by Haley Travis
I’d never had a man make me melt through text before. But then, I’d never even been close to a man like Jared. It felt like my blood came alive when he stood next to me. Like my body was instinctively leaning towards his, trying to inch closer whether I was aware of it or not.
At five to three, I walked through the door of Gordman’s to see Jared at a table by the window.
He looked absolutely stunning in a simple long-sleeve black thermal shirt that skimmed snuggly over his shoulders and biceps. His dark jeans fit him so well that they must have been custom made.
He jumped up, slipping an arm around me in a very familiar way that made me feel strangely treasured. “I missed you,” he murmured, giving me the tiniest kiss before leading us to the counter.
We chose our coffees, and he insisted that I get an extra shot of hazelnut syrup and a touch of chocolate whip cream. I didn’t normally splurge like that, but he tapped his credit card on the machine without even looking.
Instead of sitting across the table from me, he pulled our chairs close next to each other. “I want to know everything about you, Tara,” he said softly, staring into my eyes. “But I’m sorry, I only have half an hour. Is that enough time for your life story?”
“More than enough, actually,” I laughed, which seemed to amuse him, making those midnight eyes sparkle.
Jared sipped his coffee, leaning back as if he were about to memorize every word I spoke.
“Well, I grew up just two hours east of here. My parents were…fine, I guess. Not very interesting. My older sister Angela was the head cheerleader, the prom queen, the valedictorian, and she’s already happily married at twenty-five.”
Jared’s smile faded as he took my hand. “Sounds like there’s a lot of pressure for you to measure up.”
I shrugged. “Maybe it was actually sort of...liberating? I was never going to be good enough, so I just took my own path.”
“You’re not just good enough,” he said, smiling gently, “you’re spectacular. Please, go on.”
“I took a year of college to study business communications, and luckily got a job at a very fun company.”
His eyebrow raised as those unbelievable lips pulled to the side in a tiny smirk. “Let me guess. Something cute. One of those cat cafés.”
My laugh came out a bit louder than I expected. “Sometimes it does feel like I’m wrangling cats, yes.” I loved the way he squeezed my hand so gently, encouraging me to continue. “I’m the assistant manager at one of the seven Thompson’s Toddlers stores. I work at the one around the corner, and also help with the ordering for all of them. We supply children’s clothing, bedding, and toys to other stores all over the state as well.”
His deep eyes lit up with a bright smile. “That is cute. Think of all of the happy children because you got their toys to the right places.”
I nodded, staring into my coffee. “Someday I’d really love to be manager,” I nearly whispered, not quite believing I was saying it out loud to someone I barely knew. “I love studying trends and marketing, and think that we could find ways to make things easier for working parents.”
“Well, what are the steps you need to take in order for that to happen?” he asked quite seriously.
I shook my head. “I don’t think they’d ever consider me. I’ve only been there a few months.”
“So plan ahead,” he said brightly, as if planning my life was the most natural thing in the world. “Look at the qualifications of the other managers in the company, see what they did to get there, then copy them.”
I nodded. It was strange that I had never really looked into this yet. Why was I so hesitant?
“Hmm. I love researching things, but moving up in the company might not be that easy.”
He slipped his coffee and shrugged. “It might be. It might not be. Either way, you’ll have more data, and will be taking steps toward your goal.”
“That might be easier for you,” I smiled. “I assume you do a lot of moving and shaking downtown.”
His hand slipped up to graze his fingertips along the edge of my chin. “Moving, yes. Never shaking. We try to avoid that.”
I started to laugh, and was interrupted by Jared’s mouth settling over mine.
Before I knew it was happening, his arms were around me as he pulled us tightly together, his kiss so hot and deep that I moaned against his lips. If we hadn’t been in public, I would have started to pull off his clothes. My hands clutched at his chest, and the sexy, solid wall of muscle.
His eyes flicked to the window as he pulled away. “I’m sorry, my driver is here early,” he said, lifting my hand to kiss the back of it. “May we continue this conversation over dinner tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
“Text me your address. I’ll be there at seven. Sorry I have to run, gorgeous.” He drank the last of his coffee, gave me another swift kiss, then hurried out the door.
My head swiveled just in time to see the back of him in those perfect jeans, sending a deep shudder straight through me. He was far too hot. Even the barista had been staring at him.
Then I looked out the window to see him jumping into a silver car that looked like it must have rolled off the production line seconds ago. It wasn’t just elegant, it was unearthly how sleek and modern it was.
I couldn’t help worrying that maybe our worlds wouldn’t mesh together. What would he want with such a timid, plain girl like me? How could I hold the interest of such an incredible man?
