Not My Type : Golden Girls 1

by Veronica Adler

  Chapter 14 - Eve

  I woke up with a start from a horrifying dream in which my teeth had decayed due to a lack of care. I groaned and ran my tongue along my teeth, feeling them still there. Awesome. The dream had to be a sign that I needed to stop canceling on my dentist.

  I groaned, stretching, and turning over onto my back. My mouth was as dry as the Nevada desert, and my head pounded with each heartbeat. I pulled the blanket over my head, shifting around on the bed to find a comfortable spot. This middle of the night waking up was happening more and more lately and I knew that once I fell asleep again, I would sleep like the dead.

  My leg hit something under the blanket that, even in my half-asleep state, caused a jolt of panic to run through my system. I froze, slowly gathering the courage to reach out and feel along my bed for the serial killer who was currently sharing it with me. My hand brushed against a solid wall of muscle. From the feel of fine hair under my fingers, I assumed it was an arm—I hoped! God, I was turning into the heroine of a B horror movie. The cherry on top would be waking up next to a dead body.

  I moved my hand further up and felt the rise and fall of a hard, solid chest. Okay, so whoever this man was, he was still alive. Phew. I cracked open my eyes to slits. Darkness hung heavy and thick in the room. Then I realized that I still had the blanket pulled over my face. I pulled it down a smidge and peeked over it. The room was unfamiliar, the blanket a rich, deep blue, instead of the brightly colored one I used. It was too clean in here, everything neatly organized and in its place. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this room in an interior decorating magazine and they wouldn’t even have to set it up. It was already perfect. And I didn’t belong here.

  I tried to remember what happened last night. The bar, Daniel and Ian, the beach, the bar again, and another one after that, and another after that. The kiss. The kiss that made my soul tingle. It had to be the best kiss of my life and none other could measure up to it. With the water lapping gently around my calves, the moon shining full and bright in the sky, and Daniel looking so handsome and standing so close to me, the only thing I had wanted was to kiss him.

  I heard a deep inhale beside me and I froze, all thoughts of the kiss disappearing. I didn’t believe for one second that Sheila, or even Daniel, would let me go home with a stranger. Which meant…I turned my head, my heart lodged in my throat. My eyes landed on a sleeping Daniel. He was on his back, his head turned towards me, dark hair rumpled.

  Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle any surprised noise I might have made. What had I done? Had I done anything? I could feel that I was still fully dressed, and I lifted the blanket to see my clothes with my own eyes to make sure they were indeed on my body. Yup, fully dressed. Okay, then nothing happened. That’s good. The clock on the nightstand blinked 4:33 am, which was predictable because my body was so used to waking up at this time, it didn’t even care that I could have a massive hangover.

  I looked back at Daniel, who was sleeping peacefully. His mouth was parted, lips soft and kissable. I almost leaned in and kissed him again. He looked beautiful sleeping too, and I just wanted to sit there and keep staring at him sleep. It was time to get out of there.

  I slid out of bed slowly and smoothly, stealing glances at Daniel to make sure he didn’t wake up. I didn’t want to make this exit awkward. My phone and purse were on the nightstand, I picked up both. I smoothed the blanket, tiptoeing around the bed to the door. With one last look at Daniel over my shoulder, I quietly opened the door and stepped out.

  Houses were so quiet and secretive in the early morning. Daniel’s was especially secretive to me. I was in his space. The place where he came to rest, to sleep, to shed off the exhaustion of his day. I was in a cave of wonders. I wanted to explore every nook and cranny and learn all of Daniel’s secrets. Maybe next time, when I had the time.

  I tiptoed down the hall and the stairs which opened into the foyer and living room. I should have turned to the front door, my slingbacks sitting right in front of it. Then I spied the picture frames on the mantel of the fireplace. The curiosity was too much. I stopped at the foot of the stairs, listening for any movements above. All I heard was silence.

