Chapter 9

Taylor stepped out of her car and walked towards her house feeling drained. The day had been long and hard, and it hadn’t helped that she was sore from her night with Conner. Throughout the day, she had thought of him and the thoughts had led her right back to their night of passion. When she awoke in the morning and found him in her kitchen, she had been surprised. She had expected him to be gone by then.

“Taylor!”

She spun around and looked over to where Paige stood with her hands on her hips.

“Hey,” she said as she walked over to where the woman stood at the hedge that separated their homes.

“Where have you been?” Paige probed.

“I had to work late,” she replied. “Did I miss something?”

“I had a date scheduled for you that you almost totally missed,” Paige said.

“Really?” Taylor retorted.

“Last night, I told you I’d set you up with one of my husband’s business partners.” She answered back. “How could you forget?”

“Oh yes,” Taylor replied, suddenly remembering what had happened.

At the potluck, Paige had told her to go on a date with the man because he was wildly successful and handsome. She remembered thinking at the moment that Paige was doing it to keep her away from Conner. She had said yes to stop Paige from pestering her but after what happened last night, she had totally forgotten about the date.

“Oh, I forgot,” she said.

“He’s over by our house,” Paige said. “You should still go out with him.”

Taylor pondered it for a moment. There was nothing between her and Conner and he had left no promises of anything more than the night they had. If she knew him and his past, she couldn’t expect anything from him. The thought suddenly made her sad. She wanted to be able to believe in Conner and the fact that she couldn’t do it made her wonder if she had made a mistake.

“I guess we could go out,” she said.

“Oh, perfect.” Paige was joyous. “You need an hour to get ready?”

“Yeah, an hour is good,” she replied, trying not to think about how tired she was.

She went to her house and decided to shower. There was no excitement in her movement and she knew it was the tedium of dating that she didn’t like. Taylor had such a bad first experience with the man her parents had tried to set her up with that now she didn’t know if she wanted to be set up at all. Then again, her mind also wandered to Conner. He had been so patient and so caring with her last night. She could never have imagined that a man like him could be so sweet. She smiled but then she immediately stopped. She didn’t need to be pining over a man who probably only saw her as a booty call.

She got ready, and right on the hour, her doorbell rang. She went to the door and was mildly surprised to see the handsome man standing on the other side. He was tall, thin and had a light blonde mustache that contrasted with his dark blue eyes.

“Taylor,” he said with a smile, “I’m Noel.”

“Hi” she replied extending her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. “You are as beautiful as Paige said. You’ll make a nice wife.”

Taylor cringed at the way he said it, but she didn’t allow him to sense her displeasure. Why was it that the thought of being married to him made her feel so uncomfortable? Once again, thoughts of Conner came to her mind and she did her best to push them away. She needed to remain focused. Just because he made her feel something special didn’t mean it was actually special.

“So, where are we going?” she asked as she stepped outside.

“I’ve booked us a table at one of the best restaurants in town,” he said.

She watched him as he leered at her in the dress she had chosen for the date. 

“That will do,” he said dismissively.

Once again Taylor fought the urge to cringe.

“Let’s go,” she said.

As they walked towards the driveway and approached his car, which she had missed while driving in, she saw Conner’s car pull into the driveway. She stopped when he stepped out of the car and gave her a curious look. He walked over to them and she wondered what was on his mind.

“I thought we were going to have dinner tonight,” he said when he approached them.

“I had promised Paige a date last night at the potluck,” she answered with a smile. He didn’t smile back but she saw something close to anger flash across his face.

“I see,” he replied. “Well, I hope you have fun.”

Without another word, he walked off and she suddenly felt as if she had done something wrong. She searched her mind to find if she had made any promises or done anything to lead him on but she couldn’t think of anything. His anger didn’t make sense, but she decided that she would let it go. She would find out what could have changed between them in such a short time.

“Let’s go,” Noel said from the car.

She looked up and noticed he was already seated at the steering wheel waiting for her. Everything about this sent her bad signals but she wasn’t one to break promises. The drive to the restaurant was very short and when she arrived, she noticed that she was very much underdressed. Noel seemed to notice this as well, but he said nothing about it. Soon, they were seated and waiting to make an order.

“I think I should get the shrimp pasta,” she suggested. “What do you recommend?”

