Chapter Five
Delilah
“Hello,” I said as I answered the unknown number that had called me.
“Hey, it’s Brandon from the dating site.”
I was really glad he hadn’t said Dating the Rich; it still bugged me that the company was named that. If our mission was to match people up, I never understood why we would designate our clientele to rich men primarily. Or why we seemed to have hundreds of thousands of young girls who matched up with the rich guys. It wasn’t exactly the mission I would have if I wanted to help people find true love.
“It’s nice to be able to put a voice to a face,” I laughed.
“So I was thinking we should go get a bagel Saturday morning; how does that sound?” Brandon asked.
“Sounds like you’re trying to see if I’m real or not.”
“Oh, you’re on to me.”
“What if I didn’t want to meet you for a bagel or coffee or whatever it is you’re planning. What if I only go on nighttime dates? What was your plan, then?”
“Hmm, first I’d think you were some sort of vampire if you only went on nighttime dates. But I’d be happy to take you out at night if it meant your vampire skin could stay safe.”
“Oh, my gosh; I’m not a vampire.”
This guy was funnier than I’d thought he was going to be. I found myself smiling from ear-to-ear. I also felt like my face was bright red with embarrassment. It was a good thing we were doing a little date over the phone before actually meeting.
Dating and I hadn’t been a good mix since Spencer had passed away. I felt awkward and weird anytime someone even mentioned taking me out. I wanted to be smooth and cool like I was used to going on dates, but the truth was that I wasn’t used to it, at all.
Spencer had been the only guy I’d really dated as an adult. My ex-mother in-law setting me up had been about as close to a real date as I’d gotten since. I tried to take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves as Brandon and I continued to talk.
“Then, Saturday morning, nine o’clock at Bella’s Bagels. I’ll meet you there.”
“What happened to the days of guys picking girls up from their houses for dates? Am I getting so old that you guys don’t do that anymore?” I teased him.
“You wouldn’t let a strange man you’ve never met pick you up from your house,” he said. “I have confidence you’re smarter than that.”
It was the truth. I absolutely wasn’t going to let this guy pick me up from my house. Even though he seemed like a pretty decent guy, you just never knew who someone was until you met them. I’d watched crazy news stories about things happening to women, and I wasn’t going to let anything like that happen to me. I was a single mom and my son had already lost his father – no way was I going to get myself murdered by some lunatic.
My heart raced at the idea of meeting up with this guy. He seemed like a fun and interesting person. I was relieved that he wanted to do a morning date instead of a nighttime one. Morning dates were casual and easier to get out of quickly if need be. It was near impossible to make a quick escape if I agreed to go to dinner with a guy. At least I could plan to meet up with a friend for lunch so I had someone to talk over all the fun date details with.
“It’s a deal. I’ll meet you on Saturday.”
“By the way, your voice sounds just as sexy as that profile picture of yours,” Brandon said and my whole body froze with excitement. “See you Saturday.”
“Bye,” I managed to mumble before hanging up.
My toes tingled with excitement. It had been a long time since a guy had complimented me so well that it had actually thrown me off.
Brandon was handsome, witty, and apparently rich; he was nothing like the type of guy I normally went out with and everything that I’d dreamt of in a guy. The typical man I went out with lived at home with his mother and wanted to split the check. Of course, I never knew these things when I agreed to the dates, but it did seem to be a running theme in my dating history.
I was convinced Brandon and I weren’t going to hit it off that well in person. A bikini picture can catch a guy’s attention, but the real me was a little more boring in person – and I wore a lot more clothes. There wasn’t much of a chance he and I were going to be able to keep up this witty flirtatious banter, although a small part of me hoped we would hit it off.
***
The week was a blur and before I knew it, I was pulling up to Bella’s Bagels. I had spent entirely too long getting ready this morning. I did my hair with the perfect wave of curls; just enough to look sweet, but not too much to look like I had actually curled my hair. I did my makeup in the “no makeup” look, which actually took much more time than just putting makeup on.
I was ready to meet Brandon, and even ready for him to not be interested in me. It was okay; I was just happy to have a real date with a decent guy, and if it didn’t work out, I knew I had at least tried my best.
“Delilah,” I heard a husky voice say from behind me before I had even walked in the front door of the shop. It startled me, and I visibly jumped as I turned around. “Hey, sorry, don’t mace me,” Brandon laughed as he jokingly put his hands up in front of his face.
“Oh, wow, yeah, you scared the crap out of me. Yeah, I’m Delilah,” I said as I held my hand out to shake his.
