Loving Her

by Tracy Reed

  Suddenly, a large, dark chocolate hand, with a beautiful gold Phillippe Patek watch, removed the tan trench coat.

  “I was saving you a seat,” announced the very handsome gentleman sitting on the stool next to her seat of choice.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said, I saved you a seat.” He stood up, and Avery’s eyes scanned the length of him. He was very tall and handsome. He pulled the stool out a little, and helped her up onto it.

  “Thank you.” She was shocked and surprised one of these men would do something so chivalrous for a woman who was not a model or a thin beauty like most of the other women in the bar.

  She got comfortable on the stool and exhaled. When she sat on seats with cushions smaller than her behind, she was convinced God had a great sense of humor. Her behind barely fit the small but comfortable seat. She crossed her legs and noticed her seat saver looking her up and down. She tried not to fidget as she put her black and gold Chanel clutch on her lap, sat up straight, and sighed.

  She knew she couldn’t sit at the bar without ordering. Another reason she didn’t like waiting at the bar. She was trying to lose ten pounds at her mother’s insistence. Her mother was convinced those ten pounds and curvy hips, were the reason Avery’s last boyfriend broke up with her. Avery felt their break had more to do with his roaming eye and social climbing.

  Now that she was seated, she had no choice. She had to order something, or give up her seat and stand by the hostess station to wait for her girlfriends in shoes that hurt her feet. Now she understood why the salesman told her to size up. “Tomorrow, I’m taking these back and sizing up.”

  “There’s nothing lonelier than sitting in a bar alone,” said the deep voice next to her.

  She really didn’t want to talk to him, but felt obligated since he had saved her a seat. “I know what you mean.” She raised her hand, to flag the bartender.

  “It took me a little while to get his attention, but then I’m a guy, and he’ll probably jump at a chance to wait on the most beautiful woman in here.”

  She smiled and shook her head. Is this guy for real? “Your sentiment is nice, however…”

  “It’s not a line, pretty lady.”

  When he said pretty lady, it hit her. There was something very distinctive about his voice.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” She locked eyes with him, hoping it would help her focus on his voice.

  “I said, I wasn’t giving you a line.”

  “That’s not what you said. You said lady something.”

  “Pretty lady.”

  “Yes. That accent…where are you from?”

  “Birmingham, Alabama.” He turned to face her and extended his hand. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Jeremiah Augustus Logan and you, Pretty Lady, are…”

  She smiled and shook his hand, and felt a flush of heat come over her. “That’s a lot of name,” she replied as she tried to compose herself.

  “Where I come from, that’s barely enough name.”

  When he aimed his eyes at her and smiled, Avery almost fell off her stool. It felt like she had just witnessed the birth of the sun. His smile was bright, warm, and friendly. And his beautiful dark eyes sparkled like black diamonds. She wasn’t a fan of men with facial hair, but the close cut beard and mustache suited this handsome stranger.

  “It’s a nice name.” She let go of his hand.

  “Thank you, pretty lady. And what’s yours?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s Avery. Avery Marshall.” She didn’t know why, but she felt compelled to tell him her last name.

  “That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.”

  She’d heard that line before, but never with such sincerity. “So, Jeremiah…”

  “Pretty lady, if it would make you more comfortable, call me Jay.”

  Her smile had returned. “I like your name. It’s sort of regal.” She couldn’t believe she was flirting, and doing a pretty good job of it so far.

  He stood up straighter and brushed his jacket. “I never had anyone say I was regal. My mom would be proud to know all those charm lessons were worth it.” They laughed. “Your laugh is infectious.”

  Avery rubbed her neck. “Uhm…I see you were wrong.”

  “About what?”

  “The bartender. Seems he’s ignoring me as well.”

  “He has no taste when it comes to women. What would you like to drink?”

  “A glass of their house merlot would be fine. Thank you.”

