Chapter Twenty-Six
Holly
I couldn’t stop thinking about Xavier. It was getting to the point that it was starting to hurt without him. I’d wake up with a headache or bellyache, and I was sure it was from the stress of not seeing him. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him again. Even nothing talking to him was torture. But I couldn’t bring myself to see him. I had no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from being with him. We’d taken it too far. We couldn’t be friends. We’d crossed the line, and there was now no turning back. We both knew it.
My father had been unusually quiet too. He usually brought Xavier into the conversation at some point in the day, and always seemed to want to have him over. According to him, Xavier used to come over at least twice a week to visit. But for a while, my father hadn’t said a thing. He’d barely mentioned Xavier’s name since I’d come home after the night at the hotel, and I hadn’t dared say anything either. Did my father know that something had happened? Had he maybe called the hotel to find out if we’d had separate rooms? I didn’t realize that there were so many ways for him to find out but if he was savvy enough, he could discover the truth quickly. We hadn’t been nearly as secretive as we perhaps should’ve been and now we were paying for it. I needed to get my dad off my case, so when he asked me if I wanted to go out with Ryan, I said yes. He seemed delighted even though I clearly didn’t look all that excited. But at least, for now, it would make my father see that there was nothing going on between myself and Xavier.
When the day of the date rolled around, my father was in a better mood than I’d seen him in a long time. He kept smiling and was much more talkative than usual. He even offered to take me out to buy some clothes, and when I told him I was fine, he insisted. In the end, I gave in and I went to the mall with him to find an outfit. My father had never shown an interest in what I wore before and had always preferred me in something conservative. So I was surprised when he pointed out a light blue dress that was a little more daring than something I’d normally wear. I bought it without even bothering to try it on.
There was half an hour to go until Ryan was to pick me up. I put on my dress and looked in the mirror. The dress was gorgeous, and it suited me. It was just such a pity that it was Ryan that was going to see me in the dress and not Xavier. I straightened my hair, put a bit of makeup on and some heels and headed downstairs to wait.
“You look beautiful,” my dad said when he saw me. “What a beautiful daughter I have. Who knew I was so good at shopping for clothes.”
I laughed despite myself. It was nice to see him in such a good mood again, and I could see now that he was proud of me again. I would have to forget about Xavier if I wanted to continue seeing a smile from my father.
“I’m impressed, Dad. You did a good job. This dress is amazing.”
Ryan was over fifteen minutes late, which normally would send my father into a small panic. There were a lot of things that annoyed him in life, but being late was one of the big ones. He said it was disrespectful and unnecessary to keep someone waiting. But he barely flinched as the time went by and told me that he was sure Ryan had a good reason.
Ryan didn’t apologize, and when he opened the door, he took one look at me and whistled.
“Hot,” he said. “I’m looking forward to this date, Holly. I’m Ryan. Oh, hi, Rick,” he said when he saw my father. “Your daughter looks great.”
A strange look crossed my father’s face, and I saw him struggle to smile. Then he shook his head, as if deciding that everything was fine, and reached out to shake Ryan’s hand.
“She’s a beautiful girl. Have a great time, you two.”
Ryan was a good-looking guy, but not in the same way that Xavier was good looking. Ryan was extremely polished, as if he spent hours getting ready each morning. There wasn’t a crease on his shirt or a hair out of place. And while he might look good on paper, he wasn’t the sort of guy I found attractive. I liked a guy that was a bit more real and natural. I suddenly became very aware of my own imperfections.
“What do you think of my car?” he said as we walked outside.
“Oh, it’s great,” I said with forced enthusiasm.
We stepped inside, and he continued to tell me all about his car, which he’d apparently had his eye on for the past year. It was nice, but I had never been someone particularly interested in cars, and after about five minutes I started to zone out. I found myself wondering what Xavier was doing and whether or not he missed me. By the time we reached the restaurant, I realized I hadn’t listened to a thing that Ryan had said. I also realized that Ryan hadn’t even noticed.
“I thought I’d take you to Kansas Café tonight. They do a mean chicken pie.”
I smiled. “Sounds great,” I said and got out the car. Obviously, Ryan didn’t open the door for me, but I hadn’t expected him too. I didn’t normally care for things like that, but it was a first date so you’d think he’d make a bit more of an effort.
Kansas Café was a popular café in town and one that I had been to many times before. It was a casual place and not really the type of place you’d take a girl on a first date. But I didn’t mind. The last thing I wanted was to sit with him in a quiet and romantic setting. I just wanted something nice to eat, and then I wanted to go home and never see him again. It didn’t take me long for me to know that there wouldn’t be a second date. We made our way to our table, and Ryan immediately ordered us both a glass of white wine. I didn’t even like white wine all that much, but the waiter had gone before I had the chance to change the change the order. There was nothing I hated more than someone who just assumed I would like something just because they did. Ryan seemed to think that everything he did was perfect.
