" next?" I look up from the money-box that's overflowing and I see the girl from the bistro yesterday where Bev and I stopped for lunch.
I thought I recognized her yesterday, but today I know for a fact she's also the girl from the bar that kept calling me Steven. Those lips can't be mistaken. That cute little nose. She's got blue eyes. Today they're hidden by sunglasses, but that was the first thing I noticed about her at the bar Thursday night. Her big, pretty blue eyes framed in black glasses. At the Bistro yesterday she didn't have on her glasses so I wasn't one hundred percent it was her. Although, she's the cutest girl I've ever seen in Portland so I don't know why I doubted it. I kept trying to catch her eye yesterday but by the way she kept smiling and laughing, I think she might have been on a date. Which is another reason I didn't interrupt to confirm it was the girl from Thursday. Even though she's got sunglasses taking over most of that cute face today, the way she bites those heart shaped lips, there's no question it's her.
"Hey." I grin. "You here for cherries or corn? I'm fresh out of bread." I can't stop grinning at her even though she hasn't even looked at me once. Maybe her judgmental friend got to her that night. And if that's the case, fuck them both.
"Oh uh… I already have some bread." She smirks and holds up a bag of fresh loaves. "I need…um…cherries?"
"Yeah?" I chuckle. "You sure." I pinch my bottom lip to keep from laughing because she still won't look at me. Maybe she doesn’t remember me. "Hey, so, did you end up calling your friend Steve and telling him you ran into his clone Thursday night?" I scoop her a bag of cherries, because she's just standing there not helping herself.
Her mouth pops open and I notice her eyebrows raise over the rim of her sunglasses when I call her out. "It's you…" she whispers, almost quiet enough I don't hear her. The color on her cheeks turns pink and she fumbles with her bags.
"Wow, you know a lot of guys that look just like me and Steve, huh? How many pounds you need?" I ask, setting her bag on the scale, a little offended she didn't remember me immediately.
Her head jerks to look at the scale when it clunks and I cross my arms over my chest, waiting for her to say something.
"I um…uh…" She twists around like she's looking for something before facing me again. "I don't know. My friend…she left to get something. Your line moves super-fast and all she wanted to do was make pie."
"I've got some homemade pies if you're interested. They're Bev's best. But if your friend's lookin' to make her own, well you can get like a cup and half of juice from a pound of cherries." I glance behind her at the people in line losing patience she's taking this long, but I don't fucking care. She's cute, and especially when she has no idea why she's in this line.
She quickly shakes her head and chuckles. "I'll just uh… We'll take the pie. It's easier that way anyway. Plus it gets me out of here faster. Sorry," she says with a glance behind her.
"I got all day. I'm in no rush." I don't move for the pie, my arms still crossed, but she's staring down at the cherries, acting way more timid than she was Thursday night when her hands kept squeezing my biceps. "Alright, so how many pies?" I finally ask when she doesn't do anything.
"Um…two?"
"It's buy two, get a scoop of cherries free day," I lie. No idea why, I just want to give her things. "You ever have Bev's cherries?"
"No," she looks up at me. "I can't say I have. Never been a huge cherry fan. Like I said, I'm in line for my friend."
She's a little feisty, maybe somewhat crabby, so I grab a cherry and shove it to her lips. "They're the best," I insist, and when she jerks back, I just reach for her lips again.
She's turning out to be just as bitchy as her friend, but she's too cute to be that evil.
Her mouth opens and timidly takes a small bite. "That's amazing," she whispers, licking her lips.
"Bev's are the best. If you need cherries, come see me. And…" I cautiously wipe the juice away from under her bottom lip. "You got a little somethin'." I smile at her and she lowers her head with a chuckle and wipes her mouth.
"Are you here every weekend?" she asks, looking up at me again.
"Every weekend it's not storming. You can find me here." I tie up her cherry bag I shouldn't just be giving away, but I'll pay for them. I grab her two pies and hold them out.
She doesn't take them but says, "Well those pies won't last long. I'll make sure to come back next week for more."
"Good." I grin at her, then feel like a dick because she's not taking her things and she's already got a handful of bags. "God, sorry, you want a bag? You kinda got your hands full."
"Yeah, that'd be great, thank you." She smiles a bright smile that tells me her friend didn't poison that pretty head, then swipes at her lip again.
"I got it all. Promise." I wink at her then grab her bag. "Cherries right on top." I hand over the bag and she slowly reaches out. When she reaches for the bag, our hands touch and I smirk. "That's fourteen."
She fumbles a minute with her wrist purse thing, then hands over a debit card. "Oh, uh, shit. I don't… I don't take credit. Uh… You know what? Don't worry about it. I got this. Just enjoy 'em and come back to see me next weekend."
"Oh, I couldn't do that. I'm so sorry, my friend has the cash. She'll be right back," she rambles.
"No, I'm serious. You're a first time customer. We're square. Especially 'cause I didn't get to get you that drink Thursday. I'll see you next weekend?"
"Come on lady!" someone calls from the line and I jerk my head with a scowl, trying to find the culprit but notice the line's practically doubled.
"Yeah, uh…sorry. Yes. I'll come back. Thank you for this." She moves to the side of the stand to allow more customers through and shifts on her feet while adjusting the bags in her hand.
She doesn't walk away, she just stands next to my table, tapping her fingers at the edge and looking out into the crowd.
"Sir?" The woman in front of me gets my attention with her bag of cherries.
"Sorry." I weigh them and look over at Blue Eyes. "That's six dollars," I tell the woman and glance back at the girl. "Hey," I call out but she doesn't look. "Thanks." I smile at the woman and take her exact change. Before helping the next person, I reach out and get Blue Eyes' attention. "What's your name, anyway?" I ask when she looks back.
"Oh! Um… I'm Charlie. Sorry, am I in your space still? I can move."
"No." I grin. "You're good right where you are. Prime seats to people watch."
She chuckles and nods looking back into the crowd.
"Two pies," the man in front of me says.
"That's fourteen," I tell him, trying not to watch Blue Eyed Charlie, but she's intriguing, and a little odd just standing there waiting. I think she wants me to ask her out maybe…
"What about my free cherries?" the guy questions and I cock my eyebrow, noticing Charlie look back at me, then remember I gave her a free bag.
"Sale ended. Fourteen." I hold out the pies.
"Unbelievable. That's sexist, you know?" he mutters and I look up at Charlie who's got a grin but looking at me like I'm an ass for giving her free cherries.
"Nah." I chuckle. "You woulda gave her free cherries too." I smirk over at her before taking his money.
I expect her to walk away when she shakes her head, but she doesn't move.
"Who's next?" I look into the crowd briefly before glancing at Charlie again. "So, Charlie? You want to go out tonight?" I ask, weighing the next customer's bag of cherries.
"I'm not much of a partier." She smiles politely at me. "And call me old, but I like my bedtime to be before midnight."
"Hey, no one said that's old. I do too. I work long days, and after this, I'm headed back to the farm. But tomorrow's Sunday, and I'm off on Sundays, so why don't I take you to lunch?" I smile at her quickly before looking at the customer. "Six dollars."
"Can I pick the place?"
"Yeah, that sounds reasonable. So what time's lunch for you?" I'm grinning at the next customer, but it's meant for Charlie.
"Sorry to interrupt the romance with your girlfriend," the older woman smiles at me. "I just need two pies."
"Two pies and a free bag of cherries." I wink at her and Charlie laughs. "I like the ladies," I claim as I hand over her bag. "Fourteen dollars."
"Thank you, Travis." She squeezes my hand and I smirk. People know me by name, but I see too many faces to remember them, except Charlie's. I look over at her again.
"That was sweet. You seem to have some repeat customers." She's got that smile that makes her look like an angel, but I know it was put there by the devil.
"Travis is a good boy," the old woman tells her and smiles at me. "Treat him right," she says to Charlie before walking away and I laugh.
