When Two Becomes One

by E. L. Todd

  He nodded.

  “You never mix it up?”

  He shrugged. “I’m predictable.”

  I poured his coffee then set it on the counter. This time, I didn’t tell him the total. I just got his change and handed it back to him. “Do you work nearby?”

  “A few miles away. I like coming here because it’s usually dead—and quiet.”

  “With the exception of the blender.”

  He smiled slightly as he put the cash in his wallet.

  Was he ever going to ask me out? Was he interested in me? Or did he flirt with everybody?

  He shoved his wallet back into his pocket then grabbed his coffee.

  He wasn’t going to. I’d never been nervous to ask out a guy before but now I was. “You want to go out for a drink sometime?” After I said it, I realized it wasn’t so hard. He would either accept my offer and I would be thrilled, or he would say no and I would move on.

  A slight reaction happened in his eyes, like he was surprised by what I just asked. He set his cup on the counter again like he intended to stay. “I would love to.”

  My heart did a backflip.

  “I assumed you had a boyfriend. Pretty girls like you aren’t usually available.”

  I tried to stop my cheeks from tinting but I knew I was failing. “You’re in luck.”

  “I am.” He pulled out his phone and asked for my number. “Are you busy on Friday?”

  “With you.”

  His eyes lightened slightly. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I look forward to it, Frankie.” He gave me one final look before he grabbed his coffee and walked to the table.

  I grabbed a towel and started wiping down the counters and appliances. My hands were shaking because I was so excited. My heart was pounding and my feet wouldn’t stay still.

  I had a date with Mr. Handsome.

  First Date

  Francesca

  “Let me check your hair one more time.” Marie grabbed the curling iron and made a few more spirals in the back of my hair. Then she sprayed it with hairspray. “Okay. Now it’s perfect.”

  She was making this into a much bigger deal than she needed to. “It’s just a date.”

  “But this guy is hot.”

  “All my dates are hot.”

  “But Hawke is a whole new category.” She turned me around and looked me up and down. “You look great. He’s going to be drooling all over you.”

  “He is hot and he seems really nice. But he’s a regular person like you and me.”

  It didn’t seem like Marie heard a word I said. “I’ll be out until past midnight so you guys can have some privacy.” She gave me a dramatic wink.

  “I’m not going to sleep with him.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “I don’t know him.”

  “What do you need to know?” she asked. “He’s hot. End of story.”

  Marie and I operated our love lives in very different ways. Sometimes her approach was better and sometimes mine was. “We’ll see how it goes.”

  “I put some condoms in your nightstand just in case.”

  “Marie!”

  “What?” she asked innocently. “You never know. Maybe he’ll forget to bring some.”

  “You’re so—”

  There was a knock on the door.

  Marie clapped her hands excitedly. “He’s here!”

  “Oh my god, you sound like a mom.”

  “I’m your best friend so I am kind of like a mom.”

  “No, your best friend is supposed to be cool,” I argued. “And a mom is supposed to be annoying.”

  “Whatever.” She waved my comment away. “Answer the door. I want to see the look on his face when he sees you.”

  It took all my strength not to roll my eyes. I wore denim jeans with a black tube top. I figured we would go somewhere low key so there was no reason to dress up. I liked this top because it made me look skinnier than I really was. Plus, I had nice shoulders. I wasn’t a fan of my legs so that’s why I wore jeans.

  I opened the door and saw Hawke on the doorstep. It was the first time I’d seen him in jeans. They hung low on his hips, and he wore Vans on his feet. His gray t-shirt fit him nicely. It showed the strength of his chest and the tightness of his stomach. And naturally, his face was beautiful. “Hi.” I tried not to make it obvious I was checking him out so thoroughly.

  Hawke wasn’t discreet about it. He looked me up and down with obvious approval in his eyes. He stared at my shoulders then moved down my waist. His eyes moved to my face last, and once they were there, they didn’t leave. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks. You look good in regular clothes.”

  Hawke gave me that partial smile. “I look good in pretty much anything.” He had a playful look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t as arrogant as he sounded. “Are you ready?”

  “Let me grab my clutch.” I stepped inside and grabbed it from the table.

  Marie was standing there like a nosey schoolgirl.

  Hawke spotted her from the doorway. “I recognize you. From the coffee shop, right?”

  “Yep.” She walked to the door and shook his hand. “Frankie and I are roommates.”

  “Very cool.” Hawke dropped his hand. “Seems like a fun place to work.”

  “If you like people who get grouchy over coffee,” Marie said with a laugh.

  “And getting fat from all the pastries,” I added.

  Hawke smiled. “It doesn’t look like either of you girls struggle with that.”

  Marie leaned toward me and whispered, “I like him more.”

  I needed to get out of there before Marie embarrassed me. “Good night.” I grabbed Hawke’s arm and pulled him with me.

  “Night.” Marie waved from the front door like an annoying parent.

  Hawke chuckled as he walked beside me. “You guys are close, huh?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  We reached his truck and he opened the passenger door for me. “Good friends are hard to find. It’s a good thing you two have each other.” He shut the door once I was inside then got behind the wheel.

