by Mya O'Malley
Annie grabbed her cell as she wiped her other hand across her pajama bottoms. “Sam? Sorry, I spilled my coffee all over the place.”
Annie listened to her friend as she rambled on about their plans for the day. Feeling awful about losing track of time, Annie apologized profusely. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just got so caught up in this whole online dating experience…” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Oh no. She could hear squeals coming from her friend across the line.
“Yes, I’ve decided to try it, Sam.” Annie’s smile covered her face as her friend continued talking. Annie nodded and assured her friend she would have an open mind and try to forget about her awful, two-timing ex-husband, Greg. Hating to think about it, she realized that Greg had hurt her more than she would ever care to admit, even to herself.
Divorce was not an easy thing, but Annie was happy that she had only wasted two years instead of twenty years with the louse. She was holding out for the whole picture, the husband, the house and the kids, love at first sight. She swore she would not become jaded as a result of that loser. She was determined to prove it to herself. Before getting dressed for the day, Annie peeked at the matches the site had magically concocted for her; not bad. Some of these guys didn’t seem that awful. It seemed she would have plenty to look through when she arrived back home later in the day.
* * * *
The mall was bustling as usual. Droves of people scattered around, causing Annie to watch her step and weave through the crowd. Samantha was chatting about Terry and the dinner plans they had when Annie bumped into someone. Scratch that, slammed into someone.
“Ooh. Sorry.” Annie lifted her head and laid her eyes upon a tall man with shaggy brown hair. His eyes were light brown, kind and warm. She felt heat creeping into her cheeks despite herself.
Believe it or not, this handsome man appeared equally horrified to have stumbled into Annie. “Sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean to…”
“Oh no, it was me. I’m sorry, it was my fault.” Annie snuck a glance at Sam and saw her look of disapproval. Annie was always taking the blame; that was one of the problems she had with Greg, she had allowed his bad behavior and had made excuses for him constantly.
“No, no. Really, I’m sorry.” The man held her gaze probably a little bit longer than necessary. The tension became palpable. Finally, Sam cleared her throat. Annie snapped out of it and fumbled with her purse.
“Yes, well. Thanks, I mean, no problem.” She stumbled over her words.
The man laughed softly and shook his head. “Hey…”
For a second, Annie thought he might actually ask her out or something, the way he was looking down at her. As if out of nowhere, a tall, stunning woman appeared and threw her arm protectively around the man.
Annie glanced down and excused herself. “Listen, no worries. Take care.”
He nodded and stepped away from Annie. “Yeah. You too. Take care.” Annie couldn’t help but notice that the mystery man turned and took a last look at her before being swept away in the sea of shoppers.
Sam whistled under her breath. “Wow. That was something.”
“What was?” Annie feigned innocence.
“Are you kidding me? Did you see the way he was staring at you?’
“No.”
“Liar. And what about the way you were checking him out!” Sam laughed heartily.
“I did not.” Annie gazed up at her friend through guilty eyes. “Oh, okay. So you got me, he was just so cute.”
“Yeah, cute. That’s the word I would use. How about unbelievably hot?” Sam gushed.
“Yeah that too.” The women giggled and took off for their errands. It was a funny thing, though. It was nearly impossible for Annie to get that “cute” guy out of her thoughts.