"Treat me right, Charlie. What time's lunch?" I grab the next customer's bag.
"Noon? Noon sounds like a good time for lunch."
"I like noon for lunch. Twelve dollars please," I quickly say to the next customer then ask Charlie, "I'll pick you up?"
"Me?" the woman asks with a chuckle.
"I'd love to take you out on a date. But Charlie got to me first." I smirk at the woman who's blushing and Charlie laughs.
"By all means, don't worry about me. I'm not one to want people to turn down an opportunity for true love. I'm just here to make sure he's happy anyway."
"She's already worried about your happiness, I think Charlie is the better date." The woman chuckles and takes her cherries. "Good luck, you two," she says before walking away.
"That's cute you're already worried about my happiness, Chuck." I smirk over at her and she looks away with a headshake again but I see the sign of a smirk.
"Fuuuuck, I'm so sorry, babe!" I'll never forget the owner of that bitchy voice. It rings from somewhere in the crowd before she barrels through the line that's been steady for a while now.
Charlie smiles and looks at me before her friend makes it over to us. "Tomorrow. Noon. Bistro on Third street. It's a little bistro on the corner. I'll meet you there."
"Can't wait," I say and that evil one is glaring at me like she wants me dead. The heated anger on her face matches Bev's cherries right about now and before the top of her head blows off, she yanks Charlie away.
I really don't like her friend, but it's not her friend I really want to get to know. It's cute Blue Eyes.
At ten minutes to noon I glance inside the bistro but don't see her, so I wait outside, texting Bev.
TRAVIS: I'll come over after my date and get it fixed
One of the four-wheelers won't start and she won't listen to me and get out of the sun.
BEV: I'm going to tinker. You enjoy that girl!
Yeah, I'd like to enjoy her in more ways than one, but as it is, I'm going to have to cut this date short so Bev doesn't hurt herself 'tinkering.'
I huff and look up seeing a puppy headed my way and grin. Everyone's a sucker for puppies. I squat, but before I touch, I ask, "Can I pet your dog?" Squinting, I look up at the girl and realize it's Charlie. "Oh, Chuck! This your puppy?" I grin.
"He's not a puppy." She chuckles. "Gus is almost six. He's just tiny. Go ahead, he won't bite."
"He's so little. Is he a Husky?" I reach out and am greeted with a docile nudge of his nose.
"He's a Klee Kai. A mini Husky. I wanted a full grown one but with the apartment space this was the next best thing I could get. He was super trainable too."
"Well he's awesome. I have a cat." I laugh and stand. "His name's Peter. Does Gus like to play with cats?" I grin at her.
"Hmm. I'd think so, he's super playful." She shrugs. "You wanna grab a seat? I'm starving."
"Uh…inside? Outside? We should probably sit outside with Gus, huh?"
"He can go in or out. He's trained not to bother anyone." She smiles, adjusting her sunglasses. "It's really nice out here though."
"Let's go in and order and we can come back out if you want. After you." I open the door for her and Gus and chuckle as the dog leads the way like he owns the place. "I've only been here once," I say close to the back of her ear and she jumps. "Just me." I smirk, putting my hand on her hip from behind. I haven't been on a date in seven months, and the last time, it was just for sex. Something tells me I'm not getting that from this girl, and I'm not really only interested in that. As long as her friend stays out of the picture, I wouldn't mind seeing her again, I think.
"Sorry." She laughs, shifting forward just enough to move from my hand. "Uh, this place is really good. I always get the chicken salad sandwich. It's amazing." She looks down at Gus and gives his leash a quick, gentle tug that seems to calm him down and I watch as he sits directly in front of her in line, no longer the dancing pup he was a second ago.
"I think I'll get…" I skim the menu then look into her face that's directed down toward the dog and chuckle 'cause she's still wearing her sunglasses. Maybe she's hungover. "It's not that bright in here," I quietly say, not to embarrass her, and pull them off her face so I can finally see her eyes again.
She looks into my face and I smile at those big blue eyes I've been thinking a lot about since seeing her again yesterday.
"Thanks. Sometimes I forget those are even on." She lets out a nervous laugh and turns back to face the line.
"I think I'll try the Italiano on a bagel this time. Ever have that?" I ask, moving a little closer to her and she immediately steps just a little farther away.
I bite my lip and fall back, trying to discreetly smell my shirt. I don't stink. I guess maybe she's just not into me like I thought. But she seemed kind of eager for this date yesterday. I don't know why I'm over thinking this. She wouldn't have accepted if she weren't into me at least a little. If this girl turns out to be another one that's just into the 'bad boy' look I have going for me, I'm going to be annoyed. I'm getting too old for casual hookups anymore. I want to try and find something that's real.
"I haven't, but my friend Kevin has. He enjoys it a lot," she says and I wonder if her friend Kevin was the guy she was laughing it up with here on Friday. "I stick to what I know typically. It's easier that way."
The line moves again and it's our turn next.
"I can respect that. Sometimes it's good to try something new though." I smirk at her, but she doesn't even look at me.
"Hey, Charlie," the girl at the register says.
"Hi, Caitlyn. I'll have my usual. Extra mayo for my fries please." She smiles and I cringe at her fries dipped in mayo but I'm not judging.
"Hi." I smile at the girl. "I'm gonna try the Italiano bagel. Can I get a cherry Coke too? Chuck? You want a drink?"
"Water, please. Thanks, Caitlyn." She slides her card out of her wallet and holds it out for the girl like she's about to pay for our date.
"Uh. I got this." I gently push her hand away and hold out cash.
"Treat’s on me, really. I owe you for the pies." She shakes her card at the poor girl behind the counter who's flicking her eyes between the two methods of payment, not sure whose she should take.
"No. That's not how I do dates. I pay." I push her hand away again and hold out my money.
Before the girl can take it, Charlie demands, "Take my money, Caitlyn, or I swear I'll call your boss and have you written up for not helping."
"Evil!" I chuckle and yank her credit card out of Caitlyn's nervous clutch then hand over my cash. "Thanks, Caitlyn." I smirk then hand Charlie back her card. The grin of success on Charlie's face confuses me. Maybe that was her plan all along. I'm getting too many vibes off this girl. One minute she's sweet and cute as hell. The next she's kind of bitchy but still sexy as sin. "Where do you want to sit?" I ask and she tugs Gus's leash, making him lead the way. I chuckle when he takes us directly to a table by the door then he nudges a chair out for her. "He's so awesome." I pet behind his ear. "So how often do you come here with him?" I ask as we wait for our food.
"Almost every weekend after Gus and I have our walk we stop in. Sometimes I stop by for dinner. It's close to home so it's easy to get to and from." She takes Gus's leash and ties it to the side of her chair gently before laying her purse thing on the table and smiling.
"How close are you?"
"Just a block down that way. That tall brick building behind the bright blue one is mine." She nods outside. "Like I said, it's close."
"That's cool. I live in Boring. It's about forty minutes from here. Definitely not as busy as inside the city." I smile over at her and notice she's staring down at her dog.
"That's good to know. So you'd say you're more a small town lover than big city guy?"
"Uh…" I chuckle, not sure how to answer that. "Yeah, I guess. Just in the past few years have I really grown to appreciate the small town over a big city."
"I completely understand that. I thought this was big city until I went to school in New York. This is nothing compared to that… I'll take my small-ish town life over that any day."
"You've been to New York?" I smirk. "That's my home state. So did you grow up here then go to college there and come back?"
"I was born here. Grew up here…and yeah, I guess you could say I came back after college." Her chuckle tells me there's a story, but she goes on, "I'm an only child. My parents needed me home. What about you? Siblings?"
I pause a minute. Not wanting to screw up who I am now. There are certain things I can tell her that won't invite her into my seedy past, but I need to remember when to shut my mouth. "I have an older brother. Haven't seen him in ten years though. He lives in Paris." I nod and notice she's more focused on the table. It's hard to hold her attention. She didn't seem this distracted with the guy she was at lunch with on Friday.
