Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Bryson
It’s a pretty fucked-up concept, waiting twenty-one years for the date you know will change everything.
I’ve had some big days in my life, in my sporting career, and in my professional career, but nothing has ever made me as nervous as this dinner is.
I’m not just nervous, I’m excited too. It’s a hell of a thing to get your head around – starting what is going to be the rest of your life… going on a first date with the woman who will one day wear your ring and share your last name.
The things this woman does to me, the way she makes me feel, it’s the most alive I’ve felt in forever. She smiles at me and my blood flows through my veins with purpose. My heart beats with meaning again. I could give Nicholas Sparks a run for his money these days.
Kissing her… fuck, kissing her is something I can’t even describe.
Anything more than that, when I earn the right to experience it… I think that might be what I really stayed alive for when I wanted it all to end.
I smooth out the collar of my shirt and check on the flowers sitting on the front seat next to me.
She requested something ‘low key’ for our first date, but I don’t know how low key I can be about Sophia.
She’s been the only girl to me for so long, I don’t want to waste a minute of it being low key .
As far as I’m concerned, Sophia Davids deserves everything to be high key, but I’ve done as she asked – sort of – I picked a smaller bunch of flowers instead of the huge one I saw when I walked into the florist, and didn’t wear a suit jacket. We’re going to a nice place, but not the nicest. I’ll call it compromise.
If she’s got any complaints, she can put them in writing and I’ll process them in due course. But for tonight, she’ll be getting the flowers, and treated almost exactly how she should be.
The time ticks over from five fifty-nine, to six pm. I grab the flowers off the seat and open the door.
I’m pretty sure I can feel eyes on me from the main house as I walk down the driveway to the small flat at the back. She made it very clear that I shouldn’t go to the main house, she said her parents would probably ask me five hundred questions and insist I come in for tea.
I’m more than happy to avoid that situation for the time being.
I have every intention to meet her family, but I think we can safely leave that for at least the second date.
I approach her door and I can hear music playing, and maybe even the sound of her singing or talking. I listen for a second before knocking on the door.
The noise cuts off abruptly and I hear the sound of footsteps on hard floors.
“Coming!” she calls out.
The door swings open and just like in the movies, the woman takes the man’s breath away.
“Holy shit, Sophia, you’re beautiful.”
She blushes as I hand her the flowers.
“You didn’t need to do this, you know.”
“I’d have done more if I thought you’d let me.”
“This is more than enough. They’re so pretty, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Come inside for a minute, I’ll put them in some water and then we can go.”
I follow her in, and I’m surprised by how tidy it is. I know that toddlers aren’t exactly neat creatures. It’s a sweet little place, decorated with a touch that can only be achieved with a feminine energy involved. It’s small, but it feels like a home. My place is just somewhere I live.
She opens and shuts a few cupboards, I guess looking for a jar, and some photos on a shelf catch my eye.
I smile as I look at the pictures of Sophia and her friends back at school. This was probably only taken about three years ago, but she looks so different, she hasn’t got the weight of the world on her shoulders.
There’s heaps of her and Aria, one in particular that looks like maybe it wasn’t taken too long ago. I pick it up to look at it closer. Aria really has grown up so much, she’s a real little person now, and her baby features have hardened a bit. She’s the spitting image of her mother.
“She’s gotten so big.”
She’s still a tiny little girl – she’s petite like Sophia, but she’s grown so much since I last saw her.
Sophia appears beside me, looking at the photo in my hands.
“She sure has. Kid grows like a weed.”
“I can’t wait to see her again.”
Sophia looks at me with an expression on her face that makes me think she likes the sound of that too.
“Shall we go? ”
I nod, put the frame back where I found it, and usher her out the door, and into our first ever date.
“What do you want me to tell you?” She lightly shakes her hair free from behind her ear, so some of it falls forward to cover the light blush on her cheeks.
“ Everything , Sophia.”
She glances up at me. “I don’t think I have anything very exciting to tell.”
“You could read the phone book and I’d hang on every word.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
I reach out and tuck her hair back behind her ear so I can see her face. “Start with one thing then. What’s the best thing that happened to you in the last two years? Not counting Aria, because I already know she’s the best thing to happen to you ever.”
She looks like she’s thinking about what to pick. Her cheeks go a light pink. “I don’t know if I want to tell you.”
“Why not?” I frown. I don’t like the idea of her not wanting to tell me something. I want to know everything.
“You might think it’s lame.”
“So what? If it’s important enough to be your favourite thing, then you shouldn’t care if someone else thinks it’s lame. Not even me.”
She nibbles on her lip. “Okay. I guess that’s fair. Well… I sort of started making videos of me cooking and –”
“I don’t think it’s lame,” I cut her off.
“I didn’t finish telling you what I do with them.”
A grin spreads wildly across my face. This is perfect. She doesn’t know I watch.
It seems I know more about her than she realises, which pleases me, a whole hell of a lot.
