“Oh...well seems like I have the rest of the day off,” I said with a shrug.
“So do I,” he said mockingly. Then added, “Why don’t we do something together?”
“Ummm...I don’t know if—” I started to say, as he interrupted.
“Rachel, what’s wrong with a couple of colleagues going out for a stroll?” He looked offended.
“Nothing, I guess.”
“Then it’s settled.” He sounded more excited than he should have been. “Off we go then.”
I stood up and started walking toward the door. He was quickly beside me and then we were out the door. He hailed a taxi, we got in, and he whispered our destination in the Taxi driver’s ear.
“So where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see when we get there. It’s not too far.”
“Very well then.”
Maybe this isn’t the best idea, I thought. I know nothing about this guy and I’m going to God knows where with him. For all I know he could be a serial killer who’s been stalking me for months and has come to take his prey. Oh Lord, then Ethan would come back to a dead fiancée. Maybe I should just tell the taxi driver to stop while I still can.
“So what are you thinking about?” Tom asked, interrupting my train of thought.
“Oh, nothing...just that it’s a really nice day outside.”
“That it is. Great day for a gas leak, huh?
Maybe he caused the gas leak, I thought. It sounds a bit ludicrous but I did see him leave the building. “I hope no one got hurt,” I said.
“I think they caught it just in time, so from my understanding no one got hurt and with the fire department working on it everything will be ok,” he replied.
“That’s good.”
“So how long have you been working at R & R Inc.?”
“About two months, actually. I got the job when school loans started to send in bills.”
“Oh, I see, so what did you study?”
“Nothing that has to do with what I do at R& R.”
“Oh really, and what was that?”
“My Bachelor’s degree was in Psychology and my Master’s in Forensic Psychology.”
“So why didn’t you look for a job in your field?”
“Well...the thing is, finding a job in the Psychology field with just a Masters is actually kind of difficult. You can always be a case manager or something a little better, but they always want an immense amount of experience, yet that doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to get good pay. This job pays well and I could have just waited and found something with my masters but I needed the job right away. I’m still looking for something better in my spare time.”
“That makes sense. Well, if you were working somewhere else, I would never have met you. We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
It’s like the taxi driver felt my brain stop and my cheeks blush and at that very moment he stopped the taxi for me. “We are here,” he announced.
I started to look for my wallet to pay for my half, but Tom pushed my hands away. “Don’t worry. I invited you, so I’ll pay.”
“I don’t mind really,” I said insistently.
“It’s alright, I got it.” He handed the man a 50-dollar bill after we got out of the cab, shut the door and we started to walk away.
I couldn’t believe my eyes; the place was mesmerizing. I had never seen anything like it in New York. There was a great big oak tree at the beginning of a beautiful lake, and the water was surprisingly clear. Behind the lake were two grass-covered hills that made the view even better. We walked toward the oak tree, and I noticed a swing hanging from one of the branches. This place was perfect and he had shared it with me.
“This is so beautiful,” I said with a tone of wonder.
“I figured you’d liked it. Most people do.”
“So, I’m not the first woman you’ve brought here,” I said with surprising hurt in my voice.
“Actually...you are. I used to come here with my family a lot, and they all loved it.”
A small smile crawled onto my face with his response. “Do you guys still come?”
“No,” he said with a knot clearly forming in his throat. “My parents died with my younger brother in a car accident 7 years ago. I was the only one who survived.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, looking down at the floor.
“It’s ok,” he said, trying to reassure me. “I can’t say it isn’t painful anymore, but I learned to see the good things in life, to understand that God has plans for me.” There was an awkward sad silence; and then he started walking toward the swing and dusted it off. “Here, why don’t you sit?” he said with a smile.
I walked over and sat on the swing, and he started pushing me softly, so that my feet would swing a little.
“So, Rachel, tell me about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” he said in a soft voice.
I didn’t hear what he said. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I said anything.”
“Ok...well, I’m twenty-five. How old are you?”
“I’m thirty-five.”
“Oh, wow!”
“Don’t worry, I know I look young for my age.” he said.
“Actually, I was going to say you look well maintained.” I said.
“Me and my brother would go running every morning for years before the accident. We also took kick boxing classes and my parents house had a pool so I would swim a lot when I would visit.”
“Compared to that, I feel like a couch potato.”
“You look great though,” he said quickly. I blushed and looked down. “What about your family?”
“My mom and dad live in Maine, and my brother lives here in New York with his wife and kids. That’s basically it. My mom has a lot of family in Puerto Rico, but I haven’t been there in years.”
“Oh, so you’re Latin?” he said with what sounded like mockery in his voice. “That must be where your caramel toned skin comes from. I figured you had some African American and American descendants.”
