by Jane Keeler
“Ow.” She said, rubbing her nose.
“Melissa?” She looked up in surprise.
“Matthew!”
“You’re going to think I’m stalking you! What are you doing here? I didn’t peg you as a bar going type of person.”
“You’re right. I’m not. I was actually just about to leave to be honest.”
“Well you can’t leave now. Please, I need you! I’m here for a friend’s birthday and the night will be so much better if I have you to talk to me. Otherwise they’re going to try set me up with someone that I really don’t want to be set up with. If I’m with you they will leave me alone.”
“So you want to use me as a prop, is that it?”
“Exactly. A very cute prop too.”
“Oh flattery will get you everywhere. Okay, I’ll stay for a bit longer.”
“You’re my life saver.”
After that Melissa was introduced to all his friends who looked at her with huge smiles on their faces and high fived Matthew when they thought she wasn’t looking. It was quite nice spending time with Matthew and his friends without thinking that something would happen between the two of them. It meant she could be totally herself around them all instead of constantly worrying about how she looked or what she said. When they suggested a game of snooker she eagerly agreed – it was far better than just sitting and drinking. And when she won four out of five games she was declared the ultimate champion and was promised that she wouldn’t have to buy a drink the rest of the night.
“You’re good!” Paul, the birthday boy, said to her.
“Thank you. I have a table in the complex I live in and I practice all the time. Sometimes even all alone, which is quite a sad little sight. But totally worth it now that I thrashed you all!”
“Well, you could’ve just said you were a natural and left it at that. But now, I see you had a sneaky plan all along. I like it. And hey, talking about like… Matthew seems to like you a lot.”
“Oh… uh… well we’re just friends.” She wondered why her voice had come out so high.
“Sure.” Paul winked at her and then walked off, leaving Melissa feeling completely confused.
“What was that all about?” Matthew asked only seconds later, “Was Paul giving you a hard time. I think he’s embarrassed that a girl beat him.”
“I was just telling him that I practice quite a lot. Normally alone. I didn’t think I’d actually be any good when playing with actual people. I’m quite impressed with myself.”
“You normally play alone?”
“Yeah, I’m sad like that.”
“And you come to bars alone?”
“Yep, another bit of insight into my life.”
“Do you always come to bars alone?”
“Uh… no. This is a first.”
And with that Melissa ended up telling Matthew all about her 30 day plan. She had never intended to tell him the full story but somehow it all came out now and she wondered what he’d think about it. More than likely, he’d think she was nuts and just run away. This is probably what she would’ve done if a guy had just told her he had a plan to meet a girl in a month. Actually, talking about it out loud made her see just how weird it actually sounded. But thankfully he was just smiling at her.
“Oh, I like a girl with a plan! So… was I part of the 30 day challenge?”
“You were day 1 in fact.”
“Ah… and you’ve been avoiding me since. I guess I didn’t make the final cut, did I?”
“Actually, Matthew, you did. But you were too perfect.”
He burst out laughing, “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re too perfect. There’s nothing wrong with you. It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Uh… so you want me to be imperfect?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, it would make me feel a whole lot better. Otherwise I just don’t buy it. If you were really as great as you seem to be then why were you on a dating site? And why aren’t you already married with kids?”
“I could say the same thing about you, you know.”
But just as she was about to protest Mark came bounding up to them. “Okay, so can we go back to your place to watch the game dude? Look how small the TV is here. There’s no ways we’ll see a thing. I tried to squeeze into the crowd but this massive group is hogging the front and they do not look like they are going to move.”
“Sure, sure. Let’s do that.”
“Melissa, are you joining us?” Mark was asking her.
“Oh… I…”
“That’s a yes.” And Mark pulled her to her feet and winked at Matthew. This time he didn’t even bother to see if she was watching or not. She felt herself starting to blush and quickly ran out to join them.
When they arrived at Matthew’s house Melissa noticed his eyes widen and then he quickly pulled a sympathetic face. “Uh… I’m sorry Melissa. I didn’t know I’d be having company tonight. Please excuse the mess. It’s not normally as bad as this.”
“Yes it is.” Mark shouted, clearly enjoying all of this.
But Melissa was grinning as she took in the mess around her, “So you’re NOT perfect then.” Yes! He’s not perfect!
Two hours later and the game was finished and everyone was starting to leave. Soon, it was just Melissa alone with Matthew in his apartment. She saw him shuffling his feet. The night had been easy when they were surrounded by people and a blaring television screen. But now that all the distractions were gone they were both nervous.
“Uh, would you like some coffee? Or are you in a rush to go?”
“No rush at all. Coffee sounds great. Oooh, fancy machine.” She was pointing to the big red machine in the kitchen with far too many buttons.
“I know! A present to myself. And let me say, it makes the best cappuccinos ever. Care to test it out?”
“Yes please!”
