by C. J. Corbin
Michael pressed his lips together, “Oh him. Christina promised she would keep an eye on the situation, but then I don’t totally trust my sister either.”
“Why don’t you trust her?” I took a bite of my chicken ravioli. “Mmmmm…this is yummy.”
“Christina is somewhat of the loose cannon when it comes to dating.”
I raised my eyebrows in response, “Sometimes love takes all forms.”
“Not with my daughters.” Michael said as he took a forkful of gnocchi.
I laughed taking a sip of wine, “You sound just like a dad! Wait until you meet my dad, you will have met your match.”
Michael laughed with me, “Oh is he tougher than me?”
“Oh yes, and then some, he’s a retired L.A. police detective. He would greet my dates at the door holding a gun and then interrogate them in our living room. I’m surprised that some of the guys even bothered to call me for a second date.”
Michael raised his eyebrows and laughed, “I’m not that bad.”
“You say so now,” I giggled, “but wait, one of these days you’re going to meet Mr. Thirty.”
Caesar came by our table to check on us. He beamed at us, “Ah, Mr. Michael, you now have three of the loveliest ladies in the area. You must not take them all. I have not seen Miss Elizabeth look so happy in a very long time.”
At that moment, it would have been acceptable if the earth cracked open and swallowed me whole. I did not even try to stop the blushing. I looked anywhere but at Michael. Caesar gave me a wide smile.
Michael laughed and answered with his own compliment, “It was easy to lure them here with your delicious food and wonderful ambience.”
“Mr. Michael, you know you are most welcome here!” Caesar took my hand and pressed a quick kiss on the back, “And my beautiful Miss Elizabeth, you had my heart from the beginning.”
I giggled, “Don’t you let Rosa hear you say that, or she will be after the both of us!”
Caesar suppressed a laugh, “I am very lucky because my Rosa is always after me! Enjoy my friends. It is good to have you here.”
As Caesar left us, I commented, “He’s such a cutie.”
Michael looked at me, and his eyes were sparkling again, “You like that romantic old world charm.”
“Remember, I am a romance writer.”
“That I have not forgotten.” He answered with a raised eyebrow.
We lingered over the rest of the meal and wine. Caesar tried to sway me with his tiramisu desert but I was too full, and as it was Caesar had to pack up half my meal to go.
Leaving the restaurant, Michael took my hand and said, “I’ll be glad to put the top up.”
I shook my head, “No, I’ll be okay.” Helping me with my sweater, his hands lingered on my shoulders, and the heat of his fingers warmed me through. It seemed as if he was going to lean down and kiss me, but the moment passed and he opened the car door. I slid in and put the scarf over my head. The air was warm, it was a perfect summer evening, and I was out with the most delightful man. I sighed aloud.
He sat down next to me. “What?”
I looked at him and smiled, “Nothing.”
I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. The engine roared on again and off we went.
Michael did not drive home as quickly. There was no traffic but it felt like he was taking his time. I relaxed in the seat reveling in the sky. The stars were out and it looked like a full moon tonight. Caesar had been correct, I had not been happy like this in a very long time. Michael was smiling too, I was curious about his thoughts, but this time, I would let it go.
We pulled up in front of my house. Michael shut off the engine. He quickly got out and around the car to open my door.
“It isn’t too late to come in for coffee,” I invited softly hoping for a yes because I didn’t want the evening to end.
Michael took my hand and helped me out of the car. “I’d like that.”
My heart leapt up and I wanted to do a high five!
We walked together up to the door. I slipped the key into the lock.
“Why are all your lights on?” he asked.
“I don’t like coming home to a dark house.” I answered simply. I did not want to explain to him about my ex-husband, not tonight. “Would you like a tour? It’s not a grand as yours, but I like it.”
Michael smiled. “I like what I see.” He stood very close to me with his hand at the small of my back. That small touch made my stomach start the flip-flops again.
I pointed out the kitchen, the guest room, and great room. “And what’s in there? Is that your bedroom?” He asked, his hand almost guiding me in that direction.
I nodded, “Yep.”
“Can I see? I showed you mine.”
“It’s not like yours. It’s just a regular bedroom.” I was glad I had made the bed and tidied up after dressing this afternoon. I sighed, “Okay.” I led him into the bedroom.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a sleigh bed person,” he smiled.
He pointed to my bed with the enormous dark cherry wood head and footboards. The walls and floors in the bedroom matched the rest of the house. The bed looked fluffy covered with a large feather comforter and six big pillows. Higher off the ground, a normal height person would have had to take a running leap into the bed. For me it was a small hop. Being tall had its benefits.
“Remember, romance writer.” I answered.
“And the steps?” He indicated to the steps next to the bed. They matched the dark cherry wood on the head and footboards.
“For the dogs, the bed is a little high for them to jump.”
Michael sat down on the bed. He did not have to hop. “See it’s not too high for me.”
As if by cue, both dogs jumped on the bed and rubbed up next to him for petting which he obliged. I almost expected Michael to pat the spot next to him for me. I was not going to take the bait even though I wanted to. He sat on my cream-colored feather comforter grinning at me. The vision burned into my memory. I shook my head and slipped out of my shoes.
