Wanted

by Mary Smith

  “All right, check it out.” Harley moved away from in front of the mirror.

  Lily’s mouth dropped.

  Her natural frizzy blonde hair now laid in soft waves down her back. Her blue eyes popped from the shimmery gold eyeshadow. The dark green cocktail dress stopped mid-thigh and had a plunging neckline.

  “You’re so beautiful. I’d give anything for your curves,” Harley commented while studying her friend.

  “Is this too much?” Lily inquired checking all the angles. “I don’t want him to get the wrong impression.”

  “What? That you’re a hot ass chick and can wear that dress better than any model on a runway.”

  Rolling her eyes, Lily shook her head. “No, that I’m trying to bed him.”

  “Calm yourself. He’s a guy. They all think we’re trying to bed them. However, by the end of this date, you should know if he’s trying to be more than a Christmas buddy.”

  She did have a point, Lily thought.

  “Besides you’re going to see The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center. You need to show off a bit.” She winked.

  Lily smiled. “Well, here goes nothing.”

  The Uber had to drop her off a block away from the Kennedy Center. People were lining the street trying to get in from the brisk cold wind. Lily pulled her ivory wool trench coat tighter. She now wished this dress wasn’t so short because her calves were freezing. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk as she rushed toward the center. Zane said he’d meet her by the entrance. She didn’t want to push through the crowd, but it was tempting to.

  “Lily!”

  Halting her fast-pace walk, she turned to see Zane coming toward her. For the second time tonight, her mouth dropped. Zane’s dark hair was styled in the bed-head high fashion manner. His gray coat was open showing off his black suit. She thought he was handsome before, but now he seemed to walk straight off a GQ magazine.

  “I’m sorry, my Uber had to drop me off way back there.” He seemed out of breath when he finally reached her.

  She couldn’t form a coherent thought as their eyes were locked on each other.

  “Lily, are you okay?”

  “Yes. No. Yes, I mean. I’m fine. Just cold,” she quietly rushed out the words.

  “Come on.” He placed his hand on the small of her back, and they began to make their way through the crowds trying to find the end of the line.

  When they finally made it inside, they immediately went to the coat check. Zane helped her out of her coat. She could feel his eyes on her, and she glanced over her shoulder.

  “Wow, you look…” He trailed off, but she saw his eyes moving up and down her body.

  “Thank you. You do as well.” She heard the lust in her voice and couldn’t hide it.

  After getting the tickets for their coats, she felt comfortable enough with him to slide her arm through his. She was thankful the cocktail dress had three-quarter sleeves. If it didn’t, she’d be freezing. They were handed programs and an usher pointed them to their seats.

  “Wow, we’re up here with the movers and shakers of D.C.,” Zane whispered close to her ear.

  Catching a hint of his aftershave, her mouth dried and a lump filled her throat. “Yes, we are.” Lily glanced up and down the aisle and saw a couple of senators and several D.C. socialites.

  “Never been around power,” he softly commented, and she wondered if he meant to say it aloud.

  She thought about her parents. She’d consider them powerful and having connections but not this sort of power. Then again, Lily never felt comfortable around it. In fact, she didn’t feel comfortable now. As much as she wanted to see this play since she’d never seen the ballet live, she didn’t know if she could sit through it.

  Yes, she could. This wasn’t about power or who was around her. She wanted to see this and spend time with Zane. The lights slowly dimmed, and a smile crossed her face.

  Lily’s eyes were watering as the curtain came down on the final scene. She, along with everyone else in the Kennedy Center, stood and clapped at the outstanding performance they all witnessed. Zane and she shuffled out with the other patrons and seemed to wait forever at the coat check counter. However, they finally made it outside and Lily welcomed the cold air from the stuffiness inside.

  “I believed I witnessed the best ballet ever,” Zane finally spoke.

  “Have you ever been before?”

  “To the ballet? No. I’ve seen The Nutcracker numerous times on TV but never live,” he explained, glancing around.

  “I didn’t eat before coming tonight. Would you like to grab a bite?” Her hands shook inside her gloves with nervousness from asking him to dinner.

  “Sure. I didn’t eat either. Can we not do fancy?” He scrunched up his nose. “I’ve had enough of D.C. high power.”

  “I fully agree. What about Mickey’s?” Mickey’s was a hole-in-the-wall diner the university students go to.

  “Sounds delicious.” Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he summoned an Uber.

  Their ride showed up quicker than they thought and soon they were walking into an almost empty Mickey’s since it was near closing time. Lily found this place by accident one day when she was wandering around the city. They found a booth in front of the picture window overlooking the street. An older, chubby waitress strolled up to their booth with a big smile.

  “What can I get the sweet couple tonight?” she asked in a thick southern drawl.

  “Water,” they answered in unison.

  “Comin’ up.” She handed each of them a menu before walking away.

  Lily and Zane sat quietly while studying the items on the two page menu. She tried not to stare over the laminated menu but couldn’t help herself. When his eyes would flash onto hers, she’d quickly move her gaze elsewhere.

  “What are you havin’?” The waitress came back, breaking their game of not looking at each other but looking at each other.