  The house was neat, with minimalist décor. The house looked well lived in with an old throw tossed over the couch, a book with a bookmark sticking out of it placed on the coffee table. At the same time, it felt like Daniel didn’t spend enough time here. Maybe he needed an excuse to be home more, like a pet. Then again, what did I know? I worked all the time, too.

  I padded across the living room to inspect the photos. One was of Daniel, Sienna, Emily, and a young girl who I assumed was their younger sister, Kailin. Another of Daniel with his father—who was an older version of Daniel—and his step-mother, Lisa. Daniel with Ian, both wearing scuba gear. Daniel with a cute German Shephard. Daniel carrying a kayak, looking devastatingly handsome with his messy hair and smirk. That smirk was murder.

  I had spent the night with this man, and yes, we hadn’t done anything worth panicking over—not yet, anyway. Every tiny molecule in my body wanted to turn around, walk back up the stairs and get back into bed with Daniel. So, naturally, I turned around, picked up my shoes, and walked out the door.

  The third time my brother looked at his watch, I had the unprecedented urge to throw something at him. Elijah was always in a hurry because he was a businessman and time meant money. Or something like that. Just before he checked his watch, he was in a heated text argument with his head chef because he wanted to change the dinner menu and Elijah didn’t want to mess with a good thing.

  “Will you put that thing away?” I asked in frustration. “You’ve been here for thirty minutes and you’ve spent twenty-nine of them staring at your phone.”

  “You would be upset too if Sheila suddenly decided to change everything good about the bakery,” Elijah said, still frowning at his phone.

  “That is never going to happen,” I said. “I am quite capable of turning a good thing bad on my own.”

  I pushed my tablet towards him, the screen showing yet another bad review I had received. This one wasn’t as brash as Leslie A. Roth’s. It put me down gently, saying I had lost the magic that made me a household name.

  Elijah scoffed without even reading the article.

  “How many times do I have to tell you not to read these reviews?”

  “It’s a compulsion. Don’t judge me.”

  I pulled the tablet back and opened it up again, re-reading the article for the fifteenth time that day. Elijah snatched it out of my hand and powered it off, placing it far out of my reach.

  “I’ll judge you as much as I want,” Elijah said. “Can we get back to the topic?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, were we discussing something? Because I thought I was just the third wheel to whatever was happening between you and your phone.”

  “You would be angry too if Sheila suddenly decided to change one of your recipes,” Elijah said.

  There was a knock on the door right before it opened and Sheila peeked around the corner. She looked at Elijah and then at me, widening her eyes and jerking her head backward.

  I shrugged, shaking my head. Sheila narrowed her eyes, widened them again, and jerked her head back.

  “Is there something wrong with your head?” Elijah asked dryly.

  Sheila blushed, and my eyebrows raised in surprise and amusement. Since when did she blush?

  “There’s someone here to see you,” she said through gritted teeth, smiling widely.

  “A client?” I asked. I looked at my wall calendar and saw there wasn’t any booking for today. It’s why I had invited Elijah to come meet me in the first place.

  “No, it’s a personal thing,” Sheila said. She widened her eyes meaningfully, and once again, I failed to understand her.

  “You have a boyfriend?” Elijah asked, startling me.

  “What? No!”

  I looked at Sheila to confirm this but she stared back at me bla
nkly. I exhaled loudly and stood up, stalking over to the door and pulling it open all the way. Sheila stepped away hurriedly and I walked down the short hallway and exited into the front of the bakery before coming to an abrupt halt.

  Daniel was standing by one of the windows that looked out onto the street.

  Chapter 15 – Eve

  I was aware of people watching me, the customers who recognized me. I cleared my throat and wiped my hands on the front of my jeans, then looked down at myself to see what I was wearing. Ripped blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a gold crown on it—a novelty thing my father had made when I was deemed the Queen of Cupcakes—and red chucks. My hair was probably a mess. Was I wearing make-up? I couldn’t remember, and I had no time to check.