6
_____
Jared
As I shopped for groceries Friday right after work, I had a good feeling about our date tonight. I even wore my best comfortable blazer that was from some fancy designer that I found in a second hand shop last year.
Yesterday I really didn’t have the time to meet with Tara for coffee, but I had to get another quick meeting in before we sat down to a proper dinner.
Both of the online dating experts whose blogs I skimmed said that the more quickly you could get several meetings together, even short ones, the closer a couple would feel.
As I headed to Tara’s apartment, this would be our third meeting. Even though the first two times weren’t really dates, the experts said by now she should be ready to open up to me. I hoped the experts were right.
She seemed a bit shy, and had every reason to be wary of a man who was a total stranger. So I wanted to do everything in my power to put her at ease.
I arrived at her small apartment building in a quiet rundown neighborhood, climbing up to the third floor. Tara opened the door before I had even knocked, looking positively stunning in a dark blue dress that lightened her hair and brought out her eyes.
She stepped back, smiling and even giving me a twirl as I blatantly checked her out. “Wow,” I said, setting my bags down on her kitchen counter to pull her into my arms. “I missed you, gorgeous,” I murmured against her ear.
“I have one dress that’s a little fancier, depending on where we’re going,” she said softly, her little white teeth nervously sinking into her bottom lip. She looked at the bags I’d brought. “What’s that?”
“May I make you dinner right here?” I asked.
“Really? Sure.”
“I figured it would be nicer to get to know each other in private,” I said.
Looking around her space, it was a one room studio apartment. The kitchen was miniscule, and the washroom must have been behind the purple-gray door.
“It’s not much,” she said quickly. “Just your average student apartment. You’re probably used to much nicer places.”
I pulled off my jacket, glad that she took a good look. “The nicest place is whichever one has you in it,” I said, slipping an arm around her waist.
I swept my gaze slowly around the apartment, taking everything in. Her single bed had an arrangement of pillows so that it could be used as a sofa. The small table could only seat two, and she probably used it as a desk as well.
Everything was clean
and tidy, with a huge bookshelf, and one section of the wall was covered in photos. “Are these your friends?” I asked, moving in to get a better look.
“Yes. We were all very close in high school, but everyone went their separate ways after college.”
A large photo at the bottom showed Tara laughing wildly with another girl who looked familiar. “Wait – didn’t she run the fashion show?”
“Yeah, that’s Laura. She’s the one who talked me into modeling for Jessie.”
“That was very sweet of you,” I said, as I flattened my hand against her lower back and rubbed gently. Her body seemed to relax every time I touched her. “You were extremely brave.”
“Jessie was really lucky to have you helping her out,” she said with a shy smile.
“That’s what big brothers are for.”
I turned so that we were face to face, and held her gently. “Now that you’re in my world, I’m here to help you anytime you need me,” I said softly, kissing across the top of her hair. “Sometimes I work strange hours, but I’m usually just a phone call away.”
“I’d never want to bother you,” she said, but I felt her fingers pressing harder into my arm and shoulder.
“You’ll never bother me.”
Dropping my lips to hers, we became lost in our kiss. My hands ran down her back to drift cautiously down her curvy behind. Tara didn’t pull away, leaning closer until we were practically grinding together in the center of her apartment.
Her soft lips parted, letting me explore her sweet mouth until I swear I heard a tiny moan. Once she seemed properly breathless, I stepped back.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about feeding you. How about you sit at the table while I cook? Your only job is to point out where the pans and things are.”
Tara’s sweet, high giggle rang through the room as she took her place. As I chopped and assembled our beef and red pepper pasta, she really got into her job of directing me around her space. I loved that she became more outgoing as she became more comfortable with me.
She shared more about her work, and how it could be both frustrating and inspirational to work with parents.
I shared stories of Jessie, and how many times I’d had to bail her out over the years. Tara seemed to appreciate that I doted on my quirky sister.
I got the distinct impression that Tara didn’t get much attention growing up, since her older sister was always in the limelight. Hopefully I could help Tara understand that she was in the center of my own personal spotlight from now on.
Thankfully, she absolutely adored the dinner I made for her, and seemed impressed that I brought miniature cheesecake tarts for dessert.
“This way you can try several different flavors at once, and save a few for breakfast,” I said, reaching out to hold her hand on the table.
“Plus, they look like hors d’oeuvres from fancy parties,” she laughed. “You must be used to lots of those.”
I shook my head. “Usually at parties like that I’m trying to get the heck out as fast as I can,” I chuckled.
We cleared the plates, then I saw that Tara was biting that beautiful pouty lip again. “I can leave anytime you like,” I said, sliding my hand up her arm to caress her shoulder through the thin dress.
