by Jami Wagner
“Good morning, Allie,” Amber says to me in the same calming tone she uses every morning. I smile at her.
“Good morning, Amber, Where’s Levi?”
“He went with Parker. I’m not sure what for, but Parker said he needed his help with something.”
That’s odd.
“Okay,” is all I can think of to say before I continue on to my office. I plop down into my chair and lean back. Maybe I just need a minute to relax. All night my mind bounced back and forth over whether or not I should go back tonight. I want to go, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to take the risk. I know I can always keep my job, but I don’t even want to chance causing any awkwardness between us.
I groan into my arms and lean onto the desk. I need to focus on work, not Parker. But I can’t stop thinking about the way my body tingled when he touched me, or the way he kissed me, like he couldn’t get enough. Shoot, I didn’t get enough. Part of me wants him to walk in here right now and kiss me. Screw my rules.
My head snaps up and I jump from my seat. There’s no way I can sit here for the next hour. I need to be moving and get my mind thinking of something else.
****
I’ve never been so thankful for work to be such an amazing distraction. I took to re-shelving books to stay busy and when Levi volunteered to help Parker with the morning art event for the kids, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I have a feeling Levi is trying to impress Amber, after all, he went with parker to set up the kids color room this morning. I glance at the reception desk to find Amber gazing at Levi. I know exactly how she feels.
The fact Kelly has been here for the last hour also helps. She hasn’t stopped talking since she walked through the doors. I just wish she would talk about something else or schedule more appointments to keep her busy at her own job instead of mine.
“I can’t believe you kissed him again. I was only joking when I told you to do that while we were in the bathroom. I never thought you’d actually do it.” She looks around us. “How was it? Is Parker a good kisser?” Her eyes are practically glowing as she waits for my response.
“Don’t you ever work?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Perks of owning your own photography studio is you get to make your own hours. Besides, you need me here.”
I nod slowly.
“So what’re you going to do?” she asks, knowing I’m not going answer her. She takes a book from the cart and holds it out for me.
“I don’t know,” I sigh. What if I make the wrong choice and Parker is the same as any other guy and I have to quit my job? Is that a risk I’m willing to take?
Kissing Parker was exciting, and it was everything I’d imagined it would be. He was kind and gentle. He makes me feel like I can be myself. Hanging out at the bar was great to. The four of us together was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, aside from my night alone with Parker.
“Is it bad I hope things really work out just so I can see Miles again?” she beams.
I give a small laugh. “No, there isn’t anything wrong with that. Honestly, I want it to work out that way too. I just don’t know if it can.”
“Hey Allie, do you have a minute to talk?” Parker asks, startling us both into a jump. I hope he didn’t hear any of that. “Hey Kelly, how are you doing today?” he asks, giving her a shy smile.
“Hmm…probably not as good as you will be later.” She winks at me, and then she winks at Parker. “See you both tonight!” she says and actually skips away. I close my eyes and take a breath. Please don’t ask me what she was talking about.
“What’s up?”
I watch him and wait, giving him my full attention. Today he’s wearing black slacks with a red button-down and a black tie. His dark hair is perfectly in place and his cologne makes me feel like if I step too close to him, I might be sucked in by how good he smells. I never knew citrus and sandalwood was temping until now. Then, when he smiles, oh dear.
“I was actually going to see if you wanted to show me where the backup art supplies for this morning are. I think we’re missing some stuff and I can’t find it.”
“Of course,” I say, a bit too eager to spend more time with him. “What are you missing?”
“Crayons,” he says immediately.
“Okay.” I laugh. “Follow me.”
Parker walks next to me in complete silence. I step into the storage room and Parker does the same, immediately closing the door behind him.
“What’re you doing?” I ask, stepping toward him.
“Getting a moment alone with you,” he says, and then our lips collide.
He pulls me into him and laces his tongue with mine. My body feels numb under his touch and it’s as though everything else is forgotten. What I should be doing right now, where I should be, or what’s right and wrong. I move to wrap my arms around his neck, but he stops me.
“I need to get back, but I hope I see you tonight,” he says, opening the door and winking at me before he’s gone.
I stand there a moment before I step out of the room and walk straight to my office. If this is what work is going to be like from now on, my job just might be worth the risk.
Parker
I wanted this day to go fast, and luck was on my side. Before I knew it, I was cleaning up the art supplies and preparing for story time. Just a few more hours until our last date in the dark. This is the night that matters the most.
“Hey there, little brother, what are you doing in here?” my sister says as she sets the green-and-black baby carrier on one of the tiny tables the kids were sitting at earlier today. She smiles at me, but it falls when she sees my face. If there was one person in the world who could know my every thought with just one look, it would be my sister.
“Uncle Park!” my nice, Kasey, shoots out from behind her mother and runs to me. It’s not fast but it’s as fast as her little four-year-old legs will take her. When she gets just close enough, I pick her up and swing her around.