What was I doing? I was actually meeting this total stranger to have a bagel date? It seemed so out of this world that I’d agreed to meet him at all. Memories of Spencer flooded my mind, and I thought about how nervous I’d been around him when we first met.
Brandon seemed like a nice enough guy, but he was much more handsome in person than he had been in his profile…and he was pretty damn handsome in his profile. My hands shook and my voice cracked and I just knew he was going to be able to tell that I wasn’t the kind of girl he wanted to go out with.
“It’s nice to meet you. I was looking for a beautiful blonde in a bikini, but then I decided it was probably a little too chilly for you to wear that on our first date.”
He smiled at me and winked at the same time, and it sent heat flushing right to my cheeks. This guy was drop dead handsome – like Hollywood handsome. In fact, he looked a little familiar to me; maybe he was in the movies or something.
I knew I couldn’t be myself. There was no way a guy like him was going to fall for a girl like me if I was actually my dorky self. I seriously doubted if he was used to dating IT systems administrators or web designers. Nope, I was just going to have to chalk this up to a fun breakfast with a handsome guy I’d never see again.
“Yeah, I’ve got my bikini in the car, if you’d like me to change,” I said as I reached for the door handle.
“Maybe after breakfast. Let’s go sit down.”
His dry sense of humor mixed perfectly with mine. It was actually really hard to find someone who thought I was funny and could understand when I was joking. I’d met a decent number of guys at the bars who thought I was being serious when I said something like I had.
I wasn’t normally the overly confident type of girl around any guy, especially a man like Brandon. Well, the truth was I didn’t actually hang around rich guys or handsome guys so I didn’t know exactly know what to do with myself. But, since I had already decided this would likely be our only date, I was just going to go for it and be as wild and crazy as I could muster up the courage for.
“I’d like an everything bagel, toasted, with cream cheese, please,” I told the lady at the counter.
“Two of those, please,” Brandon said.
“Oh, you just happen to like the same type of bagel as I do?”
“Actually, I’ve never tried the everything bagel and always wanted to. I figured since you were bold enough to go for it, I could, too. What exactly is on it?”
“Hmmm, I don’t think anyone has referred to me as bold before; that’s actually really funny. I have no idea what’s all on it. But I do know that it tastes delicious.”
“I doubt that no one has called you bold before,” he said as his hand touched my arm slightly. “You probably just intimidated them too much to say it to your face.”
The heat from his fingers was like lightening as it shot through my body. I wasn’t ready for it and felt my knees get weak almost instantly. I leaned against the counter to pretend like I was just fine, but there was so much energy coming off of Brandon that I literally couldn’t look at him.
There was a night and day difference between how he had touched my arm and how that guy at the art gallery had gone about it. Brandon was soft and gentle. He looked me in the eyes and made me feel passion for him; the guy at the gallery just made me afraid he was going to murder me.
“Orange juice, please,” I said when we reached the cash register.
I looked straight at the clerk and avoided Brandon’s eyes as much as possible, although the way he continued to look back at me and smile was melting every bit of my will power away.
His green eyes were crystal clear, and his lips just the right amount of plump. I could certainly see myself kissing this guy, or kissing all over his body. Hell, I could see myself in bed with him. If he had asked me to go back to his place, I would have probably just said yes. How could a girl ever refuse a man who was so blatantly handsome? Not to mention he was kind, funny, and rich, I thought.
“I’ve got this,” Brandon said as I reached for my purse to pay. “I mean, it’s the least I can do.”
I smiled and grabbed my bagel and orange juice while I waited for him to pick out a spot. He smiled again as he walked to a booth in the corner and I dutifully followed him. It felt like we were both smiling like a couple of maniacs, but I figured that was better than if either of us were frowning.
The date seemed to be off to a great start. He was funny, handsome, and flirty. I was pulling together some sort of witty awesomeness that I didn’t even know I had in me. So far so good.
“I bet the girls just cream themselves when you’re out in the clubs,” I blurted out as we sat down.
He burst into laughter as I quickly covered my mouth in total shock. Then I covered my whole face as the words replayed in my head. I couldn’t have actually said those things out loud.
Nope, that didn’t happen. I didn’t say that…I’m going to die.
I had been thinking that he probably got every girl he went after; I didn’t mean to actually say it out loud. I shoved the bagel in my mouth and took a big bite to avoid talking any more. My face was flushed red, and I was pretty sure I had even started to sweat by that point.
