Again: A Second Chance Romance

by Nikki Chase

“Good things, I hope?”

  “Well… Some not-so-good things, but also some really good things.”

  Okay, that's it. They're done talking.

  “Hi, Rafe.” I smile at him as I pull the back of Carly’s shirt so she backs away from the doorway.

  Damn, he looks hot.

  I’ve seen him in a nice suit once: at his friend’s wedding. The rest of the time, he was usually wearing a T-shirt-and-jeans combo. Or, if I met him after work, he’d be wearing a creased business suit, without the tie and the jacket.

  Tonight, he’s wearing T-shirt and jeans again, but with a structured navy-blue jacket. The long sleeves are rolled up, revealing his strong, brawny forearms.

  “Hi, princess,” he greets me with a panty-melting smile.

  Carly gasps and opens her mouth, obviously about to say something about Raphael's nickname for me. I pinch her back to stop her, but it doesn't work. “Ouch, Piper. I just wanted to say how sweet that nickname is.”

  I stay quiet and give Raphael a polite smile. He looks amazing, and my heart can’t stop thumping in my chest. I’m almost worried everybody can hear it.

  I step outside. It's probably best to get away now before Carly says anything worse. “Let's go.”

  “Okay. Nice to meet you, Carly,” Raphael says.

  “Very nice to meet you, Raphael.” As we walk down the hallway, she yells out from the door. “Have fun, you guys!”

  I quicken my pace. We take a couple of turns until we reach the elevator.

  “She seems nice,” Raphael says.

  “Yeah, she’s a good friend.”

  “You look great.” He gazes at me longingly, like he wants to reach out and touch me, but knowing that it’s probably not a good idea. My chest tightens when I notice the sadness in his eyes.

  I want to pull him into a hug and make him feel better, but I know better. I know I’m not ready for that.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  The elevator arrives and we get in. Silence rules as it takes us downstairs to where Raphael’s car must be waiting.

  I don’t know what to say, and he doesn’t either. It would seem too fake to start talking about something light and not acknowledge the elephant in the room. At the same time, neither one of us is ready for the real talk. I don’t know if we’ll be ready by the end of the night.

  Maybe we’ll have a meal and just go back home, without anything changing between us.

  It’s possible he just wants closure. The thought that he might not want to be with me anymore fills my heart with fear, but I stay quiet.

  “After you,” he says when we reach the ground floor and the elevator door opens. He holds the main door of the apartment building open for me, as well as his car door.

  For all the things he lacks, gallantry isn’t one of them. I have to admit it feels nice to be treated like a lady. Mark never opened the door for me, or complimented me when I dressed up.

  “So, I finally got you in my car, after two weeks of failed attempts,” he says as we cruise down the streets toward downtown San Francisco. The top of the car is down tonight, which is great, because I was worried the wind would mess up my carefully curled hair.

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly have a choice, did I?” The words were supposed to sound light and playful, but they come out angrier than I wanted.

  Raphael chuckles. “Actually, I never said you have to come to dinner with me. You can say no, just like you’ve been doing for the past two weeks.”

  I think back to the phone call. To be fair, Dad never said the dinner was a requirement for stopping the foreclosure.

  “So how do you like your new apartment?” Raphael asks.

  “It’s only temporary.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I’m moving out as soon as I can.”

  “Well, I happen to know one apartment that’s empty right now…” Raphael lets his words hang in the air.

  “How do you like your new shoes?” I change the subject.

  For the rest of the drive, we talk about unimportant things—my work, his work, my music, his family, and whatever we’re watching on Netflix right now.

  I know we’re ignoring the subject that’s on both our minds, but I’m not ready to have that discussion. I don’t even know what I want yet.

  It doesn’t take long for us to get the car parked and our asses seated at the restaurant, a nice place called The Local. Raphael has already made a reservation and chosen a spot by the window, where we have a nice view of the city. I order the item he recommends: the roasted rack of lamb.

  “Remember the wedding we went to?” Raphael asks.

  “Yes.” Of course I do. He slipped an engagement ring on my finger at the end of that night. I rub my naked ring finger, missing it. A real ring for our fake engagement.

  “The bride used to work here, and she recommended this table and some of the stuff on the menu.”

  “It’s a nice place.”

  “Only the best for you, princess.”

  The food comes, and we continue our light conversation. Raphael tells me about the couple from the wedding and the work that they do against human trafficking. Raphael used to help them out, back when he wasn’t as busy with work.

  I want to pretend like we’re just on a nice date, although in the back of my mind I know we need to have a real talk. We’re going to. I fidget with my dress when the waiter comes to take away our entrée plates and place our desserts on the table.

  I take a sip of the port wine. It still makes me feel so grown-up when I order alcohol at a restaurant. The waiter didn’t even ask for my ID.

  “I’m glad you’re not angry at me anymore,” Raphael says with a small smile.

  “Who says I’m not?” I return his smile.

  “Okay, less angry, then. At least we can have a conversation. It’s an improvement, and I’ll take it.”

  I stay quiet. I don’t know what to say. Maybe Carly’s right; maybe I’m being unfair. Raphael probably never meant to hurt me.