“I didn’t know my little princess was coming to see me today,” I say to her.
“Yeah, Mommy said you were having an ice cream bar. I had to be here,” she replies with wide and serious eyes. I swing her around one more time and then hold her with one arm and tickle her with the other.
“Careful, she could still throw up on you from lunch and by the look on your face I’m guessing that would be the icing on the cake for whatever’s going on today.”
I set Kasey down and nod slowly.
“Baby, why don’t you go over the toy area and give your uncle and me a little grown-up time okay?”
“I guess…but I still get ice cream, right?” she perks up.
“Yes,” my sister says and watches until Kasey makes her way to the toys. “Okay, tell me what’s going on. Does it have anything to do with that girl you were supposed to ask out?”
I nod. “Yes, and as a matter of fact, I did ask her out.”
“But clearly she said no, since you don’t have a date and you’re going to the date-in-the-dark events, right?”
“Yep, but Miles actually ended up being paired with Allie on the first night, so I took his spot the next night, and now I’m going back tonight in his spot hoping that Allie will show up.”
She shakes her head. “You lost me.”
“Allie is the same girl I asked out, she ended up at this thing too. Random I know, but her friend Kelly convinced her go.”
Sara nods. “I guess this would make sense. Miles called Tim earlier today asking him if he could get his mother to switch him with another guy,” she shrugs, “said he needed to be paired up with a woman named Kelly.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” I tell her and grab the rest of the supplies to put them into their assigned cubby near the front desk.
“What’s next then?”
“Story time.”
“No, I mean with Allie,” she tilts her head toward a random woman passing by. I shake my head.
“That’s not her, and I’ll wait and see if
she shows up. She has a thing about dating coworkers. We definitely have an attraction, but I’m not sure if it’s enough for her.”
“I have faith it’ll all work out.” Sara grabs the carrier off the table and surveys the room for Kasey. Once she finds her, she waves and heads for the children’s reading rug.
Chapter Thirteen
Allie
I’d seriously considered not showing up for the children’s reading, but I couldn’t stay away. I wanted to see the way Parker interacts with them. The giggles that come from tiny voices behind me catch my attention. Parker is sitting in a children’s chair, looking like a giant while he reads Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile to the kids. Two small girls in the front laugh again. I don’t remember this story being a funny one, but when Parker changes his voice for each character, I see why they’re laughing.
He looks amazing. The way the children are taken with him makes the view that much more beautiful. I can’t help but smile as I watch him.
“He’s dreamy, isn’t he?” a woman with a toddler holding onto one hand and a carrier in the other says as she stands next to me. I follow the direction on her eyes to see she’s looking at Parker.
“He looks like a natural with kids,” I say, hoping this is sister and not some random woman.
“Mommy, can I go sit with the other kids while Uncle Park reads to them? Please?” the little girl asks, swinging her mother’s arms.
She has big blue eyes and light brown hair braided down each side. Her yellow leggings are bright against her pink shirt and cute pair of brown boots. Kid’s clothes are so much cuter than adult clothing.
“Yes, baby, you can. But don’t disturb the other children. This is a library.”
The little girl bounces quietly away from her mother. Without coming off as a creeper, I sneak a glance at the woman next to me. Long chestnut hair falls to the middle of her red blouse and her green eyes shine against the same flawless completion as Parker.
“Hard to believe that Kasey was the first baby Parker ever held. And that little Eric here—” she holds up the carrier, “—he was the second. With the way he acts around children, you’d think he has many of his own and did this every day. I love my brother, but it breaks my heart that he doesn’t have anyone to share his life with,” she says with a smile just as beautiful as his.
I want to laugh from her words. Not in a funny way, but because she makes a great wing man. I wonder if he set her up for this to get me to go tonight. “How old is he?” I ask, gesturing to the baby that’s now in her arms.
“Almost a month.” She smiles down at him.
“The second one goes faster than the first, doesn’t it?” I ask.
“It does.” She looks over to me. “Parker said the same thing. Do you have kids?”
“No…it’s just what I’ve heard.”
Chapter Fourteen
Allie
It’ll all work out. It’ll all work out.
I’ve chanted this phrase in my head over and over since I left work, got ready, and headed for the final night of date-in-the-dark.
When we arrive at the restaurant, I’m surprised and my heart feels like it bottomed out in my stomach to see that the lights are on. A tall gentleman wearing an all-white suit greets us and guides us into a large round room. The entire space is filled with New Year’s decorations. Sparkling party hats are on every table, along with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. There are only eight tables with two chairs at each, and they all have different colors of glittered tablecloths. There’s confetti everywhere, and streamers line the ceiling. Whoever planned this party didn’t forget a thing.
