Seeing You

by Michelle Lynn

  It’s his second, actually, so I’m fairly positive I made the right decision on coming here.

  “I always wanted sisters.”

  Growing up in a houseful of testosterone made for many broken walls from fists slamming into them. Swear words were constantly flung, and that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was the fact that my brothers fiercely protected me as though I were their daughter.

  “Guess neither of us had what we wanted.” He sips his soda.

  “So?” I gesture toward the food.

  He chuckles. “Good find,” he compliments me.

  I shrug as though it’s no big deal to bring a famous chef to a hot-dog place and have him love it.

  “I found it one day with Todd.”

  Davis’s eyes veer toward the wall and then come back my way. “You guys are pretty close, huh?”

  “He likes to drag me on expeditions to find hidden gems and restaurants that serve great food. There was this one time—” I stop myself because I see Davis’s blank stare. I shouldn’t be talking about another man while on a date with one. That’s Dating 101. “Do you do that, too?” I round the conversation back his way.

  “I used to, but I don’t have time anymore.” He wraps up his garbage into a ball and leans back on his seat. “I’ve turned into a workaholic.”

  “I don’t think so. You’re here with me now.”

  “Well, I made that a point. If it’s something I want, nothing stands in my way.”

  “Something you want?” I wish my voice hadn’t quivered.

  He leans across the table. “You, Amelia. I want you,” he whispers.

  I attempt to slow my breathing before my head can fall to the table after I faint.

  “Oh.”

  He laughs, venturing back to his side of the table. “Stop the flushing because it makes it extremely difficult not to drag you home with me.”

  His comment only heats up my cheeks more.

  “You ready?”

  “I am.” He collects our garbage and throws it out.

  We jump on the train again. Our legs and shoulders press against one another, and his hand feels warm in mine. This feeling of having someone to share the day with excites me. That yearning to be loved and love another begins to overwhelm me. Could Davis be the guy, the one I’ve been waiting for?

  “Are you okay?” Davis’s voice brings me back to the present.

  I swallow deep and find his brown eyes overflowing with concern. “I’m perfect.”

  He releases my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him. “You shivered,” he mumbles.

  I lay my head on his shoulder, letting him distract me from my thoughts.

  * * *

  Buzz.

  Buzz.

  My hand lands on my nightstand, blindly feeling for my phone. I grab it and hold it out in front of me. I squint to see the name.

  “Todd.” I sigh.

  My finger swipes across the phone. “What?” I clear my throat after I hear how groggily my voice sounds.

  “I’m waiting downstairs. Get your sweet ass up if you still want this favor.”

  The line goes dead.

  “Shit.” What is wrong with me? I can’t be on time for anything to save my life. I scramble out of bed, grab my robe, and run into the bathroom.

  Ten minutes later, I’m steadily walking down the hall while tossing my hair into a ponytail when my feet skid to a stop. I purse my lips, and my arm covers my mouth to keep me from laughing.

  Tatiana is passed out on the couch. One arm is hanging over the side, and her other hand is still resting on the keyboard of her laptop that’s propped up on her stomach. She was typing away last night when I came home, so after a quick hello and a recap about my date with Davis, I left her alone and went to my room.

  I tiptoe over to the couch and slowly move her hand off the keys. Then, I slide the laptop off her stomach. She groans, but I place it on the table, noticing she has an unread email from last night. I close the laptop then pick up her other arm and rest it on her stomach. She mumbles something I can’t understand and rolls to her side.

  I chuckle a little bit as I quietly leave our apartment.

  Todd is waiting with his hazard lights on outside our building. He agreed to get his Jeep out of storage for a day in order to help me take some of my pieces to Bette to look at. I’m well aware that I’ll be leaving as a basket case after she ridicules them, but whatever.

  I slide into his cloth seat, and my door rattles shut. I’d make a joke about his piece-of-shit car right now, but he’s doing me a favor, and I was late. I think I’ll stay under the radar for a little while.

