“Me too—I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in my life.”
“It’s been a while for me too,” Colton said as he sat back slowly sipping his beer. “Of course I could have done without being attacked in the bathroom!” Zoe blushed, “What did she do?”
Colton leaned forward and tapped his fingers on the table top. He seemed hesitant to tell the whole story and she was sure she received the abridged version.
“I had my back to her, so I didn’t see her coming—and she put her arms around me and her hands down my pants.” For a moment Colton seemed completely tormented and embarrassed, but it passed when he laughed. “I thought she was a man, so of course I was really freaked out.”
Zoe clapped her hands over her mouth and started laughing. Colton shook his head and grinned into his beer.
“I know I shouldn’t laugh,” Zoe said breathlessly, “especially since it’s my fault she went after you but… it just seem so unreal that a person would actually do that. I could never do that to someone. Never.”
“Well, every now and then a man does like to be grabbed—but not by a complete stranger and not in a filthy bathroom while your back is turned. But enough of that story—let me ask you a question.”
Zoe’s stomach dropped and she nearly dropped her beer.
Colton laughed, “Don’t look so scared!”
“Anything could come out of your mouth right now,” she said as she set her hands in her lap. “What?”
“You and my sister are complete opposites, in a lot of ways,” he said. “How on earth did you two become best friends?”
“Oh!” Zoe looked visibly relieved, which made Colton laugh. “I stood up for her when she was being harassed by some women on the street. It was on Times Square, I had just bought some CDs and I saw her surrounded by about three women who felt that she was poaching their territory. Min was trying to sell her beaded jewelry at the time.”
“Ah, I remember that phase,” Colton nodded.
“Anyway, they looked like they were about ready to jump her. I don’t know why I stepped in and pretended like I knew her and had her back. It was sorta stupid, actually, but I guess they were intimidated because I… well… was heavier then.” She shrank in her seat a little and reached out for her beer, only to knock it over. The liquid sloshed forward straight at Colton, who managed to jump out of his seat before he’d be forced to find another hand dryer. Zoe was out of her seat too. She quickly grabbed up the flowers and finger and checked them for damage.
“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed as Colton grabbed paper towels to mop up the spill. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me—I think I have really bad genes or something. I swear I can’t go a single day without spilling or breaking something. Did it get on you?”
“Nope,” Colton laughed. “It’s not a problem.”
“Actually, it is,” Zoe set her things down and helped him clean up. “I think I have a problem.”
Colton laughed and swiped one more paper towel over the table top, “I don’t think you have a problem. I think it’s sorta cute.”
“Cute to have beer in your lap every two seconds?” She asked, obviously flustered and frustrated. “I need a sippie cup.”
Laughing, Colton walked around the table and tugged her into his arms. The hug was unexpected and definitely welcome. Zoe was instantly aware that his arms completely wound around her entire body and that she was enveloped in his embrace.
He felt wonderful.
Colton drew back after a moment and then cupped her cheeks with his hands, tilting her head back. He stared at her for a long moment and his eyes flickered down to her lips before he slowly let her go. He laughed again and patted her shoulder in a brotherly way.
“You don’t need a sippie cup…”
She sank into her seat and stuffed the sodden towels into the empty glass. Luckily she didn’t have to dwell on it for much longer, the waitress brought out the cheese and jalapeno fries.
“Could we get another beer?” Colton asked. “We had a little accident.”
“Sure!” the waitress took up Zoe’s glass and walked away.
“You have to let me pay for the beers,” Zoe said desperately as she plucked two cheesy fries from the top of the plate. “I have a strict policy—if I spill, I buy. If I break, I buy. It only seems fair.”
“No,” Colton said.
The simple word left no real room for Zoe to argue, but she wanted to, she wanted to demand that he allow her to pay. He changed the topic to art and advertising and kept it there until a large platter of steamed, Cajun seasoned snow crab legs and shrimp arrived.