  “Save my seat.” He winked and walked around the bar to the end where the bartender was talking with two pretty and thin brunettes. Jeremiah slipped in between the two women and smiled. “Excuse me, ladies. Sir,” the bartender turned around, “the beautiful lady at the end of the bar and I would like two glasses of your house merlot, thank you.”

  “Coming right up,” the bartender replied.

  Jeremiah stepped back and started to walk away.

  “You should stay here with us,” one of the women said to Jeremiah.

  He smiled. “Thank you, but that beautiful lady at the end of the bar is waiting on me. Have a good evening, and the next round is on me.”

  He walked back towards Avery and she carefully examined him. He seemed even taller as he walked towards her. She liked the way he filled out his jacket. She wasn’t a fan of double breasted suits on large, muscular men, but on Jeremiah, it looked good. She also noticed he had strong defined thigh muscles by the way the fine, lightweight wool grazed his legs as he walked. She also wasn’t big on muscular men, probably because those were the ones who thought she was fat. She couldn’t help but notice the way his jacket hugged his tight behind when he had walked around the bar a few minutes ago. He carried himself very well for a man of his size.

  By the comment Jeremiah made earlier, he was attracted to her as well. It was that, or he was drunk, or possibly had a vision problem, or maybe that was just his southern charm.

  “Do I meet with your approval?” he asked.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I saw you checking me out. So do I pass?” He spun around and stopped in front of her and smiled.

  “Confidence isn’t an issue for you, is it?” She smiled.

  “Nope.” He sat on his stool. “Besides, I’m talking to the sexiest woman in the joint.”

  The bartender placed both glasses of wine in front of them. “Will there be anything else?” the bartender asked.

  “I’ve been hearing a lot about truffle fries. Do you have those?” Jeremiah asked, his southern accent singing every syllable.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We’ll have an order of truffle fries and the short rib sliders with a little extra barbecue sauce. Unless you want something else?” He looked at Avery.

  “No, what you’ve selected will be fine.”

  “That will be all, thank you.”

  Avery lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip. “This is good.”

  He sipped his wine. I agree. So Miss Avery, why are you sitting in a bar alone?”

  She placed her glass on the counter. “I’m meeting friends for dinner, and they can’t seem to be on time.”

  He nodded. “Their tardiness is my blessing.”

  She smiled. “I like that.” She sipped some more wine. “What about you? Why are you alone in a bar?”

  “I didn’t feel like sitting alone in my room.” He sipped some more wine and Avery watched his lips. “If your friends hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. I’d probably be playing black jack or solitaire on my phone.”

  “Somehow I think you would have found another woman to talk to.” She sipped more wine.

  “I have been in town for two weeks and…”

  “Two weeks? Business or pleasure?”

  “Now that I’ve met you, it’s both.” He smiled.

  “Uh-huh, what’s your business reason?”

  “I’m doing research on a project I’m considering.”

  “Sounds mysterious.” She sm
iled.

  “You have a beautiful smile.”

  She was beginning to feel a little self-conscious by his compliments. “Thank you.”

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “What about me?”

  “Are these girlfriends you’re meeting? Or am I going to have to give up my stool to some dude like me with good taste in women?” He smiled.

  She laughed. “Your seat, I mean, your stool is safe.” Avery was having a good time flirting with Jeremiah.

  The bartender walked over and placed their snacks in front of them. “Will there be anything else, sir?”

  Jeremiah looked at Avery. “Are we missing anything Miss Avery?”

  “No.”

  “That will be all. Thank you.”

  “Sure.” The bartender replied and left.

  Jeremiah reached for Avery’s hand, and the rough texture stunned her, but not as much as his bowing his head and saying grace. She felt a jolt in her core. How was it possible she met a nice, southern Christian guy in a Manhattan bar? Those words sounded like the beginning of a bad joke.

  “Amen.” He picked up a slider, and aimed it at her mouth. “Okay, ladies first.”

  She hesitated to open her mouth, but acquiesced. He placed the slider inside and she bit down taking half into her mouth. His large finger grazed her bottom lip sending a heat charge through her body. She covered her mouth with her napkin and chewed. Jeremiah popped the other half of the slider into his mouth and patted his mouth with his napkin.