“Ladies! Oh, you all look so beautiful! I’m Liz.” A woman greets us as we fill into the room. She gives us a huge smile and claps her hands. Blond hair, which is cut into a short bob, doesn’t move from its place as she looks at each one of us. She looks lovely in her red floor-length dress, making me second-guess my short silver sequined one. “It a pleasure to finally see you all in the light. Your dates won’t know what to do with themselves when they see how absolutely beautiful you are.” Liz’s eyes land on both Kelly and I, she shoots a wink at us and looks away.
A few of the woman laugh softly and then look around as if they aren’t sure what to think of this night just yet either.
“Tonight we’re going to play a trivia game with your dates. They’ll be in a separate room on a loud speaker while you’ll be in here on one as well. We’re going to ask you a few questions about your dates to see what you’ve learned in the last two nights. If you would choose a table, we can get started and once the game is over we’ll turn the lights off for the last time and let you enjoy your last date-in-the-dark. And then,” she squeals, “the lights come on and everyone will fall in love.” Liz claps excitedly as she shoos us to a table.
“Are we all ready?” she asks, and the group respond “yes,” looking around at each other. Kelly chose the table next to mine, and we hold back the nervous giggles that are trying to force their way out.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” she speaks into a microphone and then taps it.
“Yes, my love, we can hear you loud and clear.” A deep voice fills the room and Liz smiles before holding a hand over the microphone.
“That’s my husband Paul. We met on a blind date, hence,” she says and points around the room, “this place.” Liz reaches into a black hat and pulls out a piece of paper. “Alright I have the first question.” She beams. “Who wants to go first?”
A woman with long black hair raises her hand.
“What’s your name dear?” Liz asks.
“Megan.”
“Alright, Megan, what is your date’s favorite color?”
For the next hour the women in the room answer question after question. What is your date’s favorite number, food, hobbies? What type of movie does your date prefer, or what are their dislikes? Once a lady answers, we wait for Liz’s husband to get a confirmation from his room with the men. It’s been about fifty-fifty on who answered right and wrong. Kelly has surprisingly gotten all of her questions right and I’ve yet to volunteer, but no one has noticed…until now. The moment Liz focuses in on me, nerves take over my body and my heart starts to feel like it’s ready to pound out of my chest.
“And miss, what’s your name?” she asks. “You’ve been awfully quiet. I think we need to get you and your date caught up on a few questions.” Her voice hasn’t lost any of its perkiness and for some reason I blush in a room full of women for being put on the spot. She holds the microphone out for me to answer.
“Allie,” I say, watching as Liz draws my first question.
Parker
She isn’t here.
An hour later, and I’m about to have a panic attack. I’ve been sitting here in a room that I’m almost positive they use for storage and I’ve been listening to couple after couple answer questions, and not once have I heard Allie’s voice. Shit.
My chair screeches across the floor as I stand. I try not to run toward the door when all I want to do is break into a sprint. My hand is on the knob when Liz’s cheery voice comes through the speaker, calling out one woman in particular for being too quiet. I know before she says her name that it’s Allie. When she responds and I hear her sweet voice, my entire body relaxes. I quickly make my way back to my seat, gaining a few chuckles from the men around me.
“Other than these dinners the last few nights, when was your date’s last date with another woman?” Liz’s voice questions her through the speaker.
This should be good.
“His last date?” Allie answers. “I don’t know when his last official date was, but if you were to go off impromptu dates…he went on a date last night after he left here.”
“Oh,” Liz says with a high-pitched squeak and the entire room falls silent. Awesome. They all think I’m a prick and dating two women. Paul, the gentleman who’s been in the room with all us men, looks at me for the answer. I nod and try not to smile. He watches me for a moment
and then puts the microphone up to his mouth.
“She’s correct,” he announces.
A very loud gasp comes through the speakers followed by whispering.
“Did… Are… Staying…” Those are the only three words I can make out from Liz’s voice.
“Okay, Paul, it’s your turn to ask him a question,” Liz says, and there’s no mistaking that her cheery tone has faded.
Paul reaches into the bag he’s been carrying around with him and reads the paper he pulled out. He looks at me then back at the paper and his face crumples. “If given the opportunity, do you think your date will consent to continue dating you beyond tonight?”
I hear a few men grunt, holding back their laughter, and one man whispers “yeah right” to another. I glance at my brother, who’s just watching with his arms crossed and a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Yes, Paul, I think she would,” I say without hesitation.
The room falls silent as we wait for Liz to reveal the answer.
“He’s right,” she says and there’s no missing the disappointment in her voice. “I think it’s time we served dinner now.”
****
When they bring us into the dining room, Allie and I pick up a conversation like it was any other night. A few times I have to stop myself from asking work-related questions. I don’t think she’s noticed and if she has, she never gives it away. Our comfort with each other has grown into something I enjoy and look forward to. We eat and then talk for the next couple of hours. Before I know it, dinner is over and the countdown to turning the lights on is getting closer.
It’s strange how clearly both Allie and I know who’s sitting here at the table and still, neither of us has yet to say anything. We just keep talking and laughing like we’re two complete strangers who are here for nothing more than to have a good time.