"I've always wanted to see Paris. The farthest I've ever been is New York." She sighs and smiles. "So have you been there? To Paris?" Her intrigue perks up, but she still won't look at me.
"Once. I was…nineteen, I think. It was the last time I saw my brother."
"Jealous. Did you see the Eiffel Tower?" Her eyes flick toward the counter and part of me thinks she's just trying to make small talk, but the interest in her voice seems so genuine.
"Yeah, I went up in it."
"I heard it sparkles at night. Did you see that? What'd it look like?" She's smiling wide now but still looking toward the counter.
"What'd it look like?" I chuckle. "There was a lot of people. It was winter time so it was cold."
"No, no, no." She laughs. "What'd it look like? The tower. Details and all. I want to know everything."
"Okay." I smirk and lean back. She's still focused elsewhere and I can't have a conversation like this. "Charlie," I call her name.
"What?"
"Look at me." I lean forward and she turns her head. I smile looking into her pretty eyes.
"Sorry."
"You have beautiful eyes," I tell her as they search my face.
She chuckles and shakes her head before looking down. "No."
"You do." I wait, but she doesn't look at me again so I move on. "Okay, so the tower… Um, it was big. A lot bigger than I expected." I pause and think back to my one and only time in Paris, suddenly having more of an appreciation for it now that I'm an adult. "It did sparkle." I smirk over at her and she's wearing a smile, but she's focused on the napkin box between us while her fingers fiddle with it. "It was actually really pretty. It kind of reminded me of Christmas morning at my aunt's. There was one year me and my brother got to spend it with my aunt." I chuckle, remembering the best day of my life. "We didn't have big Christmases normally, but that year, my aunt went all out. There were Christmas lights inside and out of her house. A huge tree. Over eight feet tall, drenched in lights that twinkled. And then in the morning, when we thought Santa came, there were close to a hundred presents under that tree. It was nothing we'd ever seen before, and they were all for me and my brother. We were used to maybe four gifts a piece, so we were confused." I laugh and rub my hand over the back of my buzzed hair. "I know it seems like I got off subject, but that was what it was like seeing the Eiffel Tower. It was something so amazing you'll never forget it, but you also know you probably won't ever see it again. It's a sight that could move you, and makes you wonder why it's there. Like we were two bad little kids, man." I laugh. "We just couldn't understand why Santa left all those presents for us. Much like the tower. Sometimes I think people don't deserve something so beautiful." When I look up at her again, her lips are parted and she looks enamored.
That look makes me want to get closer to her and I reach across the table to try and take her hand. I'm dying to have contact with her. That's how I like to learn people that I actually want to get to know. Body language. The way their touch feels. How they react to my touch. Before I can take her fingers that have stopped fidgeting with the napkins, a crash coming from the kitchen makes her jump and direct her full attention that way, making me lose my chance.
"Scared me," she says breathily with her hand to her chest.
"That's coming out of someone's paycheck," I joke and she chuckles.
"Uh, anyway. How'd you start selling at the farmers market?"
"I started at the farm first then pushed Bev to open a stand on the weekends."
"Bev owns the farm, I take it?"
"Bev's Blooming Orchard. Her orchard's award winning but she doesn't only harvest cherries. All her fruits and vegetables are the best I've ever had. I may be biased but you had one of her cherries. You eat the pie yet?"
"No." She chuckles. "Not yet. The cherries are the best I've ever had. She's doing something right."
"She's one of the most caring, amazing people I've met. She's not in it for the money, she just likes to see people satisfied with something that came from her crop. She whispers to those trees." When she laughs, I grin. "I'm serious. She sweet-talks 'em. She babies the hell out of that farm and deserves a lot more than she's ever asked for. You'll never meet a more genuine person than Bev. I couldn't ask for better family." I smile.
"You have passion, Travis." She smiles and I lose her attention back to the counter.
"I've never been told that before," I admit the sad truth. Bev's the first person to compliment me in my life. It's not a woe is me situation. I just didn't have much for people to compliment before I came here.
"You do. It's nice. So you said you have a cat, but are you an animal lover in general? What about your hobbies…other than cherries of course." The sound of her chuckle is starting to rank up there with my other favorite sounds. Like the start of one of the ATVs. The lawn mower. The breeze rustling through the cherry trees. Not all my favorite sounds are music to people's ears, but Charlie's laugh probably infatuates most people.
I pause as our food comes. "Thanks." I smile at the girl and wait as she walks to the other side of Charlie and touches her shoulder softly before she hands her the plate Charlie's waiting to take. I cock my eyebrow at how particular this girl is, but I think after Caitlyn was threatened with being written up, she's not going to piss Chuck off again.
"Just like normal, Charlie," Caitlyn says to her then looks over at me and smiles. "Enjoy lunch, you two."
"Thanks." I wait for her to walk away. "What about you, Chuck? Hobbies and stuff?"
"You never answered my questions." She smiles. "Plus, we're not here for me today."
My brows raise and I stare at her across the table but she's digging through her fries to find her pickle. "We're here for both of us today." I say with a smirk. "I've lived in Boring for the past three and half years. Hobbies are art. I love farming, working on the orchard. Um…not really much else. So what do you do for work?"
"Oh, I own a dating site." Suddenly her voice is projected confident and proud. "We've made hundreds of happily ever after matches in the past few years and are starting to expand to new territories recently."
I grin at her passion and chuckle. "What's that like? Are you involved with matching people up? Or are you more the behind the scenes business part of it?"
"I'm very hands on. I'm in charge of finding the men to populate the site, so to say. My partner, Frankie, she's the one that helps find the girls. Her job's easier than mine lately. I've had a shit time finding quality men, but I think today may just turn a new leaf." She smiles and takes a bite of her sandwich. I watch her chew before she touches her ear then pulls her cellphone from her purse.
"You got some good leads on some guys today?" I ask before I take a bite and she holds her finger up before pressing her hand to her ear again, then I notice the Bluetooth and realize I'm so boring, she'd rather be on her phone.
Shit. Violet's right. I have zero cool points left and can't even maintain my date's interest longer than a story about Paris.
"Wednesday at eight works great," she says then shoves her phone away. "I'm sorry. I work the weekends too. I just have the luxury of doing it outside of the office. Anyway, where were we?"
"You said today's gonna turn over a new leaf for your dating website. You have some new applicants or something? Is that how people do it? Like submit a dating resume?" I grin.
She laughs and pops another fry into her mouth before nodding at me. "Something like that. There used to be forms, then videos. Now I'm trying to do things like this in person. Then I can get someone into the office for Kevin to shoot their profile video. It's a little easier to judge someone's character when sitting down for lunch as opposed to watching a video, don't you think?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess. I wouldn't really know. Making matches definitely isn't my forte. So you like go on business dates with them, to get them a date?" I chuckle.
She pauses and her brows scrunch together like she's trying to figure out what to say next. "Travis, I go on dates to help men get…dates." She sighs and sits back in her chair. "It sounds weird and it's still in the beginning stages. Honestly I thought bringing you here I could talk you into joining my site, but I'm just not sure if that's going to work out. Maybe this whole date to find a date thing wasn't a good idea."
"Wait." I scoot my chair back and look at Gus as he stands from his laying position on the floor. "I'm part of your shitty experiment? You brought me here to get me on your shitty dating site? How is that even legal?" I blurt and notice she gives no shits. Her attention's on her fries like she's trying to figure out which to eat next. "Maybe legal is not the word I'm looking for." I’m flustered. "But that's morally fucked up." I stand to get the hell out of here and Gus quickly trots between my legs. "I asked you on a date to date you, not one of the women on your site. Shit, if that's how you're running things, the women relying on your services should ask for a refund when you match them with a tool shallow enough to go out with you then accept you hooking them up with someone else." I turn for the door then turn back, pissed off she duped me into this. "News flash, Charlie, most guys want to date the woman they asked out for particular reasons about the girl, not just 'cause they're looking for any warm body in this pathetic world. Good luck with your shitty dating services." I step over Gus to get the hell out of here. I wasn't screaming, but I know I caused a scene telling her off. I feel kind of guilty insulting her business, but if that's how she's running things, she's got it fucked.
