by Natalie Ann
“Then you better make sure you don’t sink me,” he said, slanting his mouth against hers again. Their bodies were almost plastered together, nothing hiding what the other was feeling. The cool water didn’t seem to matter to what was pulsing against her hip right now.
“The boat is drifting,” she said. “Or maybe we are.”
“Probably a little bit of both. Guess we better catch back up to it.”
They both took off in smooth strokes until they reached the boat and then climbed back on board. Neither bothered with a towel, both sitting on a bench in the warm sun. Then she leaned back until her shoulders were in his lap and she was looking up at him. “So where do we go from here?” she asked.
“You’re holding all the cards.”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to though, not liking this position. The problem was, she put herself in this position and she couldn’t go back now. Not if she wanted to see where they could go. Not if she wanted to believe he could be someone she’d be in a relationship with.
“I probably should clarify that I’m not saying I want you to love me and be with me forever.”
He stilled, and paused, then said, “What are you saying then?”
“I’m saying that I want to get to know you to see if you could be that person. I’m not so silly to think I could form that opinion on one or two dates.”
“But on those one or two dates you want to know right away if you think someone could be faithful or if someone is just playing a short-term game with you.”
“Exactly. Sometimes I need a few dates to make a decision.” She was going to go with her gut. She’d ignored her gut with her last two failed relationships because she just wanted someone special so bad she pushed those inner thoughts and doubts aside. Never again.
“And if you decide I’m not what you hope for?” he asked.
“I won’t drag anything on. I’m not that way. I’ll know soon enough.” She wanted to say she knew already, but decided to give it more time together. The first time they had pizza didn’t count in her eyes, even if it was enough to make her give him this chance.
“Then what do you say we bring this boat in and go for a ride on my bike?”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
***
Connor was thinking he was doing a great job at convincing Melissa that he wasn’t the person she had labeled him as. If he was honest, she’d labeled him correctly, but he wasn’t going to be that person anymore.
Once they got back to her place, they both changed and she brought out a helmet from a closet. He’d never brought another woman on his bike before. Not this one, or any of the bikes he’d owned in the past. It was something that was just for him. Something he never wanted to share.
Sure, he’d been with other women who were turned on by the bikes and wanted a ride, but he always found a reason not to. His bike wasn’t for him to get women. He didn’t need the bike for that. For him, it was like wanting a house with a beach.
It was what his grandfather taught him that one summer. How to be at peace with himself. The roar of his bike was the same as the calm of the water in his mind. Things he did alone.
But here was Melissa laughing and walking out her front door with her helmet in her hands asking him a million questions. “How fast have you had this up to?”
“I’m not going to answer that. And I’ll obey all the speed laws with you on the back.”
“Bummer,” she said, then put her helmet on, climbed behind him and wrapped him up tight.
He started the bike and pulled out of her driveway. She’d told him to drive anywhere he wanted. She knew her way around the island like the back of her hand and she’d get them home without a problem.
So he did. He liked this area of Chester, out of the way, more than he thought. He drove through the development a bit, then got out on the main road and hit the gas. Her arms tightened and he started to lose himself in the ride.
It was different this time though. Melissa wasn’t saying anything. She wasn’t doing anything other than holding on. He knew she was there, he felt her, but she wasn’t a distraction. If anything, she was a calming presence that was close to scaring the shit out of him since he’d never been in this situation before.
After an hour, he pulled over to the side of the road and shut the bike off. She took her helmet off and shook her long hair. He removed his and got off the bike and just started to walk toward the clearing, looking at the water in the distance.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“I know a lot of people think this island is boring. That there isn’t much to do and not a lot to offer. The kids that live here or are going to school here can’t wait to get off, yet I find many of them come back when they’re older.”
“I can see that. That’s why I want to buy a house here.”
“You grew up here?” she asked, sounding shocked.
“No. I came here one summer with my grandfather. The summer before college. It was a turning point in my life, you could say. Maybe it’s a turning point again and that is why I want to come back.” He never realized that until he said the words.
“You talk about your grandfather a lot, but not your parents. Are they around?”
He laughed. “They’re around, but can’t be bothered with me now any more than when I was a kid.” He’d never said those words before either.
“I’m sorry. My mother was the same way. I’m really close to my father, but my mother left when I was twelve. I saw her on and off over the years when she could be bothered, but by then I didn’t want anything to do with her.”
“Did you grow up here?”
“No. I grew up in Annapolis. My father still lives there. I told him I was going on a date today when I talked to him. Guess he sees one of the doctors in your building because he recognized your name.”
He smiled knowing she’d told her father about him. “And what did you tell your father about our date?”
