Eloise

When I opened the door to the bathroom, Christian was leaning against the wall.

“I thought maybe you fell in.” He grinned.

“Very funny.” I scrunched up my nose at him and he chuckled.

“What are you hungry for?” he asked.

“Pizza?” I bit down on my bottom lip.

“Pizza sounds good to me. How about Pizzapopulous? I can call it in now and it should be ready by time we get there.”

“I love that place.”

“Me too.” He smiled. “What kind of pizza do you like?”

“Any kind really. Hawaiian, barbeque chicken, Mediterranean, or one with everything on it except anchovies.”

“Ah, you’re an everything on it kind of girl. I like that.”

After picking up the pizza, we headed back to my apartment. My belly was doing backflips all the way there and it was pissing me off. Once we stepped inside my apartment, Christian set the pizza box on the kitchen counter and I grabbed a couple of paper plates and napkins.

“I have beer,” I spoke.

“A beer sounds good. How many pieces of pizza do you want?”

“Two,” I replied as I opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer.

We both took a seat at my small round table for two and Christian popped the cap off his beer and took a sip while I bit into my pizza. The silence between us was eerie. It was almost as if either one of us was afraid to say something.

“As soon as we’re done, I’ll get my portfolio.”

“I can’t wait to see your work,” he spoke as his eyes wandered around my apartment. “Your apartment is nice.”

“Thanks.” I gave him a small smile.

“Tell me a little bit about your family,” he spoke.

“Why do you want to know about my family?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “Would you rather talk about something else?”

“No. It’s just me, my mom and my dad.”

“You’re an only child?”

“Yeah. My parents tried for years after I born, but my mom couldn’t conceive.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. Are your parents still married?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “They have the best relationship ever. My dad is a one-of-a-kind guy.”

****

Christian

I sat across from her with a bewildered look on my face. Those words. I’d heard them before. My mind started racing at such an uncontrollable speed, I couldn’t keep up. Nah. Couldn’t be. It had to be a coincidence. Doesn’t every girl think her father is a one-of-a-kind guy?

“That’s good to hear you think so highly about him. Tell me more.”

“He’s a good guy who loves my mom very much. He’s never lied to her, cheated on her, and they barely argue. I can only count maybe two times my entire life where they got into a disagreement.” She smiled.

My stomach twisted in a tight knot.

“Your standards for a guy must be pretty high then,” I spoke.

“They are. Very high.” She held up her beer bottle before tipping it to her lips.

“What’s your favorite type of food?” I asked as I narrowed my eye at her.

“Italian. Unfortunately, I love all those carbs.”

Holy shit. She can’t be. This was all a coincidence. I gave her a small, nervous smile.

“I need to use your bathroom.”

“Oh sure. It’s down the hall, first door on the right.” She pointed.

“I’ll be right back.”

I had to know for sure and there was only one way I could be certain. I stood around the corner, pulled my phone from my pocket, turned the sound off, and sent a text message to Digits.

“I hope your evening is going well.”

I heard her phone ding and she got up from the table and took it from the kitchen counter.

“It is. How’s yours?”

My phone lit up with a reply from her and my heart started racing.

“Good. Really good. Are you still working?” I hit the send button.

Her phone dinged again.

“Actually, I am. You?”

“Yeah. I’m working and I better get back to it. Catch ya later?” I peeked around the corner and watched her type away on her phone.

“Catch ya later, Mobile Man. Don’t work too hard.”

She set her phone down and took a seat at the table. I couldn’t believe this. Eloise was Digits. Placing my phone back in my pocket, I took my seat and stared at her.

“What?” She smiled.

“Nothing. I’m just excited to see your work.”

“Okay. Go sit on the couch and I’ll grab my portfolio. I can clean this up later.”

I took a seat on the couch, and a few moments later, Eloise sat down next to me and opened her portfolio.

“Wow. These are really good,” I spoke as I studied each page and photograph.

“Thank you.”

“You definitely have a natural talent, and the kind of talent I need for the Chanel shoot.”

“Would you like to see the wedding photos I took at the wedding we were both at?”

I looked over at her and could see the excitement in her eyes.

“Of course I would.” I grinned.

She grabbed her laptop from the coffee table. Pulling up the file, she opened it and an array of pictures filled the screen.

“These are stunning, Eloise. What did the happy couple have to say?”

“They haven’t seen them yet, so don’t let on that you did.”

I chuckled. “I won’t. It’ll be our little secret.” I winked.

The thought that she was Digits harbored inside me. I wanted to reach out, place my hand on her beautiful cheek, and tell her that I was Mobile Man. But I couldn’t. Not yet. It would more than likely freak her out and I couldn’t have that.

“I should get going. It’s getting late,” I spoke.

“Yeah, okay.”

We both got up from the couch and I started to help her clean up from dinner.

“You don’t have to do that, Christian. I got this.” She grinned.

“I want to help,” I spoke as I grabbed the empty beer bottles from the table.

Once we finished cleaning up, she walked me to the door.

“By the way, did I mention that the photo shoot is in Chicago and we leave Friday morning?”

She cocked her head and raised her brow at me.

“No, you did not mention that.”

“I hope it’s not going to be a problem. We’ll be back on Sunday.”

“You’re lucky I don’t have any photo shoots this weekend.” She smirked.

“I guess I am.” I smirked back at her.

It took every bit of strength I had in me not to lean in and kiss her. The thought of her soft lips tangled with mine again excited me. I placed my hands in my pockets to stop any involuntary movement.

“Good night, Eloise. Oh, by the way, I know you don’t want to give me your phone number, so just give me your email address and we can communicate through that.”

“Well, since I’m doing a freelance job for you, it would only be professional of me to give you my number. Hold on a second and I’ll go grab a piece of paper and a pen.”

A few moments later, she returned and handed me the small pink post-it note with her phone number on it.

“Thanks.” I smiled. “Have a good night.”

“You too, Christian.” The corners of her mouth slightly curved upwards as she closed the door.