Before I can cross the street, Gus runs between my legs, his leash dragging behind him.
"Shit," I huff and hear her frantically call out for him. "Dammit, dog," I grumble and scoop him up before he's hurt.
I turn around and see her standing by the door, yelling for the dog and roll my eyes. I don't know why I thought this chick would be into me. With her light brown hair and blonde highlights, that all natural, no makeup face. She's the type that doesn't need those stupid filters on her pictures. The type other girls pick apart out of jealousy but try to say it's not. She could be a Barbie, just not ditzy. I'm definitely not a Ken. I'm not the type of guy a girl like her thinks twice about except for a hookup to piss off her overprotective parents. I guess I can be flattered she wanted me on her site though. Somehow. But I feel like it was more of a business ploy. Guys like me don't land the steady girl. We land the casual hookups and if I'm on her site, I can get her more business from women.
"Gus!" she yells, turned in the opposite direction.
"Charlie," I snap her name and she whips around to face me. "I grabbed him." I hold out the leash but she doesn't take it. Her eyes keep looking anywhere but me like she has something to say but doesn't know where to start.
"I'm sorry," she finally whispers. "I honestly hadn't done this before and I thought it'd go over much better than this. My friends warned me, but I guess I was just too worried about finding the next best thing. I didn't mean to offend you at all, and honestly, I was having a really good time with you. Which is why I started to realize this won't work." The upward turn of her lips looks like there's remorse, but I don't know if I can trust her. All is fair in business and making money.
When Gus barks for me to put him down, she holds out her hand and I turn over the leash.
"I wanted to date you. Shit, I wasn't actually looking to date anyone. I asked you on a date, not to get hooked up with someone else. If I'm not your type, you could just say that. But you really should open with that, not accept the date then insult me with your true intentions."
"You… I mean, I just don't… Shit." She chuckles with pink cheeks from embarrassment and pushes her sunglasses onto her face. "I don't date, Travis. I don't even know what my type is. The last ten years or so I've been so worried about helping everyone else because… I mean, I make matches, not try to find them for myself. I'm not really the dateable type." She shrugs and gently smiles up at me like she's trying to let me down easy.
"You're not dateable?" I laugh at the stupid comment. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. You're the type of chick that's every guy's type, Charlie."
"Sure, if all you go by is looks," she snaps back, shaking her head.
"That's not why I wanted a date with you." I huff at how vain I sound now. "You're beautiful, but you're…quirky." She snorts out a laugh and I realize it doesn't sound like a compliment, but it is. "Anyway, I'm not interested in your dating site. Sorry. Good luck with that." I turn to walk away but before I cross the street, I hear Gus bark.
"Travis, wait!" she yells. "Just, hang on." She fumbles with her purse and the dog leash while trying to follow after me. "Just…I…I'm sorry, okay?"
She's fumbling with her things and her hands look like they might be shaking. Part of me thinks she might actually be sorry, and part of me thinks she might actually be telling the truth that she doesn't date. It's obvious she loves what she does for work, and I imagine making all those matches takes away the fun of your own personal love life.
"Go out with me again," I blurt. "An actual date this time. No ulterior motives. Just give me a chance." It all spews out of my mouth like I'm a pathetic sap that can't get a girl. I can get plenty of girls, but only the ones that want another number for booty calls or one night with me. People just don't take me seriously, and though I don't regret them, I blame the tattoos. This girl hasn't even once looked at my tattoos as an accessory to the bad boy persona they make people perceive me as.
"I haven't been on a date in a long time, Travis. I don't know what to do on a date when it comes to myself." She huffs and I open my mouth to counter, but she goes on, "But I'd like to try with you… I guess."
"Well, I think we were on the right path, with getting to know each other, I mean. But maybe this time you can store my answers for you personally. Not the site." I smirk and she embarrassedly looks away. "Let me take you to a movie next Saturday."
"Oh, fuck yes, Charlie! Let the man take you to a movie!" That grating sound of Satan's gate opening gets louder as she approaches. That screech she uses as a voice will be forever imbedded in my memory and I cringe, but turn my head before Charlie sees me. To avoid the bitch, I squat to pet Gus, not about to let this chick run me off this time.
"What are you doing here, Frankie? I told you I'd call you later," Charlie huffs.
"You said that, but it's a nice day and a person is free to grab lunch from a favorite spot, are they not?" That voice and her bitchy tone makes me grind my teeth. "So a lunch date, huh? How'd that work out for ya?" She rests her hand on her hip and cocks an eyebrow while she looks down at me.
I clear my throat and stand. "I'm Travis." I try, and put my hand out for her to shake. Either I can let her attempt to intimidate me, or I can try to get on her good side so she doesn't persuade Charlie away from me. Her eyes narrow and she looks down at my hand, but doesn't return the gesture.
"Frankie." Still no offer of a shake, but it's a start.
"Great. Perfect," Charlie says, clearing her throat. "So next Saturday, Travis? Want to meet me here before the movie?" She pulls out her phone and shoves it at me. "Here, put yourself in there. No cutesy nicknames I'll never find."
"So nothing like 'Trav the cherry guy'?"
"You're a hoot," her friend dryly says and rolls her eyes; I look back at the phone.
"Just Travis. Next Saturday, I'll be here around five? Cool?" I put her phone in her waiting palm.
"Sounds great." Her smile isn't like any of the others from before. She looks nervous now that her friend showed up.
"Oh come on, Charlie! You're not seriously doing this are you? I mean…look at you two! Small blonde princess meets jolly fucking green giant of tattoo-land. You two…no. Just no!"
"Shut up, Frankie. Seriously!" Charlie shakes her head. "Sorry for her. She's just…well, she's weird."
"Yeah." I stare at her friend a second while she glowers up at me. "See you Saturday. Nice meeting you, Frank," I mutter and move quickly to get the fuck away from her psycho friend.
Maybe I shouldn't pursue this girl. That friend of hers is trouble.
"My name's not Frank!" she yells after me and I smirk, but keep walking.
After Sunday dinner at my parents' house and spending four hours listening to why I should start using my own dating site to find a 'good boy that'll take care of me,' Monday morning can't come fast enough. I've never been a fan of Mondays, strictly because it means I have to leave the house again, but after what I went through last night, I'd work weekends in the office if it meant no more family dinners.
You just need someone that can care for you darlin'.
We worry about you being all alone the rest of your life.
Why does it have to be so hard? You're the one making it hard.
I don't want to die with you being alone.
A nice Catholic boy who works a steady job and was raised right.
Even Frankie joined in with them, but I think she was just egging them on, enjoying how much they were pissing me off. She says she likes to see I still have emotions about my own life. I focus too much emotion on everyone else's happiness.
Once in my office, I huff and set my phone on the wireless charger. It's a bad habit, overcharging my phone, but if there's one thing I can't live without in this world, it's my phone and Bluetooth. They're constantly attached to me and I hate the way I feel without them.
As I search through files and start making some initial meets of the week, my thoughts travel back to cherry boy. Travis. I could melt into that man's voice. Saturday feels like so far away and after obsessing over him and his quick wit and laugh…good Lord his laugh, I tell myself I can't text him. It's too soon. It'll seem needy.
By Tuesday, though, I can't take it anymore. I break down and text him right around lunchtime.
"Hi. It's Charlie. Just thought you should have my number in case you decide to cancel on me." I send it and set my focus back to work. He's probably working…getting cherries or something. Most definitely not paying attention to his phone.