“Don’t you think you’d rather get a salad?” he asked. “I know you look thin and fit now but you can never be too careful”

Tylor wanted to laugh at his audacity but then held it in. She didn’t know he was an expert on body weight.

“So, I’ll get the shrimp pasta,” she said without asking him what he thought.

He gave her a resigned sigh and when the waiter arrived, he ordered for them both.

“So, a doctor?” he said. “Impressive.”

“I’m a surgeon,” she replied, it wasn’t in her nature to boast, but she knew that he was only listing her accomplishment to make himself feel better.

“Yes, a neurosurgeon,” he replied dismissively. “You would be impressive to many people.”

“Except you,” she thought to herself. It seemed he was crossing off a checklist of the traits she had that he could feel good about.

“And you’re, what do you do again?” she asked.

“I’m a lawyer,” he replied. “I thought you knew that.”

It seemed that her lack of knowledge about his profession was hard for him to believe. She smiled, knowing that it would be a good way to get at him during the date if he became too overbearing. She would hit him where it hurts; his pride.

“I must have forgotten,” she replied.

He gave her a skeptical look and she took a sip of water to hide her smile.

As the night went on, Taylor began to dislike the man even more. He was completely offensive and the way he tried to compare her sex and her achievement was backward. She was offended even further when he tried to compliment her. At the end of the trying dinner, she did her best not to tell him what a horrible date he had been.

“It was a great night,” he said as they drove home. “You’re a good woman.”

“Thanks,” she replied absentmindedly.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. As he pulled up to her house, she realized she had never felt this happy to be home. He stopped the car and opened his door. For a moment she wondered if he would be coming around to open hers. Instead, he stood on the curb waiting for her to join him. Smothering her irritation, she stepped out of the car and together, they walked to her door.

“Thanks,” she said, turning to open her door, “thanks for dinner.”

“You’re not going to invite me in?” he asked

She looked at him incredulously. How was it that he thought their date had been a success?

“No,” she replied, “you are the worst person I’ve ever had the misfortune of sharing my evening with.”

“You’re being unkind for no reason,” he replied. “I know you like me and you could do well with a guy like me in your life.”

Taylor scoffed.

“You are the best thing to you and only you” she replied. “Never come here again.”

“If I had known you’d be such an uptight bitch, I wouldn’t have spent my money on you,” he said, turning to walk away.

Taylor was about to say something, but she held it in. She didn’t need to become angry now and also didn’t need this man reducing her to her basest instincts.

“You wretch!” she said under her breath.

She opened her door and slammed it in his face and leaned on it as she calmed herself. Her anger was so palpable she could taste it. When she finally calmed down, she decided she needed to talk to someone about this. Paige would have gone to bed by then and her parents would be out. Looking through her window, she saw that the lights were on at Conner’s place. Grabbing her jacket, she walked over to his house and rang the doorbell. As the door opened she began her rant.

“You wouldn’t believe…,” she began.

Her words stopped when she looked up at a woman clad in her underwear and a large shirt looking down at her. The woman was tall and beautiful and, to her surprise, Taylor forgot what she was going to say.

“Oh,” she said when her thoughts returned to normal, “is Conner here?”

“Oh, yes,” she said excitedly, “Conner!”

Taylor didn’t enter. She just stood and waited for Conner at the door as the woman walked away. She didn’t understand the sudden feeling of hurt and disappointment that filled her. Conner came to the door laughing and drinking from a pitcher. She looked up at him and she knew then that she had made the right decision to not put her hope in him.

“Hey beauty,” he said, “how was your date?”

“It was good,” she lied. “I didn’t know you were having company.”

“Well, I guess we don’t know much about each other, do we?” he replied.

“Why are you behaving like this?” she asked. “This isn’t you, is it?”

“It’s who I am,” he replied. “I thought you knew that, at least.”

“I don’t know what I thought,” she replied, letting out a resigned breath. “I wasn’t thinking.”

For a moment, they stood there looking at each other as she wondered why she had imagined that she could have anything with a man who never committed to anyone or anything. She had been warned over and over again, and she knew it was her insistence on looking at the good side of people that put her in this position. She hadn’t expected much from him, she just hadn’t expected this.

“I have to go,” she said, a sadness she couldn’t explain filling her.

“Yeah, you should go,” he replied.

She walked away from the only man who had ever seen her at her most vulnerable and she wanted him to say something, anything to reaffirm that he was the man she thought he could be. When he didn’t, she went home and cried.