Sweet Rendezvous

by Danielle Stewart

  “Let me help,” Davis insisted, first taking the remaining things from her arm and placing them down on the check-out belt. He quickly rounded up everything that fell and, with his hand on the small of her back, led her past the women gathered to see her.

  “I feel like a gorilla at the zoo,” she whispered. “Everyone is just lining up to see me.”

  “A gorilla with golden spun silk hair,” he corrected. “Let’s check out and get back to my place.”

  “Your groceries have been paid for,” the pimply-faced kid behind the cash register announced as though he was reading it from a script.

  “Who paid for our groceries?” Davis asked, eyeing the giggling women behind him. “That was completely unnecessary.”

  “The only message I’m supposed to give you is use the money you saved and take this girl on a proper date.” The nervous boy began bagging the groceries as quickly as he could. His face was as red as a hot ember.

  “That was so nice,” Elaine said, loud enough for the women to hear her in case one of them had paid the bill. “What a lovely place Indigo Bay is. I’m so glad to be here.”

  “And we’re glad to have you,” a woman wearing a pastel polo shirt and stunning pearls chirped, and the others all nodded in agreement. “He’s a bit of a pain but one of the finest men for miles. Don’t let him scare you off.”

  Another woman, with one of the largest diamond rings Elaine had ever seen, stepped forward and chimed in, “The blustery front is just that. Ignore it. He’s like a cactus on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside. Don’t give up on him.”

  “I hear what you’re saying,” Elaine offered weakly. “It’s just that I’m—”

  “Come on, honey,” Davis said, lacing his fingers in hers and tugging her away. “Let’s go to my place.”

  They were out the front door, but the excited voices of strangers nipped at their heels.

  “You are fueling the fire. They’re going to be gossiping nonstop about that.” Elaine giggled as she climbed into the passenger side of his truck. “I feel like we’re on the run.”

  “Aren’t you though?” he asked, as he put the truck in reverse and sped out of the grocery parking lot. “Now you’ve got me running with you.”

  Chapter 8

  “You look good in an apron,” Davis teased. “The flour all over your cheeks doesn’t hurt either.” He reached a hand up and swiped gently at the white dust.

  “I’m, admittedly, out of practice,” she confessed with a smirk. “But I think you’re going to love this recipe. I ate it all the time when I was little.”

  “I pictured you as a ten-year-old, heating up those sad little diet frozen meals. It’s good to know at one point in your life food was your friend.”

  “Food was my friend until metabolism was my enemy,” she explained, stirring the batter with all her might.

  “The meatloaf will be ready in a little while. Then the oven is all yours. Do you like baked or mashed potatoes?”

  “Potatoes,” she sang, and he laughed at the euphoria filling her face. “I miss potatoes the most, really. Let’s do real buttery mashed potatoes. Maybe add a little cheese?”

  “I’m creating a monster,” Davis joked as he rounded the small kitchen and grabbed what he needed from her left and her right. The smell of her skin filled his nose and made him linger close for a long moment.

  “Are you inspecting my work?” she asked, turning the batter so he could see it. “I don’t remember hovering over your meatloaf.”

  “You’re right.” He tossed his hands up and backed away slowly. “So this was your grandmother’s recipe?” he asked, never tiring of hearing her voice and learning what little fragments of history built her into the woman she was before they’d met.

  “Yes. Estella Monroe Gladwell. The most ambitious women I’ve ever met. She was always lightyears before her time. She went to college. Got a job outside the house while raising a family.”

  “What did she do?” Davis asked, peeling the potatoes and chopping them up for the pot.

  “She was a numbers wiz. Some kind of a savant. I don’t know exactly what her title was, but she worked for an engineering company. I got the chance to go to work with her when I was very small, and I fell in love with the way people treated her. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. She supported my father and his career. There was always clean laundry for him. Always a warm plate of food when he came home. She was a good wife and a great mom, but it never felt like something I could understand. But Grandma Gladwell, I understood her. She’s what made me work so hard.”