Two minutes later my phone buzzes on my desk and I hit the button to read it out to me while I try to focus on work. But let's be serious, I'm not focused on work at all. I'm giddy with these fucking feelings that it's him texting me back.
"I'm not canceling. What movie's out that you want to see, Chuck?"
Shit. I don't do movies normally! I could ask Frankie what's out in theatres now, but then she'd start the bullshit that happened Sunday after Travis left the bistro. And I'd rather not get her involved. Uuugh.
I hit the button on my earpiece and speak my response, "Your pick. I'm sure I'll love it." I immediately hit send and sigh. This is why I don't do this dating thing. It's just too many decisions. Too much worrying about meeting the other person's expectations without actually knowing what they are.
My phone alerts me he's replied and I hit play while still trying to stay focused on work. "Wow. I mean, I'm not saying no. So are we skipping the movie then? I can still bring popcorn."
What? Why would he want to ditch the movie? How is me telling him to pick a movie grounds for him to cancel the movie?! What the hell… I hate texting and I really don't have time for these games right now. I hit play while I try to sort through work shit and see where things went wrong with Travis. My phone starts playing our messages back to me and the minute it plays I know exactly where I went wrong.
"Your dick. I'm sure I'll love it." Even the robot voice coming from my phone doesn't make it sound any better.
"Fuuuck, I groan, letting my head fall to the desk in mortification. I just told him I wanted his dick! I mean…I may…but that's not what you text to someone in your first text conversation! I snatch up my phone as if it wronged me and speak to it like it's a misbehaving child. Clear, concise, pronouncing every syllable as if I'm teaching it a lesson. Damn technology!
"Sorry. Typo. HA. HA. HA. I meant for you to pick."
Send. There. Done.
My phone dings almost immediately and I close my eyes, waiting for more mortification.
"It's still not a no if you meant what you said first lol. Double feature maybe? If I'm showing mine. You show me yours. Haha."
My cheeks flush and I can't help but grin. He's good…he's probably way too good. Why would Frankie warn me away from someone like him? Believe me, I got an earful last night over how much I should stay away from him. Not that I listened. I thought about him all night, weirdly. It's an infatuation. No one's shown me this much interest in a while. It's nice, especially coming from a cute guy like Travis. He's funny, interesting, and I like his passion for things.
I smile through my response as I say, "I don't have a dick. Sorry to say." After hitting send, I laugh to myself. This is fun! I'm not used to this kind of fun.
His text comes through shortly after. I literally sat here holding my phone, waiting for it to buzz. Good Lord, I'm a mess.
"I wouldn't believe you even if you said you did. Then I'd ask for the proof. Sorry this got twisted Chuck. But that shit was funny."
I laugh and smile. I hate the nickname Chuck. Hate it. Or at least I did. Coming from him makes me love it. What the hell is wrong with me?
"Sorry. Busy at work. Talk to texting. Damn iPhones." I hit send and set my phone down, willing myself to get some work done. I can't sit here all afternoon and text him, as much as I'd like to.
"You don't gotta blame your phone. I'll show it any time you want to see it <3"
I sigh and clench my thighs together, wishing I didn't feel this way from just a few texted words. I start to daydream about what he's doing right now. I need to stop, but can't and I end up spending the rest of the afternoon thinking about him, barely getting any work done. I think my brain's broken- I don't do this!
After work, Frankie and I finally go grocery shopping, but after unloading and lugging the bags upstairs, we're beat and order out Italian. Isn't that what most people do? Grocery shop then eat out anyway?
By nine she's back at her place and I'm finally alone, just me and Gus. I'm trying to dress for bed and Gus's trying to eat my pajamas. When my phone rings, I answer it on the first ring, expecting it to be my mom to remind me about Sunday dinner.
"Hello? Hang on," I huff because the dog needs to learn the difference from playtime and pajama time! A-HA! Mine! I finally get my pants from him and pull them on, smiling down at him when he sits at my feet at the bedside. "Sorry, hey."
"Hey, Chuck, what're you up to?" Travis's deep voice comes over the phone and I get flutters in my stomach, not expecting him to be on the other end of this call.
"Nothing actually. Finally. So hey." I chuckle nervously and hear him laugh at me. "God," I sigh, lying down in bed. "It was a long day." I smile at the thought of him calling me out of the blue. Does that mean he's thinking of me too?
"I was calling about earlier." He chuckles. "Uh… It was funny, but I didn't want you to be pissed at me. I kind of said some shit I probably shouldn't have. I'm usually more of a gentleman."
I roll my eyes and lay back on my pillow. The sound of his voice is something I could get used to hearing every day.
"I'm not pissed, Travis." I laugh when I hear him let out a sigh of relief. "I enjoyed it, really. It was…fun."
"So you do want to see it then?" He starts to laugh. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I'm not letting you live that one down."
"Hey, I wouldn't either. I should really check my texts before I send them. I'm always messing things up. I wasn't lying when I said I enjoyed it."
"What'd you enjoy, Chuck? The pic I sent?"
"The what?!" I shriek, shooting up in bed. "Did I? Shit, did I miss something? You sent a pic of it?" God-fucking-dammit!
He's cracking up. "That reaction makes me think you're wishing I did."
I let out a short laugh that ends with a low hum. "One day, Travis. I'll get you back for this." I'm shaky with nerves but I don't know why. It's an innocent phone conversation! I feel like I should feel guilty for talking about this guy's dick like I want it…bad. Especially since I haven't even known him a week. I feel like 'boring, safe' Charlie would back off and not get involved with someone that can make her feel like this so early. So giddy from just talking to someone. I also feel like 'boring, safe' Charlie should jump out a fucking window right about now while visions of Travis's dick dance in my head. Maybe it's time I stop playing things safe. It's been years since I've done something just for me. Maybe Travis is my chance.
"So you seriously just called to make sure I wasn't mad?" I lie back down and tuck my legs under the sheets.
"No." He chuckles. "You can't get mad at this dick. I called to hear your voice."
Ugh. Insert mega-swoon. Who the hell just tells the girl 'I called to hear your voice'? What the hell year is this? And why can't I stop smiling right now? It's so clichéd, and I know a thing or two about clichés. I deal with them all day coming from men.
"Your voice is nice to listen to as well, I guess." I try to hold in a giggle but it flows out way too easily and I sigh, trying to stop it. I'm not a giggler!
"Oh, I didn't say yours was nice. I just wanted to hear you giggle 'cause you can't stop thinking about my dick."
"God, you're a jerk!" I laugh, groaning. "I'm never going to live that down."
"Never, Chuck. Hey, did you eat the pie yet?"
"I, uh…" Shit. I completely forgot about the damn pie. "It's in my friend's fridge. So she may have? It was really for her. Like I said, I'm not a cherry person." God, now I feel like a bitch. I could have at least tried it.
"Wait… You didn't eat Bev's pie? You had not one, but two in your possession and you didn't even take a bite? This is blasphemy, Chuck. Where do you live?"
"Where do I live?" I blurt.
"Yeah. What apartment number?"
He can't be serious.
"Umm, ya know… I have a roommate, and he's cranky. And it's late. It's fine. I'll try some of Frankie's tomorrow."
"You live with a dude? Or your roommate's Gus? 'Cause if it's Gus, that guy loves me."
I pause and wonder how bad it would be if I lied to him and told him I live with a dude, because he can't come here right now. No way in hell!
Unable to lie, I whisper, "Gus." And he's right. Gus did love him.
"Give me the address. I'm just dropping a pie, Chuck. What's the address?"
I let out a low growl and squeeze my eyes closed, not answering him.
"Charles? Chuck? Hello? Chuck? I'm waiting… I could just knock on all your neighbor's doors until I find you. Don't make them hate you. I don't have enough pies for everyone. I'm already in the car on the way, by the way."
"You're evil, you know that. I'm in my PJs. You're not coming in."