“It’s not that,” she said quickly. “I’d like you to stay a while, it’s just that…is it weird if we sit on my bed, since I don’t have a couch?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Of course it’s a couch,” I said mildly, walking over to arrange the cushions to make it more sofa-like.
She blew out a sigh of relief, and came over to sit close beside me. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at me through her eyelashes. “I just get nervous sometimes.”
Leaning so my shoulders were against the wall, I slipped an arm around her, so that she snuggled against my chest. “You don’t have to be nervous around me, Tara. I don’t expect to stay the night. I’m absolutely fine with taking things slow.”
Her head swiveled as she pinned me with those bright eyes. “When we were on the runway, you encouraged me to just go for it, and it was absolutely the right suggestion.”
“Yes...” I was curious about what she would say next.
“What if…would it be weird if you stayed over, but we didn’t, you know...”
“Gotcha – I’ll keep my shorts on,” I said quickly. “Tara, I would absolutely love that.”
“Really? I mean, my bed isn’t very comfortable.”
“You are comfortable,” I said, leaning down to kiss her temple. “I would absolutely love to sleep all curled up around you.”
Tara’s megawatt smile nearly knocked me cold. Then she leaned in to kiss me softly as her fingers slipped along the newly shaved back of my head. I kept forgetting that my hair had just been cut, and it still felt strange.
“Is it nearly time for bed?” I asked with a grin, looking around the room for a clock.
Tara pointed to a tiny alarm clock on a shelf, then glanced at my wrist. “Oh, I guess you don’t wear that big fancy watch every day. I bet they’re heavy.”
I wasn’t sure if she was kidding. “Not my style,” I said, “But Jessie insisted.”
She smiled, as her fingers dragged across the base of my skull, making me shiver with desire. “We could get under the covers and watch a game show. We can play along with the contestants, and I might even let you win.”
“Sneaky little thing,” I murmured, kissing under her ear as she sighed.
“Hey, it’s the least I can do,” she laughed. “Here you are in a lousy neighborhood with me, cooking for me. I’m sure this isn’t your usual date.”
“There are no usual dates,” I said. “Until now, I’d never found anyone that does this.” Taking her hand, I pressed it to my heart.
Tara rolled her eyes, but her sweet grin told me that she loved it. “You’re such a charmer. A man like you should be surrounded by girls.”
“Nope, just one.” Cocking my head, I looked at her as seriously as I could without cracking up. “Wait. How is one girl going to surround me? We’ll have to get to the bottom of this.”
“Maybe one girl is a nice break,” she laughed. “I’m sure most of the time you’re surrounded by women. Assistants, receptionists, housekeeper, who knows who else.”
Once again, I honestly couldn’t tell if she was kidding. “I gave the maid the day off just last week simply so that I could polish my own silver and be in touch with the common man,” I chuckled.
Her little giggle made it seem like she was taking me seriously.
As Tara pulled some pajamas from a drawer and went to the washroom to change, I tried to replay every fragment of conversation and bit of contact we’d had since we’d met.
Moving, without shaking. I meant as a crane operator. Did she mean as a businessman?
When we met, I was dressed up as a billionaire. She didn’t know the watch and shoes were rented.
Dammit – then I joked that my driver had arrived at the coffee shop. My boss, Vincent, often picked us up on the way to jobs, since he loved any excuse to show off his insane car collection. We all called him our driver, and treated him like the help just to be jerks.
And helping Jessie – she must have meant financially.
Crap. Tara thought I was rich.
She didn’t realize that Jessie had worked her ass off every summer for years so that she’d have plenty of money for school. I helped by driving her around, and occasionally taking her out for dinner. I pitched in sometimes, but didn’t pay for all of her supplies.
I couldn’t believe this. I had pulled myself up from a pretty lousy life, and I was certainly doing well now, but I was nowhere near a millionaire.
My head was spinning. I certainly hadn’t done anything to encourage this train of thought because I had no idea she was thinking that way. But if I told her now, and suddenly, Tara might get angry and think that I tricked her.
Worse - what if the only reason she had agreed to
coffee and dinner was because she thought I was wealthy? It didn’t seem like her, but then again I hardly knew her.
I was going to have to make her fall in love with me immediately, so that she would be more likely to forgive me when she found out the truth. Hopefully we’d laugh about the misunderstanding, and it would be a funny little story we’d tell years down the road to our grandkids.
As she walked out of the washroom wearing a purple flannel sleep set that skimmed over her perfect curves, another fact hit me like a sledgehammer.
There was no way I could sleep with her until she knew the truth. Well, clothed sleeping, okay. But no sex.
