2. Chapter Two
L ila looks absolutely divine. Her long, ebony hair cascades just past her shoulders. Her sharp, slate-grey eyes are piercing. The moo man wiggles in my arms, demanding to be put down.
I put him back in the pen and turn to my Little Masterpiece. That nickname suits her. She raises an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
Lunch is a good first date place. Or is it too early to be considered a first date? No. I'm asking her out. It's definitely a first date.
“Kinda. Lici practically dragged me out of bed today,” she laughs.
Her laugh rings in my ears. Not in that annoying static way, but in a pleasant way. I want her. She's out of my league, but I want her. What do I have to do to convince her to give me a shot?
“One moment.” I turn around and face Christine who is running the table under the tent for the shelter.
I walk to the table and get her attention. She looks up at me through her curtain of multi-colored bangs and raises an eyebrow.
“Hey Christine, will you do me a favor and finish up here for the day? Daniel will be here in ten minutes to help you with all of our little friends.”
“Yeah, yeah I can do that. Have fun on your coffee date,” she laughs.
She heard that. Oh well, at least I go for what I want. By the time I return to Lila, she is bent over the playpen and playing with the Moo Man. He's normally an antisocial little friend, but he seems to have taken a liking to Lila. Animals usually have a great sense of people, so I'm taking this as a sign.
I've seen Lila around, mostly at the butcher shop. I think she works there doing something or another. Lici just happened to notice her catching my eye last week and asked how I would feel about her setting us up. Something about how Lila has a shit taste in men and I'm not a bad guy. That was quite the ego boost.
Lila stands and turns to face me. “Everything ok?”
“More than ok. Are you ready to grab that coffee?” I ask, grinning.
“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” she smiles at me.
I extend my arm to her and she hooks her arm through it. No hesitation. So, she likes me. Good. I have a solid chance with this, and I'm already off to a good start. Is this her allowing me to take my shot?
We walk down Main Street and between all the different vendors until we reach the cafe. Tattooed treats is the name of the cafe. They have everything from different kinds of coffees and espressos to baked goods like pies cakes and truffles. Everything is delicious though. I think this is the ideal spot for the first date. I just hope Lila feels the same.
She looks around and once her eyes land on the cream cheese cookies display near the register, her eyes light up. So she's a sweets kind of girl, eh? That I can work with.
Holding the door open, I turn to face Lila. “After you.”
“Thank you,” she says with a smile as she walks inside.
The decor of the place almost has a cottage feel. Herbs growing on the indoor window boxes line the windows, and the booths are upholstered in a delicate floral print. It's cozy. The perfect place for a first date with Lila.
We walk up to the counter and Lila's hand brushes against mine as she looks over the menu. It takes everything in me not to grab her hand. It's too early for that. Right?
My eyes drop to her hand. She sways slightly toward me before her hand gently grabs mine. She grabbed my hand. A blush rises to my cheeks.
“Welcome in! What can we get started for you both today?” The bubbly barista asks.
“I think I'm going to go with the peppermint mocha and a cream cheese cookie. What about you, Spencer?” She asks.
“Uh, caramel crunch frappe for me. It's my go-to.”
I look anywhere but at her. I can still feel the blush on my cheeks. I pull out my debit card and hand it to the cashier before Lila can dig hers out.
I pay and turn to Lila. Her hand is still holding mine. It's comfortable rather than awkward. I wonder if she notices? Glancing up at Lila, I realize she's not looking at me at all. Her gaze is fixed on the wall of Valentine's Day-themed mugs. A giggle escapes her lips, and I swear I can feel my heart skip a beat.
The first time I saw Lila, she was unloading half a cow from a meat truck. Her white apron was covered in blood and her gloves Looked slick at best. I was going over to ask if she needed help, but before I could, she looked at me and smiled. I've secretly been going into that shop for odds and ends just to try to catch a glimpse of her face. And now, here we are, holding hands in a coffee shop. Karma has been kind, and so has Lici.
“Do you want a table or a booth?” Lila asks.
“Either. I don't have a preference.”
“Booth it is!” She exclaims, pulling me over to the corner booth.
We slide into our respective sides and she smiles at me. The warm feeling in my chest spreads. The corner booth. This is the booth that high schoolers share with their girlfriends on date nights. And, now, it's the booth I'm sharing with Lila.
“So, Spencer, tell me about yourself. All I know is your name and that you're with the animal shelter.”
Her slate grey eyes fix on me. Her gaze is intense. I can only imagine how passionate they can be too.
“I own the shelter. It belonged to my grandmother, and when she got too old to be able to run it, she gave it to me. When I'm not there, I like to read. That's about it. Animals and books,” I laugh.
“Oh? What kind of books?” She arches an eyebrow as she poses the dreaded question.
Porn. Smut. All kinds of romance. It's probably best to leave that one vague. I don't think that's the first date answer she's looking for.