There was no use. I should have just got up and left. How was a guy supposed to actually finish a date with me after I said something like that? I couldn’t look at him. I refused to look up from the table and hoped he would just get up and leave me there to die of embarrassment.
“I’m not sure,” he laughed as he looked at me. “I don’t think it’s ever happened, but you women are pretty good at keeping your secrets.”
He looked at me so intently, I felt like I was going to cream myself right there in the bagel shop. How was this guy single? Something had to be wrong with him. Maybe he was a womanizer? Or bad in bed? Perhaps he worked all the time and ignored his lady? There had to be something wrong with this guy; I just didn’t see how any woman in her right mind would ever let him go.
“What do you do for work?” Brandon asked as I continued to chew on my giant bite of bagel and hoped we could just finish this date so I could die of my embarrassment already.
I covered my mouth as I quickly tried to chew my bite so I could answer him. His eyes locked onto mine though and made me wonder how on earth I was going to answer his question.
Telling a guy I worked on computers wasn’t really a big selling point about my life. I was a nerd. Plain and simple, I like computers and video games and even thought of myself as a typical nerd. I worked in a field of nerds and liked the same things those guys did. It wasn’t exactly the sexiest of jobs.
“Um, I’m in computers,” I managed to mumble as I finished chewing. “I do websites and fix data and stuff like that. I work for a cool company that I like.”
“That’s really interesting. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a woman who worked in computers. Wow, that sounds really sexist. I should say I don’t meet that many people who work in the computer field at all, so it’s probably not unusual that I haven’t met women who work in the field. Okay, I’ve put my foot totally in my mouth. I’m sorry. That sounds like a cool job.”
“What do you do?” I asked.
“Nothing. Well, I used to own a company, but I recently sold it. So, I’m between jobs right now. I’m basically unemployed.”
“That sounds rough, and I’m really looking for a guy with a job, but I guess I could make an exception for you.”
“Yeah, the unemployed thing is a bad sign, I know. Life’s a little boring, but I sold my company for a great deal of money. So, it’s not rough in the traditional sense. By the way, why do you think women cream themselves when they see me at clubs?” he asked and leaned in, eager to hear my response.
“Oh, well, um. I…” My brain went totally blank. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do. I do have to say; I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed this phenomenon in a woman. It seems like something I’d like to be part of, though.”
He laughed and leaned back in his seat as he took another bite of his bagel. His confidence just oozed off of him and his smile had me realizing that he was teasing me. I really liked to be kept on my toes around a guy; it made a date so much more fun.
“You’re purposely torturing me,” I laughed. “I didn’t mean to say that. I was thinking it, but I didn’t mean to say it out loud. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, hell, don’t be sorry. I love a good bit of honesty in a woman. Better than the prim and proper talk I normally get. I was around a lot of boring people when I used to have my company. You’re really refreshing.”
“What do you do all day long? I mean, if you don’t have a job, do you just go surfing all day or something? I saw this show about this guy who sold his company and then took up all sorts of weird hobbies. Do you have weird hobbies? I’m sorry, I’m babbling. You make me nervous.”
“Sometimes I go surfing, but usually, I have other meetings and appointments to take care of,” he said. “I’ve actually only just finished transitioning my company. I’m learning how to invest in the stock market from a friend of mine. I do charity work. I’m also always looking for my next business opportunity. I’m sorry I make you nervous,” he said with a grin that told me he wasn’t sorry at all. “How about you? What do you do when you’re not working?”
“I go to the theater and art shows. I used to want to be an artist, but life got in the way a bit and I never ended up going that route.”
“What got in the way?” he asked.
My heart quickened. This was the question that could ruin a date for me and often did. Why exactly didn’t I go after my dreams? How did I let life get away from me when I’m only in my twenties?
Sometimes I lied, if I knew I didn’t like the guy or wasn’t planning on seeing him again. I thought about lying to Brandon; it wasn’t like I planned on going out with him again. But something in the way he looked at me gave me the strength to tell him the truth.
“My husband passed away in a car accident, and I had a little boy to take care of,” I said. “I know it’s a horrible thing to tell you on a first date. I’m sorry, I just can’t help letting it out. It’s all part of who I am and I sometimes talk about him. I think it would be weirder if you didn’t know who he was. His name was Spencer.”
The color in Brandon’s face drained quickly as he reached out to grab my hand. The empathy in his eyes was amazing, and I instantly knew he understood what pain I had been through. I didn’t know who it was in his life that he had lost, but it was clear he understood what real loss was.
“I’m so sorry. That must have been really hard on you.”