  “Late, as usual.” Todd shakes his head.

  I look up at his smirk after strapping my seat belt in.

  “Here.” He pulls a coffee out from the back and hands it to me.

  “You are the best.” I lean over, and my lips slide on his clean-shaven cheek while I take the coffee from his hand.

  “So they say.” He shrugs and starts the Jeep up.

  “Don’t get too conceited now.” I tentatively bring the coffee to my lips, testing for hotness. “See? If I wasn’t late, my coffee would have been too hot. Now, it’s just right.” I giggle before taking a bigger sip to jolt that caffeine into my body.

  “Good to know.” He pulls into traffic.

  Luckily, some of my newer pieces are held in the same storage facility as his car, so I gave him the key to my locker, and he picked them up for me.

  “Can we talk?” I nibble on my lip, waiting for his reaction.

  “Don’t overthink it, Noodle. I just have some shit going on.” He grabs his own coffee and concentrates on the road.

  “What? You can always talk to me.” I place my hand on his thigh, and he examines it.

  He picks up my hand, squeezes it once, and places it back on my lap.

  What the hell?

  “I know. I just have to get a handle on this myself first.”

  I don’t want to pry, but I sense something more is going on. I’ll push for answers later.

  I glance to the back of the Jeep. “How do they look?”

  They’re all protected with bubble wrap and placed so the frames won’t break. They aren’t the best frames, but if Bette agrees to showcase me, I’ll have them professionally matted.

  “You tell me not to be conceited, but you put me into a room filled with pictures of myself. I had no idea I was that gorgeous.”

  He shoots me a smile, and I almost knock into him when he turns at the light.

  The traffic isn’t bad at this time on a Saturday morning, but give it an hour, and it will be horrendous. That’s why I have to give Todd an extra special thank-you, because he’s going above and beyond right now.

  “You are gorgeous. I’ll give you that. Just start watching your selfie intake.”

  “My selfies? See, you’re mistaken. You’re the only one who can photograph me.”

  He winks, and I shake my head.

  “I’m friends with you on Facebook, Todd. I see the gym selfies popping up on my Feed every ten minutes when you’re on there. Your whole page is filled with gym selfies or food.” I laugh.

  He pulls up in front of Art on Wells, and my hand moves to open the door, but Todd’s hand lands on my leg. My whole thigh heats under his touch.

  “Do I appear shallow?” he asks.

  From his dull eyes, I can tell I’ve upset him.

  “No!” I cover his hand with mine. “Believe me, the girls probably eat it up.”

  “What do you think? I feel like that’s all I do lately—go to work out and cook.”

  His hand slides from my leg, but I clutch it with mine.

  “Let’s make a point to do more stuff. Find me a gem, and let’s seek it out.”

  We haven’t searched out a hole in the wall with excellent food in a while.

  “It’s a date.”

  We smile at one another and both escape out our own doors.

 
; “Of course, your date card might be getting filled up soon,” he says when I meet him at the back of the truck.

  “It’s never too full for you.” I tilt my head and flutter my eyelids a few times.

  “It’d better not be. I’m the number one guy in your life.” His arms are full of photos, and he bends down, placing a kiss on my forehead. “Now, open the door for me.”

  I rush over to the door, inserting the key into the lock. Although Bette’s ass is in her office, she refuses to leave the door unlocked, even knowing I’m coming in this morning.

  “Thanks.” Todd shuffles through the door.

  I follow him in and instruct him to place the pictures on the back table.

  “They are beautiful. I have to be the hottest chef in New York.” He peers down at the pictures of himself.

  My hand lands on his strong bicep. “I might be biased.”

  In my eyes, Davis and Todd are standing right next to each other to get the prize. I wonder why Todd has yet to mention my date with Davis. Every time his name is mentioned, my anxiety goes sky high.