  “I’ll have the chicken tender basket with ranch dressing and extra crispy fries,” Lily ordered.

  “I’ll have the All-American burger with everything on it and tater tots,” Zane spoke after her.

  “Comin’ up,” she repeated as before and strolled off, yelling their order throughout the diner.

  Lily and Zane sat in silence both staring out the window onto the street. Lily racked her brain on what to talk about, but nothing seemed to come to mind. Then she thought about what she would talk to Harley about.

  “Do you read?” she asked.

  Furrowing his brow, he answered, “Yes, I can read.”

  “Oh.” Her cheeks heated up from embarrassment. “No, I meant, what kind of books do you read? For fun?”

  “Mostly science books. Any medical journals to keep abreast of the latest findings. You?”

  Lily didn’t know if she should tell the truth, but if she wanted to know if he liked her for her then she’d have to be honest. “I like the cheesy romance novels. The Harlequin type.”

  “Really?” He smirked.

  “Why? Does that make me weird?” Suddenly Lily felt so exposed. Only Harley knew of the books on her Kindle that were hidden from the entire world from seeing.

  “No, it’s not weird. I just thought you’d read more law-type books.” He seemed to be searching for the right words.

  “I do from time-to-time. Then there are times you need to disconnect from the real world and dive into the pages of a fake but sweet romance,” she spoke without truly thinking first.

  “I can’t remember reading romance books.” He smirked. “My aunt loves those Christmas romances on that one channel. She watched them all the time.”

  “I do as well.”

  “Why?” he questioned. “It’s all the same. Bad guy who dislikes Christmas in some fashion or the spoiled female shoved off to a small town meets the opposite of themselves. Then the banter back and forth until the end when the snow falls, the tree lights up at the perfect time, and they kiss under the mistletoe making the whole world right.”
>
  Lily couldn’t argue with his synopsis of the standard movies but there was more to it. “Because everyone wants a happy ending. Everyone wants to find that perfect Mr. or Mrs. Right. They want someone next to them to bear not only the stress and bad times but to laugh with, love with, grow old with. They want a happy ending. They want the magical happy ending.”

  He stared at her for several seconds, unsure of what to say.

  “Don’t you wish for a happy ending?” she probed him, wondering if he thought she was crazy.

  “In some ways, yes,” he answered.

  “Then hiding from your reality for an hour or two is the hope you need to go on,” she continued.

  “Christmas movies give people hope.”

  Lily thought it was a question but realized it wasn’t one. “It gives me hope,” she confessed.

  Zane turned his attention back out onto the street, and they went back to silence until the food came about five minutes later. Lily didn’t want the uncomfortable tension between them anymore so she asked about his favorite cooking shows. Zane went into a deep conversation about some of his go-to shows and some of his favorite meals, none of which he’s made correctly yet. He talked about it as if it were a science experiment and loved it. When the check came, Zane picked up the bill and paid for it—under Lily’s protest.

  “Want to share an Uber?” he asked.

  “Um…” She wondered who would be dropped off first. Did she want him to know where she lived? Did she trust him with such personal information? “Sure.” She let her heart answer instead of letting her brain overthink it all.

  When the Uber driver pulled up, she gave him the address and Zane chuckled.

  “What’s funny?” she questioned.

  “We live close to each other.”

  “We do?”

  Zane nodded. “Less than four blocks apart.”

  “Really?” She couldn’t hide the shock in her tone. All this time they were practically neighbors. “Then it shouldn’t cost you much more to get home,” she added, sounding like an accountant fool.

  “I’ll just walk home when we get to your place,” he informed her and loud enough for the driver to nod in confirmation.

  Again, they remained quiet during the drive. When the Uber arrived at her building, they got out and stood silent on the sidewalk as the Uber pulled away.

  “So…tomorrow is A Christmas Story, right?” he asked, clearly attempting to make small talk.

  “Yes.” She nodded, looking up at the lights in her home. “Well, um, thanks for the food and going with me tonight.” She made a move to her steps.

  “See you tomorrow,” he finally said then began walking down the sidewalk.

  Lily watched him stroll for about a block before her calves told her it was too cold out and to get inside in the warmth. As she shut her door, she was more confused than when she left several hours ago.

  Lily pulled her credit card from the reader and smiled at the post office worker. “Merry Christmas.” The postal worker just nodded, taking the box of delicious baked goods and tossing them into a bin. Thankfully, she’d wrapped them all tightly and hoped her parents’ office workers would enjoy them.

  Walking into the cold, the sun hung high in the sky. The wind seemed to be just as steady as last night. She strolled down the sidewalk until she reached a local coffee shop that had the best caramel cinnamon lattes. While standing in line she thought about Zane and wondered what he thought about last night. Or what he thought about this whole adventure altogether.

  After she ordered she went to pay but someone’s hand came up around her, startling her. Looking up, she saw Zane’s dark eyes staring down at her.

  “I got it,” he said.

  A mere second ago she was thinking about him and now he stood next to her with a smile. “Thank you.”

  “I have a table over here. Would you like to join me?”

  “Sure.” She felt her heart race when she thought about seeing him outside of their Christmas activities. After a couple of minutes, she picked up a latte and moved through the crowd to the table he had. “How are you?” She shrugged off her coat, gently placing it on the back of her chair.