  I walked swiftly across the bakery, my heart in my throat, and stopped in front of Daniel. The way he watched me, intensely from behind heavy-lidded eyes, made my blood race. I could hear the whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of my blood pumping in my ears.

  “This is a surprise,” I said.

  “Almost as surprising as going to bed with someone and waking up to see them gone,” Daniel said. “Then not hearing from them for two days. I thought you had been abducted right out of bed.”

  “You could have called me,” I said.

  “I texted you and you didn’t reply,” he countered. I grimaced. His eyes shifted and he looked over my shoulder. He stood up to his full height, his expression clearing. I looked behind me and saw my brother and Sheila standing just behind the counter. Elijah looking dismayed and Sheila barely containing her excitement.

  “Let’s talk outside,” I said, turning back to Daniel.

  I led the way outside into the bright sunshine. We stood close to the brick wall of the bakery, just slightly under the awning and away from the door. I pressed my back against the wall, my hands behind me. Daniel stood in front of me, close enough that it caused my heart to thud furiously at his nearness. I tilted my head back, looking up at him.

  “So, here we are,” he said.

  “Here we are,” I said. “You came to see me. How can I help?”

  Daniel fingered a curl of my hair that had escaped my bun. My eyes dropped down to his mouth. The same mouth I had kissed two days ago and haven’t stopped thinking about since.

  “I was thinking I could help you,” Daniel said. Help me? Here I was thinking he wanted to talk about our kiss, or me leaving his house like a burglar in the early morning.

  “Help me? With baking?”

  I imagined him wearing my pink apron and covered in flour. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud.

  Daniel chuckled softly. “No, you don’t want me baking. I was thinking I could help you get over your fear of water.”

  I scratched my forehead. I had forgotten I told him that. Gah! I must have had a lot to drink if I told him that.

  “I’m good,” I said lightly. I didn’t need help from a man who had no fear. Was there an adventure sport he hadn’t tried? I was going to die if I went with him.

  “Surfing can help. Think of it as meditation,” Daniel said.

  My laugh was loud and sharp. My voice was squeaky when I could finally speak. “You expect me to go surfing? On the water?”

  “Would you rather go snowboarding?”

  “I would rather live,” I countered.

  Daniel stopped playing with my hair and moved his eyes to mine. If we were anywhere else, this would be romantic. If my brother wasn’t on the other side of this wall, wishing he had laser beams to easily kill Daniel with.

  “I would never let anything hurt you,” Daniel said softly, emphasizing never. Had he moved closer? The fingers of his other hand brushed lightly against the skin revealed between the gap of my waistband and t-shirt. My stomach quivered with my sharply inhaled breath.

  “I can’t. I’m…busy,” I whispered. He moved his thumb along my waistband and slipped it inside. My heart stuttered as Daniel wrapped his fingers around my waist and squeezed once.

  “For the rest of your life?” He whispered huskily.

  I gave a jerky nod. “Much like a heroine in a romance novel or a Hallmark movie, I am too busy with my work and the seventy cats I plan on adopting to date the handsome, successful man I am mildly attracted to.”

  A shocked laugh escaped Daniel. I gave an embarrassed shrug at my stream-of-conscious blurting. Honestly, though, I did feel like a romance novel heroine each time my thoughts did this push and pull game with Daniel.

  “How about we meet tomorrow morning? You can pull an hour out of your day for the man you’re mildly attracted to.”

  I shook my head rapidly. Even if I wanted to say yes, my fear wouldn’t let me. It was all liquid courage that night. It was why I put my hand in Daniel’s and let him lead me into the water, and why I kissed him. He had looked so beautiful under the moonlight with the wind playing with his hair and the water lapping at our feet. It was as romantic a moment as it could get.

  Daniel sighed, taking his hands off me and stepping back. I suddenly became aware of the fact that we were standing on a public street. For a moment I had gotten so lost in Daniel, I forgot where we were.

  Daniel was looking down at the sidewalk, massaging his jaw with one hand. His eyes, when they looked up at me, were so intense I was pinned to my place.