  “Your parents are in Europe, right?” Davis asked, impressing her with his memory of the rambling details she’d given. “Do you see them much?”

  “I’m embarrassed to say I judged my father very harshly. I went a long time before seeing them at all. It’s a little better now, but at the time I was young and sitting through classes learning about ethics and business practices. I couldn’t understand how someone could get themselves in that kind of trouble. Just do the right thing. It sounded so simple at the time. Now I see how quickly you can fall and how easy it can be to run.” Elaine stopped stirring the batter suddenly, and her gaze was fixed on an empty spot on the wall.

  Davis rinsed his hands and patted them dry on a towel before walking over to her. “You aren’t your father, and you aren’t your grandmother. You are you, and one moment in time doesn’t define your life. Trust me, if it did, I’d never leave the house.”

  “You hardly do,” she teased, beating back the sadness and returning to him. “Work doesn’t count. Look, even tonight we’re in here cooking.”

  “I’m supposed to put the grocery money aside and take you on a proper date. That’ll show you I’m not some sad recluse who spends all my time hiding from the world.”

  “What kind of dates do people go on in Indigo Bay?” Elaine asked, back at the project at hand, pouring the batter into the pan.

  “You’ll have to wait and see. I’m guessing it’ll be different than any date you’ve been on in the city, that’s for sure.”

  The oven beeped, indicating his meatloaf was done. He opened the oven and took the meatloaf out, bobbling it when the dish towel proved too thin for the heat stinging his fingers.

  “Watch it,” Elaine said, as the slow motion juggling act came to an end with the meatloaf pan landing upside down on the floor by their feet. “Are you burned?” Elaine asked, taking his nicked up, callous-covered hands in hers and inspecting them closely.

  “The only damage is to my pride,” he groaned, shaking his head in frustration. “I don’t have a backup plan for dinner besides an enormous bowl of mashed potatoes.”

  “Followed by cream cheese pound cake. As long as you don’t juggle that I think we’ll be fine. It’s not really about the food anyway,” she assured him, gently rubbing his shoulder. “It’s just nice to be here. Talking. Forgetting everything else out there.” She gestured out the door as though that’s where the monsters and trouble lurked.

  “One of these days you’ll tell me what you’re hiding from, won’t you?” Davis asked, tucking some loose hair behind her ears. He tilted her chin upward so her eyes couldn’t dart to the floor. “Not right now. But someday?”

  “I will,” she acquiesced, sucking her bottom lip in and nibbling it nervously. The space between them was shrinking, though he wasn’t sure if it was him leaning in or her. He just knew their lips were getting closer, and the desire to kiss her was at a boiling point.

  “I’m sorry about the meatloaf,” he whispered. “I’ll make it up to you.” They were just a breath apart, and she nodded a tiny, nearly imperceptible nod that he took as an agreement to how exactly he could make up for the meatloaf.

  When their lips finally touched Davis felt as though they’d been welded together. Not just the way his fingers spun up in her hair or the way hers clutched at his shirt. It was deeper than the surface. The kiss was perfect; the connection was deep.

  The oven chirped
again, Davis having forgotten to cancel out the timer. The noise was enough to bring them back to the moment. He pulled away reluctantly, his hand sliding down to her cheek and lingering there. “Mashed potatoes?” he asked, a devilish grin sliding across his face.

  “And cake.”

  Chapter 9

  “A dance?” Elaine asked as Davis pulled his truck into a dirt parking lot loaded with other cars.

  “It’s a little fundraiser the Ashland Belle Society puts on every year. The society is made up of most of the nosy ladies you met at the grocery store. For all the trouble they stir up, they also provide a lot of help to people in need. It’s why I don’t mind cutting them some slack. They’ve been trying to get me to come to this event for a few years running, and I usually just volunteer for clean-up duty. This year I finally have a partner I don’t mind being stuck next to for twelve hours.”