“Why are you grinning like that?”
“I’ve watched every single one of your cooking videos, Soph, I’m probably your biggest fan. So like I said, I don’t think it’s lame.”
She blinks slowly, shocked.
“ You watched them? Oh my god that’s so embarrassing.”
I chuckle. “Of course I watched them, and I can actually cook now, thanks to you. The last cake I made came out of the tin of its own free will, so I think I’m making good progress.”
“You really made some of the stuff I put in the tutorials?” She’s looking at me in disbelief.
The fact that she is so surprised is crazy, I’ve seen the view counts on her videos. I’ve read the comments. People love her stuff. She’s just being modest.
“ Some of it? I made all of it. My favourites so far are the lemon chicken and the berry muffins. You were right about adding the honey. I’ve watched each one about five times.”
Her jaw falls slack as I speak. “Oh my god, you’re not even just giving me shit, you actually did it.”
“I actually did it.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“I do have a request for your next video though, I’ve been trying to make a decent shepherd’s pie for months, and I keep fucking it up.”
Her face pales before my eyes and her shoulders tense up.
“What is it?” I ask her, reaching for her hand.
She looks down quickly at the contact between our skin, then back up to my face, takes a deep breath and relaxes.
“I’m sorry,” she says quietly.
She’s got nothing to be sorry for, but my curiosity is killing me. I want to know what I said so I can avoid ever saying it again.
“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”
She shakes her head. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I search her face, trying to find an explanation.
“I was making Shepard’s pie.”
I don’t understand. “What?”
“The last time he hit me. I was making Shepard’s pie. ”
Now I understand. I stroke my thumb over her hand in reassuring circles.
“Haven’t been able to stomach it since.” She shrugs.
The colour has returned to her face and she looks like she’s managed to overcome her initial reaction.
I know how she feels. My father always wore Ralph Lauren cologne. I can’t walk into that section of a department store without breaking into a cold sweat. She’s clearly made of tougher stuff than I am.
“I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“Don’t be. It caught me off guard, but you know what, fuck him, I’m going to make one for dinner next week and you’re going to help me.”
“Yeah?” I ask, surprised.
“Yeah. And it’ll be the best you’ve ever eaten.” She smirks.
This woman doesn’t even know her own strength.
“You’re incredible, Sophia. I always knew you’d do something great, but seeing you do what you love... it’s an honour.”
She gives me a smile so genuine it makes me melt. She’s so beautiful, and more than just on the outside, she’s one of those people that is sweet and good to the core.
Her videos are clearly directed at people who have children and are on a budget. She talks all the time about product price points, substitutions, and making the most of what you might have in your fridge or cupboards instead of going out to buy a bunch of expensive things.
Watching her, it’s obvious how passionate she is about making food that doesn’t just taste good, but is good for you and your bank balance.
Judging by her feedback and follower count, she’s giving the people what they want.
“I can’t really believe it’s taken off the way it has. I’m still just filming on a cheap camera, with a ring light and stand I got second-hand. I got a million views on a video last week. I had to sit down when I saw that.”
I chuckle. She’s so fucking sweet.
I bet that’s why her audience loves her. She’s charming. You can tell just by looking at her that she’s made of genuine goodness.
She’s not some full face of makeup, skimpy outfit, internet influencer trying to sell people bullshit. She’s authentic. People are drawn to things that are real.
“That’s incredible, are you getting paid from it?”
“Yeah.” She beams. “Only took a few weeks to get going and then I was making money. I’m not really sure how it all works, Berlin set most of it up for me, but I’m actually doing pretty well from it. Must have just been in the right place at the right time. ”
“Don’t undermine your success, Sophia, you deserve it.”
She looks pleased, but embarrassed. “It was all my mum’s idea, you know?”
“Yeah?”
“She was probably just sick of me moping around, but now she brags to everyone she knows about how she came up with the idea of it and now I’m a star.” She laughs.
“I’m glad she did.”
“Me too.” She beams.
She takes another forkful of food, and pops it into her mouth.
Both of our plates have barely been touched, we haven’t shut up long enough to eat much, even though it’s some of the best food I’ve ever had here.
For someone who has always struggled to talk to people, I sure as fuck can talk to Sophia.
We’re still talking nonstop when I walk her back to her front door.
She glances around, almost looking surprised to see where we are. “I guess this is me then.” She gives me a shy smile. “Best first date I’ve ever had.”
“Good. I’ll skip past all the nervous tension and kiss you right now then.”
I don’t wait for her to say anything, she doesn’t need to. I know when a woman wants to be kissed, and Sophia definitely wants me to kiss her.
I tug her body towards mine, and find her lips like I wrote my own map.
She melts into me, her breath a sigh as we kiss, soft and sweet for so long I’m worried her babysitter might come out looking soon.
I reluctantly pull away, and place another small kiss to the tip of her nose.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
The pleasure was definitely all mine.