Taking Chances

by Flowers, Loni

  “Oh hon, do you want to talk about it?”

  “No, I really don’t. Besides, this is your night. Go have fun with your boyfriend, I’ll be fine. Really, don’t worry about it,” Clair said, shooing her away.

  “Well, at least let me give you a ride home.”

  “I’m just going to sit here a little longer until the rain lets up. I’ll be fine.”

  The ringing of the bell brought their attention to the diner’s door. Clair looked behind Roz to see Alex walk in and shake the rain out of his hair before looking in their direction. He gave her a friendly smile, but hesitated before making his way over. She could feel her face flush, remembering the way she talked to him days ago. Today was the first day she had seen him since it happened, and she hadn’t gotten the chance to apologize for her outburst.

  Alex extended his hand to Roz and twirled her around, while inspecting her outfit. “Well, well, well, don’t you look fancy?” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this dressed up.”

  “Thank you very much,” Roz said, giggling.

  “Do you know,” Alex said smiling, “I’ve had to listen to Stu go on and on about this fancy restaurant he’s taking you to all week long? He really hasn’t shut up about it.”

  “Hey! I’m the one taking him out,” Roz said, pointing her finger at him. “If he thinks for one second, he’s getting the bill this time, he has another thing coming.”

  “Don’t try to convince me,” Alex laughed, “you’ll have to fight about it with him.”

  “Oh I will.” She backed away from the table and looked at the clock on the wall. “Alright you two, I’ve got to get going. Our reservations are at eight. Are you sure you don’t want a ride to the house, Clair?”

  “No, ma’am, I’ll be fine. Have a great time tonight. I’ll see you in the morning… sometime.” Clair winked.

  Roz patted Alex on the back, “Keep her company will ya? She could use some cheering up.”

  Clair looked at Alex as he smiled at Roz. His cheekbones were high and prominent. His hair was still wet, and she watched a droplet slide off the end of a strand and run down his neck, beyond the collar of his shirt. No matter how much Clair tried to ignore his features, he was gorgeous. She couldn’t deny that she liked what she saw and it scared her. The last thing she needed while she was trying to start over, was a distraction.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Clair

  Clair lifted her feet out of the seat across from her so that Alex could sit down.

  “Stu’s going to be stunned when he sees her tonight,” Clair said, watching Roz walk to her car. Her timing was perfect. The rain had stopped and Clair was thankful Roz’s evening wouldn’t be ruined by it.

  “Yeah, she does look nice for an older woman. Stu will be really happy when he sees her.” She could feel Alex looking at her, but Clair couldn’t meet his eyes. Not yet. She was about to apologize, but she wanted to stay calm without getting too weepy or defensive since that seemed to be all she could do around him.

  “I never got the chance to get dressed up and go somewhere fancy like that,” she said as she pushed the fries around on her plate.

  “What about prom?”

  “Nope. My date was supposed to pick me up at seven, but he never showed up.” Clair picked up a fry and tore it into tiny pieces.

  “Well why not?”

  She glanced at him. “Apparently, he decided to go with some other girl instead. Since I never wore the dress, I took it back. At least I got my money back.”

  “Wow,” he said, shaking his head. “He sounds like a real keeper. How could someone do that?”

  Clair shrugged her shoulders as if it were normal. “Guess he just found someone better. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “If he didn’t want to go with you, he should have never asked. It’s probably better it worked out that way though,” Alex smiled, taking a fry from her plate. “He obviously wasn’t worth it to begin with. If he couldn’t be respectful, you shouldn’t have wasted your time on him.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, that should have been a lesson learned but…” Clair looked out the window; she wasn’t ready to rehash anymore of her failed relationships. “I guess since it’s stopped raining, I should probably head home,” she said as she stood up.

  “Can I give you a ride? I don’t mind,” he asked, standing.

  Clair winced at the pain in her feet. “That would be nice. My feet are killing me.”

  Alex pointed to his navy blue Jeep Wrangler parked across the street.

