Reid
The last few days I’ve been doing anything I can to keep my mind busy, but as hard as I try, Kara is still at the back of my mind. Liam has been trying to get me to go on a blind date, but that is the very last thing I want to do. He says I should get out of the house more because I’m in danger of becoming a hermit, my reply to which was that a few days of not going out other than to work does not constitute a recluse. Jason has been right alongside him, poking fun at me for staying home all the time, and trying to get me to agree to the blind date. I haven’t said yes yet, but I have a feeling they won’t shut up until I do. I might agree to do just about anything to take my mind off my feelings for Kara. I can’t keep moping about the place all the time, it’s not fair on the boys. I know they told me I could stay here until I found a house, but it feels like I’m getting under their feet, so I’ve made a decision to start flat hunting, it’s about time I got out of their hair.
I’m searching on the internet for flats to rent when my phone rings. I see Liam’s name on the caller ID.
“Hi Liam.”
“Reid, what are you up to this evening?”
“Flat hunting and a couple of bottles of Bud in front of the TV. Why?”
“How about meeting me and Jase at Madison Avenue for a drink and maybe a bite to eat instead?”
So much for watching mindless TV with a takeaway.
“What time? I need to grab a shower first.”
“About an hour?”
“Without you guys preening in the mirror, yeah, I can make it there that soon.”
“Cheeky fucker!” he exclaims and proceeds to laugh at me.
“See you at seven, dude.”
I hang up and turn the laptop off. Hitting the shower, I’m washed and changed by 6:15, so I text Liam to let him know I’m going to grab a taxi and be there in about half an hour.
I’m sat in the bar area of Madison Avenue waiting for the boys to turn up. I wish they hadn’t picked this place because of how things went between Molly and me, but there’s no animosity between us and the food here is great, so I suck it up and drink my beer.
I’m onto my second bottle of Bud when I look out of the window and see a familiar face, a face that haunts my dreams most nights. She doesn’t look my way, but even from a side view, I can see how beautiful she looks. Long blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze, a blue dress that ends at her knees. She’s drop dead gorgeous, there’s no denying it. My heart beats erratically as I watch her enter the restaurant. I haven’t seen her in a while, and I’d be a damn liar if I didn’t say the sight of her now has my cock beginning to twitch. I have to keep it under control, so I look away and concentrate on peeling the label from my bottle.
I pull my phone from my pocket and tap out a text to Liam to see when they’ll be here.
Me: Hey, it’s past 7, what’s the hold up?
It takes a couple of minutes before I get a reply.
Liam: Sorry, held up in traffic. Don’t worry, I reserved a table, just ask them to seat you. Grab yourself a beer and we’ll be there soon.
Me: Okay, want me to get you guys a drink?
Liam: Nah, the colder the better, dude, we’ll sort ourselves when we get there.
I ask the server for our reservation and he shows me to the booth. I’m a little gobsmacked when I see Kara sat in the same booth with her back to the room.
“Umm…hi, Kara,” I say hesitantly as I wipe my slightly sweaty palms on my jeans. My heart is taking residence in my throat and it’s hard to say anything else.
“Oh. Reid. What are you doing here?”
I look back to the server to ask if he’s seated me at the wrong booth but he’s gone to seat a young couple. I realise I haven’t answered Kara’s question, so I take a seat opposite her before my legs give out beneath me. Why am I so damn nervous?
“I’m waiting on my brother and Liam. How about you?”
I’m pleased I actually managed to form a coherent sentence and not make myself look like an utter moron.
“I’m waiting for Liam, as it happens. He invited me to dinner tonight.”
“Oh, I didn’t realise you were joining us.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here either.”
The server comes to ask if we’d like to order drinks and to let him know when we want to order our meal.
“We’re waiting on two more people actually,” I reply.
“I do apologise, sir. Would you like to order drinks while you wait?”
“Kara, what will you have?”
She orders a glass of prosecco and I tell him I’ll have a Pepsi. There’s no way I’m drinking another beer now, I don’t want to risk making a fool of myself.
The silence that falls is deafening. I don’t know what to say to her and I get the impression she doesn’t either.
Returning with our drinks, the server places them in front of us.
“I’m sorry, sir, I have a message for you both. The other people in your party are unable to make it and hope that you two will stay for dinner.”
Now I’m confused and I know I’m not alone when I see the look on Kara’s face.
“Thank you,” I respond as the server begins to step away from the table.
“I have no clue what’s going on,” Kara says as she lifts her glass.
“Neither do I, but I’m going to call Liam.”
I pull my phone out and see that I’ve received a text;
Liam: Enjoy your blind date. Give Kara my love.
The bastard. I swear the next time I see him I am going to rip him limb from limb. He knows how I feel about her and this little stunt to push us together has me irritated because I would have eventually gone to Kara on my own terms.
“It seems that my brother-in-law has set us up,” I inform Kara, turning my phone to face her.
Her eyes show a range of emotions; shock, maybe mild irritation, and lastly, I swear they looked happy.
“Well, that explains why he hasn’t answered the last couple of texts I sent him.”
“The last text I got from him said that they were stuck in traffic. The lying little…” I swallow the appropriate swear word.
Kara’s laugh is infectious, and I can’t help but laugh along with her. Even the sound of her laughter is beautiful.
“So, should we call the server back and order some food?” she asks as her laughter subsides.
We order and make small talk until he returns with our meals. Kara tells me about the book store she opened and I tell her about Jason’s plan for us to go into business together. Conversation flows easier than when I first sat down, and I’m thankful for that. There’s nothing worse than awkward silence, but we’ve known each other a long time now, so it’s easy to fall back into discussing things we have in common.