“Oh, it was just an accident, right honey?” she asked softly. Her voice was laced with a thick southern drawl. “We all make booboos now and again.”
“Yes, definitely,” Colton smiled. “Thanks for being so understanding—can I buy you a beer?”
“Oh, no… no, that’s quite alright.” She glanced over at Zoe before reaching out to caress Colton’s arm. Zoe sat back. Her heart was racing with what she’d later realize to be anger that the woman had her hand on Colton.
“Okay, well, sorry again,” Colton picked up his empty beer cup and sat back down, he turned toward Zoe and studied her face before laughing lightly.
“It’s alright,” he whispered. “We’ll just share.” His fingers brushed over hers as he took the beer from her hand. Zoe glanced over at the woman again, who was now glaring over her shoulder at them. Glaring at Zoe to be precise.
“I am so sorry… I just… I didn’t see it and…”
“No problem,” Colton laughed. “Honestly, it’s not a problem.” He took a sip of the beer and glanced over at the woman who was now trying to dry the back of her shirt.
“Well thanks,” Zoe said after a moment. “For taking the heat… I mean, I’m sure she would have punched me right in the face.” As she said this she waved her hand—the one with the foam finger—and accidently slapped him in the face with it, which caused him to jerk back and spill beer directly in his lap. She watched the damp spot on his inner thigh slowly seep into a dark blue circle spreading closer and closer to the apex of his jeans. It took her a moment to realize that she was staring at his crotch, which caused all sorts of discomfort to swell up inside of her. She looked around frantically for napkins, which she found at the bottom of her purse. Not thinking, she shoved them into his lap.
He seemed startled by this action and jerked away from her helping hand, which was when she realized that she probably had come a little too close for comfort.
“I’m… sorry,” she stammered.
“It’s okay,” he laughed, his face red.
“I forgot I was wearing this,” she pointed the finger and poked him right in the eye. “Oh god, sorry!”
Uncertain of what to do, Zoe pulled the finger off her sweaty hand and stared at it. Only fifteen minutes into his presence and she had managed to completely muck things up. She kicked over his beer, spilled beer in his lap, touched his crotch, and poked him in the eye.
How horribly embarrassing—what a failure! She bit the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling, but it was too late, he saw too. He gave her a moment to collect herself and then carefully took the foam finger from her lap and put it behind her back.
“You could probably sit on it too—it’ll make for a nice little cushion,” he said as he mopped up his lap.
“Colton,” she lifted her eyes to his and prayed that she wouldn’t start crying from the humiliation. “I am… so….” She stopped because she saw that he was laughing and wiping tears from the eye that she had poked. He looked at her briefly and then doubled over with laughter. The rumbling sound of his chuckle made her blush and smile. “Maybe I should leave now before I do any more damage?”
“No,” he shook his head and took a deep breath, “no, no… stay, please.” His lips spread into a huge smile and the look he gave her—a mix of curiosity, humor, and perhaps attraction, although probably not—caused her to blush even harder.
“Sorry,” she muttered lamely. “I’m a klutz, bad genes, I think.”
“It’s fine,” Colton said as he patted the beer spot on his pants. “Accidents happen, right?
No true damage was done.”
“Your eye’s red,” Zoe pointed out.
“Yeah, it hurts a little,” he started laughing again and to make her feel better he reached over and patted her back in a very brotherly way. “Don’t worry, I’m all for a little excitement and spontaneity.”
“Yes, well,” Zoe slowly sat back and placed her hands in her lap. “My mother always tells me to sit still for a reason, so maybe I’ll do that now.”
