Chapter 4
Caden
What the fuck was I thinking? A date? It had been forever since I had even considered going out with another woman. But there was something about Cara that just pulled me out of my comfort zone.
Her smile was absolutely perfect and it further drew me into her deep brown eyes. We hadn’t really talked much other than the few pleasantries we’d exchanged in between saving her from Graham and my impulsive invitation for dinner.
I picked through the small bag of clothes I had packed for the weekend trip. A few pairs of shorts, jeans, t-shirts. Nothing fancy or that I’d even consider the least bit dressy. A nice dinner had been the last thing on my mind when I left the other day.
Decisions. Shop for something new or make do with what I had and hope that I had already made a somewhat decent first impression.
Realistically, where was this really going to go anyway? Dinner? Maybe a hookup? I laughed at the thought. A hookup. If that was what Cara was after, she would have surely taken Graham up on his offer. He was younger, better looking, and had more money, although he was a complete tool. Besides, I was far from being anyone’s one-night stand.
Protein shakes and daily five-mile runs had been replaced by high calorie fancy coffee drinks and hours sitting in front of a laptop screen blocking out life.
I closed my eyes and remembered the look in her eyes and that smile when she’d said yes. A nervousness filled my stomach and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I wasn’t going to blow this opportunity, no matter what came of it.
* * * * *
I went through my mental checklist as I clutched the cellophane wrapped bouquet of flowers. I had spent the afternoon attempting to plan the perfect evening for a woman I barely knew. Reservations at Terrapin, flowers, car washed and cleaned, new clothes. Nothing was over the top, but it was definitely more than I’d ever normally do on any other first date, but then again, I could barely remember what a first date was like.
The elevator doors opened and I weaved through the crowd and made my way toward the bar where we had met several hours earlier. I was thirty minutes early. Enough time to take a shot and calm my nerves.
The same bartender from the morning was still working and now had help from a few others. The bar had started to fill from all of the tourists looking to get their happy hour specials. I felt out of place and way overdressed in my black pants and white button-down shirt. I’d gone shopping and, four hundred dollars later, now sported a new outfit and new shoes.
“Fireball and whatever IPA you have on tap please,” I said to the bartender from earlier.
“Sure thing.” A few moments later she returned with the shot and frozen pint glass filled to the top. “First date jitters, huh?”
I laughed and nodded. “It’s that obvious?”
“You’ll do fine,” she said and turned to fill the other requests from patrons at the bar.
I took the shot and quickly drank down the beer, hoping it would quell the butterflies in my stomach. No such luck.
I slapped down a twenty, nodded at the bartender, and made my way for the lobby waiting for my date.
So, where are you from? Do you like seafood? Why are you here at the beach? Really? No boyfriend? I scrolled through the list of questions in my head that I wanted to ask her. I was terrible at small talk.
Every ding of the elevator sent another flip to my stomach as I looked up, waiting for her. Nothing. Maybe she had changed her mind. Maybe she really did have a boyfriend. Nervousness had changed to disappointment as I looked at my watch. 5:32.
“There you are,” the familiar voice said as I looked up, following her long perfect legs to her fit body.
The sundress she wore clung to her body, highlighting her curves. I could immediately feel both a sense of relief that she had shown up and the wave of nervousness taking over again.
“Um, here I am,” I managed to mumble as my eyes finally met hers. “You look amazing. That dress is gorgeous on you.”
“Oh this? Thanks.” She smiled and for the first time I noticed her dimples, accentuating the rest of her flawless features. “Are those for me?”
“They are,” I said with a laugh. “I promised you a real date. Those come with flowers, don’t they?”
“Not any of the first dates I’ve been on recently…or ever for that matter.”
“Well, here’s to something new then.” I handed her the flowers and extended my arm for her to take. “Shall we? I hope you like seafood; I made reservations at Terrapin. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s amazing.”
As she looped her arm through mine, hanging on to the flowers in her other hand, she reached up, holding on to my bicep and gently squeezing, as she allowed me to lead her toward the waiting car in the valet lane. Suddenly I had become even more aware of how gorgeous and how out of my league she was.