“Not much since there wasn’t much to say. He’s always reminding me to have a personal life. I’m going to have dinner with him Monday night, I think. He enjoys cooking and has a new recipe he’d like to try out.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he had a family dinner with anyone. Not even his grandfather. “Maybe you wouldn’t mind stopping over and seeing me afterward if you’re in town anyway. I can show you my place.”
“That will help me get a feel for what you’re looking for.”
“That too,” he said, then wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her in for another kiss.
“You sure are a charmer,” she said, when he lifted his lips.
“I think you like it more than you’re willing to admit.”
She closed one eye and grinned at him, then walked back to the bike. “Why don’t we get back? I can cook you some dinner tonight if you’d like.”
“I’d like that. I meant to ask you. There’s a house for sale on your street. Right by the beach in the development. It looked like it had its own beach.”
“It does. A very tiny one. That’s Sheldon’s house, but it’s under contract right now. Besides, it’s not your style.”
“How do you know?”
“Unless you’ve changed your style in the last five minutes, I know it’s not. It’s very small. Smaller than anything else I’ve shown you. Though it’s updated, there isn’t much to it that would suit you.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you’ll find the perfect thing for me.”
“I’m going to try.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
Just Like Him
The following Monday, Melissa opened the door to her father’s house. Her childhood home. The place her father made so comfortable for her. A place that should have held bad memories for someone in her situation, but it didn’t for her.
A single father that played the part of a mother and a father in her life. He’d listened to her when she had a bad day
and fought back the urge to go after the first boy that broke her heart when she was fifteen.
She’d expected him to be like other fathers and forbid her from dating, especially after the way her mother was. But he didn’t. He always said she needed to make her own choices in life and that she was exposed to more than most. If she still made poor decisions, then it was on her shoulders.
She’d never realized how lucky she was to have a man like him in her life. And maybe deep down, that was part of her problem. She wanted someone just like him. Someone that loved her and that would always be there for her. Always support her and make her feel good about herself.
“It sure does smell yummy in here,” she said. He’d never been much of a cook, or so he’d always told her. She did remember some burned dinners when she was younger. Nights when her mother didn’t come home, said she had to work, but her father knew otherwise, even if he pretended he didn’t.
“Chicken and mushrooms with a creamy lemon basil sauce.”
“Out of a jar?” she asked. She always wanted to laugh when she saw him in the kitchen with an apron around his big waist. He wasn’t a large man at all. Not tall. Just average height with an extra thirty pounds on him now. He’d gained the weight little by little over the years. Good eating was what he’d joke about.
“Of course not. Nothing but the best for my girl.”
She laughed, walked over and lifted the top to smell the simmering sauce over the chicken. “It looks and smells delicious and I’m starving. Anything I can do to help?”
“Why don’t you set the table while I finish up this salad. The rice should be done in a minute too.”
She walked to the other end of the kitchen and grabbed the same white-and-blue plates that the two of them had eaten on for the last seventeen years. “How come you never replaced these things or anything else after Mom left?”
“Why? There’s nothing wrong with them.”
He was putting the pan of chicken and sauce on a hot plate in the center of the table, then spooned rice on her dish. She still found it funny he often served her, but she’d never had the heart to tell him not to.
“They don’t have bad memories for you?”
He burst out laughing. “They’re cheap plates from some discount store. Why would they have any memories for me at all?”
“Because they were here when Mom was.”
He turned and leaned on the counter. “Melissa, if everything that your mother touched or saw caused me to have bad memories then I’d have to get rid of you too.”
Her jaw opened and then closed. “What a horrible thing to say.”
He laughed again. “Is it? Or does it make you think? Does it make you realize your mind is playing tricks on you? Conjuring up things that don’t belong?”
“You’re pretty darn smart,” she said, helping herself to a chicken breast and spooning the sauce and mushrooms over it.
“Don’t forget your salad,” he said, pushing the bowl toward her.
Dinner always had a salad when she was growing up. Milk too as a kid, now that she thought of it. “Dad, did you read some book about proper nutrition or something when I was a kid?”
“Every book that was out there about raising a daughter, I read. Whether it was written for a mother or father, I checked it out of the library and went through it when you were sleeping at night.”
She’d never realized that before. “I don’t know what to say.”
“When you’re a parent, you do what needs to be done. You do the right things for those you love.”
“Mom didn’t,” she argued.
“Nope. She was a selfish woman. But that didn’t mean you deserved to be neglected and miss the things she should have done. I just made sure I did them.”
“All those embarrassing talks.” She remembered when she’d gotten her first period. Her father had already had what she needed in the house and he told her he prayed she knew how to use them, but if not he’d go get the neighbor to help.
“Don’t remind me. I don’t want to ever have to do some of those talks again.”
