“Of course, you do silly. Why do you look so nervous? Haven’t you spoken to a girl before?” Brooke questioned him with a raised eyebrow.
“Not one as pretty as you…” he mumbled under his breath, hoping she wouldn’t hear him.
“Hmm?” Brooke tilted her head.
“Nothing,” Justin answered quickly before pulling his phone out of his back pocket and handing it to her. “Here.”
Brooke grabbed it and smiled, putting her information in. When she handed back the phone, Justin was surprised to see that she had put her name as ‘Brooke <3.’
“Are you less than three?” Justin asked, trying to be funny. Brooke’s warm smile broke out as she laughed at his remark.
“Silly! It’s a heart. See.” Her finger moved along the screen, hovering above it so she wouldn’t actually touch it. She moved in closer to show him that the little symbol did indeed look like a heart. “See?” she said again, her face a lot nearer to his than she expected. The close quarters felt intimate. Too intimate for someone she’d just met.
Her cheeks flushed, and her heart skipped a beat. It was only then that she realized how handsome Chase really was, with his smooth, friendly face and adorable shag of hair. As she peered into his dark eyes, she felt her attraction to him grow, which only caused her cheeks to redden even more. She pulled away, sitting properly in her seat before she did something completely stupid like kiss an almost stranger.
“Yeah. That’s cute,” Justin answered.
“How’s everything going for you two?” Katy’s honey-like voice suddenly sounded, breaking them away from their little world. Both of them looked up at her like they’d just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Katy noticed their tete-a-tete and grinned. I still have it! What ‘it’ was remained a mystery, but Katy instantly knew who would make a perfect couple. It was like a sixth sense of some kind. She’d seen Brooke and had thought instantly of Justin. Then, like magic, he walked through the door at the perfect moment. All she had to do was switch two plates and let nature take its course. Katy’s heart warmed. It made her enormously happy to see the first blushes of young love.
“How’s the food?” Katy asked the couple.
Justin turned away from Brooke and toward Katy, asking, “What happened? This was the first time you’ve messed up my order.”
For some reason, Justin had a much easier time talking to Katy than he did with Brooke. Maybe it was because he already knew Cupid’s owner. When he looked at Brooke however, he could feel his breath hitch, his pulse quicken, and his heart thunder. It left him unsettled, a ball of nervousness sitting heavily in his gut, but Katy had a calming effect that allowed him to speak freely and naturally.
“Really?” Katy said, her eyes widened, looking like the picture of innocence.
Justin didn’t believe it for a second. Katy was well-known for her matchmaking. It was the first time she’d tried it on him, though. Justin looked at Brooke and couldn’t fault her taste. Brooke was gorgeous and smart. It was the gorgeous part he was having trouble with. He was a super geek and would never stand a chance with a girl that looked like Brooke. She could have any guy she wanted.
He narrowed his eyes at Katy. “Yeah. You gave me a BLT with no bacon, and then you gave Brooke, a vegetarian, my sandwich with extra bacon.”
“Oh, I must be a little scatterbrained today, but at least you two got to meet one another.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
Justin didn’t trust that look, but said, “I guess you’re right.”
“Why don’t you two take advantage of this mishap and go on a date together? I think you two would make a lovely couple,” Katy said nonchalantly.
Justin’s face turned a bright red, as did Brooke’s. Both of them were at a loss for words.
“C’mon, don’t be shy.” Her voice was chipper as she grabbed their plates and started to clean up the area.
Justine wanted to kill Katy. She was not only matchmaking, she was close to forcing Brooke to go on a date with him out of a sense of guilt. He didn’t date often, but he didn’t need Katy’s help to get a date.
“I wouldn’t mind,” Brooke volunteered, looking at Justin from under her eyelashes. “I think it could be fun. I need a study break anyway.”
Justin’s world flipped on its head. He peered over at Brooke. He wasn’t an expert on women, but she seemed sincere in her interest. She really wants to go out with me? That’s a surprise. Justin struggled to get the words out. “Oh, in that case…are you free this evening?”
“Let me check.” Brooke grabbed her phone once again, looking at her calendar. “Yep!”
“See, look at that.” Katy’s face feigned innocence as she looked from Justin to Brooke, seeing that instant connection between the two of them, even if they somehow failed to see it themselves. Or rather, they didn’t want to admit it. Yet.
“Is there any place you’d like to go?” Justin swiveled in his chair to face Brooke.
“I’m pretty flexible,” she answered, non-decidedly.
“I was going to offer to take you out to the Bay, but as a marine biologist, I’m sure you’ve been out there a bunch of times before and would be bored by that. Right?” Justin rushed his words together. As a studious and slightly shy graduate student, he had rarely had the time or necessary bravery required for dating.
“I’d love to go to the Bay,” Brooke answered politely, a warm smile on her face. “I don’t get to go out there as often as I’d like. I just applied for a position at the Aquarium, so hopefully I’ll get it. Otherwise, I might have to go out to the East Coast after I graduate,” Brooke explained.
“Yeah, graduation is soon right? So, if you don’t get accepted you’d leave soon after?” Justin’s voice was already crestfallen. Here he was, about to have a date with a gorgeous girl and even if things went well, he would have to say goodbye to her in just a few, short weeks.