“Well, it’s good to know you are horrible at guessing,” I said, grinning widely.
“I’ve never flirted with a Latina before,” he said with a cock on his left eyebrow. “I guess there is a first time for everything.”
“Very funny, and I was born here in the states, so it just runs through my blood.”
“You can’t deny your heritage. Look at those lips and eyes, plus that complexion; they all scream Latina,” he said, raising his head toward the sky.
“Whatever. Two seconds ago you thought I had African American descendants and now I look Latin.” I pushed his arm, the swing jerking with the motion. “Anyways, I’m American.”
“Yeah, but now that I know I can totally see the Hispanic traits in you. Don’t deny what you are, Rachel. Embrace it.”
“You are so lame.”
“Well, it seems you like lame.”
“I kind of do,” I said.
“And you have a very nice smile.”
“Why do you do that?” I asked shyly.
“Do what?”
“Compliment me so much.”
“You have a lot to compliment.”
Once again I got bright red. “Tom, you seem like a good guy,” I said slowly, “but I’m engaged, you know.”
“Rachel, I don’t want you to make any decisions, but are you telling me you don’t feel this connection?” He stood boldly in front of me and grabbed my hands. “I could feel it the very first day we meet and by God I know you did too.”
I shook my head. “Tom, I don’t know you and it doesn’t matter what it seems I may feel. I’m engaged.”
“But you’re not denying it.”
“I like you, Tom. You seem like a nice enough guy, but I want you to respect the fact that I’m engaged.”
“I’m sorry, Rachel. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m ok with just having a friendship, so don’t
let what I said deter that from happening.”
“If that’s the case…then ok. “
“Well then, how about we go sit in the grass?” he said, extending his hand.
Reluctantly I grabbed it “Sure.”
We walked toward the grass and sat at the edge of the lake, staring in silence at the mountains. Tom interrupted the silence. “So what do you like to do for fun?”
“I like to read...listen to music, play tennis, surf, cook...go go-karting and dirt bike racing, play paintball, baseball and basketball . . . you know, the usual female activities.”
“Are you serious?” he said in disbelief.
“Yes, why?”
“I like every one of those things and I say it in complete seriousness.”
“Every single one? That’s a little far-fetched.”
“Rachael, I swear to you— every single one. But I have a very important question that will make or break our friendship.”
“Oh really! What’s that?” I asked with a slight raise of my eyebrow.
“Do you like soccer?”
“Oh my God…I hate Soccer. It is the most boring sport ever. You’re just running after a ball forever and you can barely get any points. It’s a depressing sport. I cannot handle it.”
“You have lost me forever, and I can no longer can be your friend. Shoot, I no longer want to be your friend,” he says faking his hurt a wide smile dancing across his face.
“Oh come on, it’s just a game.”
“An awesome game, by the way. Ok, ok...answer this question then. Do you like Football?”
“I love football!”
“Really?” he sked with a shocked expression on his face. “That can be a very aggressive game.”
“What can I say? I can be a very aggressive woman!”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, bumping my shoulder with his shoulder. “Well I better call a taxi and get you back to the city. It’s starting to get late, plus I imagine you’re getting hungry.” He started to walk away while dialing a number on his phone.
He really is a nice guy, I thought. That smile and laugh of his, God! Just perfect.
He approached me. “The taxi driver said he’ll be here in about fifteen minutes give or take. How about we skip some stones?”
“Ooo...sounds like fun. Let’s go,” I said as I started jogging to the edge of the lake. I picked up a rock and handed him one, then preceded to throw mine and fail at skipping it.
“Wow, you are really bad at this,” he said.
“Hey! I’m just getting started. Give me a break,” I said as I failed to skip another one.
He started laughing. “Clearly that’s it.”
“Oh as if you could do so much better.”
“How about we make a bet?”
“Depends on the bet.”
“If I skip 10 rocks repeatedly, at least 4 skips each, you’ll give me a kiss. If I lose, I’ll go play football with you tomorrow after work.”
“What? I don’t see what I gain from this bet and you end up winning something no matter what the results are.”
“Not true. I’d rather have a kiss,” he said. “Plus you get to have fun tomorrow if I lose.”
“Whatever. Fine, the bet’s on.”
Tom started skipping rock after rock; he was actually pretty good at it. Which to think of it wasn’t all that surprising. He seemed like the type that could be good at anything. Oh my God, he already skipped eight. What if I actually have to kiss him? Dear Lord, nine rocks. This does not look good. Wait! I’m not a child. I don’t have to do shit. What the fuck is wrong with me?
“Are you alright there?” he asked, mocking me. “ You look a little scared.”
“I’m fine,” I said, changing my stance. Right when he was about to throw the last rock I pushed his hand, making the rock only skip twice.