The two of them sat together drinking coffee and talking. Again, it was far too easy to stay in conversation with him and Melissa realized that she was having the best night ever.
“So, tell me about your other dates.”
“Well, there was you. Mr. Perfect. Then, there I went to the park to try chat up a man with my dogs. I have two very charming and very energetic little dogs that I was sure would help me bag the right man. I ended up getting pulled by them so violently that I fell to the floor. That’s when I met Ryan. He was good looking and oh so lovely and didn’t seem to mind the fact that my face was covered in wet grass. Oh and he was also gay and married.”
Matthew burst out laughing and looked relieved.
“Then Ryan set me up with Bryan. Bryan was also lovely. However, he turned out to be quite the alcoholic. So, of course, that was a no go. Then I was meant to chat up a guy at a coffee shop, but I ended up bumping into you and having coffee with you instead. Tonight, as you know, I was meant to meet a guy at a pub. Instead, I’m here with you.”
“I’m messing up your plans quite often it seems.”
“Yes you are.”
“Mind if I mess them up even more?”
“What do you mean?”
But instead of answering Matthew came forward and kissed her. Soft, sweet and completely surprising, it just made Melissa go in for more. And more, and more. She couldn’t get enough. She had not expected the night to turn out this way, and Matthew was right – he was messing up her plan completely. But every time she thought about pulling away she ended up going in for more.
“You taste like coffee.” She murmured.
“Don’t you mean I taste like the best cappuccino in the world?”
“I don’t know. Let me taste again.”
It didn’t take long for things to progress any further and Melissa secretly high fived herself for wearing her new lacy underwear. Matthew was even better looking without his clothes than with his clothes, and Melissa had the time of her life exploring him this way. He pulled her down on the couch and kissed her and then gently entered inside of her.
She gasped and pulled him in closer. Melissa wasn’t a virgin but she also had not had sex in a very long time. She just wasn’t the type of girl to have sex with any man. And the older she got the more she wanted it to be with the right man. And this felt right. This felt so very very right.
Afterwards, as the two of them lay together on the couch, Matthew said, “You were wearing very fancy underwear by the way. Do you always wear things like that or were you hoping to get lucky tonight?”
“Actually, I don’t normally wear things like that and I never thought I’d get laid tonight. But they make me feel more confident even when nobody can see them but myself. Actually, the day I bought this very pair was when I bumped into you at the shops. I had just gone into the change room to put them on when we saw each other.”
“You mean to tell me that you were wearing THIS when we were having coffee that day?”
“Yeah, and you kept telling me that I looked different and I wanted so badly to tell you about the underwear. But I figured that would’ve seemed a bit weird.”
“You mean, it would’ve seemed like flirting and you were adamant not to flirt with me.”
“Yeah, that was before I thought you were perfect.”
“And now?”
“Take around. Look at the mess that you live in. What kind of girl would want to live with a man so messy?”
“Uh… you hopefully?”
“Yes. Me. You’re sure lucky to have met me then.”
“I am. Melissa, I have something I want to say to you.”
“This sounds serious.”
“It is. Look, I really like you. I liked you from the first time I saw you – both online and in person. I fell for you big time that first night and I was confused when you didn’t seem to like me back. Then I bumped into you and fell for you all over again during coffee. I think I was on my third coffee when I thought to myself, ‘this girl could be the one for me.’ I’m not sure how you feel about me now. I mean, you did sleep with me, so I’m hoping that you like me. But well… what I’m trying to ask you… in the most awkward way… is whether you’re going to carry on with your 30 day challenge?”
“Yeah, I have another date tomorrow in fact.”
Matthew sat up. “Seriously? With who?”
“With you.”
“What?” He looked confused.
Melissa laughed. “So the plan was not to go out with a new guy every day for 30 days. The plan was to find one in 30 days. And I think I did it. I’m so good at this whole organizational stuff that I found mine on day 1.”
“So your date is with me?”
“If you’d have me?”
“Where’s your list?” he asked.
Melissa took out the list and handed it to him. He looked over it and then tore it up.
“I just thought of an idea for your book.”
“Yeah?” Melissa asked, always eager for ideas.
“How to meet a man in 1 day.”
“How to meet the perfect man in 1 day.” She corrected.
“I thought I wasn’t perfect?” he asked and gestured to the mess around them.
“You’re perfect to me.”
*** THE END ***
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Book Two
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A STRANGER’S KISS
By: Jane Keeler
Marietta hated living in a small town. She had come to Merrillville because her parents had believed that she was headed down a path of depravity. For the most part, she was a good girl, though she did have her needs, desires and fantasies. Enter Jamie, the tall brooding stranger from out of town. At first the townsfolk liked him, until he got romantically involved with Marietta. Some of Her old conquests felt that he should leave town. Marietta was having none of it and she didn’t care at all if people talked, so she arranged a dirty sex game with Jamie and another girl, partly for pleasure and partly to tell the townsfolk to leave here alone. She didn’t care what anyone but Jamie thought. With a Jealous ex thetas now a cop as well as the boyfriend of the girl that they seduce, trouble ensues. Jamie takes off after being harassed by the cop leaving Marietta alone at her house. Will he come back for here? Will he be her night in shining armor? She longs to escape from small town life but she also longs for love.