  “That’s my Jeep over there. I’m glad I thought to put the top up while I was at work today. I didn’t even know it was supposed to rain.” He unlocked the passenger side door and waited for her to climb up. At only five foot, two inches tall, his Jeep’s large tires presented a challenge to Clair, as she struggled to pull herself up high enough to get her butt on the seat. While hoisting herself up, she lost her footing and fell backward into Alex. He stumbled backwards slightly, grabbing her around the waist.

  “Oh crap. Sorry! Looks like my day just keeps getting better and better.” Clair laughed as she rested her back against his chest. “If I’d known it was going to be this hard, I would have just walked home.”

  Clair felt his fingers press into her waist when he whispered, “I can’t complain, my day keeps getting better.”

  Straightening up, she felt her cheeks redden, “Alright, let me try this again.”

  “Here, let me help.” He lifted her at the waist as she stepped up into the Jeep.

  She watched him walk around to the driver’s side and hop in with ease. “Thanks,” she said as he started the car. They rode in silence for the three blocks it took to get to Roz’s house. When he parked, Clair opened her door and looked down. Her goal was not to look like an idiot this time.

  “Hang on, I’ll help you out,” he said getting out of the car. Helping her to the ground, he laughed. “Well, it took us longer to get you in the car than it did to drive you home.”

  Clair grinned, “I don’t care how long it took, my feet thank you.”

  “No problem, I’m available nights and weekends. And next time, I’ll be sure to bring a stepladder for you.”

  “Oh really? I just may have to take you up on that offer.”

  “What about tomorrow night?”

  “Oh, well I don’t have to work this weekend, so you’re off the hook.”

  “No, I mean it. Would you like to go out with me? Just to hang out, have dinner? Do something besides sleep, eat and work?”

  Her stomach dropped. She didn’t know what to say. What was in it for him? She wanted to believe she could trust him, but didn’t dare. Alex had already done so much for her, would it really hurt to have dinner with him? “Okay, how about you pick me up at five tomorrow? Is that okay?”

  “Perfect,” Alex said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  “Thanks again for bringing me home, I really appreciate it,” she said, inching her way closer to the house.

  “Goodnight, Clair.”

  Clair stopped, realizing she hadn’t apologized. “Alex, wait.” She walked back up to him, feeling embarrassed about the confession she was about to make. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I talked to you the other day. It was wrong of me to judge you when you were only trying to help me. I can be stubborn sometimes. I’m not used to people being nice and trying to help me without wanting something in exchange.”

  “It’s alright. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’ve been there, on the streets. I lived that way for a long time and I know how it is. It’s hard to feel like you can’t trust anyone. Being out there on your own makes you learn real fast.” Alex moved a strand of her hair behind her shoulder and the tips of his fingers brushed the back of her neck. In a soft voice, he said, “But I want you to know, I don’t want anything from you, Clair, only to be your friend. I would never try to take advantage of you. I can promise you that.�
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  His kindness and compassion meant so much to her. She leaned up on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you for saving me, Alex,” she whispered in his ear as she hugged him. “If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know what…” She didn’t want to say it out loud. If those guys had pulled off their plan, she knew things would have ended differently. Pulling back, she kissed him on the cheek. “Well anyway, thank you.” Looking back at her, he searched her face before stopping on her mouth. He slowly leaned into her and paused just before his lips touched hers. Her stomach twisted at the thought of him kissing her and she couldn’t help but wonder how his lips would feel against hers. At the same time, she didn’t want to lead him on. The attraction she felt toward him was something she didn’t need right now. Clair backed away from him.

  “Good night, Alex. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned away, feeling his eyes watch her go.

  Propped up against the headboard of the bed, Clair stared aimlessly at the contents hanging in her closet. She had just started working at the diner when Roz took her shopping, so most of her clothes consisted of collared shirts and blue jeans. Eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she wondered if she’d look better in the blue or white collared shirt since she was limited on what to wear to dinner. Either way, she was still going to look boring and she only had a few hours to decide before Alex would be there to pick her up.