“Come on, that was sooo cheating.”
“You never said I couldn’t stop you from skipping the rocks.”
“That’s true. Hey I understand,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “If I were you I would want to spend another day with me too.”
“Oh whatever...you’re so full of yourself. I couldn’t let you get a kiss that easy.” I said and started to walk away.
“You know, the chase is the fun part,” he said as he started walking behind me. “We finished skipping rocks just in time.”
The taxi cab had just pulled up. We walked over to it and Tom held the door open for me. Our hands brushing softly as I got in the cab and bolts of electricity rushed through my body. I sat down quickly and he followed. In what seemed like minutes we reached my apartment and Tom was saying goodbye.
“It was truly a pleasure to spend the day with you,” he said as he grabbed my hand and placed his lips softly on the top.
I blushed and looked down. “I had fun,” I said quietly.
“I did too,” he said, looking straight into my eyes. “See you tomorrow at work. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I said as I closed the taxi door and watched it drive away. I walked toward the apartment, opened the front door and went straight for the shower. The last thing I wanted to do was stay awake another moment. I did not need to to analyze every moment that had just transpired frame by frame.
Chapter three
I woke up to my alarm blasting and the thought of Tom. I pushed the thought away and started getting ready for work. I wasn’t sure if Tom really meant for us to go play football today, but I didn’t want to make him feel bad if he was serious. So I started packing some sports clothes in my Nike gym bag, after I finished breakfast.
I arrived at work to find a note in my desk, which read:
Rachel,
Hope you brought your gym gear and your game face.
Tom p.s. Get ready to lose.
Well, this is certainly going to distract me all day, I thought.
The day went by unbearably slowly. Nothing happened the whole day. Mr. Reynolds never asked for anything; no calls or emails came in. The only thing I did the whole day was make copies and organize Reynolds schedule. Even my lunch was boring. It seemed like everyone had disappeared from the office so I ate my lunch alone in silence, with the occasional thought of Tom popping into my head. I thought the day would never end, but it finally did and at 4 p.m. and there was Tom walking to my desk.
“So are you ready to go?” he asked with a grin.
“You are an extremely happy man. You do know this?”
“There is always a reason to be happy. Today I’m going to crush you in football!”
“Don’t claim victory so fast,” I said. “I’m actually going to try this time. Plus, unless we are both on a team it technically doesn’t count as a game, so you can’t really win.”
“Everything counts as a win, and are you saying you weren’t trying yesterday?”
“I’m saying you’re going to lose.”
“Ok, let’s go then.”
I got up from my chair and grabbed my gym bag. We walked a few blocks until we reached a football field that Tom said was great and was almost always empty.
“I can see why it’s barely used,” I said mockingly. “There is barely any grass here.”
“That’s because most of the field is covered with mud,” he said cheerfully, “which makes it all the better. Ok, so go change and we’ll get started.”
When I came out of the very small bathroom, Tom had already changed into black shorts and a red NFL jersey. “Ok,” he said, “since there is no one for us to throw the ball to, how about if we start by kicking the ball and whoever grabs it first chooses what side will be theirs for touchdowns?”
“Deal.”
“Would you like to do the honors?”
“You go ahead. I want to see what my competition is made of.”
“Very well,” he said, as he kicked the football with all his strength. The ball flew across the yard and landed about 50 yards away.
“That is some leg you have there.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I used to play football when I was younger. I was the best on my team.”
“Of course you did and of course you were.”
“Ok, so are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
We both started running at full speed. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through me and my speed escalating. We were side by side until I unexpectedly started gaining more speed and reached the ball first.
“I underestimated you,” he said with a laugh.
I joined in the laughing. “That was a lot harder then it seemed,” I said, and I collapsed on the ground.
“So which side do you want?”
“I’ll take the right side.”
“Ok, very well. Ready to run?”
“Let’s go!”
“Ready, set, go!”
I stood up quickly and started running with the ball in hand. I could feel his body behind me and the tension in me start to build up. I ran with all my strength and actually made a touchdown. “Oh yeaaaah! Touchdoowwwnnn!”
“You’re not competitive at all,” he said sarcastically. “Now for the kick.”
We walked to the two-yard line; he placed the ball on the ground, then held it so I could kick. I swung my leg and kicked as far as I could but the ball didn’t actually get that far.
“Ouch! That was a dud,” I said.
“It was a good try.”
“Oh, don’t try to make me feel better.”
“You can still grab it,” he said, as he started off in a sprint.
I started running after him, but it was in vain; he was too far ahead. He grabbed the football and kept on running until he reached the touchdown line. By the time I reached him he was already walking back and we walked to the two-yard line together.
“Ok, so I have a question,” I said. “Are we playing tackle or touch?”
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