“Unfortunately.” Brooke frowned. “But in any case, I’d love to go to the Bay with you. Tonight, around eight sound good?” she offered, tilting her head.
“Sounds great. You can text me your address, and I’ll pick you up,” Justin stammered.
“Perfect. I’ll catch you later then. I really should get back to studying.” With that, she set several bills on the counter next to her plate. She grabbed her backpack and made her way out of the diner.
Justin instantly let out a sigh of relief. Had he really just managed to get a date with one of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen? He smiled smugly at his accomplishment.
“So, how did it go?” Katy asked, popping out of nowhere once again.
“We’re going out tonight. Thanks for the encouragement by the way. I probably never would have asked her out on my own,” Justin admitted.
“Even the best of us need a little push now and again.” She smiled, her green eyes shining like jewels. “Can I get you something else? A sundae maybe?” Katy offered.
“No, I’m okay, but can I ask you something, Katy?”
“Sure. Go for it.” She started wiping down the counter.
“Well… do you think Brooke and I could ever work? I mean she’s completely stunning. Totally out of my league. Plus, I’m a meat lover, and she’s a vegetarian, so would it ever work?” Justin wrung his fingers together as he thought about all their differences and those were the ones he knew of!
“You’d be surprised what kind of people end up together. Don’t count yourself out just yet. I think you have a good shot with her. She seems like a nice girl, and you’re a good guy, so why wouldn’t it work?” Katy straightened herself out and placed her hands on her hips. “At least give it a try. Stop being so nervous.” She gave Justin’s arm a slight squeeze.
To Katy’s eyes, Justin looked like a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but she knew that Brooke was the girl for him. He’d be fine.
“Thanks, Katy. Sometimes I wonder if your last name isn’t some kind of omen or something.”
; “What do you mean?” She asked innocently.
Katy knew exactly what he meant. She knew what everyone thought, but how could she ever explain what she just knew in her heart?
“Katherine Cupid. You don’t think it’s an odd coincidence?”
Katy shrugged. What else could she do? “I just run a diner. Nothing more.”
Chapter Three
At 8:00 PM on the dot, Justin parked his car outside Brooke’s apartment. It was in a nice, residential area. He surveyed the property, seeing freshly trimmed grass and flower boxes at the windows. It was obvious that Brooke or whoever else lived here, took great pride in the presentation of the apartment.
A little nervous, he got out of the car and fixed his hair. Maybe he really did need a haircut. He examined himself in the wing mirror for a few seconds. Yeah, a haircut would be good, but it was too late for that now. Justin sighed as he turned back toward the apartment building. He could feel his hands shaking by his side and his stomach twisting around. His nervousness increased the longer he stood there looking at Brooke’s apartment. Finally, he took that first step forward, propelling him up to the house. Taking a steadying breath, he knocked on the door.
All was silent for a moment before he heard the sound of someone descending the stairs. “Coming!” Brooke’s sweet voice broke through. Seconds later, the door swung open. She was in form-fitting, dark blue skinny jeans that showed off her curves. The blue scarf wrapped around her neck complimented her simple white blouse.
“Wow… you look stunning,” Justin blurted out before he could stop himself.
“Thank you…” she whispered, suddenly feeling a little shy.
“Sorry… I didn’t mean to make things awkward.”
“No. No. It’s fine.” She offered a warm smile that helped dissipate the awkward tension that had built up between them. “Should we get going then? How long is the drive?”
“About fifteen minutes or so,” Justin answered.
“Well, let’s go then. I’m excited.” Brooke grabbed Justin’s hand and drug him toward his car. His eyes grew big as he reveled in her touch. It was electrifying. He felt her fingers tighten around his hand, and he wondered if she was nervous about their date, too.
Once they reached the car, Justin let go of her hand and sprinted forward to open the door for her, wanting to be a gentleman. “Here you are,” he said quickly. Brooke looked up at him, admiring his kind face and intelligent looking eyes. So this guy was attractive and polite. Brooke couldn’t believe her luck.
“Thank you, kind sir.” She said playfully as she got in. Justin then entered the car as well and started to drive off toward the Bay. After about fifteen minutes, Brooke spoke up. “Are we almost there?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Justin’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel.
“We’re lost, aren’t we?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look so tense?”
“No reason.”
“Justin. We’re lost, aren’t we?” Brooke pressed as she noticed Justin’s eyes glancing at every sign on the road.
“No.”
“Why don’t we stop and put the address into our phones or something?”
“No. Really. I got it,” Justin repeated.
“I can check while you’re driving.” Brooke started to pull her phone out of her pocket.
“Really, it’s not necessary.”
Brooke raised an eyebrow when she saw the road block in front of them. I never believed that men were too stubborn to stop and ask for directions, but now I’m seeing it in action.
“You just drove us down a dead-end street. I’m doing it.” Brooke started typing the address into her phone.
Justin sighed, hanging his head slightly. It was their first date, and he was already making a fool of himself.
“It says you need to turn around and take a right on the first street,” Brooke explained.