“Here, hold this,” Colton extended the half-full cup of beer to her. She stared at it with uncertainty and then reached out carefully and wrapped both hands around the condensation-covered plastic. “I will be right back,” he said as he stood. “Zoe…” She looked up at him. His gentle eyes were squinting against the sun and were full of mirth; he laughed lightly and shook his head. He shook his head lightly and winked before climbing over people who had taken their seats on their row. Zoe bit her lower lip and stared at the cold beer in her hands; she glanced after Colton and watched him climb the stairs. He glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. She smiled back and looked away, only to see the blond woman in the tight Yankee’s t-shirt rise up out of her seat and was climbing over people to get to the stairs, which she quickly climbed after Colton.
The pit of Zoe’s stomach clenched with worry. Minnie hadn’t said anything about man poachers and what Zoe was supposed to do about women who may pounce on her date.
She felt stupid sitting there holding the beer. She should have gone with Colton, not that she could help him dry his pants. Although, maybe she could. Blood rushed down her neck and across her chest making her uncomfortably hot. Carefully she set the beer down, bracing it between her feet, and shrugged out of the cardigan she was wearing. The cool air on her back and arms helped a little, but she was still feeling hot and bothered. It was probably the fact that Colton’s crotch kept popping up in her head. The more she thought about how she had foolishly shoved her hand in his lamp she wondered if she had felt something—large.
Now she was really blushing.
She fanned her cheeks with her hands and picked up the bag of Skittles resting on her thigh. With trembling fingers, she pulled the bag open, only to rip it too much. Skittles fanned out in the air and dropped down around her, three or four landing in Colton’s beer.
She picked up the cup and stared at the colored candies fizzing at the bottom of the glass.
Biting her lip again, she set the glass down, kicked fallen Skittles down to the next row, and then rooted around in her purse for her phone.
She had four text messages from Paige.
Howz it going?
Kissing yet?
Be yourself!!
I want to hear about it l8tr.
Zoe smiled at the last message and thought about texting Paige back, telling her that things weren’t going well so far, but when she thought about it, things weren’t too bad now. At least he had laughed at her clumsiness. Hopefully he’d laugh at Skittles in his beer too.
Colton was too sweet to get angry over a little beer in the lap, but the longer he was gone the more Zoe worried that maybe he’d been really angry and decided to ditch her. The seats around her filled up and even with Colton’s empty chair she felt squashed and crowded. She didn’t really start worrying about his absence until everyone stood for the national anthem. Careful with his beer, Zoe stood as well, clapped her hand onto her chest, and planted her eyes on the flag.
She didn’t sing along. She couldn’t remember the words. And she was hit with a sudden panic that she had been stood up. She didn’t want to believe it of Colton, but he had been gone for about twenty minutes. Did it take that long to dry pants? She didn’t think so—so obviously he had ditched her. Maybe he was more like Preston than she thought.
She was still standing with her hand on her chest when people around her sat down. She didn’t sit until two guys behind her started snickering. She plopped herself down into her seat and blinked at the field as a cheer went up around her. The Yankees took the field, fanning out to their respective positions. Zoe glanced over at the stairs where Colton had disappeared. She thought about her options for a minute—stay and enjoy the game or leave—and decided to gather up her things and get out of there.
She had just stood up when Colton called her name. He was climbing over people to get to her, a new beer in one hand; a Yankees program in the other. She sat back down as
he took his seat. She could tell that something was wrong by the way his once relaxed face was lined with tension. She glanced at his pants and noticed they were dry. She then felt completely embarrassed for looking.
“I’m sorry,” Colton sighed. “I ran into a little problem,” he handed her the cold beer and then reached down to pick up the one still between her feet.
“W-wait,” she stammered as he sipped from the cup. He hadn’t seen the Skittles when he first took a drink, but after following her gaze to the bottom of the cup, he did. A small smile began stretching across his tight lips and his eyes became relaxed again. “The Skittles bag ripped too much,” she muttered lamely when his eyes met hers.
“Yea, I hate that,” he said with a light laugh.
“Here, switch,” she extended the fresh beer to him, but he shook his head no and settled back. He downed more than half of the beer and then stared at the white candies in the bottom.
“It’s actually sorta good!”
