by Jami Wagner
Chapter One
Allie
My couch sounds a lot more relaxing than going to work. To curl up with a blanket, a book in my hands, and to have, Bell, my black lab, snuggling next to me. It would be the best way to spend the snowy day after Christmas. Instead, I’ve somehow managed to be standing in the one coffee shop that’s trying to find out how many people it can cram inside all at once. I glance around. Not a single seat is open, and there’s someone touching me on each side. It’s a tad bit overwhelming for seven in the morning.
“Next in line!” someone shouts over the madness, and the line that took me twenty minutes to get through moves forward. Awesome. I’ve been here long enough to count the exact minutes. Please don’t let this be a preview of how my day is going to go. I love my job. I honestly do, but it would’ve been nice to have today off. I could be spending more time with my parents and sister. Not that I can’t see them anytime I want. Holiday’s just seem to have an effect on me. I can never get enough family this time of year.
The door chimes behind me and another couple pushes their way inside. The cold chill of last nights’ fallen snow blows inside with them, sending a shiver through my body. I can’t wait to have that hot coffee in my hands.
I peek through the crowd and catch the sight of Kelly’s cropped auburn hair bobbing between the people in my direction. Ever since we graduated college, we’ve meet every Tuesday and Friday for coffee before work. Nothing keeps us from our coffee. Not traffic, an empty bank account, a holiday, or even a late night with too much to drink. This, more often than not, is how Kelly spends her evenings. It gets worse when she visits her family or when the year is closer to coming to an end. And it’s the exact reason she looks like she’s ready to puke.
I can’t believe she drank as much as she did at her family’s home in Denver last night and still managed to catch her flight home at four this morning. I thought for sure the moment we made it inside the coffee shop - which engulfed us with the smell of fresh-ground coffee beans – that’s she’d throw up on the spot. She didn’t, but she did however go straight to the ladies room. Now, with one hand on her forehead and the other on her stomach, she stands next to me in line.
“I feel useless,” she says with a sigh, flipping her crimson hoodie over her auburn hair.
“I ordered your latte with two extra shots,” I inform her as she looks at me with gratitude in her eyes. They aren’t too bloodshot, but she’s going to need all the caffeine she can get today. Weeks ago, I tried to tell her that scheduling any photo shoots the day after Christmas would be a bad idea. From the miserable expression on her face, I bet she wishes she would’ve listened to me.
“Maybe it’s time to stop drinking so much at family events,” I suggest, and fail to hide my smile. This would never happen. I’ve been around her family many times, and they know exactly how to celebrate. I swear, their parties just get worse every year.
“You’d think I’d be used to it by now,” she says, rising on the tips of her toes and craning her neck to watch as drinks are made behind the counter. The coffee grinder roars, and she drops back to her heels. “Do you see those ladies sitting over there?” she points toward the far right corner, where a group of woman are gathering in a circle, smiling and laughing as they talk. “Well, while I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I heard the one in the pink sweater got engaged yesterday. I tried to sneak a look at the rock, but my head wouldn’t stop pounding from the noise of clicking keyboards and people sharing Christmas stories.” She rubs her temples. “I’ve never understood why coffee shops are the place to bring your computer. Do people really get that much more work done being here than at home?”
“Free WI-FI and fewer distractions.” I shrug. “It makes sense. Plus the coffee is good.” Another couple takes their drinks and leave. Only six more people to go and our drinks will be ready.
Kelly nods. “Right, right. Oh, hey, look what I found on the bulletin board over there.” She beams at me as if she’s forgotten she’s feeling ill and pulls a piece of paper from her purse.
My eyes flash to the black flyer with bold white type that she dangles in front of my face. I grab it from her hand and read it.
Date in the Dark
Meet your mystery date with only five minutes to spare!
December 29, 30, and 31st
Don’t have a date and think fate can bring you and your perfect match together? Come to the Blind Date at 7pm all three nights! Enhance your senses and dine in the dark with the same person of the preferred sex. On the final evening, New Years Eve, at 11:55, the lights come on to reveal the mystery.