It was a messy meal, but something about seeing Colton working with his hands made it all tolerable. He had such agile fingers, Zoe decided; they were very precise in their movement and very capable of retrieving small bits of crab from the shell. And he was a good eater, despite the fact that they were eating with their hands, he didn’t seem at all barbaric. They enjoyed themselves, and after a second beer, Zoe forgot about counting calories and agreed to share a bowl of ice cream for dessert.
“So, I thought we could go to a movie in a few nights,” Colton said as he scraped a bit of melting ice cream from the side of the bowl. “Do you like classics or the newer stuff?”
“Anything,” she murmured as she pressed her lips over her spoon. She closed her eyes and savored every melting bit of the ice cream. “This is good,” she leaned closer to the bowl and made up a perfect spoonful that had a little bit of everything: chocolate, strawberry sauce, nuts, and caramel. Colton watched as she slowly brought it to her lips as if it were a decadent treat, and chuckled when at the last minute she gobbled ice cream and closed her eyes yet again to savor it.
“We could see a show too… if you like that stuff,” he said as he watched her face.
“Sure,” she nodded. Her eyes, slightly glassy from the beer, focused on the ice cream.
“Whatever is fine… I just like your company.”
“I like your company very much too,” Colton set his spoon down and sat back to watch her enjoy the rest of their dessert. “Are you busy Friday?”
“Nope,” Zoe laughed. “I’m never busy!” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I’m not saying that I’m a loser or anything, I mean, I do have a life.” She looked at the spoon she had been waving around and then at the ice cream. She set the utensil down and pushed the bowl closer to him as she sat back with a satisfied sigh. “Although you might not think that after Minnie and Paige suckered you into this.”
“There was no suckering,” Colton said as he swirled the last of his beer around. “I was happy to do it.”
“Was that the first lie of the night?” Zoe challenged.
Colton laughed, “No, not a lie—but perhaps I should rephrase?”
“Perhaps you should,” Zoe sat back heavily and then pressed her fingers to her temples.
Colton knew that she had had too much to drink, not that she was drunk or anything, but a few slurred words here and there had caused him to set his own beer aside.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but I needed this—maybe more than you.” He finished the last of his beer and then reached into his back pocket for his wallet; Zoe reached for her purse and Colton decided to ignore the bills she held out to him. “I’m sure Minnie told you about my… failed engagement?”
“Um… she vented,” Zoe nodded set the money down on the table. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Colton. You’re a wonderful man.”
He sighed and forced a smile. “I’ve been hanging on to something that’s probably never going to happen. I needed to get out and have some fun—mission accomplished. You’re great fun, Zoe.”
“Me too,” Zoe said as she patted his fingers. Colton laughed because he wasn’t too sure what she was responding to, but it didn’t matter, nothing mattered but the smile on her face. He paid for their meal and left a generous tip for the waitress, and as Zoe stood up slowly, slightly wobbly on her feet, he stealthily sli
pped the money back into her purse.
They left O’Shea’s and started walking up the block toward Zoe’s apartment.
“I could grab a cab,” Colton said as she bumped into him. She felt the warmth of his fingers on her back and shook her head no. The majority of their walk was silent, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence that they had first started out with while standing in line for beer and Skittles at Yankee’s stadium. It wasn’t the silence that made you scramble your brain to find something decent to say. It was pleasant. It was too short. Before either realized it, they were standing in front of Zoe’s building. She knew she should have felt tense at this point—would he kiss her?—and was thankful that she had a few beers in her system. She didn’t want to come off as frigid or inexperienced.
“I’ll call you in a couple days… about Friday.”
“In a couple days it will be Friday,” Zoe pointed out.
Colton looked at his shoes a small smile curled up one corner of his mouth. Zoe noticed his lips then—for the hundredth time that day. They were full and very inviting looking.
She felt hot all over when he sucked the lower lip into his mouth. When it popped out, slightly damp and even more inviting, she started to laugh. Laughing was better than exposing her true, lusty feelings. Colton seemed to relax at her laugh and smiled.