Justin put the car into reverse and performed a three-point turn. From that point forward, he followed Brooke’s directions to a tee until they finally arrived at the Bay’s pier.
“We made it.” Justin sighed in relief. He just wanted to get out of the car. That little mishap had really gotten to his head. If he couldn’t even get Brooke to the Bay without getting lost, would she want to go out with him again in the future?
“Good job,” Brooke said as she turned off the navigation on her phone and stepped out of the car. “Wow. The night’s perfect.” She commented, feeling the breeze caress her skin.
“Yeah,” Justin said and walked over to her. “I thought that we could go out into the Bay.”
“What do you mean?” Brooke inquired, tilting her head and fixing her scarf.
“I thought we could take a boat out into the water. I have the keys to the lab’s boat. I don’t think Professor Kent would mind.”
“You want to take out Professor Kent’s boat without his permission? Are you crazy?” Brooke seemed horrified. “If he finds out I’m going to fail that class for sure.”
“It’ll be okay. I promise.” He offered a warm smile.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“And this isn’t like the directions when you were also positive?”
Justin’s cheeks instantly colored at her accurate comment.
“You aren’t just saying all this to impress me, are you?” Brooke asked.
“No. Of course not…” Justin rubbed the back of his neck. “Come on. It’ll be fine.” In his embarrassment, he absentmindedly grabbed her hand. He paused a moment as he felt the shock of electricity shoot up his arm and straight to his heart as if Cupid himself had shot him with one of his arrows. Before things could get too awkward, he stepped forward, walking onto the pier. He guided her toward the docks, looking through the various boats until he found the small vessel that belonged to his lab. In all honesty, he had never piloted it himself. But how hard could it be?
He winced at that thought but put it out of his mind and tried to focus on Brooke. “Here we are.”
“It looks a bit small,” Brooke observed as she compared the boat’s size to all the surrounding vessels.
“It’s perfectly safe,” Justin said as he jumped onto the back of the boat. It rocked horribly.
Brooke backed away, watching it teeter in the water.
“Come on. I won’t let you fall.” He held out his arms and looked up into her beautiful green eyes, urging her to take the leap of faith. “I’ll catch you. I promise.”
Brooke played with the end of her scarf nervously as she looked from Justin to the water between the dock and the boat. She shuddered to think what would happen if Justin didn’t catch her. Of course, she could swim, but for some reason, she felt crippled with fear. “You promise?” Brooke asked hesitantly.
“I promise,” Justin answered reassuringly.
“O…Okay.” Brooke took the jump onto the boat. As promised, Justin caught her in his arms. Her breath caught as she felt his body brush against her own. Her heart rocketed in her chest, and his warm body pressed tightly around her, making her feel safe and protected.
Justin whispered, “I told you you’d be safe with me.”
She looked up, their faces were only inches apart. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart pounded so loud that she could barely hear anything else.
“T… Thank you,” Brooke muttered.
Justin blinked, breaking the spell. He let go of her and said, “Make yourself at home. I’m going to start up the engine.”
Justin left Brooke all alone. She sat down in the captain’s seat and tried to compose herself. She hadn’t expected to react so strongly to Justin. Sure he was cute, but she couldn’t remember her heart ever beating this hard. It was still going incredibly fast. She wondered if Justin felt the same way. He seemed so at ease when he held her, not flustered and breathless like her.
After about ten minutes, Brooke began to wonder what was taking so long. She got up and looked around th
e boat. She found Justin at the aft, his t-shirt soaked with sweat. He stood there, wiping his brow. In front of him were twin motors, but both of them were off.
“Are you okay?” Brooke asked as she descended the small steps to the motors’ platform.
“Yeah. Totally.”
“You know, you’re a really bad liar.” Brooke chuckled.
“Well, if you want me to be completely honest then I should let you know we are in for the shortest boat ride ever.”
“What’s the problem?”
“I can’t get the motors to start.” Justin hung his head and stared at his sneakers.
“What do you have to do to turn them on?”
“You pull this cord. It’s like a lawn mower, more or less,” Justin explained.
“This thing?” Brooke pointed to a small, black handle. She tugged on it, but it was rather heavy. “I can see why you are having difficulty with it. Maybe we can pull it together?” Brooke offered.
“That might work.” Justin thought for a moment before nodding. He placed his hand on the handle before Brooke placed hers on top. They looked at each other for a fleeting moment, feeling that connection between them. Justin broke eye contact first.
He tried to ignore the tingling spark moving along his skin and concentrate on the task at hand. “On the count of 3.” Justin took a deep breath, feeling the blood rushing through his veins. “1… 2… 3!” Justin shouted and together, in perfect sync, they yanked the cord back. To their relief, the motors hummed to life.
“Success!” Brooke yelled out, a proud look on her face.
“Wow… it actually worked,” Justin remarked. “Okay… now step two, piloting this thing.”
“Pilot it? Why wouldn’t you call it driving?”
“Well if it were a sailboat, you would sail it. A ship you would steer, but for those smaller motorized boats, the general term is pilot,” Justin instructed.
Cafe Love: Cupid's Cafe Box Set Books 2-4 Page 2