  “Relax, Amelia.” He leaves the studio to grab another set of photos. “I haven’t seen you this interested in a guy before, which means you need to be careful,” he warns as he walks backward out the front door.

  I know Todd’s right. That warning only brings Cam, my ex, to mind. Cam screwed me every which way but sideways, in every facet of my life. Although he was great in bed and bought me everything I thought I wanted, it was a match made in Hell, and Cam was the devil.

  All his gifts came as consolation prizes.

  “Please don’t hate me for leaving you behind while attending family obligations.”

  “Please don’t hate me for keeping you my own little secret from my hidden world of trust-fund babies.”

  I was stupid, and I was on a rebound. I wanted someone to take control for a while.

  “Noodle?” Todd’s hand rubs my arm.

  I quickly wipe the few tears that have dropped.

  “Come here,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “Maybe this thing with Davis is happening too soon.”

  I hear his cautious tone, not wanting to upset me more.

  “No, things with Cam have been over for six months, and I don’t think I ever loved him anyway. A flood of memories ushered back to my mind, that’s all.” I draw back from our embrace. “Thanks, though.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he says as his eyes stare down at me. “I’m not saying to shy away from Davis. Just don’t go jumping in with two feet.”

  “Is that the infamous Todd Hamilton?” Bette’s nails-on-a-chalkboard voice interrupts us.

  I roll my eyes, and Todd chuckles before releasing me from his arms and turning his attention to Bette.

  “The one and only,” he flirts, kissing her on the cheek.

  Bette’s hands grip his biceps, and I release an exaggerated sigh when I notice the bulge because Todd is flexing.

  Allowing Todd to work his charm on Bette, I concentrate on my photographs, grouping them into specific collections. At least she’s off my back for the time being. Then, I hear her Jimmy Choos clicking my way. I fight the urge to throw my body across my babies. There’s no way I can handle her judgmental opinions right now with Cam in my head.

  “Oh, Amelia, I love them.”

  Say what?

  Those are not the words I thought would come out of her mouth.

  “Too bad you’re not facing forward in this one,” she says sweetly to Todd.

  I swallow down the rising bile in my throat, and I’m thankful the phone rings to relieve me from the conversation. Briskly walking away, I make it to the phone on what must have been the last ring before it would have gone to our automated voicemail.

  Practically breathless, I answer the phone with my trained line, “Good afternoon. Thank you for calling Art on Wells. This is Amelia. How can I help you?”

  A familiar chuckle echoes over the line.

  “Did you get that all out okay?” Davis asks.

  My stomach somersaults about ten times. I take a seat behind the desk so I won’t fall to the ground from my weak knees.

  “It’s the story of my life.” I try to appear nothing but casual.

  “I tried your cell but no answer. I hope you don’t mind me calling you there?”

  I pick up my cell and notice the black screen. Crap, I really meant to charge it last night.

  Scrambling to locate the charger in the drawers, I answer, “Not at all. Bette’s busy flirting with Todd.”

  “Todd’s there?” he questions.

  An odd silence fills the line.

  “Yeah, he helped me bring the photos for Bette to look at.” I’m not sure why I feel an overwhelming obligation to inform Davis of the mundane details. I plug in my charger and notice the red battery light on my screen.

  “I could have helped you,” he mentions. I don’t add anything, so he continues, “I was actually calling because a big bridal brunch is scheduled for next Sunday. They’ve rented out the whole restaurant from eleven to two. I know you weren’t scheduled, but would you mind working?”

  He’s all business, and now, I’m edgy because of my false assumptions about his phone call. I haven’t talked to Davis in two days, and I’m beginning to think whatever was going on isn’t.

  “No problem,” I say, leaving it nothing but professional.

  “Great. I was wondering if after . . . would you like to do something together? I have to check out a location at Coney Island for the cooking show I’m doing. So, would you want to ride the Ferris wheel?”

  “Why, Mr. Morgan, that depends. Is it the only ride I’ll get?” I could hit myself for letting that line slip out of my mouth after he called me just for business.