  “Have you ever wondered what’s on the other side of your fear?” He asked.

  I frowned, confused by what he was asking. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re afraid of the water, right?”

  I nodded.

  “And what’s on the other side of that fear?”

  “Are you trying to confuse me? There’s nothing on the other side.”

  Daniel raised his eyebrows meaningfully. I chuckled softly, rolling my eyes.

  “Did you minor in philosophy or something?”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at La Jolla beach. That way you won’t have to drive too far.”

  “I haven’t agreed to come,” I protested.

  Daniel looked at the door of the bakery and then up at the black awning where Sugar Bliss was spelled out in cursive gold letters. I didn’t like that pastel colors were associated with sweet, sugary desserts, which was why I had chosen black and gold as the signature colors for the bakery. No one expected delicious baked goods to come in a black box.

  “Something tells me you don’t shy away from a challenge and you’re not the sort to let anything hold you back,” he said, looking back at me.

  I opened my mouth to protest but he leaned in causing me to shut my mouth. He came in so close I thought he was going to kiss me. I held my breath, watching the trajectory of his mouth. Just as I thought he was going to press his lips against mine and my eyes started to flutter close, Daniel sideswiped my mouth and pressed his to my cheek instead. His lips were on my cheek for a brief two seconds before he turned and walked away.

  I stepped out into the cold air at 5:06 am, shivering and pulling my jacket tighter around my body. I had pulled my hair into a ponytail and it whipped around, almost hitting me in the face. I spit out loose strands of my hair that ended up in my mouth.

  The ocean was restless, the waves so big only the most experienced surfers could tackle them and maybe even they chose to stay back. The ocean and clouds were both an imposing grey.

  “We’re going to die,” I muttered.

  “I won’t let that happen,” Daniel whispered in my ear from behind. I jumped, looking at him over my shoulder. He had snuck up behind me.

  “I’m a queen, Daniel. I’m supposed to live a long time,” I said.

  Daniel’s mouth twitched. “Pretty sure the only people who are supposed to live that long are Queen Elizabeth and Betty White.”

  “Those two will battle it out at the end of the world, anyhow,” I said. “I just want to stick around long enough to watch it.”

  Someone screamed down at the beach and I turned around, wide-eyed. A man popped out of the ocean, pushing back his long hair, and walked
out of the water, hooting loudly and carrying his surfboard on his shoulder. For a second, I had let myself block out the thought of getting into that water.

  “Daniel, this is crazy,” I said. “I am not like you. I don’t do crazy adventure stunts and I am not getting in that water.”

  Daniel looked behind me, at the waves and the clouds that threatened summer rain. A wrinkle appeared between his brows and his mouth dipped down into a frown.

  “You’re right, these aren’t ideal conditions,” Daniel said. “But you are here and it would be a shame if you left without getting your feet wet.”

  He winked and walked around me, taking the path that led to the beach. I stared after him, debating whether I should get in my car and go home or take the chance to be with him. Nothing was waiting for me at home, and work just meant more worry and stress about the fact that I had lost my talent. Why did I prefer to lie to myself and say I didn’t want to be with Daniel when in reality I couldn’t stop thinking about him? I was an adult and this wasn’t the first time I was attracted to a man.

  I locked my car and followed Daniel to the beach, treading through the sand and coming to stand next to him. He was looking at the ocean, his hands in the pockets of his shorts.

  “By the way,” he said, looking down at me. “I don’t do crazy adventure stunts.”

  I snorted. “I saw the photos on your mantel. You jumped out of a plane, you climbed mountains, you did river rafting and the list goes on. You would make an excellent spy.”

  Daniel held out his hand in front of us.

  “Come on.”

  I looked between him, his hand, and the crashing, rising waves that were coming as far as we were standing. I groaned and grudgingly put my hand in his. He squeezed it once and my heart rate increased, partly due to the fear and partly because of Daniel. His hand was strong, the skin toughened from years of adventures.