  “Twelve hours?” Elaine asked, eyeing the outdoor dance floor that had sparkling lights strung above it.

  “It’s a dance-a-thon,” he explained, hopping out of the truck and rounding the front to open her door. She hesitated to step out.

  “This proper date you’ve decided to take me on is a contest made up of dancing for hours on end?”

  “To raise money for a good cause,” he reminded her, his hand hanging there waiting for her to take it. “I figured you were the competitive type. And you’re about forty years younger than half the contestants out there. Are you going to chicken out on me?”

  “No,” she answered instinctively. Elaine was always a sucker for a dare, unable to turn down a challenge. Unlike most of her endeavors, however, this was a pretty intimate encounter. “I’m not chickening out. Is this really how you want to spend your night?”

  “I can’t think of anything I’d like better,” he said, looking thoroughly relieved when she finally stepped out. “It’ll be fun, I promise. The Ashland Belle Society knows how to have a good time.”

  “Davis,” Caroline called, waving them over to the dance floor. It was lined on either side with white tents, filled with tables of food that Caroline seemed to be arranging. “I can’t believe you actually came. This is going to be so much fun. Wait until the ladies see you.”

  “I figured we’d be the talk of the town tonight,” Davis grinned, leaning down and planting a kiss on Caroline’s cheek. “I ambushed Elaine though. She didn’t know we were coming until just now.”

  “Ambush is the right word,” Elaine groaned. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to be,” Caroline said, waving off her worry. “This is just for fun. Come over this way and get your tags. Lucille, look who’s here.”

  “Well pluck the stars from the sky and call them diamonds,” Lucille said, clutching her pearls and pretending to faint. “I can’t believe we have these love birds as contestants tonight. The pledges will go through the roof for you two. Here are your numbers, just stick them to your shirts.”

  “Thank you,” Elaine said, following the instructions and secretly sizing up the competition. Davis was not wrong. Elaine liked to win. She liked to prove she was the best. It wasn’t always the best quality but she reminded herself this was all for a good cause.

  “Now, you get five minute breaks every hour to get a drink or something to eat and use the bathroom. Or,” she whispered coyly, “to run off and kiss in private.”

  “I doubt anything we do tonight will be private,” Davis countered. “But it’s all for charity, right?”

  “Right,” Lucille agreed. “You can see the pledges here. Most of Indigo Bay will be here tonight. They’ll come by and make pledge donations for every hour you dance.” Lucille was positively glowing with excitement as she waltzed them around the area for a tour. “Caroline was sweet enough to provide the refreshments, and the music will be quite the assortment thanks to Mr. Nylie and his new downloading music device thingy. He’s promised a wide variety of styles. That should keep you busy.”

  “What’s the grand prize this year?” Davis asked, playfully nudging Elaine. “I’m feeling good about our odds.”

  “Don’t underestimate your competition. They may be old, but they came to win. That’s a very coveted prize you’re dancing for.”

  “A new car?” Davis asked, goading her on.

  “No, well not exactly. It is a form of transportation,” Lucille explained, and Elaine could see there was something she was holding back. “It’s an electric scooter meant for the retired community,” she half mumbled. “Maybe not glamorous for you two but our normal contestants have someone in their lives who could benefit greatly from the prize. It even has all terrain tires so they can go down to the beach.”

  “Does it have a basket on the front?” Davis asked, looking very serious about the matter. “A bell?”

  “It has a horn,” Lucille corrected, pointing a threatening finger at him. “And it’s too late to withdraw now. Your names are already on the board.” She pointed over to a large white board off the side of the dance floor where a woman was hastily adding information. She’d just added Davis Mills and Pretty Blonde.

  “Her name’s Elaine,” Davis said, pointing up at the board and frowning.

  “I’ve been called worse,” Elaine shrugged. “When does the dancing start?” Just as she finished speaking the music crackled to life on the speakers.

  “Right now.” Lucille grinned, pushing them out on to the dance floor. “All right contestants, it’s time to get started. Let’s see those dance moves.”

