Chapter 4
Tanya
I’m just closing up the shop when my best friend breezes in through the front door. “Ellie, what’s up? I’m just trying to close up so I can head home to a hot bath and a steamy book.” Also to text a little with Damien, but she doesn’t need to every detail of my life.
She grins devilishly. “Well, too bad. Cause you and I are heading to the local bar for a few drinks and wings. It’s half price wing night.”
I slump with a smirk. “Well, we both know that I can’t turn down half price wings.”
“Exactly.”
“What about your husband? Is he joining us?”
Ellie smiles. “Not this time. Tonight is a girl’s night for just the two of us. Like before, men came into our lives.”
I laugh. “All right, you win. But first, I need to go home and change.”
“No problem. We’ll take my car.”
After I’m done closing everything up, we climb into Ellie’s SUV then proceed to my place, which actually used to belong to Sebastian before he and Ellie moved in together. The place itself is cute, a modest two-bedroom apartment in the nicest part of town. Since I’m his wife’s best friend, Seb was nice enough to give me a break on the place. He sublets it to me for a lot less than he could get if he rented it to someone else.
After leaving Ellie in the family room, I dash into my bedroom to quickly change into my trusty LBD or little black dress.
About twenty minutes later, I’m just putting on the finishing touches to my minimal make-up when a text notification lights up my phone.
Damien : Hey angel. How’s it going?
I can’t stop the instant grin from spreading across my face.
Tanya: Hey you. Happy to hear from you. It’s going well. Actually, heading out with Ellie for a girls’ night in a few.
Damien : Funny, me too, but with a few guys I knew back in high school … So, I was wondering what your plans are for tomorrow?
Tanya : Working at the shop till around five in the evening. Why?
Damien : I’d like to take you out for dinner.
Tanya : Dinner between friends or like a date?
Damien : Like a date. ??
OMG! It’s finally going to happen.
Tanya : Sounds good. How about you meet me at the shop at five thirty, so I have time to get ready.
Damien : Sounds like a plan. Though, angel, I know you’ll look dynamite no matter what.
OMG! OMG!
Tanya: See you tomorrow evening.
Damien: You too, angel. Have fun with Ellie tonight.
Squealing like a teenage girl, I fall back against my bed, causing Ellie to run into my room with a knowing look on her face.
“So, I’m guessing you heard from Damien, hmmm?”
I grin brightly. “Yes, I did. He’s taking me out to dinner tomorrow night. Isn’t that great?”
She smiles genuinely. “I’m really happy for you, Tanya. You deserve happiness. But just remember, he doesn’t live in town. You normally don’t do long-distance relationships.”
Not since Jose. “I know, but Damien isn’t him. Besides, we were in high school when that happened. It’s not like Mrs. Shaw is going to move all her family to another country.”
She nods. “You almost ready?”
I push myself up off the bed. “Yup! Let’s go.
We arrive at the local bar, which happens to be named The Sandy Cove Pub. Original, am I right!? Ellie and I notice that it’s a lot busier than we originally thought it might be. “Maybe they started advertising about half price wing night?” I suggest.
She shakes her head. “No, it can’t be that.”
When I see Flo, one of the waitresses about to pass us by, I manage to stop her by waving my hand her way.
“Tanya. Ellie. Good to see you. Are you here for the massive party that they’re having?”
“What party?” Ellie and I both ask at the same time.
Flo looks at us both like we have more than one head each. “Why, the party for the hometown football star, Damien Shaw, of course. His high school chums set it all up when they heard he was coming to visit. They wanted to celebrate his performance in last week’s game.”
Glancing over towards the hometown football star, I can’t help but notice he has two females on either side of him trying to get closer and trying to get him to autograph their clothed chests.
I turn back to Ellie. “You know what? I changed my mind. Let’s go grab a pizza to go, then watch chic flicks at my place.”
She glances at the party, then back at me. “You sure?”
I nod. “Oh, I’m sure.”
As I climb back into Ellie’s passenger seat, I send off a quick text message to the football star of Sandy Cove.
Tanya : Change of plans. I’m not available tomorrow evening or anytime, for that matter.
Damien
“You guys are the best,” I say to my many friends, who all came together to help me celebrate. “I’m really touched. But seriously, I need to call it a night.” Back when I went to the bathroom about ten minutes ago, I checked my phone and noticed that Tanya had texted me around an hour before that. At first, I was excited, then I read her text.
Tanya : Change of plans. I’m not available tomorrow evening or anytime, for that matter.
What the Hell? Where did this come from? So, I decide to text her back.
Damien : What do you mean you’re not available anytime? What made you change your mind?
By the time it takes me to finally get outside of the pub and call an Uber, it’s been at least another hour, and still no text from Tanya.
Damien : Tanya, what is going on? Please tell me.
It doesn’t take too long to reach my family’s home. Once I’m inside my old bedroom, I decide to give her a call. Though being sneaky, I use my mom’s phone line.
“Hello, Mrs. Shaw? Everything all right? You never call this late.”
“Shit!” When that follows, I know she has realized it’s me.
Then she confirms it. “Damien. I’m hanging up now. Don’t you understand I don’t want to speak with you.”
“Tanya, wait! Please. What changed in less than an evening between us?”
What must be only a few moments of silence seems like a lifetime.
“Ellie and I saw you with your friends and groupies.”
A light goes on in my brain. “Ah, I understand.”
“You understand?” She repeats.
“I understand that from what you saw, you came to the wrong conclusion. Yes, my friends planned this party for me, which I found out about at the time of said party. The groupies you mentioned are some of my friends’ girlfriends and wives. They asked them to do that. Tanya, I promise you, you are the only female I’m interested in. Besides, those girls couldn’t hold a candle compared to you.”
She gasps. “Really?”
I sigh. “Of course. I know we’re still really new to each other, but so you know when I decide to date someone, I only date that one person, and no one else.”
She sighs. “I feel so silly now.”
“No, don’t. What you feel is important. I care about you think.”
“Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better, though looking back, if I had a problem, I should have come to you first before making a rash decision.”
“Does that mean that tomorrow evening’s date is back on?”
“Yes, it’s back on. I’ll see you at the shop.”
“Yup! At five thirty. Night angel. Sleep tight.”
“Night Damien.”
I breathe in deep, then let it out slowly. First possible relationship crisis adverted.
Stripping out of my clothes, I retrieve a fresh pair of boxers from one of the dressers in my old bedroom. I normally sleep in the buff, but never in my mom’s house. That just isn’t right, in my opinion. Pulling the covers back, I climb in and stretch out my long form, causing my feet to now hang off my old twin-sized bed. I smile genuinely before falling asleep.