The first time that I noticed him, he was standing outside of Taylor’s department store leaning up against the wall. In a town as small as mine, one notices new people pretty damn quickly. He was vastly different from virtually every other guy in town, most of whom had already tried to hit on me at least once. He had a sort of dark brooding appearance as well as a kind of deep sadness. The combination of these two things made him not only attractive but also pretty interesting too.
That, and there was the fact that he was pretty amazing looking also. I guessed that he was about 25 or so, maybe 6 foot tall and quite trim with a shock of brown hair that looked like it really need a cut. He was clean shaven except for a tiny goatee. His face looked a bit like one of those busts that you see in museums, but the single diamond in his left ear kind of played against that regal look His appearance was tough and rugged, but at the same time caring and gentle. He could have been an athlete or a mercenary or even an explorer.
I didn’t give it all that much thought, aside from the fact that there seemed to be a new guy in town. I had exhausted all possibilities in Merrillville some years earlier, before I had even left high school. I had ambitions much bigger than 99% of the guys in town and as much as I loved sex, romance was out of the question with the majority of them. The other 1% were either already married or uninterested in me. After all, what really fantastic guy would be interested in a 24 year old working at a coffee shop, no matter how hot I was.
So I went about my business, bidding my time and saving money to eventually move somewhere else. Sure I satiated my desires when I needed to and as a result got branded as a bit of a slut. It wasn't like I went out screwing dozens of different guys, but in a small town people talk.
A week later, I was at work, making coffees for the masses. We were the first and only place town that made decent cappuccino, espresso and lattes. It had taken a while to catch on but was now the place as more popular than any other cafe in town. Lunch and coffee breaks were chaos, and I lived for the moment that it would slow down when I could sneak out for my own coffee and a cigarette. I didn’t smoke regularly and it was my one guilty habit, that 1 smoke a day. I was out back, reading a book as I often did, inhaling the strong flavor of the tobacco.
“Those will kill you” came a voice from behind me. It was deep and baritone. and It totally startled me.
“I will kill you if you sneak up on me like that” I replied, spinning around to see who it was. It was the stranger from the week prior. His camouflage jacket hung loosely on his shoulders, too warm for the day.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” he replied and looked at the ground.
I studied the lines on his face to see if I could get any clue to what he was all about, but he gave away nothing.
“It’s ok” I said “nice to have some company.” I took the last drag off my smoke and stubbed it out.
“I’m Jamie” he said and held out his hand. They were calloused and looked powerful. I fantasized that maybe he was a hitman but figured that he must really be a construction worker or something similar. He looked strong.
“Marietta” I replied. His handshake was powerful.
“Italian?” He asked, “that would explain the big brown eyes, sexy long hair, olive skin and perfect backside.” Coming from any other guy, I would have thought it a bit of a rude come on, but from him it was both genuine and cute.
“Thanks” I said, “my dad is Italian, how we wound up in this shit small town I’ll never know.” I actually did know but didn’t care to go in to detail.
“What’s wrong with this town?” he asked. I was grateful that we had changed the subject because I could feel myself blushing.
“Well, I
suppose if you don’t live here, maybe it’s ok” I replied “but seriously nothing ever happens here.”
“I kinda like it” he said, flashing a broad smile. It was the first time that I had seen any emotion other than pensive. “I think that I might wanna live here.”
There went my fantasy of some strong dark stranger taking me away from this godforsaken place. It was stupid and I knew it, but still I somehow felt let down
“Where are you from then Jamie? What’s your story?” I was trying to change the course of the conversation as it was depressing me a little.
His face suddenly changed, it was as if a dark looked passed over it and his eyes closed just a little like he was in pain, but then the smile was back so I could have imagined it,
“Let’s not talk about me” he said “I am sure that you are way more interesting.”
“Not really” I replied. I could have told him then and there that we had moved her when I was 15 from San Francisco because my grades had gotten really bad and then to top that off, I got caught in a state of half undress smoking a joint with another girl from my class. We were just experimenting, as kids do. We hadn’t actually done anything, though we probably would have. I was not headed down a path of depravity, but my parents had thought so. Hence the exile. I finished school here, then a crappy community college and now I worked at Rise n Grind, the only decent coffee shop within 100 miles.
“Ok. well how about what your goals or dreams are? Surely you don’t wanna stay here forever.” He was actually genuinely interested, not just talking shit. This was the most captivating conversation that I’d had with a male in ages except maybe my dad, and he didn’t count.