She got up and went to the other side of the table, wrapped her arm around her father’s shoulder and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “If I haven’t said it enough, you’re the best dad on the face of this earth.”
“I’ve got a mug that says it and I use it every day.”
“I gave you that when I was thirteen.”
“And it works just fine. Just like these plates. Eat your dinner before it gets cold.”
When dinner was done, the two of them washing and drying dishes, she finally said, “Are you really lonely?”
“Where is that question coming from?” he asked, shock plastered on his face.
“Just answer the question? Do you wish I was around more?”
“You’re around more than enough. You’ve got your own life and friends and so do I.”
Her father did have a lot of friends and he seemed to be busy more than she realized. “I worry about you.”
“Don’t waste your time worrying about me. Just take care of yourself.”
“I am. Why would you say that?’
“How was your date on Saturday? I thought for sure you’d tell me something. I’m curious why you didn’t.”
She always told her father about a date, if it worked out or not. She didn’t go into all the details, but she didn’t keep a ton of secrets from him either. She was wondering why she hadn’t talked about Connor just yet.
“It was good. I had a lot of fun.”
“Do you see potential?”
“I actually do.”
“And?” he asked, drying off the last dish and putting it away.
“I’m going to go see him before I go home tonight. I’m going to let him know that I do see that. I think I might have been too hard on him.”
“I doubt that, but why do you think so?”
“Maybe I want him to be just like my father. It’s hard to find someone to measure up to you.”
He laughed again. Her father always had a smile or laugh for her. “You don’t want a man like me. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in life.”
“Haven’t we all?” she asked.
“Yes, we have.”
“And you’ve told me to learn from them. I have.”
“I’d like to think you have. You always have been more on the nice list than the naughty.”
Because she didn’t want to burden him with more in life. He’d been dealt a bad enough hand, but she wouldn’t dare say that to him knowing how prideful he was. “There is nothing wrong with being on the nice list. I got some sweet Christmas gifts from Santa for that very reason.”
“Do me a favor, Melissa.”
“Anything, Dad. You name it.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t settle. You deserve to get what you want in life.”
“I wonder if I’m being too hard on Connor. If I have all these expectations that I shouldn’t be putting on his shoulders.”
“For two dates. Let me ask you. Have you been upfront with him?”
“Of course I have.”
“And he’s still interested in you? He’s still interested in another date?”
“It seems so.”
“Then go after something if you want it. How long have you known him?”
“I met him at Sheldon’s wedding. He’s a friend of Erik’s. Didn’t I tell you that already?”
“You didn’t. And what did you feel for him when you first met him?”
She didn’t want to tell her father that she’d had such high hopes. That Connor was so sweet and funny and it ended up being one of the best nights of her life. Then when he propositioned her, she was crushed. Having him show up on his motorcycle almost two weeks ago had been hard, but she pulled it together and refused to let him know she’d been bothered.
“I liked him. I felt a draw toward him I couldn’t explain. But by the time the night was over, I realized he wasn’t for me.”
&nb
sp; “Yet you’re going to his place soon?” her father asked, grinning at her.
“I’m thinking maybe there is more to him than I realized. That maybe he didn’t come off with the best impression that night and he’s trying to make up for it.”
“Then give him a chance to make up for it. And if he breaks your heart, then he’ll deal with me.”
It was the first time her father had ever threatened to do that. Ever. That had to mean something, right?
Flexible
Connor heard the knock on his door and pulled it open. He wasn’t really waiting for Melissa by the door. Just in the kitchen close by…staring at the wall. He was doomed, he knew it.
“You found the place okay, I see,” he said.
“Hard to miss it. Remember, I’m a realtor. Once you gave me the address I knew exactly where you were, though I didn’t expect you to be in the penthouse.”
She was looking around the open layout. “Go on, say it. I know you’re dying to.”
She burst out laughing. “I think you might have multiple personalities. Never once did you mention industrial in describing what you wanted in a house and yet I’m looking at exposed brick, and metal ductwork on your...what is it, twelve-foot ceilings?”
“Thirteen. And this is a condo, not a house. I’m looking for a house, so I want something different. Something warmer.”
She nodded her head. “Well then, show me around and tell me what you do like here, or what you’d like to see in your house.”
He brought her a few steps toward the kitchen. “White kitchen.”
“Okay. At least that matches what you said before.” She looked down at his floors. “These are dark hardwood, you said you wanted lighter.”
“I want light and bright. I want a beach feel to the house. I want it modern. I’m flexible.”
“Flexible, huh? That’s not the impression I got that first day. Were you just messing with me?”
“Maybe I was trying to prolong our time together a touch. I thought you knew that, but you kept writing everything down and I wasn’t sure how to stop myself. It was kind of adorable.”