  A gaggle of mostly elderly people flooded the dance floor and coupled up. The first song was an old slow one that everyone cooed nostalgically about. Davis pulled her into his arms and spun her whimsically around the floor. “I hope you can keep up,” he challenged with a breathy whisper in her ear.

  “I hope so too,” she laughed, giving herself over to him as he led her through the dance. “You’re a better dancer than I would have thought.”

  “Lessons when I was a kid,” he admitted sheepishly. “My dad thought it would help me on the football field, and he was right. My footwork improved a ton. Once I got over the idea of wearing tights it wasn’t so bad.”

  “Tights?” she asked, pulling away to see his face. “I can totally see you in tights.”

  “Enjoy that image because those days are over. At least you benefit from the torture I endured.”

  “So what are we going to talk about for the next twelve hours?” Elaine asked, starry-eyed and mesmerized by the twinkling overhead lights.

  “We can dream up ways to use our new motorized scooter. Did you hear we can drive it on the beach?” He winked and Elaine practically felt her heart flutter.

  “You are the best distraction I’ve ever had in my life,” she said, resting her head on his chest. “You’re funny, smart, and sweet. I’m so glad it was you who found me on that stupid curb.”

  “And that I didn’t call the funny farm to have them come take you away. I’m happy to be your distraction. I hope it doesn’t end at that though.” The song shifted to a love ballad, and he swayed her back and forth to the slow beautiful beat.

  “How long have you had the cabin?” Elaine asked, resting her head gently on his shoulder. “You don’t strike me as a guy who wakes up and says, I want to live in a bright purple cabin.”

  “It wasn’t purple when I bought it,” Davis admitted. “Julie had been gone almost eight months, and I got wind that things weren’t going great for her. There were rumors she might come back to Indigo Bay. I had given her all the space I could, and it was killing me. I bought the cabin and painted it her favorite color. I fixed it up inside the way I knew she’d like it. I made it a home, hoping that when she saw it she could picture the rest of her life there with me. I spent months working on every detail.”

  “It didn’t work?” Elaine asked, oozing with empathy. “She didn’t stay.”

  “She did for a little while,” Davis replied, attempting to sound upbeat. “But it wasn’t real. None of it was. The
re was a big explosive fight about me trying to hold her back. She took off again.”

  “I’m sorry,” Elaine offered, squeezing him a little tighter.

  “Two hundred dollars on Davis and the pretty blonde,” a voice called from one of the tents and every head turned. Davis was relieved something would break them out of this moment.

  “Dallas,” Davis groaned. “I figured you’d come watch the show.”

  “I was hoping you’d be back in your tights,” Dallas joked, waving two hundred-dollar bills in the air. “If it’s not too late to get them on, I’ll double this donation.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Elaine joked. “If I didn’t already owe you a hundred dollars I’d go in on that donation myself.”

  “You don’t owe me a thing, Elaine,” Davis assured her, the smile leaving his face. “I mean it. Whatever you decide to do, I don’t want you to feel any pressure from me. I really like that you’re here. I’m glad you’re feeling good right now. Life’s all—”

  “It’s all mashed potatoes and cake,” she smiled, remembering how something that had gone wrong could turn out just fine if you let it.

  “Yes,” he agreed, leaning down and kissing her cheek. “And I’m still hungry for more.”

  Chapter 10

  “I expected to see you pulling up on your new motorized scooter,” Dallas called out to Davis as he loaded some lumber into his truck.

  “We donated it to the Belle Society so they could do with it what they see fit,” Davis corrected. “I hope I’m many years off from needing one of those.”

  “How many hours did you guys dance last night?” Dallas asked, gesturing for Davis to help while they talked. “That whole pile of wood needs to get in the bed of this truck.”

  “I came to thank you for the two-hundred-dollar donation and see how the cabin repair was going, not help you load wood. And we danced for six hours. That’s about two hours longer than everyone else.”