As Michael looked around, he zeroed in on the framed polar bear poster on the wall next to the bathroom door and walked over, “I need to get that print for you.” He said tapping the glass in the frame.
We both looked at ourselves in the full-length mirror which stood along the wall next to the polar bear poster. He put his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on the top of my head. “I don’t mind you being shorter too.” Gently pulling my hair off my shoulders and letting it fall down my back, he murmured, “Your hair is beautiful. It’s very sexy when you wear it loose.” His lips were close to my shoulder and his warm breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine as it had while we were dancing. Our eyes met and held in the reflection of the mirror.
I stopped breathing. What was Michael expecting? What was he thinking? My inclination was to push him over to the bed where we both could just let ourselves go. Our mutual attraction was obvious to us, well, to everyone. The little internal voice I always tried to ignore began shouting again, “No!” This was not like me. Why he was having this effect on me? Normally I could hold onto my dignity when encountering a good-looking man.
He whispered again, “Breathe Elizabeth.”
I caught my breath and my rational thinking returned. “Coffee.”
Michael pressed his lips together and nodded in agreement. Clearing his throat and letting go of me, he replied, “Yes, coffee. Decaf?”
When we were back in the kitchen, I pulled the decaffeinated beans out of the freezer, and started grinding the coffee.
“I see you’re a purist.”
I grinned, “Coffee is like my baseball, serious business.”
He chuckled, “I like that about you. You put everything you have in the things you do.”
I looked at him, “I think that’s where you and I are a lot alike.”
Michael walked over to the entertainment center on the wall opposite the kitchen. He picked up th
e IPod sitting in the docking station and scrolled through the music. After he replaced the IPod back into the docking station, Frank Sinatra started singing.
“I would never have taken you for a Sinatra fan.” I called from the kitchen.
Michael laughed, “Back at you.” He moved around the room turning off all the lights and left the two lamps on by the couch.
“I grew up with music playing in the house all the time. My mother majored in musical history in college. She was definitely of the hippy generation. I’ll never know how my parents ended up together. When I was young, Dad was ultra conservative. I’m surprised how far to the left he has moved.”
“Do your parents live up here?” he asked.
“No,” Shaking my head, as I brought the coffee tray into the living room, and set it on the couch table. “Dad lives down in Torrance where I grew up and we lost my Mom a few years ago to cancer. There’s a picture of my parents by the television.”
He picked up the photo, “They were a handsome couple. You Mom was beautiful, you two look a lot alike. I’m sorry to hear you lost her.” He picked up the picture sitting next to my parents, “Who’s in the other picture with you?” He asked sitting down in the middle of the couch.
His choice of seats on the couch was interesting. Normally someone would choose one of the corners and the other person would choose the other corner. Not Michael though, he choose to sit next to me.
“That’s my perfect sister Lisa. You know gorgeous husband, two and-a-half children, and a house with the picket fence.”
He laughed, “Two and-a-half children? How did that happen?”
“Oh you know if she could figure out a way, it would happen.” We sat together on the couch drinking our coffee and listening to Frank Sinatra. The evening wound down slowly and after finishing the coffee, Michael stretched, “I really should let you go to bed. We have baseball tomorrow afternoon, and I still need to edit some pictures for my Monday deadline.”
I walked him to the door. He turned to me before leaving, and said, “I had a great time tonight Elizabeth.”
I smiled up at him, “I did too. Thank you. And I loved the car!”
Michael put one arm around my waist and pulled me into him. He looked down into my eyes, “May I?”
Smiling, I nodded, “Thanks for asking.”
Michael leaned down and gave me the softest kiss on my lips that I had ever felt. It was almost as if a feather had touched them. I felt myself melting against him. His strong arms wrapped around me and it was good that he was holding me up otherwise I’m sure I would have collapsed onto the floor. There was no hesitation on his part, only an inviting touch and his body felt strong pressed against me. The heat building between the two of us was evident as he pulled me into a tighter embrace and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Tucking his hand under my chin, he pulled my face up to his. Our second kiss had more substance yet it was still a soft warm kiss, which was not too intrusive but left me the feeling of bigger things to come.
I could not resist this time, and pulled his ear lobe with the earring. “I like your diamond.” I whispered.
Michael chuckled, hugged me one last time and we broke apart. “Well, there’s baseball tomorrow.” He said with a deep note to his voice. “Can I give you a lift to the field?”
I leaned against the doorframe not trusting my voice and nodded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded again.
“Elizabeth,” he laughed softly, “it’s okay to breathe.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
I stretched languorously when I awoke Sunday morning with thoughts of my date with Michael. No detail was too small to replay in my mind as I scrutinized each one repeatedly and realized that our date had been perfect. Though remembering his kisses made me blush. Kevin told me at one time that I kissed horribly and after that I always wondered about how other men felt about my kisses. I certainly did not get much practice after Kevin and I questioned if Michael felt the same way? We only had shared two kisses not enough to judge a performance, but I thought as I snuggled down into my pillows, he was an excellent kisser.