“Call you tomorrow,” he said as he stepped in to her. She thought he was going to kiss her, she really did, but in the end he just squeezed her around the shoulders and gave her another one of those brotherly pats. Not even a chaste peck to the forehead or cheek.
Majorly disappointing. “Do you have your key?”
She pulled them out of the pocket of her purse and nodded. “Thanks for everything, Colton,” she stepped back and ran into the bottom step and fell directly on her butt. She laughed as he hoisted her to her feet. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” his voice was a little husky. She stilled as his fingers moved against her cheek, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. The touch caused instant sobriety. Zoe felt her head clear as her heart began to race. He was only inches from her. His fingers were still lingering on her cheek when she realized that being one step up was definitely helpful in bringing their heads closer together. He wouldn’t have to bend over so much to kiss her. She could feel her pulse throbbing in her throat and was certain that he was close enough to see the vein moving just beneath her skin.
“Do you ever get hurt from falling?”
“No,” she answered breathlessly. “I don’t really fall a lot—I just knock things over.” She felt his hot breath on her cheek as he laughed. He smelled like beer. There was something highly amorous about that smell. Her nipples tightened instantly, which of course caused the blood pouring quickly to other places, which caused her entire body to tremble.
“Alright, I’m going to leave you here,” Colton said as he stepped back from her. The spell, though instantly broken, still lingered around them even when he was so far away.
Colton shifted back a little more and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Call you tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“Okay,” he smiled and started walking backwards. “Thanks for a great afternoon and evening, Zoe.”
“Yeah, thank you too!” She turned slowly, focused on the steps so she wouldn’t make an ass out of herself, and hurried to unlock the front door. Once the key was in and the door was open, she looked over her shoulder. Colton had moved to the curb and was hailing a taxi; he looked back at her as one pulled up and smiled. She nodded to him and then slipped into the apartment building, closing the door securely behind her.
She watched him through the dirty window in the door. As he climbed into the taxi she pressed the petals of her lilies to her face and breathed in the scent. The taillights of the cab disappeared after only a minute and Zoe was left standing there with her forehead pressed to the glass, fretting about something that Minnie and Paige failed to mention: How not to fall in love on a first date.
--
Lesson Six: “The feelings at the beginning of a relationship can be the most intense.
Find ways to relieve that tension, but don’t be afraid to feel.”
Colton ran the pad of his thumb over the buttons of his cordless phone while he stared at his toes, which were buried into the small shag rug that lay in front of his toilet and shower. It was around eight o’clock Thursday night and he hadn’t called Zoe to set up plans for their date the next night. He had thought about calling her all day and memorized the number after dialing it fifty times only to hang up before the first ring.
He didn’t know why it was so hard to call her. Their date had been a resounding success.
It had been ages since he’d had such a good time with a woman—or with anyone—and he hadn’t thought of Cara once while he was with Zoe. He’d been feeling extremely guilty about that lately—how easily he had forgotten about Cara. He’d had a great time with Zoe and definitely saw potential there. Although he had made an ass out of himself a few times by grabbing her hand, hugging her, and staring at her lips like he wanted to devour them. And he nearly did devour them on a few occasions, which was completely inappropriate behavior for a first date.
Completely inappropriate.
He wasn’t in college anymore; he wasn’t into casual sex like he had been in his past. He was older now and meaningfulness meant something to him. So why had he wanted to resort to his old ways and tear her clothes off? Lust, he decided. And he wasn’t dating Zoe to fall in love or lust, for that matter. He just wanted a friend to pass the time with and to keep his mind off Cara. Well, diverted from Cara—he may never stop thinking about her.