Zoe laughed and shook her head, “You’re too nice. You don’t have to drink that.”
“It’s fine, honestly,” his eyes flickered over the field and slowly the tension that he had returned to his seat with was back on his face. Zoe sipped her beer and carefully crossed her legs.
“Trouble?” she asked after a moment.
His brow wrinkled and he nodded. “Yeah, that woman,” he gestured toward the empty seat in the next row, “followed me into the bathroom, and made inappropriate advances.” Zoe’s mouth fell open.
“I know!” Colton exclaimed. “I was using the hand dryer and then all of a sudden her hands were everywhere—luckily a security guard saw her enter the bathroom a few seconds after me. And when she realized that I wasn’t interested she freaked out about the beer and slapped me!”
Zoe’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes grew wide. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, I was just shocked! So the police came in and took her away—I had to leave a whole bunch of information, which is what took me so long.”
“Did that really happen or are you just messing around?” Zoe laughed.
“It really happened!” Colton exclaimed. “I feel violated!” Zoe couldn’t help it, she started laughing. He stared at her for a long time and then smiled.
Into his drink he said, “It’s really not funny, but since you’re so cute when you laugh, I guess I’ll let it slide.”
As Zoe blushed a crimson red, Colton plucked the open bag of skittles from the open pouch of her purse and dumped a few more into his beer. A hit from the field and a cheer from the crowd brought them both to their feet. Zoe had so many more questions about the woman from one row down and the alleged bathroom attack, but she let it slide. She was just glad that she hadn’t been stood up. Besides, she wanted to forget all about spilling beer and Skittles and poking him in the eye with her foam finger. She just wanted to have a good time.
They spent the entire game getting to know one another. He asked her about work and she talked with him about his business. She learned that his favorite color was green and that he had a sick addiction to gummy worms. Not once did he talk to her about the contract, the idea of a starter boyfriend, or ask her why she hadn’t dated before. He kept things casual, light, and silly. Colton made her feel at ease the entire game. She was so comfortable around him that she forgot completely that it was a date. Until, of course, the game ended and he wrapped his long, strong fingers around hers.
The spark she felt in her chest caused her to trip on one of the seats and collided into his back. Laughing, as he always seemed to do when she did something clumsy, he twisted his upper body and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her up right on her feet and sort of dragging her against his side. Under normal circumstances, it would have been the prefect time for them to kiss. And idea that clearly went through his head too or at least she thought that was why his cheeks went a little red. Zoe stiffened and Colton drew back a little, which caused a great deal of internalize cussing in Zoe’s brain.
“Too much to drink?” Colton teased.
“No,” Zoe smiled despite the slight fuzziness in her head. “No, I’m okay, thanks.”
“No problem,” his arm moved from around her waist and he didn’t take her hand again.
She followed him up the stairs to the concourse exit where they were instantly swarmed by people. Still, Colton didn’t take her hand, walked with his hands resting at his sides, not in his pockets. Zoe didn’t take her eyes off his relaxed fingers and open inviting palm.
She knew that all she needed to do was reach out and take ahold, but she wasn’t sure that she should. He had, after all, taken her hand at will several times before, so it probably wouldn’t be a big deal if she did now. But could she?
The longer she pondered this, the farther apart they became; so far at one point that she had to call out to him as the crowd started to push her in another direction. Because he was so big, he was able to cross over closer to her, but he didn’t take her hand. They managed to make it out of the stadium together—walking as a platonic couple with itchy palms and fast beating hearts.
“I had a really good time, Colton,” Zoe said. “I know this is a bit unorthodox and all, but…”
“We’re not done yet,” he interrupted with a laugh. “I mean the date isn’t over or anything.”
Zoe slowed to a stop and pointed back at the stadium. “I thought…”
“That was just phase one,” Colton smiled. “It’s dinner time.”
“Oh,” Zoe stammered. “Okay, am I dressed okay?”