  I feel bad about punishing him with my anger, although I never asked him to go through so much trouble for me. All I really wanted was to cut things off before they got any more serious, before he really broke my trust—and my heart, too.

  “Again, I’m sorry about lying to you, Piper. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was just something I came up with in the moment. I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, but I just… I need you to know that.”

  “Yeah. I guess there was no way for you to have guessed that I’d react that way. I… My mom… I lost her to breast cancer.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Raphael says, gazing softly at me.

  Those kind, green eyes make me want to give him everything he asks of me, but I’m still not sure that’s the best thing to do.

  “In the interest of full disclosure, since this is the new, honest me, I should let you know that I already know that,” he says. “It was in the PI report, which I should also let you know, I didn’t order. It was ordered by someone else and shown to me.”

  “Okay.” I’m not surprised. I already know that report exists, and I can’t really blame Raphael for that.

  “And although it doesn’t help my case, I should also tell you that I went back and read the report when you moved out of the apartment. I thought it was going to help me find you.” Raphael chuckles to himself. “And this was before I realized I could just simply go to the mall and search for you there. So now you know I’m a snoop and an idiot.”

  “You’re neither one of those things.” I smile. I have to admit, I prefer a snooping idiot to a liar, and I’m kind of liking this new Raphael.

  “Now you’re the one lying to me,” he teases me.

  And just like that, the air is cleared. We’re laughing together again, and we chat easily over our desserts. This is nice. Comfortable. Fun.

  I don’t know if I’m ready for anything serious right this moment, and I’m glad he doesn’t try to push me in that direction. But I know I wa
nt to see him again.

  We stay and chat until the restaurant turns off the music and dims the lights, subtly telling us to leave. Everybody else has.

  By the time Raphael’s car pulls up in front of Carly’s apartment building, I still haven’t had enough of him. But I’m also not ready for more.

  I can’t invite him up anyway; I don’t feel like I should do that as a guest who’s already inconveniencing Carly and George. And I’m not going to ask him to take me to his place, because I know I won’t be able to resist wanting to take things a few steps too far if he complied, which I know he would.

  “Can I take you to dinner again?” Raphael turns to me. “Please don’t tell me this is the last time I’m ever going to see you.”

  “Yeah, we can have dinner together again.” I meet his gaze and give him a smile. I can’t not see him again.

  For one brilliant moment, it’s clear what we need to do. I don’t know who starts to move first—maybe we both do it at the same time—but we find ourselves in each other’s arms, eyes closed and lips locked.

  His lips taste sweet, like wine and cake. It’s a soft, gentle kiss. Sensual, without being overly sexual. Tender.

  When we pull away from each other, he’s wearing a big smile. God, I want to kiss that smile again, but he’d get a ticket if we stopped here for too long.

  “Good night, Rafe.”

  “Good night, princess. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at the same time for dinner?”

  I laugh. “I have work tomorrow. I can’t go to some fancy-pants place in my work clothes.”

  “Who says we have to go to some fancy-pants place? We can go to McDonalds’ if that’s what you want. Unless you’re more of a KFC girl.”

  “I guess we can meet at the mall food court after I get off work,” I say.

  I can’t deny it. I want to see him again as soon as possible. Hell, I want to stay with him tonight, but that wouldn’t be wise. That’s where we went wrong the last time—we were going too fast. We should take our time.

  “Deal,” he replies quickly.

  “Do you even know what time I get off work?”

  “Yeah.” He grins.

  “How?”

  “It’s a secret.”

  “I thought you said this is the new, honest Raphael.”

  “I am the new, honest Raphael. Keeping a secret and lying are two different things, aren’t they?” He smiles. “But okay, I’ll tell you. I bribed your co-worker to give me your work schedule.”

  “Damn you, James,” I say in mock anger. I give Raphael a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah.” Raphael leans over to open the door for me, making my heart thump in my chest from how close he is. I could just move my hands a few inches and touch him.

  But I stop myself. As I step outside into the cool night air, I remind myself I’ll see him again tomorrow.

  Raphael

  I open the door to let Piper into my apartment.

  For the past week, I’d been having dinner with her at the mall.

  On her days off, I’ve been taking her to nicer restaurants. I know she usually can’t afford to eat at those places on her own. She always gets excited about getting to dress up and go out, I figure it’s a no-brainer. It’s an easy way to make her happy. Besides, I love seeing her all dolled up.

  The money is not a problem, after all. Timing can be an issue because of the amount of work I have to do at the office, but I’ve learned to do my work more quickly now. I can actually finish early and leave the office in time to meet Piper. Luckily, her shifts tend to be at night.

  Just the thought spending my time with Piper is enough motivation to raise my efficiency. If everybody at work had a Piper in their lives, we’d perform way better overall. Too bad for everyone else, there’s only one Piper and she’s mine.

  She hasn’t agreed to it or anything, but that’s just a fact. She belongs to me.

  Tonight, she’s wearing a more casual outfit, the same sundress she wore the morning after my parents’ anniversary party on the island. She looks as captivating as she always does, and that dress brings on a tidal wave of pleasant memories.