“Romance.”
“Romance? Or romance ?” She asks with a smirk.
“Yes.”
She laughs so hard she snorts. “I do too.”
“So now that I've told you about me, tell me about you.”
Dear God, anything to distract the blush trying to rise.
“Well, I'm a butcher. It's also a family business so to speak. I have two older brothers. Marc and Josh. My parents still live in town. I'm a homebody. I don't really do things aside from sleep, read, and watch Hallmark movies.”
She shrugs her shoulders. She is adorable. I fold my hands on top of each other on the table. She reaches across the table top and places her hand on top of mine. I flipped my hand over and interlaced our fingers. I look up and there's a slight red tint to her cheeks.
A Barista brings over our coffee and Lila's cookie. Lila takes a sip of her coffee and then a small bite of the cookie. The way she crinkles her nose in delight is about the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. She truly is a masterpiece in all she does.
That's saying something considering I work with puppies and kittens all day. My little masterpiece, hard at work. We finish our coffees, and I notice Lila staring at me.
“What's up?" I ask.
“I need to give you my phone number. This is really fun and I would like to do it again sometime. If you want to, that is.” She's starting to ramble.
Is she nervous? The butterflies in my stomach are fluttering at tornado speed. It's safe to say I'm a tiny bit nervous too.
I open my phone and click on create a new contact. Handing her my phone, she hands me hers. It's in a light green case. I took her as an intense burgundy kind of woman. I type my phone number in and take a quick selfie before saving the contact and sliding it back over to her.
Shit. I typed in my first and last name. Does Spencer Calderone sound too pretentious? Lila hands my phone back to me. Lila Blum. Thank fuck. She did a last name too.
“Well, Spencer, I have to go get ready for work. Call me?” She asks.
She stands up and I do the same. Lila leans down toward me, so I turn my head toward her. What I wasn't expecting was her lips crashing down on mine.
I pull her closer to me and kiss her back. When I pull away, I can't help the giant grin on my face. Well, that's certainly one way to get a first kiss out of the way. Lila’s face is bright tomato red.
“I-I… That was nice?” She stammers.
“Yes, Yes it was. Allow me to walk you out,” I say with a wink.
I walk Lila back to the shelter’s booth in comfortable silence. She holds onto my arm and we walk in perfect harmony. I don't think that kiss was intentional, but I have no regrets.
She turns to face me and kisses my cheek before she turns to walk away.
“See you later, Spencer,” she says over her shoulder as she walks away. I stand there, frozen.
“Spence? You good, buddy?” Christine asks from the desk with a bemused smile.
“I'm better than good, Christine.”
“Oh, your unrequited love is being returned?” She laughs.
“Laugh all you want, but a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell,” I grin.
“YOU TWO ALREADY KISSED?!” Christine whisper-screams loudly enough for only me to hear.
The rest of the time at the farmer’s market went by in a haze. The next thing I know, I'm back at the shelter putting the pens in storage while Christine put the animals in their respective kennels.
She finishes up and waves as she leaves for the day. I should probably head out too. I’ll do one last sweep to make sure all doors and windows are locked then I’ll go grab lunch. Who knows? I may just need something from Blums'. Even if that something is a glance at Lila's face.
Once I'm one hundred percent sure none of my little animal friends can get out, I walk out of the front door and lock it behind me. The gravel crunching behind me causes my back to stiffen. It's too heavy to be Christine. Turning, I find two men in suits. The one on the left is toting a briefcase. Their faces are hidden by the shadow of the brim of their hats. Are those fedoras?
“Mister Calderone?” The one without the briefcase asks.
“I'm he. May I ask who you two are?” I cross my arms.
“Who we are isn't important. Who we represent is Inkstone Development. Miss Stone wishes to know if you've reconsidered her deal.”
“My answer is still no. I'm not selling the shelter,” I say, crossing my arms.
Miss Stone approached my grandmother first. Then when Grandmother signed the shelter over to me, Miss Stone approached me too. She wants to tea down the shelter and turn it into her private estate. Something about wanting the last bit of unrestricted land the shelter sits on. I've turned her down four times already. I guess this will be the fifth.
“I see. Well, Mister Calderone, that is quite unfortunate.”
The one without the briefcase sucker punches me in the gut. I stumble back, gasping for air, and the man with the briefcase punches me in the face. I feel my nose crunch and start to bleed. Searing pain shoots through me.
“We will return, Mister Calderone. I do hope you will reconsider,” the first man says.
They both retreat to their black escalades and peel out of the driveway, fucking up the gravel as they do. I stagger back and prop up against the door until I can catch my breath. The sharp breath I take in tells me I should probably get checked out.
Well, no. I can't. If they did this to me to get a point across, what would they do to Christine? and the animals? I can't take that risk.
I think I should just go home today.