“So, what do you do, Ryan?” I asked.
He smiled at me, and I noticed his teeth looked a little too white. Nobody had teeth that color. It was a little unnerving. I looked up at his hair and felt an urge to reach up and mess it up. It took me less than half an hour to get ready for this date. I wondered how long it had taken him.
“Oh, I’m a software developer,” he said. “I’m very good at my job,” he added.
“That sounds interesting,” I said, and I was genuinely interested in finding out more about it. I had always had a fascination with what jobs people did, and I loved to know how they spent their days. “Tell me more about it,” I said.
I immediately regretted asking him for more details as he launched into a story that seemed to take forever. Just like me, he had moved away for a while for work, although he’d gone overseas instead of just moving to another town in America. Usually, something like that would’ve been fascinating to me, but I lost interest in his story almost from the very beginning. Everything he said was about him, and him alone. It didn’t help that his voice was a slow drone without much change in elevation. He only paused so that we could order our food or to take a sip of wine. He ordered a chicken pie for me with a side salad, and I didn’t bother to say anything. I just wanted the night to be over. Maybe it was a good thing that he talked so much because I didn’t have to do much else but nod or smile at the right places. By the time finished telling me about his work, which, as it turned out, was not nearly as interesting as I thought it was going to be, he launched into his side project. Modeling.
“I got into it a few years ago. An agent saw me at a café and came up to give me her card. Isn’t that amazing? It’s like you only really think things like that happen in the movies, but it happened to me. I called her up and told her that I couldn’t do anything full time because I had a job already. So she offered me some smaller modeling roles. I’d say that’s how I managed to pay for my car. It’s kind of an exhausting job. You’d think that modeling was all caviar and champagne, but it’s really hard work.”
I smiled politely. “Sounds great. So, what sort of modeling do you do?”
Why was I asking more questions? It was just more of an excuse for him to talk about himself. I’d never met anyone who liked the sound of their own voice as much as he did. By the time we finished with my meal, I realized that he hadn’t asked me once about what I did for a living. In fact, he hadn’t directed the conversation my way at all. He was still talking about himself, and he seemed convinced that he was the most interesting man in the world.
“Do you want dessert?” he asked. “They do great milkshakes here. I’m very lucky when it comes to food. You’d think that someone like me has to watch what they eat, but I obviously have a very fast metabolism. I’m definitely going to get a milkshake. How about you? Do you need to watch what you eat?”
If he was going to get a milkshake, then I was definitely going to get one. With all the extra cream and chocolate that could fit inside. I felt outraged that we were even having this conversation.
“I don’t need to watch what I eat. I’d love a milkshake.”
“Two vanilla milkshakes please,” he said to the waiter as he walked past.
“I’d like a chocolate brownie milkshake,, please,” I said.
“Are you sure? That’s a lot of calories. At least with the vanilla one you’re having a treat without being too greedy.”
The waiter frowned and looked at me as if to say he couldn’t believe I was on a date with a guy like this.
“I’ll definitely take the chocolate brownie one,” I said.
The waiter smiled. “Excellent choice.”
I was actually full from dinner, but I was going to make a point of finishing that milkshake in front of Ryan no matter what it took. I sat back and just let Ryan continue with his talking while I waited for the milkshakes to arrive. When they did, I was glad to at least have something to distract me from his annoying voice. No matter how happy my father was that I was on a date with him, I couldn’t do it again. I couldn’t think of anything worse than sitting through another date with this guy.
We were halfway through our milkshakes when the door opened, and a group of firemen walked through the door. My heart immediately began pounding in my chest as I watched them. I prayed that Xavier wouldn’t be there too, and my heart dropped when I saw that he was the last to walk in. He spotted me right away, and I saw how hurt he looked to see me sitting there with Ryan. I wanted to explain to him that it wasn’t a date and that I was only trying to placate my father, but I couldn’t say anything with everyone around me. I saw him walk to his table and then change his mind as he walked right up to me. I could hear my heart beating it was so loud.
“Oh, hi, Holly. Hi, Ryan. I didn’t know the two of you were dating,” he said and looked at the two of us with a big fake smile on his face.”
“Xavier, good to see you man,” Ryan said. “Oh, Holly and I are on a date. Our first one, and it’s going so well.”
My eyes widened at that. Did Ryan really think that this date was going well? Actually, I wasn’t surprised. Of course he thought that. I didn’t know what to say. I just sat there looking at them both in shock. Words had failed me.
“Oh, I’m sure it is. You look great together. Well, sis, it’s good to see you again,” Xavier said, and I cringed at the term ‘sis.’ He had placed extra emphasis on it to make sure that I heard it correctly. “Make sure this guy treats you well.”
He walked off before I had the chance to say anything. Ryan looked at me and smiled.
“Nice guy that. Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh yes, I wanted to tell you about this modeling gig I have coming up.”