  “Yeah, she’s great. I do love her…even right now.” I looked at the house and saw her peeking through the window like a creeper.

  He started the engine. “Hungry?”

  “Always.”

  “Good. You like Italian?”

  “Always.”

  He gave me a smile full of amusement. “You’re an easy date.”

  I just hoped I wouldn’t be too easy.

  ***

  Hawke stared at his menu across the table. His shoulders looked nice in his t-shirt. But I had a feeling they would look nice in anything he wore—and if he wore nothing at all. “I hate to ask this…” He looked up from his menu and his eyes met mine.

  I tensed slightly as I waited for whatever he was going to say.

  “Are you twenty-one? I was going to order a bottle of wine.”

  The air left my lungs as I relaxed. “Yes. I’m twenty-two.”

  Relief moved across his face. “Just wanted to make sure.”

  How old was he?

  When the waiter came, Hawke ordered the wine as well as his dinner. I did the same and handed my menu over.

  Once we had nothing to look at, we stared at each other. I could make eye contact with anyone without feeling uncomfortable, but prolonged contact was awkward. However, Hawke didn’t struggle with it. He stared at me openly, but not intrusively.

  I liked it.

  He possessed obvious confidence without being obscenely arrogant. He knew he was good-looking and didn’t hide that fact. But he wasn’t obnoxious either. “So, tell me about yourself.”

  “I hate that question.”

  That usual pleasing look was in his eyes. “Why?”

  “It’s too open-ended. Ask what you want to know and I’ll tell you.”

  He kept his back perfectly straight in the chair. “The
n that feels like an interrogation.”

  I couldn’t deny that. “True. Let’s play a game instead.”

  “What kind of game?” He raised his eyebrow like he was intrigued.

  “I’ll ask you a series of questions and you answer them.”

  “And that’s different how?” He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

  “I’ll show you.” I cleared my throat. “Coffee or tea?”

  “Coffee,” he blurted.

  “Waffles or pancakes?”

  “Waffles.”

  “The beach or the snow?”

  “The beach.” He narrowed his eyes. “Now you know so much about me.” Instead of being annoyed, he seemed entertained.

  “Hey, this is important stuff.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, waffles or pancakes is important to know.”

  “What if I want to make you breakfast in the morning?”

  His eyes darkened in obvious interest. I hadn’t realized how that could be interpreted until it was too late. His mind clearly went to a place I hadn’t anticipated. “Now you can make me waffles and coffee while sitting on the beach.” The slight smile from his lips never faded away.

  “Exactly.”

  “My turn,” he said. “Dinosaurs or sharks?”

  “That’s a really weird question,” I said while laughing.

  He shrugged. “I think it’s important.”

  “Dinosaurs.”

  “Leather or cloth?”

  “Leather.”

  “Rocks or sand?”

  “Sand,” I answered.

  He grinned. “Now I know your soul.”

  “I guess you do.” I kept my hands in my lap and fidgeted with my fingers so he wouldn’t see them. I was a little nervous and I couldn’t fight the feeling.

  “Are you in school?” He glanced out the window before he turned back to me.

  “Webster University.”

  He nodded. “That’s a great school. What are you studying?”

  “Business.”

  He didn’t bother hiding his cringe. “Really?” He seemed to realize how rude he sounded because he said, “Sorry. There’s nothing wrong with that degree. I just didn’t expect it from you.”

  “What did you expect me to major in?”

  He shrugged. “Something interesting. Like art or music.”

  “Well, I’m terrible at both of those things. You should see the finger paintings I made as a child.”

  “I would love to.” He said it with complete seriousness.

  I continued on. “I want to open my own bakery someday. It’s been my dream since I was young. But I wanted to get an education in business before I pursued it. I don’t know anything about running a shop or getting it started. And if things don’t work out, I’ll have something to fall back on.”

  Hawke nodded in interest. “You have a good head on your shoulders. And if all your pastries are as good as the one I tried, it’ll definitely work out.”

  “Thanks.” Some people thought my dream was stupid. It was nice to hear some encouragement once in a while. “What do you do?”

  “I’m an intern.” He released a sigh like he didn’t like admitting it out loud. “I work for an investment company. Basically, we manage all of our clients investments but we don’t actually make any decisions. We’re advisors more than anything else.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “The internship doesn’t pay much so I’m excited to do my time and move on.”

  “They’ll probably offer you a full-time position when you’re finished.”

  “Maybe.” He didn’t sound enthused about that idea. Maybe he didn’t like the company he worked for.

  “My brother wants to be a stock broker. You guys would have a lot in common.”

  “I’m sure we would.” When the waiter returned with the wine, Hawke sipped it and returned it to the table.

  “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I just turned twenty-six.”

  “Oh. Happy belated birthday.”

  “Thank you,” he said with a nod.

  “Where did you go to school?”

  “South Carolina,” he answered. “I just finished my master’s last spring so now I’m finally in the real world.”

  I did the math in my head and realized we were four years apart. That sounded like a lot, but I didn’t see what the big deal was. It wasn’t like I was eighteen and he was twenty-two. “Congratulations. It sounds like you have a lot to be proud of.”