“Yeah, we’re going casual,” he smiled and gestured toward the subway entrance.
Zoe had been to O’Shea’s Fish Bar only once before and had enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, but it didn’t really seem like a first date type of place. Considering the casual-feel of the entire day she realized that this date wasn’t really about candle lit dinners and romance; Colton was just doing his sister a favor. No romance involved. She pushed aside the almost kiss in the stadium stands and the way his body had turned into hers as they stood jostled together on the subway. She ignored the own rush of her heart as his fingers splayed against the small of her back as he lead her into the bar. She ignored it all because day dreaming that it was something more than what it was would only hurt more in the end.
O’Shea’s was a casual seafood bar about ten blocks from Zoe’s apartment. They served cheap beer and high priced crab and lobster, along with an assortment of fish and chips plates. Minnie took her there once before Zoe started losing weight—they ate a huge plate of cheese and jalapeno fries. Zoe’s stomach began to growl at the very thought of them. Colton led her through the crowded bar toward the back party room, which was considerably quieter than the front room, and also very vacant. They were quite alone in this part of the bar.
He smiled back at her and pointed to a table in the corner, “This one okay?”
“Yes, looks good,” Zoe reached for her chair only to have Colton step forward quickly and cover her hand with his, keeping the chair in place. The warmth of his fingers sent jolts of electricity up Zoe’s arm. She glanced up at him and felt a little dizzy by his proximity.
“A good date always pulls your chair out,” he said softly. “Allow me?” He took the foam finger and empty beer cup from her hand and drew the wooden chair back. As she sat down he scooted the chair in and set her purse down on the floor near the wall. Colton set the foam finger on the end of the table they weren’t using and then took his seat. “Minnie mentioned that you liked this place, I thought that it would be good. Something familiar.”
“Yeah, they have great cheese fries here,” Zoe said before quickly adding: “Not that I eat those anymore.”
“You don’t?” Colton asked. “Why not?”
“Just a preference,” Zoe answered shrugging her shoulder. The last thing she wanted to do was dive into a conversation about fat and dieting. Colton didn’t press the issue, he just smiled and ran his fingers slowly
through his hair and studied her face before turning his attention to the approaching waitress. Zoe also looked and felt her mouth drop open.
The woman was carrying a beautiful bouquet of white lilies, Zoe’s favorite, to the table.
She set them down in front of Zoe and smiled. The flowers came from Colton’s shop.
“Welcome to O’Shea’s,” the brunette said as she pulled an order pad from the front of her apron. “What can I get you both to drink?”
“Beer?” Colton asked Zoe.
She didn’t answer, her fingers were slowly cascading down a delicate white petal; her eyes were only on the bouquet. Colton told the waitress to bring them two Miller Lights and took the menus she handed him. As she walked away he turned his attention back on Zoe, who had most of her face pressed into the petals. When she finally looked up at him, her pale cheeks flushed with blood and she laughed and waved her hands in front of her face. The tears were unexpected and shocked both of them. Colton opened a menu to give her a minute and to hide the ridiculous smile that spread across his face.
“Thanks,” Zoe laughed. “They’re beautiful.”
“You’re welcome,” he said as he watched her lay the flowers gently on top of the foam finger. “I asked Minnie what she thought your favorites were.”
“I love lilies,” Zoe opened her menu and ran her fingers through her hair. “So, what do you like here?”
“I thought that maybe we could get one of the big platters to share?” He asked as he leaned forward to peer over the menu. “You sure you don’t want any fries, we could share those too.”
“If you want them,” Zoe nodded. She’d only eat a few—maybe it would be okay not to count any calories tonight. “I think sharing is a good idea,” her eyes looked over the prices of some of the larger platters and began to fret. Colton reached over and eased the menu out of her hands and closed it.
“I’m glad I took a chance on this,” he said after their drinks were served and their order placed, “the date I mean.”
Zoe was too. She smiled and nodded.
“I’m having a great time,” he added.
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