  “That’s good,” she replied.

  “Oh man, that’s almost as good as my granddad’s prize winning ribs.” He popped a couple of fries into his mouth and bobbed his head from side to side. “Worth the hype.”

  She popped a couple of fries into her mouth, closed her eyes and hummed. “These are my favorite.”

  “Dangerous.” He hummed

  “Excuse me?”

  “Eating with you is dangerous for me.”

  Avery’s brow furrowed. “Exc—”

  He quickly covered her wrist. “No, pretty lady, that’s a compliment. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been at meals with women who seem to be afraid to eat, let alone enjoy their food. Watching you enjoy your food means you appreciate the talent involved in creating good food. Not to mention, you have incredibly sexy lips.”

  Her eyes got wide, because she was thinking the same thing about his mouth. “Uhm…I’ve…”

  He looked her up and down, leaned in close and his cologne encircled her making her feel a little light headed. “When you walked in here I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. I couldn’t believe that not one of these men was waiting for you. The way you moved was mesmerizing. And those hips, girl, you are this southern gentleman’s fantasy come to life.”

  Avery found it hard to breathe. No man had ever said the things to her that Jeremiah had said in the short time they had been talking. His words were powerful and effecting her in a way she had never experienced. She felt flushed all over and very excited. Then he gently brushed her forearm, and she almost climbed out of her skin. Her body started to tremble and she knew standing up wasn’t an option.

  She reached for her glass, but her hand was shaking too badly. She quickly put her hand back on top of her clutch and tried to calm down. Jeremiah inched closer and now she was really having a problem. He gently brushed her forearm again and her breath caught. “I should probably…”

  “Have dinner with me tomorrow?” he whispered.

  She swallowed hard and fixed her mouth to answer. Chirp…Chirp…Chirp… She picked up her phone and looked at the screen. “Seems my friends are here.” She smiled. “I…uhm…it…”

  He stood up, turned the stool, extended his hand to her and helped her climb down onto the floor. She adjusted her dress and his eyes followed every move she made. She turned to face him and he was wearing a huge smile. Instead of feeling self-conscious, she felt a little sassy.

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Her phone started chirping again and she pressed the Answer Call button. “I’m coming. Bye.” She pressed the button ending the call and looked at Jeremiah. “Jeremiah, this has been nice. Enjoy your stay in the city.”

  “Oh darlin’, I can’t believe you’re leaving me like this.” He smiled.

  She thought to herself, neither can I. And she walked away.

  Avery sat at the table listening to her girlfriends go on and on about their husbands and children. This was becoming common at these dinners. Seeing she had neither, she had very little to contribute to the conversation, and realized she was bored. She started to think back to her conversation with Jeremiah and was chastising herself for not saying yes to his dinner invitation. She tried to look in the bar, but their table was across the room and her view to the bar was obstructed.

  After dessert, she flagged the server. The sooner she got out of here the better. She’d had her fill of the one-sided girl talk and was in need of fresh air. But first, she’d stroll by the bar and see if Jeremiah might still be there.

  The server handed Avery the black leather envelope. “I’ll take care of that when you’re ready Miss.”

  “Thank you.” She opened the envelope and tried to hide her smile. She lifted the leather folder up and read the slip of paper.

  “I know you wanted to say yes to my invitation. I’ll meet you tomorrow at seven at the end of the bar in our seats. Dinner with your friends is on me. It’s my way of saying thank you. If they hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t have met you. If you agree to dinner, write your number on the receipt and take my card. Jeremiah.”

  “Is there a problem with the check Avery?” Erika asked.

  “Apart from you three drinking most of the wine, no,” she teased. She wrote her number on the receipt, took Jeremiah’s card and handed the leather envelope back to the server. “Thank you, everything was excellent.”

  “Hope to see you again,” the server smiled.

  “I’m sure you will,” Avery replied.