"I'm not coming in. But I'm bringing this dick, just so you know. I'm sure you'd love it." He starts to laugh and I actually hear the rev of an engine. He's not fucking lying. He's actually driving!
"Apartment 3, 209 West—"
"I only need the apartment number. See you in thirty minutes."
SHIT! I scramble out of bed and start throwing clothes around. But what the hell am I going to do? Get all made up at almost ten at night and act like that's how I sleep? Hell no!
Thirty-three minutes later there's a soft knock at my door. My stomach starts to do a barrel roll and I take a deep breath. This'll be simple. Open the door, take the pie, close the door. Simple.
Not bothering with the lights, hoping that'll hide some of my bedtime attire, I pull open the door and as I open my mouth to yell at him for driving thirty minutes to bring me pie, something sweet hits my tongue and I'm licking pie off his fingers!
"Never pass up Bev's pies, Chuck," he whispers before his lips touch mine for a kiss that feels like he's eating the fruit from my lips, but I have a mouth full of pie and can't retaliate! "Night." The pie box is pushed into my arms and he just walks away!
Good God that was hot. And I'm not talking about the pie.
I've had all damn week to figure out what I'm going to wear tonight, but I'm just now obsessing over it. Of fucking course I'd do this; wait till the last minute. Dammit.
My door flings open, hitting the wall behind it before slamming closed as I'm trying to figure out what's what anymore in this closet. Rolling my eyes, I know that could only be one person. And since Gus isn't barking, I know for sure it's her.
"I'm in here, Frankie!" I yell from my closet.
She's a storm that's about to blow through and leave damage. Her combat boots thunder across my wooden floors as she stomps her way in here, but this time I'm prepared for her hurricane.
"Charlie, no!" she snaps, yanking the dress out of my hands.
"What? Is it that bad?" I thought I pulled out the black one… maybe it was the wrong one.
"You're not going!" The springs of my mattress bounce as she plops down.
"Excuse me?" I shriek, throwing my hands onto my hips. "Since when do you decide what I do, Frankie?"
"You're going to a fucking movie with this guy!" she screams loud enough I know neighbors downstairs heard. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You're lying to this fuck-wit! You don't even like him!"
"I do like him! A lot! And who cares if I'm going to a movie with him?! There's a lot worse things I could be doing, Frankie," I scoff, pissed that she's bringing this up an hour before my date.
"If you liked him," she growls before she's standing right in my face, her breath hitting my cheek. "You wouldn't fucking lie to him."
I grit my teeth and take a deep breath. This is not what needed to happen before tonight's date.
"I'm not lying to him, Frankie."
"What movie you going to see, Charlie?" She walks away from me and I know she's standing in front of the mirror. "Hmm? What movie?"
"It doesn't matter. Drop it," I huff, turning back to my rack of clothes and letting my fingers find the hangers. All placed in perfect order.
"No shit it doesn't fucking matter. Can I remind you of something? Ya know, something kinda big when you go on a fucking movie date with someone? When you go to the movies with someone, Charlie, you watch the screen. How the FUCK are you going to do that blind!? Do you remember you're fucking blind!?"
I squeeze my eyes shut, the typical darkness going even darker, and take a deep breath. "That's not something one typically forgets, Frankie. Can't you just let me try to lead a normal life for once without forcing me to tiptoe around?"
"Oh, fuck you, Charlie. You're having this guy take you to the movies and haven't even told him you can't see. I want you to live a normal life, babe." She's behind me, grabbing my hand. "But you can't lie to him. You could get hurt or something. He doesn't even know you're blind. My God," she snickers and pulls away. "How have you kept this from him?"
"It's not something that just comes up in normal conversation." I sigh, backing away from my clothes and shrugging. "I guess the few times we've been together I've been fine being independent. I'm not blatantly keeping it from him. Maybe I'm a little scared he's not going to want to be with someone with this big of a handicap. I mean, I can't even go grocery shopping without your help. He's not going to want that burden."
"Fuck, Charlie!" she shouts in frustration. "So lead him on, then spring it on him? Like…hey, is your dick out yet? 'Cause I can't see. BY THE WAY!"
"I know, I know." I sigh, pushing past her and moving straight for my bed. Eighteen even steps. "I'll tell him before it gets that far. It's still so early! I've known the guy a week."
"Just…where's your phone? I'll text him and cancel. We can stay here and eat that pie."
"I'm not cancelling my date because you want pie, Frankie. I'll tell him. Stop meddling in my life so much," I grumble.
"You couldn't even identify him, Charlie! If he hurt you somehow! God forbid he takes you out tonight and rapes you or something. You can't just do this shit alone! The guy is over six five, Charlie! He's covered in tattoos! He has tattoos on his throat! On his head! He's fucking scary!"
I grin at her description and I think it pisses her off more. He sounds hot as fuck, really.
"I'm a pretty great judge of character. I've spent the last ten years not judging people by the way they look and I can say I know for a fact he's a good guy. Plus, from that description, he sounds incredibly delicious. I mean, it's not rape if you're willing, right?" I grin and she growls.
"Oh, Jesus. You're insane. If you need dick this bad, I coulda hooked you up with one of Kevin's friends."
"Is Travis ugly, Frankie?" I blurt. "Is he ugly? Would I have found him attractive before?" I wave toward my face. "Is he hot, or is he dirty, scary biker with tattoos listing how many people he's killed?
She huffs. "I mean… He's not like… He's…"
"He's hot! I fucking knew it!"
"God! Yes! He's fucking hot! But like bad boy hot! Not the type of guy you need! He's like, fucked every girl in Portland and their moms hot. He's a bad boy, Charlie. Not your type."
"Maybe my type has changed, Frank." I shrug, walking over to my dresser and pull out a pair of shorts and a tank top, settling on comfortably being myself. "I'm giving him a chance."
"Don't call me Frank," she snaps and her boots stomp all the way to the front door.
I huff and shake my head. She's pissed, but I would bet money on her texting or calling at least three times throughout the night. She'll worry until I'm home safe, and then I'll get another lecture about how he's 'not good for me,' but I'll take it. Totally worth it. Being around Travis is good for me. He makes me genuinely happy, and honestly, he makes me forget about the change my life went through.
We changed plans for him to pick me up here tonight so at five to six I walk out the front and wait by the steps. I've lived here so many years I know the perimeter of this building like the back of my hand. It's a few feet away from these steps that I get turned around if Gus isn't with me.
Turning my back, I hold my phone in my hand and stare down at it. The sound of a car parking out front makes me smile, but I don't turn around, that way he has to come up to me and I can use him as a guide to the car. I hear his footsteps and as soon as he's close enough, the telltale scent of cherries fills my nostrils.
His hand touches my arm and I turn around, smiling. "Hi! Ready to go?" I need him away from this building before Frankie ruins everything. She's right about one thing; I'm going to need to tell him soon. But tonight sounded like so much fun. I haven't been to a movie in forever. It's not like I won't enjoy it. I just have to use my imagination a little more than average people.
"Yeah." I hear the smile in his voice. "You look cute." His scent gets closer and then he quickly kisses my cheek before taking my hand. "Comfortable."
Is comfortable a bad thing? It's the movies. Don't people dress comfortable to go to the movies? I'm over thinking this shit!
"Thanks." I hold his hand tight enough he won't try to let go and I listen as he opens the car door for me. "Thanks." I reach out and touch it, using it to help guide me into the seat. Sliding in, I laugh to myself because even his damn car smells like cherries. Not that nasty artificial smell either. This guy is bathing in cherry juice or something. It's not something one would think of as a manly scent, but it weirdly fits him.
His door closes and the car starts. "So, I know you wanted to see my dick. But I think we should go see that movie where those kids get trapped in that old blind lady's basement and she tries to kill them."