  “I’ll throw in some bumper boats. You’re bound to get a little wet,” he teases.

  I can’t stop the laugh that erupts out of me, vibrating off the walls of the gallery. Todd and Bette turn toward me and I cover my mouth, cupping it over the phone.

  “I’m up for that. Maybe I’ll treat you to some mini golf,” I offer.

  “One condition, if you accept.” Humor fills the line now.

  “Aren’t there always conditions?”

  “I pay—”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Amelia. I pay for . . . everything. You bring your license and your keys. That’s it.”

  “Are you going to inspect me, Chef Morgan?”

  “Only if I think you’ve disobeyed my wishes.”

  “I might forget about my emergency cash for cab fare.”

  “I hope you do.”

  No humor can be heard in his voice, and a tingling sensation flows through me with the thought of him frisking me with my hands over my head and my legs spread wide.

  By this point, I notice Todd is making his way over.

  “I really need to get going. I’ll see you tonight,” I whisper into the receiver.

  “Thank you, Amelia.”

  I absolutely love the sound of my name coming from his lips.

  “You’re welcome.” I eye Todd getting closer with every step. “Bye.” I hang up right as Todd reaches the other side of the desk.

  “I gotta jet. I’ll see you tonight.”

  I round the counter and wrap my arms around him. He gives me his usual bear hug, and I kiss him on the cheek.

  “Thanks again.”

  “I think the verdict is still out.” He glances over his shoulder to Bette holding her glasses out in front of her, inspecting a picture with Gia in it. “I think I helped you out, though.”

  I place my hand on his arm. “She loves you.”

  “Who doesn’t?” He winks.

  I laugh, escorting him to the door. “I’ll see you tonight.” I give him another big hug.

  “I’ll be there.” He steps out of the building.

  I stand in the doorway to watch him go.

  Right before he circles around his car, he turns around. “They�
��re good photos, Amelia. You’re so talented. No matter what she says, be proud of them.” Another wink, and he disappears to the other side of his truck.

  He’s like my own little self-esteem booster, always giving me doses of compliments that leave me feeling sky-high.

  The engine starts, and he waves good-bye to me one more time as his beat-up Wrangler pulls into traffic. I take another breath, preparing myself for Bette, and walk back in to Art on Wells.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Todd

  I knock on Noodle’s door, questioning every movement. We’ll see each other tonight, but I couldn’t wait.

  Two minutes ago, I was lying on my couch, watching the highlights from last night’s game. Now, I’m here, knocking on Noodle’s door.

  She opens it, and I look her over. I reach her eyes, and I notice her sink herself back. My admiration made her uncomfortable.

  “Hey, Noodle. Want to go find a hidden gem?”

  Her eyes light up. “I’d love to. Come in.”

  She leaves me at the door and disappears down the hall, and I follow her. All the times I’ve been to her apartment, I’ve never seen her bedroom.

  “I just have to shut down my computer!” she screams.

  I push back the chuckle from her not knowing that I’m behind her.

  “Okay.”

  She startles and places her hand over her heart. “Oh. I didn’t know you followed me.” Her face reddens, and she does a quick scan of the room, probably looking for dirty clothes or something.

  She should know by now that I don’t judge.

  “I’ve never seen your room.” I peruse around, noticing her gray walls with white comforter. She’s a minimalist. I never would have guessed. The only difference between her and me is her framed artwork on the walls—some with vibrant colors, others black and white. I stand in front of one, trying to figure out its meaning. I’ve never been good at the whole art-speaks-to-me thing.

  “I know they don’t match. I buy them because each one says something to me. One is for when I’m sad, and another is for when I’m hopeful. Stupid, I know.”

  She busies herself with her computer, and I abandon the canvas I know nothing about.

  “Never stupid.” I sit on her bed, waiting for her.

  She looks up and graces me with one of her soft smiles.