Take a chance. You never know…you may find THE ONE.
I blink a few times and read the flyer again before looking up. I really need that coffee. Pronto. I’m losing it. Each time my eyes see the words “Date in the Dark,” I read that my best friend wants me to date a complete stranger in total darkness, and that can’t be right.
“Do you feel okay?” I ask, concern filling my eyes.
“Ha-Ha, I’m fine. Stop looking at me like I’ve gone mad, and just think of how romantic it could be.” She closes her eyes and smiles.
“It’s probably a fake flyer. No one with half a brain would partake in something like this,” I rest my hands on her shoulders and look her in the eyes. “How much did you drink last night?”
She snatches the flyer, shrugs off my hand, and crosses her arms. “Not that much, and we are totally doing this.” Instantly her face beams with a smile that has “pretty please” all over it.
I sigh as we step forward. She can’t be serious. I’ve heard of these places where you dine in the dark. You’re not able to see a single thing while you eat and that doesn’t sound like fun for me. A giant mess full of embarrassing moments is what it sounds like. I picture more food in my lap or on the floor than actually making it in my mouth.
“It sounds like a setup for some crazy psycho killer.” I shake my head. “Hey, I know how to kill a bunch of people at once. Tell them they’re going to find love and put them in a dark room.”
“If you showed any interest in finding a date for New Year’s Eve, I might let up, but you haven’t, so this is it. This is what we’re going to do. Unless…” She grins.
“No, don’t even say it.” I hold up my hand and look away. “Real life doesn’t turn out like the books we read, Kelly. I’m not going to fall madly in love with Parker, I can’t even stand him.”
“How can you say that? You’ve never been on a date with him and I know for a fact you avoid him at work. He asked you out once, you said “no.” That’s no reason to stop talking to the poor guy.”
“Alright fine, you win. I shouldn’t say I can’t stand him if I don’t even know him, but I work with the man and that’s all I need to put him on the ‘never going to happen’ list.”
“Oh, come on, who don’t you have on that list?” She laughs and rolls her eyes at me. “Come on. Please. Pretty please?” She pauses. “Either prove to me you want to find a date, or we’re doing this.”
The entrance door chimes once again over the chatter of waiting coffee lovers, and if the person walking in isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is. Through the small space available, I watch as the doorway fills with the same tall, dark, and drop-dead sexy man that I see each day at work. Before I can pull my eyes away, his piercing blue ones glance over the entire shop. They land on me and my breath catches. Dark hair and blue eyes have always been a weakness of mine. Parker is no exception and this is the exact reason I’m always avoiding him.
Parker
“Dude, it’s going to take us forever to make it through this line. I’d like to get to work before dinner.” Miles, my brother, complains as he steps inside behind me.
The smell of fresh-ground coffee fills the air, and I inhale deeply. If only the smell alone could wake me up.
“Hey, isn’t that the chick you work with who turned you down?” He nods in Allie’s direction.
I peel
my eyes away before he can notice my eyes haven’t left hers since we got here. “Yes.”
“Man, she’s hot. You should ask her out.” He says, rubbing his hands together before breathing on them.
“You honestly think I haven’t thought of that before?”
Miles laughs as we take a spot in line.
This place is packed and I can’t be late. I’ve shown up past eight enough the last few weeks that sooner or later someone is going to say something to me about it. And I don’t feel like today should be that day.
“Let’s just find another coffee shop.” I say, pointing to the door.
“Yeah, okay, but that girl is coming over here. What’s her name again?” he asks, but before I can answer she’s standing in front of me.
“Hey, Allie,” I smile as both her and her friend stop.
“Parker,” she nods. “Did you have a nice Christmas?”
“It was great. And yours?”
“Perfect.”
I keep the smile on my face as the four of us stand in a circle. After we manage to glance at the other awkwardly at least once, Allie speaks up.
“Alright, well, I’ll see you at work then.”
“Yeah, see you there.” I watch as Allie and her friend leave. Then, I return to my place in line.
“So, we aren’t leaving?” Miles asks behind me.
“No, this place is fine.”