And just like that, our flirting and fun date had turned incredibly serious. I had the ability to ruin any chance I had with any guy. There I was with a decent guy who actually laughed at my jokes and seemed like a pretty cool guy. But what did I do? I totally ruined it by bringing up my dead husband.
“Yeah, my son Connor is five. He’s my world. I’m not sure if I had that in my profile. I should also tell you that I work at Dating the Rich. My profile was supposed to be private; I had it public while I was fixing an error in the coding. I’m sorry if I misled you. I understand if you feel that way.”
“You look way too young to be a mom and a widow. I’m truly sorry for your loss. But I can tell you’re a strong woman and probably a fantastic mother,” he said as he totally ignored the rest of the information I had just told him.
“Did you hear what I said about working at the website?” I asked as I winced and waited for his reaction. “It’s probably against the rules to even be talking to you. Well, I don’t know if there is a rule about it or not. But I’m sorry if there is, and I understand if you are totally not into me.”
“Yep, I heard you, and I’m glad I caught you online, then,” he said.
“You don’t care that I work there?”
“Should I? Is it against the rules for me to date you? Wait, don’t tell me because if I don’t know, then I can’t break the rules,” he laughed.
“You just sent me the instant message, and I was sitting with my friend and responded. I don’t know if it’s technically against the rules. I just wanted to be honest.”
“If we are being honest, then I should tell you something about me, too,” he said as he looked seriously at me.
I took in a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever horrible piece of information he was about to give me. This was it: he was going to lay it all out on the table and tell me why a rich, handsome guy like himself was actually single.
“I’m divorced.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t so bad. There were a lot of guys in their mid-thirties who were divorced. If that was all that was wrong with this guy, then I really did want to keep him around.
“Okay.”
“I lost my son to cancer six years ago, and my wife and I divorced five years ago. She’s remarrying soon to a guy named Carlos. I’m happy for her. He seems like a decent enough man. I mean, he’s kind of a recluse and opposite of me, but I’m happy she’s going to be happy.”
“Your son died?” I said as tears started to roll down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”
I didn’t want to cry because he wasn’t crying as he told me, but I just couldn’t stop myself. My heart hurt at the idea of a sweet little boy losing his battle with cancer.
“It’s okay. I’m better now. It wasn’t anything we could control,” Brandon said as he handed me a napkin.
“I’m so sorry for your loss. Connor is my life; I can’t imagine if anything would ever happen to him.”
Brandon smiled and held my hand and comforted me as I cleaned up my tears. What a thoughtful man. There I was crying over the loss of his son, yet he was comforting me.
“I think this date has gotten too serious,” he said. “I’ve got an idea. Do you have a little more time free?”
“I’m supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but I’ve got a few hours.”
“Then come with me,” he said as he held his hand out for me and lead me to his car. “There’s a place that I’d like to show you. You might need that bikini you have in your car, though.”
We stopped at my car, and I grabbed my gym bag out of the back. The only reason I had a bikini in there was because Mattie and I had planned to go to the gym that afternoon and I didn’t like going into the sauna without clothes. She always teased me about being a prude, but I just wasn’t going to sit in a room full of steam without anything on.
“I don’t normally carry a bag with a bikini in it,” I defended myself as we drove off.
“It’s an unusual thing to carry in your car, but you strike me as an unusual woman.”
“I’m actually pretty boring,” I said.
“I doubt that. You said you like going to art shows? Have you gone to any recently?”
“Yes, I just went to one. The artist was amazing. Luckily, I volunteer at a few galleries, so I get invited to events. Normally, they don’t invite people who can’t buy their artwork,” I laughed. “There was this one beautiful painting that sold for a million dollars. I know that seems like a lot, but I think people who love a piece of art are willing to pay because of the way the art makes them feel.”
He smiled and didn’t say anything for a long time as we drove toward the coast. It was unusual how calm I felt around him now. Something about us both sharing our history of loss had really connected me to him, and I didn’t feel nearly as jittery as I had when our date had first started.
“I’m not a huge art fan, but I think you’re right about how much art costs,” he said. “If someone likes it enough to spend that kind of money on it, then more power to them. Artists deserve to make a living, and their artwork is about emotions, not the actual paint they used to make the work.”
“Very true.”
“Have you been to Planter’s Pier before?”
“Nope, I’ve never even heard of it. Where’s it at?”
“It’s north of Venice. A very small beach, with a…” He paused and smiled as he seemed to be thinking about how much he wanted to tell me. “How about I just show you?”
“Sure, I’m game.”