  He drank his wine again. “I suppose.”

  I noticed he didn’t like to talk about himself much, at least professionally. Maybe he was just humble. It was nice to meet a guy like that for once. “Do you like sports?”

  “I’m a big sports fan—mainly baseball.”

  “Cool. Who’s your favorite team?”

  “The Yankees.”

  I cringed. “I don’t think this is going to work out…”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Please don’t tell me you’re a Giants fan.”

  I shrugged in guilt.

  He shook his head in disappointment. “Well, the rest of this date is going to be awkward…”

  “Maybe we should just end it now.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” The affection in his eyes told me he was kidding. “But I really like you so…I’ll see it through.”

  “I guess I can put this aside…for now.”

  He released an exaggerated sigh. “Crisis averted.”

  The waiter brought our plates then set them in front of us. I ordered the lasagna and he had the chicken parmigiana.

  “That looks good.” He eyed my plate.

  I took a bite. “It is good.”

  He grabbed his fork then immediately dug into my food. He looked me in the eye as he did it, giving me a playful look. “You’re right. Maybe I should have ordered that.”

  I stuck my fork into his food and did the same thing. “Yours is good too.”

  “I have an idea.” He pulled my plate closer to him. “Let’s split our plates.” He gave me half of his dinner then took half of mine. Then he pushed the plate back to me. “Problem solved.”

  “Everyone wins.”

  He ate slowly and didn’t inhale his food like most men I knew. He took breaks and sipped his wine.

  “How was your day?” I asked.

  “Good. But I kept getting distracted thinking about this date.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” The sincerity was in his eyes. “I was surprised when you asked me out.”

  “You’ve never been asked out by a girl?”

  He chuckled while looking down at his food. “No, I have. I just didn’t expect you to ask me out.”

  “Why not?”

  “Not sure,” he said. “I just didn’t expect it.”

  I wondered if he got hit on all the time. With his looks and success, he must.

  “I’m glad you did,” he said. “It’s sexy when a girl makes a move. It shows confidence—and confidence is a quality I look for.”

  “It’s a little unorthodox, but I’ve never been traditional.”

  “And I like that.” He drank his wine as he looked at me.

  He stared at me a lot, but I liked it. He gave me his full attention and didn’t play games.

  “I’m surprised you don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “What makes you think I would?” he asked.

  “You’re easy on the eyes and charming.”

  “And easily bored.” He ate quietly and didn’t say anything more about the subject. Perhaps he had a bad breakup recently and didn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe he just didn’t have anything to say. “Where did you learn to bake?”

  “My yaya.”

  He stilled. “Your what? Sorry?”

  “My yaya,” I said with a laugh. “It means grandmother in Greek.”

  “Oh.” He nodded his head in understanding. “I see.”

  “She taught me everything when I
was young, and I just grew up on that knowledge. Now I make up a lot of my own recipes and do things my way. But she started it all.”

  “Did she work in a bakery?”

  “No. She just knows her way around the kitchen.”

  “Very cool.” He finished his plate and left it on the table. He wiped it clean and finished his wine. “I’m pretty limited in my abilities. But I know how to order take out.”

  “That’s a good skill to have.”

  He smiled slightly.

  “Will you excuse me?” I rose from the chair and set my napkin on the table.

  “Sure.” He watched me walk away, his eyes drilling into my back.

  After I did my business in the bathroom, I touched up my make up. My heart was racing because I really liked him. He had nice lips and a perfect body. But he was an interesting person too. He had a good balance of various qualities. And he was older. I liked older men. They were more mature than the guys I met at school.

  And he was scorching hot.

  After I gathered my bearings and headed back to the table, I saw Hawke talking to a woman. She looked his age, and she was pretty. She wore a tight dress with nude heels. Her hair was done in a classy way.

  The closer I got, the more irritated I became. Judging the way she was leaning close to him and flashing him flirtatious smiles, she was either hitting on him or already knew him romantically.

  I didn’t care, but it was pretty trashy to go after a guy who was clearly on a date. There were rules for that, especially between women.

  When I reached the table, Hawke spoke. “It was nice seeing you, Jessica.” Hawke didn’t seem irritated she was there, but he didn’t seem particularly happy either.

  She eyed me up and down quickly. The disappointment on her face told me she didn’t like me one bit even though I hadn’t said a word. “Call me.” She flipped her hair and walked away.

  The fact Hawke didn’t introduce me told me he didn’t want to. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.” I sat down and crossed my legs.

  Hawke didn’t mention his friend or how he knew her.

  And I didn’t ask.

  The check sat at the edge of the table, and it was clear Hawke had already paid it. “I asked you out. Remember?”

  That usual look of amusement came into his eyes. “I guess I’m traditional in some ways.”

  “Well, I owe you next time.” I shouldn’t assume there would be a next time but it slipped out. It wasn’t common for me to find a guy I really liked. Hawke and I had a connection, and I knew it could go further if we took the time to cultivate it. But I had no idea if that feeling was mutual.