Eleven
Melanie
This man is literally one giant mystery. Whatever I thought I knew about Shane Thompson has gone completely out the window. The dark and closed off
For one thing, he's making me wear a blindfold for our first date. At least he told me to wear casual clothes with my cork wedges so that I might have some comfort for the day. It's scary and yet captivating that he's trying to woo me.
I can smell the air before Shane takes the blindfold off. I can feel his heat against my back as his hands rub up and down my arm. His deep voice whispers in my ear, causing chills to caress down my entire body.
"Are you ready for our date surprise?"
I whisper, "Yes."
I feel the cool air hit my face when he removes the fabric from my eyes. My eyes involuntarily blink as they adjust to bright lights of daytime.
"You're taking me sailing for our first date?"
His gorgeous smile makes me want to take the captain's spot to watch him move around the rest of his large-ass sailboat. "Yep. You're not afraid of the water, are you?"
I shake my head as I watch his arms flex with each tightening of the ropes and sails.
"This is a different kind of first date isn't it?" I ask when he jumps back down in front of me.
He laughs. "It's gonna be all down hill dates from here sweetheart. You might as well enjoy tonight because it's McDonalds and dollar beer from here on out."
"Well, if I want to be honest with you. I'm glad it's just us and not some crowded restaurant. I'll admit I've never actually been sailing before. Just canoeing and small boat stuff so I'm pretty excited about this."
He looks at me strangely. It's freaky how I can see the wheels turning in his head that he's no doubt comparing me to the women who he claimed I was no different from. Despite the fact that I believe I've proven myself a few hundred times over the last few months. I think a serious conversation is in store for us in the very near future. I'm probably making assumptions as to what he's truly thinking, but at the same time, I've learned to read him over the last few months.
Shane guides me smoothly across the deck down a few stairs to where a cushioned u-shaped booth sits in one corner and a small outdoor kitchen is built across the other side. Snacks are plated on the shining white table. They are almost too pretty to eat with the different colors and textures. Shane helps me into the booth and pours some water from the carafe for us before sitting down close to me.
He looks at me with guilt in his eyes. "There is wine here too if you'd like some. I'm sorry, but I sort of keep alcohol to a minimum. I didn't think to buy extra for the date."
I clasp his wrist and make him look at me. "Shane, it's completely fine. I'm not a huge drinker anyway. Just one or two when I'm out with Beth or one glass on Sundays. Alcohol and waving boat motions don't sound too appealing to me anyway."
He sounds shocked when he says, "You truly are unlike any woman I've ever met before."
I rub his wrist with my thumb in the same way he does for me, hoping it has the same effect."That's actually what I think we need to talk about right off the bat. You tell me I'm different but at the first sign of trouble, you hid away, and became scary lawyer twenty-four seven. If you say I'm different, then PROVE to me that I'm different. I already know I am, but you still seem to have trouble accepting it 100 percent."
He sighs deeply before speaking. "Do you know what its like to watch someone you love slowly kill themselves and you can't do anything to stop it? To have two miscarriages because of too much alcohol in her system? Miranda always she'd change and be different when she got pregnant, but then the cranberry juice would become infused with vodka once again. It's hard to truly open up people in such a short amount of time."
I shift closer to him, hoping my energy will feed off onto him. "I don't think I could ever imagine what you went through with Miranda. I've heard the stories about her randomly throughout the last two years, but they were always your stories to tell so I ignored all but the ones about you being divorced. Is that why you told me you didn't believe other women when they said they were different?"
"Most women only tell me what they think I want to hear. That status and money are the only things that matter to me since I work so much and attend all of the galas in the city. Every time I heard the sentences I'm different or I can be different for you, all my brain heard was Miranda crying when the doctor told us she was pregnant, and that she'd be different for the baby. That she would put our new family first."
My curiosity peaks. "Then why me? Not that I'm complaining, but you were so adamant about not getting close to me. You rejected me twice. Granted, I acted like a brat the second time, but you still rejected me."
He laughs and looks at the ceiling of the deck before gazing back at me. "You walked into our firm with a determination I hadn't seen in anyone in a long time. You crave knowledge. Yes, you like to impress other people with your skills, but that's the nature of our industry. You truly want to know every in and out of everything you work on, and that's how you struck me as different. Not those fuck-me heels I know you wear on purpose, but the mind that picked out those shoes is the mind I want to keep learning about and encouraging at work."
"Well, you already figured out I'm not Miranda. I will gladly tell you anything you want to know. Plus, just for shits and giggles, I may tell you stuff you might not want to know either. Like how much I'm bleeding on my period or what I ate at three in the morning. Although, I'd really hope you'd be next to me at three am enjoying the snack too."
He pulls the wrist I was rubbing from my grasp and puts his arm around my shoulder bringing close to his muscular body. He kisses the corner of my forehead. "I'd really like to be there at three am too."