I nod silently, trying not to cringe at the description. Of course he'd pick the blind lady movie. This is my opportunity. But what do I even say? 'Oh by the way, that'll be me in ten years when I'm alone and angry at the world?'
"Sounds like a good one." I grin in his direction and he reaches over, taking my hand in his.
My hand is tiny compared to his. I run my thumb along the side of his hand and try to picture what the tattoos Frankie told me about look like. I wonder if his hands are tattooed. God, it feels good to finally be able to touch him.
"I haven't been to a movie in probably a year," he says with a grin I can hear clearly.
"It's been probably ten for me." I laugh as the car comes to a stop.
"Ten years?" he blurts. "But you've watched one on TV since then, right? Wait, are you one of those people that don't watch TV and shit?"
"Yeah, sure," I mutter. Something like that. "Come on, let's get in before we're late. I need some popcorn."
"Don't move," he says and I do as he says, worried I might trigger something I'm not supposed to. But seconds later, my door opens and he takes my hand like a gentleman and guides me out, unknowingly leading me into the theatre.
"So, let's get personal. I like butter and salt. We can share, or get separate popcorn."
"I like the same. Sharing's good. Thanks." I stay close enough we're almost touching. It sounds insanely busy in here tonight and normally that'd make me a nervous wreck, but being with Travis, I feel safe. When his hand comes to rest on my lower back, I grin.
"What do you want to drink, Chuck?" he asks, moving us up in line. "And we gotta get candy. What do you eat? Here, you pick."
"Oh, uh…hmm." I take a breath and smile. "How about Snowcaps?"
Maybe Frankie was way more than right. I can't do this! What if they don't have Snowcaps? We're right here and I can't even see what fucking candy they have in stock. Every movie theatre has Snowcaps, right?
"A large popcorn, and a box of Snowcaps. The girl knows what she wants without even looking." He chuckles. "It's usually my dick." He laughs harder and I gasp.
"He's…oh my God, I'm so sorry. He's lying," I blurt.
"He didn't hear me." He laughs and suddenly pulls me against him, hugging me as he kisses the top of my head, still chuckling. "Fucking with you is so fun." Letting me go, he turns away and calls out, "Hey, I want a frozen Pepsi! What'll you drink, Chuck?"
"Mt. Dew. Please." Why can't I stop thinking about Travis's dick? I mean, it's seriously becoming a problem.
"And a Mt. Dew, please," he says loudly. "You want anything else?"
"Mmm, do I smell pretzels? Oh God, I love those soft, big warm ones! I need one of those too." I squeeze his arm because I'm truly excited for it. I haven't had a movie theatre pretzel in years! "And a pretzel. Extra cheese."
"Oh…uh…" The cashier sounds like he's just hitting puberty. "Extra cheese?"
"You heard the lady, she's footing the bill, get her what she wants."
"Hey! I paid for lunch!" I laugh. "Your turn this time around, pal."
"Oh. You did? You sure that was lunch with me? Or one of the many other guys you date…to try and hook up on other dates?"
I narrow my eyes and let out a grumble. "He's paying. Add on another frozen Pepsi to it too please."
"Thirsty girl," he mutters, pulling me a little closer.
"Uh, okay, so that's… Forty-two seventy-five." The teenager behind the counter sounds nervous like we might go to battle over the bill.
"Ouch, that's gotta go on my Amex. I need a month to pay that bill," he says and I laugh but hear the cashier giving him change for cash.
"Thank you," I say, taking my box of candy and pretzel tucked in my arm and a soda in the other. "Uh… Um, I can't." I pause and stand here, never feeling so useless before. Shit.
He chuckles and I hear his laugh getting closer. "You got little hands," he says taking the soda and candy, then he takes the pretzel, only leaving me to hold one drink. I expect him to walk away again and I grab my phone, prepared to call Frankie and tell her she was right and to get me out of here. "The theater's this way, Chuck." His finger wraps around three of mine and he leads the way.
The steps going up into the seating of the theatre could have gone smoother, but I don't trip or ruin anything, so I'm considering it a win. We scoot in and he helps me into my seat before settling into his. Thankfully our huge selection of snacks makes it seem like I need help and not because I'm freaking blind.
"It's dark in here already," he mumbles and I smile.
"You're not scared are you, big man?"
His words get closer as he says, "If I am, will you sit on my lap?"
I laugh and that foreign feeling of lust starts to roll through me. I can't even see the man and I'm insanely attracted to him. It's like he has no filter.
"Maybe." I grin, bringing my soda straw to my lips to hide it.
"Then I am," he says close to my ear as the speakers start the trailers before the movie. He lifts the armrest that separates us and tugs me closer. "I bet you're the jumpy type," he whispers and his palm spans just above my knee, his fingers almost wrapping to the chair.
I clear my throat and shift a little in my seat to get closer to him. Just his touch is doing things to me that I'm not sure have ever been done before. I've been with men before, but never anyone like Travis. He's sure of himself. He's almost dominating. He knows what he wants, and tonight I think it's me.
The movie starts and I have a hard time focusing. I wasn't lying that I haven't been to one in ten years. Since I lost the one thing you need to be able to watch a movie I haven't had the urge to come sit through one. But for some reason the minute he brought it up I immediately knew I was going. I thought I'd sit here and listen to the movie, but really all I can do is focus on his hand on my skin.
"Popcorn?" he whispers and I hear the tub shake in front of me.
"Thanks," I whisper back, reaching over and taking a hand full.
We fall into the rhythm of sitting quietly in our seats and eating our snacks. Every now and then one of us shifts a bit but I have no clue what's happening in the movie right now. And I'm starting to wonder if he does because his fingers have been rubbing a soothing massage into my thigh, though never moving higher.
After taking a sip of my pop, I set my cup down in its spot and reach over for the popcorn, but I'm met with a hand full of Travis instead. I know I should pull my hand away from his leg, but I don't. He lets out a heavy but quiet exhale and his hand rests on top of mine, pushing mine down a little harder and I realize what I've been resting on when it starts to swell in my palm.
That isn't his thigh.
I let out a gasp and when I start to pull away his grip holds tight and something in me switches when I feel him hardening. I grin and squeeze my thighs together, trying to push away the urge to screw him right here in public. It's the sound of his quickening breath that makes me start to slowly move my hand, rubbing against him. The fabric of his shorts tighten under my palm until I can very clearly feel the outline of his hard length. I keep rubbing him, each small grunt and sigh that comes out of him turns me on and encourages me to keep going. Granted, my hearing is better than most, but I pray no one else in this theatre can hear him like I can. Not that it'd make me stop.
I keep rubbing, tracing the outline of his dick through his shorts, wanting nothing more than to feel him without the layers. When he slips his hand between my thighs and two fingers press against my clit, I inhale a gasping breath. His other hand stops my rubbing of his dick and I almost beg him to let me keep going, but then I hear his zipper. It's only a second before he moves my hand to the warm flesh of his unsheathed cock.
"You're so sexy," he breathes in my ear when my wrist starts pumping again. "Fuck," he whispers with a low grunt before his fingers slide around the fabric of my shorts, but he doesn't make it past my thong. I'm so wet though, it's probably already saturated through my shorts. "Don't stop, Charlie," he whispers, softly biting my earlobe, rubbing my clit faster and applying more pressure.
I try to hold back any and all noise that could get us caught, but he knows exactly where, which way, and how hard to rub my clit. I focus on stroking his length, taking in every ridge of him as my hand slides up and down. He starts to harden even more and I know he's getting close the way his breathing has changed. Though I don't want him to stop touching me, I need to do this. I push his hand away from me and drop to the floor quietly before taking him in my mouth, earning a low growl as his hand comes to rest on my head, swiping my hair to the side. I bob up and down, using my hand for the length I can't fit in my mouth. It's only a minute or two before I feel him swell even more and his thumb swipes across my jaw to my lips probably as a warning, but I don't stop sucking. His fingers grip a handful of my hair and his hips jerk slightly as he cums in my mouth. The taste is surprisingly sweet and I don't hesitate to swallow. Everything about him is sweet. His fucking smell, taste, touch.