“Want to tell me what the heck that was about? Please tell me you felt how weird that was. Have you two never spoken with each other before?”
“We have, I told you. I asked her out once.”
“And that was it? I’m guessing she said “no”, but that doesn’t explain how either of you don’t know how to hold a normal conversation. I mean, neither of you bothered to introduce us. Her friend is smoking hot and I feel jipped, sort of.”
I glare at my brother. “Yes, clearly she said “no”. Well, it was more of a mumbled “I can’t” followed by a quick exit and now, a dash in the opposite direction any time she sees me.”
“I think you should try again,” he says.
I laugh and shake my head. “I don’t think so.”
“I think you should reconsider.” Miles slaps a hand on my shoulder. “We promised Sara that we’d both have dates by the end of the day today, or we’d attend that stupid event Tim’s parents are hosting. Dark Dating or some shit.”
I nod slowly. Who could forget the possible chance of dating a complete stranger in the dark for three days? I just don’t remember why I agreed to it. Not completely anyway. “I know, trust me, I haven’t forgotten the deal we made with our sister. She’s lucky we love her. Does she even care that we can’t see our dates?”
“Sounds like she doesn’t.” He shrugs.
“This is just bullshit!” a man hollers from his place in line and storms past us out the door. A few others follow him, and we move up in the line.
“I’ll have a date by the end of the day, don’t you worry.” I glance around the coffee shop once again. How can they fit this many people in here?
“Anyway, like I said, I think you should reconsider. I’m going to skip coffee today. Call you later, okay?”
“Yeah, have a good day.”
Miles walks out the door and I move up in line.
If only he knew how many times I reconsider asking Allie out. He might actually be a bit disappointed on how hung up I am on this woman, but if he worked with her, he’d know exactly why. She’s smart, funny, and a great people person. She helps anyone who asks her without hesitation. She has this soft voice that can instantly make you relax, her laugh is always contagious, and when she smiles, the entire room lights up.
Some people might call it obsession, but I call it observation. We’ve worked together for over a year now and it’s hard not to notice a woman like Allie.
* * *
I swing my coat onto the back of my chair and set my coffee down in front of me. I look around to see everyone has already taken their seats for our morning meeting. I basically just ran here from the coffee shop to get here on time, so I’m a little out of breath when I finally sit down.
“Mr. Louis, so glad you could make it today.” Harold Martin, the Library Director, says tapping his pen against the table. “Now, that we’re all here, let’s get started.”
Great. Now, I’m on his radar and I wasn’t even late. Come on Parker, you’re twenty five years old. Get it together.
“As you all know, we have the end of the year upon us. Allie has kindly put together a few events to help us celebrate and bring in more members.”
I steal a glance her way to find her blushing. She does this anytime Harold points her out in front of the others.
“Sadly,” Harold goes on, “Lynn is going to be out of work for a few more weeks. This means, I need a volunteer to help Allie get things in motion. Someone who can help her lead the events and manage them while they’re taking place.” His gaze circles the room. Not a single person speaks up.
“I’ll do it.” I say, looking back and forth between Allie and Harold.
“I can handle it on my own, Harold. It’s fine.” Allie says, looking directly at him.
“Nonsense,” he replies. “Parker, you think you can do this? Your expertise is upstairs in the tech department not running events.”
“Yeah, I can do it.”
Shit. Even my own voice sounds unsure.
“Perfect. You and Allie can get started today and Ben can cover for you upstairs until after the New Year.”
I don’t hear anything else he said after that. All I can think about is how I’m finally going to get to work with her. Maybe this can be an ice breaker for us. She may not want to date me, but we can at least be friends, right?
JAMI WAGNER was born in Wyoming. Still living in the Cowboy State, Jami and her boyfriend are currently writing their own love story with their yellow Lab named Dax.
Jami enjoys writing New Adult Romance and published her debut novella, Date in the Dark, in 2015.
Visit and connect with Jami at jami-wagner.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorJamiWagner, on Twitter at @Jami_Wagner, or on Instagram at @JAMIWAGNER_.