Even though I had energy to spare, I didn’t jog, but did take the dogs for a brief walk. It appeared to be quiet at Michael’s house, as if everyone was still sleeping. Too keyed up to write, instead I mixed up a couple batches of brownies. It was the one thing I could make well, okay, yes they were box brownies but I added my own touches. The baseball team loved my brownies and I made an extra batch for the girls next door.
When I strolled next-door mid-morning with my brownies, the jeep was gone so I figured Michael was out.
Katy, Max and Molly answered the back door, “Elizabeth, Hi! Come on in. Oh, what do you have? Are those for us?”
“Yes, they are. I made a few for the baseball game and had one pan left over.” I said following Katy into the house.
She took the brownies from me. “Oh I’m going to have one right now! Is that okay?” she asked.
“That’s what they are for,” I replied.
“Dad and Tammy are out, they’ll be sorry they missed you, especially,” she laughed wickedly, “since there won’t be any more brownies left! They went up to check on the eagles. There was a report of trouble up near the nest again. They’ll be back before baseball this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry I interrupted you, it looks like you were practicing.” I said noticing the piano covered with sheet music.
“I’m still working on my jazz piece, and I can’t get it.” Katy took a bite of the brownie. “Oh yum! This is delicious. Thank you so much. I love the powdered sugar on top too!” She put the pan of brownies on the dining room table and grabbed a napkin.
I looked at the music sheets, and the song looked interesting. “May I?” I pointed to the music.
Katy nodded with her mouth full of brownie. “Maybe if you play the music it will help me. I haven’t really just listened to it yet.”
She sat down next to me as I started to play. I played hesitantly at first until I picked up the rhythm of the song. She snapped her fingers along with the song and she turned the pages for me as I played. The melody was simple and sweet but with incredibly complicated overtones.
“Katy, your song is great.”
She smiled and she asked, “One more time please?”
I started the song again, and Katy closed her eyes as if to block out any distractions. When I reached the halfway mark, she placed her fingers on the keys and started playing with me. She played a more complicated set along with me.
She spoke softly, “I think I have it.”
“You’re kidding?” I stopped playing.
Katy took over and changed up the melody completely. She had a wild grin on her face and her eyes sparkled like Michael’s. Her enthusiasm swirled around me while I watched her start to play with abandon. She finished with a flurry, and hugged me.
“I’ve got to write this down!” Katy began writing notes down on the music sheets. When I moved to get up, she caught my arm, “Don’t go, let me just write this stuff down, okay?”
“Okay. Take your time.” I walked around the room admiring Michael’s pictures once again. In the daylight and without him peering at me I could see far more of the detail of each picture. He had been able to capture the essence of each animal. It was remarkable, they were so life like that I expected each animal to move and get on with their life.
The antics of the polar bear cubs climbing out of their winter den were in complete opposition to the mother bear ever alert for predators, staring directly into the camera. The otters sleeping, eating, or grooming themselves went about their business ignoring the disruption of the camera. Each photograph showed the care and respect he felt for these animals. In all of the pictures, Michael had been able to convey a depth of emotion to the viewer and it was evident why he was such a successful photographer.
I sat on the couch and both dogs jumped up and laid on me. We cuddled while we waited for Katy.<
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She let out a contented sigh and put down her pen to join me on the couch. Sitting cross-legged, she took off her glasses, and peered at me. “So, how was the date with Dad?”
I looked back at her and of course started blushing. “I had a nice time.”
Katy laughed, “Elizabeth, you are cute when you blush. I can imagine Dad loves it. He always loves to get a rise out of Tammy and me and that probably goes for you too.”
“Yeah, I have the impression that your dad is a tease.”
“He is a tease, it drives Tammy and I nuts. He lets you back yourself into a corner.” Katy leaned forward almost conspiratorially, “We were surprised he took out the Mustang. He was definitely trying to impress you. Dad certainly doesn’t take it out for us.”
“I have to admit it was thrilling. So, when are you going back to school?” I said changing the subject.
“Next month,” She stretched and Molly climbed into her lap. As she petted Molly, Katy continued, “It was a nice break and I liked being with Dad and Tammy, but I’m lonely for Paul. And I miss school too.”
“Paul is your boyfriend?”
“Yes,” she said rolling her eyes, “he’s the thirty year old monster. I don’t know why Dad is so upset. How many years are between you and Dad?”
“I don’t know how old your dad is, but it’s not the same thing. First, your dad is not my boyfriend. You have a nine-year difference. It may not be a lot between thirty and forty, but between twenty and thirty, there is a lot of living to do. Has your dad ever met Paul? I mean, if he hasn’t, maybe he would change his opinion of him if he did,” I offered.
“I didn’t think you were forty!” she said it as if forty was ancient.
I couldn’t believe how she kept turning the subject around to me. Katy definitely was clever. “I’m not forty. I’m thirty-eight.”
“Well then,” she answered, “Dad is forty-five. So you and he are seven years apart.”
“But he’s not my boyfriend.”
Katy laughed and it reminded me of Michael. I looked at her, “Okay, I can see the acorn doesn’t fall from the tree. You’re a terrible tease too!”