He doesn't let me play any longer and he hooks his hand under my arm, pulling me back up to my seat as he quietly pants and whispers, "Shit."
In a quick shift, his hand moves even quicker to get between my thighs and around my shorts and thong this time, sliding directly inside of me with ease from how wet I am. I gasp but his mouth crashes to mine as his finger pumps fast enough I can hear the sounds from my wetness, but I don't stop him. His mouth tastes like Pepsi but that scent is still all cherry.
The angle his hand is in is hitting spots I've never been able to hit with any toy before. Then his palm pushes against my clit and it doesn't take long before I feel the telltale tingle of my orgasm rapidly approaching. I shift in my seat and thrust into his hand hard enough to send me spiraling towards release. Travis must be able to feel it and as soon as I start to tighten around him his lips crash to mine to mute the cry of relief I want to release loudly in this quiet theater. When the pulsing inside me stops, he softly kisses me and slowly removes his finger from inside me.
Grinning like I'm mad, I sit here, listening to him try to quietly zip up his pants. I've never done something like that before! I'm out of breath and completely turned into a pile of mush in this chair. God, if he can do that to me in a movie theatre I can't wait to see what he can do to me in a bed.
The movie ends almost as climatically as I did, or at least the gasps of the other people tell me it did. We make our way out of the theatre, hand in hand, and for one of the few times in the last couple years, I'm glad I can't see the people around me. Someone had to have heard us.
The second my ass hits the seat in his car, I'm suddenly feeling shy. Embarrassed. Who does that on a first date?
"Is it hot in here?" I manage, pulling off my sweater and feeling like I could have a panic attack any minute.
"Kinda." He clears his throat and starts the car before taking my hand and kissing it. "Are you hungry?" he asks, sounding almost as embarrassed as I feel.
"No. I ate a lot at the theatre." I know the words coming out of my mouth are the wrong thing to say, but they're out and soon he's laughing his ass off and I can't help but follow. "God, I'm sorry," I mumble. "That's…that's not me…I don't think."
"Well, Chuck. It was you. I know no one else's hot little mouth did that to me." Taking my chin, he turns my head and softly kisses me before abruptly pulling away. "But I know what you mean. I'm not sure we should have done that on a first actual date." He chuckles nervously before clearing his throat. "You want to…go for a walk or something?"
"Um…" I do, but I shouldn't. "I should probably just head home. I bet Gus needs to go out by now."
"That's cool. So, I'm just gonna drop you then?" I know he's fishing to come over, and as amazing as that would be, I can't. I barely know the guy and we just screwed around in the movie theatre like a bunch of horny teenagers. If I let him in my apartment there's no stopping us until all layers are off. And there are some layers I'm not ready to show him yet.
"Yeah, that's good. Thank you." I lay my head back and close my eyes. Maybe if he thinks I'm exhausted, he'll drop it.
"Cool," he mumbles and we fall silent until the car stops. "Can I take you out again? Soon?"
"I'd like that." I smile. "I had a good time tonight, Travis. The best I've had in a long time." I grab my purse and sigh. "Thank you."
He's out of the car and I wait a minute, not sure what he's doing, but he opens the door for me again. When I get out, he lightly kisses my lips.
"Let me walk you in," he says close to my mouth like there are so many more motives to that request.
"You don't need to do that. I'm right here, easy peasy."
"Come on." He grabs my hand but I pull away. If he's anywhere near my apartment when I go in for the night, we're both going in and not coming out till morning. Not on the first date.
Although it's not like I have many first date morals, but I know Frankie will barge through that door a minute after I walk through it and that's drama I don't need tonight.
"I'm fine. Thank you, Travis, but I'm really perfectly fine. Really."
"I had a great night. I couldn't tell you anything about that movie. I guess we went with your first choice, huh?"
"What?"
"My dick," he says, his voice circling back around the car.
I chuckle. "Ha, funny. Goodnight, Travis."
"Night, Chuck. Get inside." The car door closes a second later, but he doesn't drive away.
Shit. Oh noooo, shit, shit, shit. This isn't Frankie's parking spot. I know the walk exactly from Frankie's parking spot. I don't know where we are and Gus isn't here to help! Shit!
I hear his window roll down before he calls out, "Inside, Charlie."
I smile to hide the worry on my face. "Kay, night!" I wave in the direction his voice came then start walking toward what I think is the building. Grabbing my phone from my purse, I call Frankie as soon as Travis's tires pull away.
"Where are you?" she immediately blurts.
"Um…out front maybe? Maybe the parking lot?" I say, unsure if I'm embarrassed by not knowing where to go or giddy over what I did tonight.
"Fuck, Charlie!" She ends the call and I wait for her.
The night is chilly now that the sun's gone down and I realize I forgot my sweater in Travis's car. I'll need to remind him tomorrow to bring it with him on our next date.
The apartment door clanks as she barrels through it. "This is exactly the shit I was talking about. That fuck-wit just drove away without getting you safely inside!" Her hand grabs my arm and I smile stupidly.
"He saw me walking towards the building. He thought I was safe! Don't start this now, Frankie. I had a great night, I don't need you shitting on it with negativity." I roll my eyes at her.
"That's not a gentleman, Charlie! He should have walked you inside!"
"He tried. I told him not to," I mumble.
"Charlie!" Travis's voice comes from the street and I hear the sound of his engine.
Shit.
"Frankie, go in. Please," I whisper, knowing this isn't going to end well.
"No fucking way, Charlie," she growls from right next to me.
The car comes to a stop near us and I hear his door open at the same time I feel Frankie leave my side.
"What the fuck are you doing leaving her out in a dark parking lot all alone?" she shrieks.
"Whoa, fuck!" Travis grunts after what sounds like Frankie plows into him. "She didn't want me to walk her in! She was headed for the door!"
"So funny! Leaving a fucking blind girl in a parking lot and driving away as she fumbles to find her way home. Real fucking classy, ya fucking twat!"
My heart sinks when the words leave her mouth and the silence in the air says it all. I close my eyes and take a breath, wishing to be anywhere but here right now.
"Charlie?" Travis's voice is quiet but projects so I can hear him. "You forgot your jacket." He sounds confused, probably unsure if what Frankie just said is a metaphor for something, or the truth.
"Give it to me!" Frankie snaps and I can hear the shuffle.
"No," Travis barks. "Charlie, come get your jacket," he demands, and I can hear that waver in his tone like he's unsure what to think about what Frankie said.
The knot in my throat comes roaring back and I don't move. I can't. My world is full of following sounds and right now there are none. It's like they both stopped moving and are just waiting for me to fail.
"You didn't fucking tell him," Frankie quietly scoffs like she's disgusted with me.
I let the tears slip since there's no use holding them back anymore. "I can't," I finally manage to whisper. "I'm sorry, Travis, but I can't."
"Are you… You're fucking blind?" he asks like he's getting pissed. I guess he has full right to be.
"Come on, Charlie. Let's get inside and away from this fuck-head." Frankie's boots crunch in the gravel and when she reaches me she takes my hand and we start walking inside. I'm on auto-pilot, walking away from the one person that made me feel like I was more than my handicap.
"Charlie," Travis's demanding voice makes me stop. "You let me cum in your mouth and you're fucking blind?"
I gasp at his stupid concern then lose it. "Blind people can't give head, Travis? Does that freak you out? Because it didn't fucking seem to bother you at the theatre!"
"What the fuck, you two?" Frankie screams in disbelief. "You sucked his dick! Charlie! And you, you fucking asshole!" Her voice is rushing away from me and I reach out, trying to grab her but she's long gone and I hear the crack of flesh on flesh.
"Frankie!" I gasp.
"How the fuck didn't you realize she's fucking blind?" she screams.