Reid
Liam can’t help chewing my ear off about this great girl he met in a bookstore in town. Apparently it was her grand opening and he was dying to see how she’d renovated the old cinema I used to go to as a kid, The Picture House. Apparently she’d turned it into a really cool new place to buy books and hang out, blah, blah, blah. I tuned out to what he was saying when he started on about the interior decoration. There’s only so much I can listen to when it comes to things like that. Where is my damn brother? He gets Liam’s incessant talk about soft furnishings and all things design. Turns out Liam is doing a course in interior design and hoping to kick-start a career as a designer. He ‘has an eye for these things’ as he likes to tell me. But then Liam said something and I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right.
“Say that again, what was her name?”
“Kara. She’s such a cool chick. Hey, I should see if she’s single and set you guys up. She’s drop dead gorgeous, you know, if you’re that way inclined.”
I didn’t know whether it was my Kara, but I had to find out. Well, I say ‘my’ Kara, but she isn’t. Never has been and never will be. More’s the pity.
***
I decided to ignore what Liam said. Least said, soonest mended and all that. The sooner I forgot my fantasies about Kara Scott, the better. That didn’t stop his nagging for him to be allowed to set us up. Over the week that followed, he mentioned her name far too many times for my liking. So I decided to do the only thing I could—I sent Molly a text asking her on a date. She’d replied almost as soon as the text was sent and I didn’t know whether that was her being too eager or me jumping to conclusions. We arranged to go to the local street fair. I hadn’t known the first thing about what a street fair was until Molly told me we should go to one. I decided to go on Google and search for it so I didn’t sound stupid. As it turns out, there was usually booths that sell various goods, carnival rides, and sometimes even a parade. There was also a possibility of having live bands and a fashion show, the latter of which I wasn’t interested in, but I could probably be persuaded to give the live bands a try.
We’re due to meet in ten minutes and I’m sitting here in my car, parked not too far away. I’m bricking it if I’m honest. Normally I’d take a woman to a bar or a restaurant for a first date, but seeing as Molly worked in a restaurant, I was up for trying something new when she suggested it. This is something out of my comfort zone though, and I’m not sure what kind of impression Molly will have of me by the end of the day. I could totally hate it and seem like a bore, but I’m hoping that doesn’t happen.
Looking to my left, I see Molly walking towards the bench in town where I’d agreed to meet her. I get out of the car and head in her direction. She sees me coming and gives me a little wave. She looks cute in cut-off jeans and a camisole. I’m by her side in a matter of moments and she gives me a peck on the cheek. She smells good, a nice floral scent. I love how she’s curled her hair and is only wearing minimal makeup, I don’t like girls who cake their faces in it. I remember when Jason and I were younger and he asked one of my girlfriends if a Crayola factory had exploded and she’d got caught in the crossfire. I laughed my head off for days afterwards. How I’d kept a straight face at the time he said it, goodness only knows.
Heading towards the street fair, I’m unsure what to do with my hands, whether to put one next to hers and see if she’ll take it, or whether to keep them to myself a little while longer, so they hang limply at my sides.
***
The street fair was actually more fun than I thought it would be. We walked around hand in hand after Molly slipped hers into mine—I had wanted to take her hand, I just wasn’t brave enough. Visiting stalls that sold trinkets was more her thing than mine, but I observed her as she perused the goods on offer and that made me smile. I bought her a small wooden puzzle box that she’d been checking out and she kissed me in gratitude—granted, it was only a chaste peck on the lips, but she kissed me nonetheless.
There was a live band and we stood with beers in hand listening to them play. It made me want to go to a real gig somewhere, the music buzzing through my veins was a high that I wanted more of. Molly seems like a free spirit. She danced without a care in the world about who might be watching. She looked absolutely stunning as the sun shone down on her and she moved her lithe body in rhythm with the music.
I’m now sat at home thinking about the lingering kiss she left me with at the end of our date. Her lips were soft and she tasted like the strawberry lip gloss I’d seen her reapplying during the day. The kiss was warm and sensual, her tongue had sought mine out, and I had been only too happy to oblige. Though it wasn’t a passionate, frenzied kiss, it was still enough to leave me wanting more.
The chemistry between us today was…well, it was there, but I’m left questioning myself. My heart wants Kara, but my head is telling me that nothing could possibly happen with us. Can I convince my head and my heart to be on the same page? Possibly. I’ll have to wait and see what the future holds. Molly is sweet, kind, carefree, and I like that about her. Is there a possibility it could blossom into more? I don’t really know. Can I get over the love I have for a woman I can’t be with? That’s a question for another day.
First things first, I need to sort myself a house out. The sale of the one I was looking at fell through in the end, so it’s back to the estate agents for me. Liam and Jason have told me I can stay with them until I find somewhere, which I’m really grateful for. Jason said it was dead money to just rent somewhere—he said that money could be being saved up for a place to buy instead—and I guess he’s right.
It’s time to start getting my life in order. It might sound daft, or maybe a tad girly, but I really want the house with a white picket fence—okay maybe no fence—the job, wife, and children. So I guess I take it a day at a time from here to see where I end up.