to feel. Or is this me being reckless?
Simon chooses a dark charcoal colored shirt. He insists it’s not black, and I tease him again for being so specific.
Once I’ve paid for the shirt and our shopping is over, my heart sinks a little, disappointed that our moment together is over.
Simon is standing in front of me, wearing his new shirt and holding a bag with his other shirt in it. “Thank you, this is great,” he says, tugging at the shirt.
“It looks good. I am sorry again for the inconvenience,” I say.
“Actually, I really enjoyed myself. I might even have dragged it out longer than I needed to,” he smirks.
The remark makes me blush and puts me at a loss for words as I grin and stare down at my feet.
Is he flirting? He is. And it’s not the first time since I poured his drink down his front.
“Blair, you should have dinner with me,” he says. It’s not a request, more of a demand. One that I find quite sexy with his deep voice filled with confidence.
“Oh no, I couldn’t. I should get going because…”
“No, seriously. I took up so much of your time choosing a shirt. Let me take you to dinner. It’s late. You haven’t eaten. I know I’m hungry,” he says.
Getting asked out to dinner twice in one day. Who would have thought? But this is so different. I can’t even compare him to Brandon. He’s so much more… powerful…it seems like such an odd word to choose, but it also feels right. He has an intense masculine energy. Yet he’s calm and confident.
And regardless of what I want to admit to myself, the attraction was instant and has only gotten stronger over the hour I’ve spent with him.
There is no attraction with Brandon. I knew that when I said yes, and honestly, I knew our dinner date would never amount to anything more.
With Simon, there is something intriguing, something exciting. Why shouldn’t I enjoy that and take a little chance?
“Ok,” I smile, agreeing to his invite before I can spin out into a thought loop and think myself out of it. Why not? Just go for it! When last did anyone make you feel even a fraction of what he’s making you feel right now?
And you were just thinking that you should give dating another chance.
My stomach churns nervously. Ok. Maybe don’t call it dating. You said yes to Brandon because he was safe. There wasn’t much risk of you falling for him. Simon is anything but safe.
“Are you in the mood for steak or seafood? There are two great places close by,” he says.
“Seafood, actually. But I just need to send a quick message if you don’t mind,” I reply.
I feel terrible canceling on Brandon, but at the same time, it’s liberating.
Something inside me is nervously coming back to life.
Something I’ve carefully packed away and refused to let out for fear of things that happened in the past repeating themselves.
But it’s okay. It’s time. And it would be stupid of me not to say yes to a man as charming and gorgeous as Simon, even if he terrifies me as much as he intrigues me.
Simon places his hand on my lower back as he pushes the restaurant door open for me and gestures for me to go inside.
A cool blast of air washes over us as we walk in.
“Hello, a table for two?” A young girl asks, smiling at us.
“By the window, if possible?” Simon says, sounding like a man who always gets what he wants.
It’s something in the way he speaks. He is commanding when he requests something as though he’s certain it will happen.
“Of course, right this way,” the waitress says, leading us through the restaurant. It’s early enough that it’s not busy yet. Music is playing softly from overhead speakers, and through the wide windows, the sun is starting to streak the sky with red and orange, as though the clouds are on fire.
“Wow, that is the most beautiful sunset,” I murmur as Simon pulls my chair out for me and pushes it back in behind me.
“Sunsets are often seen as representing the veil between the world of the living and the dead, or the world of darkness and light. It’s the time when almost anything can happen because the veil is the thinnest.”
I squint my eyes at him, surprised by the depth of his remark.
“Where did you hear that?” I ask, curious.
“I enjoy reading mythology, and often when I travel somewhere I’ll read up about the legends in the area. Just something that has always fascinated me.”
“Oh, wow, most people don’t have time to read these days,” I remark.
“That’s a bold assumption,” he chuckles as he sits down, closer to me than I expected. Our legs are brushing against each other beneath the table, sending currents of electricity shooting through me. He doesn’t move away as he gets comfortable.
Not that I want him to anyway.
“I work at a bookstore, so I do get to have an opinion on the matter,” I smile.
“That’s fair, except a lot of people read books on their devices these days. Not that I think it’s the same. There’s something magical about ink on paper, and that smell.”
My brows shoot up, my eyes widening in delight.
“I say the same thing! I read all the time, and I insist on having an actual book in my hand when I do. I think it’s also to do with how attached people are to their phones lately.
It’s nice to set it aside and totally forget about it for a while.
My friends all know I’m hardly ever on my phone, so days can go by without me replying to them,” I giggle.
Simon orders us a bottle of white wine. I choose the lemon butter prawns, and he chooses the catch of the day.
The night drifts past in a slow, beautiful flow of conversation that makes me forget about time or the fact that I hardly know him at all.
It feels like we’ve been friends for years.
It actually surprises me how comfortable I am around him.
We speak about traveling, and he’s been to so many places! All I can really do is tell him about the places I want to go. And he gets quite excited when we speak about food. It seems to be his passion to try the local food in different places.
“You make me want to get on a plane and go to Asia or something so that I can taste their street food,” I giggle.
“Maybe I will have to take you there one day. You seem like someone who would be fun to travel with.”
“I think I would be a slow traveler,” I remark thoughtfully.
“How so?”
“I would want to spend my time looking at things. Really taking it in. Some people rush through places and only do the very adventurous things, but I would want to see the details.”
“Well, then I would definitely enjoy traveling with you. But we would have to sneak in an adventurous thing now and then,” he laughs.
It’s late when Simon’s phone rings. He glances at the screen and pulls his mouth to the side. “I’m so sorry, it’s my brother, I won’t be a moment,” he says, excusing himself from the table.
I watch as he stands a little way off and speaks in a quiet tone. Even the way he stands makes him more attractive. His easy-going nature and the lighthearted conversation—everything has been so perfect, I’m not sure I want it to end.
I find myself smiling at him while I watch him on the phone, and this makes me blush.
Luckily, by the time he walks back to the table, my cheeks have calmed down.
“I’m so sorry, Blair. I have to go. This has been amazing, though. I hate to cut it so short,” he says, sounding genuinely upset about it.
I stand up, gathering my things.
“It has been really lovely. It was such a pleasure to meet you, Simon.”
“Let me set the bill, then I’ll walk you out. Or can I give you a lift somewhere?”
“Oh, no, I’ll call an Uber. There are a ton of them around here. It’ll take a few minutes.”
Outside on the sidewalk, I stand awkwardly in front of him, looking up at him as he smiles down at me.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” he says politely. Simon leans forward, and my heart does a wild leap as he gently kisses my cheek.
As he steps back, a car comes to a stop behind me.
“This yours?” he asks.
I glance at the number plate. “Yes, that’s me,” I smile.
After saying another thank you and another goodbye, he tugs open the car door for me, and I climb inside.
As I drive away, I realize I never gave him my number or asked for his.
My heart clenches tightly with a moment of panic.
Will I ever see him again?
That was so silly of me!