  “Doing well. What has you out and about today?”

  “I baked some cookies for my parents’ employees and was shipping them up to New York. What about you?”

  “Wait, you made cookies for all the employees? How many did you make?”

  “Six dozen,” she answered.

  “Wow.” He looked genuinely surprised. “Do you bake a lot?”

  “More around the holidays than any other time of the year. I’m okay at it. Although, my roommate thinks I’m better at it than some professionals, but she’s just being nice.” Lily sipped her latte. “What’s the last thing you baked?”

  Zane thought for a couple of seconds “Does a pizza count?”

  This made Lily laugh. “I think it might count.”

  “Then last Friday,” he announced proudly. “Sausage and pepperoni and extra cheese.”

  “Sounds yummy.” She sipped her latte again. “Are you excited about tonight? A Christmas Story?”

  “Well…” He suddenly appeared nervous. “I have an idea. If you’re open-minded about it?”

  This made her put her cup down and fully focus on him. “I can be.”

  Picking up his phone, he tapped the screen a few times and then turned it around for her viewing. On the screen was a Facebook event from a local cooking school. Tonight they were hosting a gingerbread house decorating class. Lily gasped and took his phone from his grasp and scrolled through the description of the class.

  “This is outstanding.” She beamed at him then handed back his phone. “I’d love to go.”

  “Perfect.” He tapped the screen several more times and then gazed up at her. “Tickets purchased. How about I pick you up? If you don’t mind.”

  She nodded. “Sure. That’ll be great.”

  “I hate to run, but I have a few things to do. Mainly shopping with my cousin who is meeting me shortly.” He stood up and began to slip into his coat. “See you in less than eight hours.” He joked before picking up his drink and walking away.

  Lily felt herself beam as she thought about their date tonight.

  Chapter Six

  Zane

  Finally home from a morning of errands, Zane dropped the few bags he held in his hand to the couch. He took a sip of the coffee that was in his other hand.

  “You’re drinking a lot of coffee these days,” Spencer commented as he flopped down in the armchair. His bags fell to the floor haphazardly.

  Zane shrugged at his cousin’s comment. Spencer managed to find gifts for his parents and all the girls that have been fawning over him. His cousin was popular amongst the campus females, and he rarely ignored their flirtatious ways. Spencer claimed it was all in fun, and that he wasn’t leading any of them on. They enjoyed his company and he enjoyed theirs. No harm, no foul.

  “You only drink this much coffee during finals or when you’re stressed. Which now that I say it explains why you do it during finals.” Spencer reasoned out loud while shaking his head.

  “Amazing deduction, Einstein,” Zane snottily remarked. Looking down at his cousin’s many bags, he commented, “You make sure you got gifts for all of your admirers?”

  The words came out harsher than he had intended.

  Obviously, Spencer didn’t detect his tone. He smirked as he retorted, “Jealous much, cuz?”

  “Jealous? No. You can barely keep their names straight. That’s too much work for me.”

  There was no jealousy about the number of girls that Spencer had. Zane never had girls falling at his feet. It always felt like his high GPA and the thick glasses he sported in school were the cause. If the girls couldn’t see past his appearance, that was their loss.

  Eventually, he did get contacts, but it was more for his own convenience than for the ladies. To this day, he still fell back on his glasses on those days th
at he just didn’t feel like putting in his contacts.

  Plus, he didn’t want an entourage of women like his cousin. His mom always told him that there was one person out there for everyone, and that person wouldn’t see his glasses or his academic ability, they would just see him.

  He still believed in his mom’s words. But for now, he had to keep his grades up so he could keep his scholarship. His ultimate goal was to land a good job. If that meant putting any chance of a love-life on the back burner then so be it. He had priorities. What kind of woman would want a man who couldn’t provide for her?

  Spencer waved his criticism off. “It’s not like I’m sleeping with them. They like me, I like them, and they want my attention. And that’s what I give them. It’s all in fun. And bonus, I’m never without a date for important functions.”

  Zane ignored his cousin’s comments and retired to the kitchen. He looked at his watch and opened his laptop.

  In just a few hours, he’d be meeting Lily to decorate gingerbread houses. Gingerbread houses. This was not his forte. What in the world made me suggest this? I was so confident talking about numbers and angles! Seriously?

  He did so-so baking. He could make cupcakes and cookies just fine. Baking wasn’t the difficult part, it was using precise measurements and following directions. Easy. The decorating is where he fell short. In school he was never very good at art class, he’d rather be reading a book.

  His gut told him that this would be something that Lily would enjoy, and honestly, he thought it would be fun to do something interactive. Every event so far has been orchestrated and there wasn’t a lot of time for small talk. It was like they were on a schedule. This class would be relaxed and hopefully fun.

  He hadn’t realized she was so talented at baking.

  Zane searched YouTube for videos on decorating gingerbread houses. He watched intently as the person made intricate designs with the icing and added delicate little touches with fondant and sugar. He already felt out of his element. However, he was the one who brought it up because at the time it sounded fun, and he always wanted to try it.