  “I thought about just telling you we were going out and then taking you here, but apparently I’m not supposed to lie anymore.” A few days ago, I wouldn’t have dared to even think about making a comment like this, but things are different now. We can be playful with each other again.

  “Damn right.” Piper laughs, which always brings a smile to my face.

  I pour her a glass of water. I have other options, of course, but she’s not interested. “You can just sit there at the kitchen island while I whip something up for you real quick.”

  “Real quick, huh? That doesn’t sound very gourmet. I was promised something gourmet,” she says as she takes her seat.

  “Oh, trust me, this is gourmet.” I grin as I pull out my phone and refer to the notes on my phone.

  Last Sunday, Piper was working at the mall and I had nothing else to do, so I went to visit Seth and Alice, and got her to teach me a recipe. Something easy, quick, and impressive.

  The recipe is solid. If I can recreate what Alice taught me, Piper would definitely be impressed. The question is whether I can do that.

  Piper watches me and asks me questions about every step. It doesn’t take long for her to notice how easy it is to distract me. Then, it seems like she’s deliberately doing it to break my concentration.

  Still, I manage to finish the mussels in a matter of minutes.

  “If they’re overcooked, it would be your own fault for distracting the chef,” I say as I place the pot of mussels on the dining table. Steam rises from it, filling the air with the aroma of garlic and butter.

  “One dish and now you’re a chef.”

  “Yeah, baby. I’m just that good.” I raise my eyebrows and give her a cheeky smile.

  She blushes, and that’s when I realize she’s thinking of a completely different skill of mine. She may have been a virgin not too long ago, but she has a dirty, dirty mind.

  “What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.” I grin, showing her I know what she’s thinking, up in that filthy brain of hers.

  She takes another sip of water, presumably to occupy her hands and mouth so it doesn’t look like she’s fidgeting. She probably wishes she’d asked for the wine right now, because she’d be able to blame the flush on the alcohol.

  I’ve already set the table, so my work is done as soon as I place the wooden cutting board with the bread on the table. I don’t often use this table. Piper may not be the first girl I’ve brought to my apartment, but she’s the first one to eat a home-cooked meal here.

  “It’s actually pretty good,” Piper says as she eats her first mussel.

  “‘Actually’? You mean you didn’t expect it to be good?”

  She laughs. “Not at all.”

  “So honest. A little too honest.”

  “Rafe, I don’t think I’ve apologized yet,” she says, her tone turning serious.

  “What for?”

  “For lashing out on you?”

  “I deserved it.”

  “Well, you couldn’t have known that cancer is a sensitive subject to me. You didn’t know about my mom.”

  “I did lie to you, though.”

  “You did. But you didn’t mean any harm. I may have overreacted. I guess I was angry and frustrated about my dad losing the house. You were there, and you did something wrong, so it was easy to redirect my anger to you.”

  “Piper, don’t apologize for that. I like that you call me out on my bad behavior. My family has said the same thing about my lying. I’m glad for the chance to reflect on it and change.”

  “Still, I feel bad.” She smiles as she tears a small piece of the bread.

  “Well, don’t. I was kind of worked up, too, that night. I just saw that report and found out that you went to see your ex. I got jealous.”

  “You got jealous?” Piper asks with a little smile pla
ying on her lips.

  “Yeah. I did.”

  “Sorry I didn’t tell you about that. I honestly didn’t think it was a big deal. We literally just talked for five minutes. Or less.”

  “I just had this scene playing in my mind, of him asking you back and you… Well, thinking about it, at least. In my mind, I just couldn’t fathom why any guy would let you walk away. I could never just give up on you…as you can see from what I’ve been doing.”

  “He did kind of ask me to get back together,” she admits. “But I said no. He cheated on me.”

  “Well, he’s an idiot.”

  Piper smiles. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when she does that.

  “You know, I like this new, improved version of me better,” I say. “It’s kind of liberating, not having to hide anything from anyone.”

  “That’s great, Rafe,” she says. It also makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when she calls my name. Fuck it, everything she does turns me into a lovesick fool. And then she makes it worse by adding, “I like this new you better, too. And I already liked you before.”

  The corners of my lips curl up and don’t stop until I have a big shit-eating grin on my face. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard, princess.”

  “I’m just glad you can be honest with me.”

  “You know, I used to not see the point of being honest. It just seems like a pointless handicap to me. If everybody else is lying, then what’s the point of telling the truth?”

  “But that assumes that everybody’s lying. That’s not true.”

  “And that’s why I love you. You’re real, but not everybody is,”

  She blushes and diverts her gaze to the pot of mussels. She takes one, stabs the meat with her fork, and pops it into her mouth. I can’t wait for her to say the words back to me, but I don’t mind waiting.

  “You know, that’s kind of how I got sent to prison. I was driving in my car and this girl I was with, she had some coke with her. She told me she was clean, though. So when we got pulled over for a random check, I had no idea. I probably could’ve done more to avoid the cops if I’d known. Then, when they found her stash, she told them it belonged to me, so I was the one who got sentenced.”