Zoe had done more than occupy his mind though, she had completely captivated him. All he could think about for hours after their date was the blissful, almost sexual way she had eaten the ice cream. He tried not to see it like that, like it was something she was doing to torment him. She was far too gentle and innocent to know that the way she had savored each bite had caused a considerable amount of strain in his jeans. Every time he saw her tongue dart out, he had grown a bit more uncomfortable. So much so that he hadn’t wanted to stand up at the end of their evening. He was glad she a few too many beers, or his problem would have been even more embarrassing.
Colton needed to slow things down a bit. According to the contract, he had two months to get in seven dates; he could stretch them out and be fine. He didn’t have to see her every weekend or every day; although, part of him wanted to. And he felt that it was completely unreasonable to want to be with her so often because he barely knew her. They were strangers with a somewhat odd and intense connection. A powerful connection if he let it become one, which he wouldn’t. He didn’t have to acknowledge and act on the intense feelings that rushed through him when he thought of Zoe. He didn’t want to get too involved too soon. He almost felt too vulnerable to even date, not with the guilt that pulsed inside of him every time he thought of Cara, who could return home at any time.
Colton knew he could control himself as far as Zoe was concerned. This wasn’t about sex or falling in love, it was about friendship. He could be friends with a woman. It was unfortunate that Zoe was so attractive, because it would make being her friend—and only a friend—harder. He would just slow things down until he didn’t feel the need to touch her all the time. A few more days in between dates would make things so much easier.
Fingers on the buttons, he rubbed his nape and dialed Zoe’s number. This time as it rang, he didn’t quickly hit end; he put the phone to his ear and sucked in a deep breath.
The call was picked up on the third ring, but it wasn’t Zoe.
“Hello?” Paige, the little girl who had started all of this, had a young-sounding voice on the phone, which was nothing like Zoe’s gentle alto tones. Paige’s phone voice was also nothing like the one she had used when she was discussing the contract. For some reason, the idea of talking to Paige made Colton feel more uncomfortable. Paige expected more
of him than Zoe did—and would probably ask pointed questions about his date.
Questions he didn’t want to answer.
“Hi there,” Colton stammered trying his best to sound confident. He stood and started pacing the floor of his small bathroom. Sweat beads formed at his temples and mixed with the damp droplets from his freshly shampooed hair making him feel hot. “Is Zoe around?”
“It’s HIM!” Paige’s muffled squeal pierced Colton’s ear. He heard quite a bit of girly giggling on the other end and couldn’t help but laugh. “He sounds so cute on the phone,” he heard Paige say, followed quickly by, “I didn’t say it that loud!” Colton smiled as he waited for Zoe to take the phone.
“I’m sorry,” Zoe said breathlessly into his ear. He switched the phone to his other ear and rubbed the tickle that her voice had left in the other. He could hear Paige in the background, whispering something—pointers on what Zoe should say maybe. “She’s…
twelve, you can’t blame her, I guess.”
Her voice, soft and gentle as if she were sitting across from him, telling him what a good man he was, did crazy things to Colton’s heart. His chest squeezed and blood rushed downward making the cold shower he had just taken to get her out of his mind completely obsolete. It also confirmed his belief that he needed a little time apart to sort out his head.
“Hey,” He said nonchalantly. “How are you?”
“Good,” Zoe answered. “It’s sleepover night. Paige and Minnie are here—hounding me about Wednesday. I hope that they’ve given you a break, I asked them not to pester you.”
“I’ve actually was pretty shocked that Minnie wasn’t waiting for me on my front porch Wednesday night,” Colton slowly sat back down on the lid of his toilet. “Having a good day?”
“Sure,” Zoe said. She put him on hold for a minute, he couldn’t hear what she was saying, but when she returned it was much quieter on her end of the line. “It’s just a normal day. You know, sometimes I really hate these slumber parties. I have them because Paige likes sleeping over at my place and it’s the only way her mother will agree to it, but it’s not without its faults.” She sighed dramatically and lowered her voice to a scandalized tone, “The girls are trying to make me summon Bloody Mary. Do little boys do that when they have sleepovers?”
Microsoft Word - Starter Boyfriend.doc Page 10