  Did he consider this a sympathy date because he felt sorry for me being homeless before? Or was this going to be a “date” date? Clair thought. Thinking back to last night, she remembered Alex leaning in to kiss her. Or was I leaning in to kiss him? She didn’t know. Either way, she still had her doubts about what Alex’s expectations were. But no matter how much she told herself this outing was no more than dinner and some friendly conversation, Clair knew she had already started to develop a connection with him. After what he’d done for her last week, it was hard not to and she couldn’t help feeling drawn to him. And those feelings scared her.

  The knock on the door by the kitchen startled her. That door provided access to Roz’s upstairs hallway, so Clair knew whom it was. When she opened it, Roz stood in the hallway holding a piece of pie.

  “Hey Clair, I wanted to bring this over before I left to run some errands. It’s apple pie, is that okay?”

  “My favorite, thanks! I’ll stick it in the fridge and eat it later. Can you come in for a second? I need you to tell me which looks best.” Clair dipped her finger in the dollop of whipped cream on top and licked it off her finger before placing it in the fridge for later. Roz sat at the tiny, two-person kitchen table that had been pushed up against the wall for added floor space.

  “So what’s up? How have you been enjoying your day off?”

  “Oh, I’ve just been racking my brain on which shirt would look better on me. Let me go get them and tell me what you think.” She came back from the closet holding up both shirts. “Okay, be honest. Which one would look better on me? I’ll be wearing jeans with it, of course.”

  Eyeing both shirts, Roz said, “Well the white shirt looks nice, but I guess it depends on where you’re going.”

  “Oh God,” she slapped her forehead and looked at Roz. “I don’t know. I forgot to ask and he didn’t tell me.”

  She wasn’t used to worrying about things like this, since her past dating life had been pretty much non-existent. Every time Clair thought she was interested in someone, dear Mom turned on her charm. Clair would come home to find her boyfriends already there when she knew she hadn’t invited them over. After a while, Clair figured it out. Her mom never confessed to hitting on her boyfriends and brushed it off as innocent flirting. It wasn’t long before Clair was known as “the girl with the hot mom” at school and ultimately, she gave up the idea of having any boyfriends while she was still in high school.

  “Crap. I’m not cut out for this. It’s too stressful.” Clair paced the floor.

  “What do you mean, ‘he didn’t tell you’?” Roz asked. “Who are you talking about?”

  Clair stopped pacing and put her hand on her hip. “Who do you think I’m talking about? I only know you and Alex.” She looked at Roz, waiting for her to catch on. Roz threw her hand over her mouth and jumped up from her chair so fast, it nearly tipped over.

  “Oh my God, Alex asked you out? I can’t believe he did that.”

  Clair narrowed her eyes at Roz, “Well thanks a lot, Roz, for your vote of confidence. You really sound thrilled about the whole idea,” she said sarcastically.

  “Oh no, hon, that’s not what I’m implying. No, not at all,” she said, as she grabbed Clair’s shoulder.

  “No, it’s fine.” Clair said, heading towards the couch. “It’s not like it’s a date anyway. We’re just going to hang out and get dinner, that’s all.”

  Roz sat down next to Clair and patted her on the knee. “Well you two may just be ‘hanging out’,” she quoted with her fingers in the air, “but I think there’s more to it than that.”

  “What do you mean? How do you know?”

  “Alex has been through a lot in his past, from what he’s told me. He hasn’t shown interest in anyone since he came here over a year ago. So if he’s letting you in, even a little, it’s a big deal.”

  “What happened?” Clair asked in a hushed voice, as if someone else could overhear.

  Roz smiled and wagged her finger. “Sorry, but if Alex wants you to know, you’ll have to hear it from him. His secrets are his own and not mine to share.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Even I know that. I didn’t mean to pry.” Clair said embarrassed.

  “No worries, hon. When and if he’s ready, I’m sure he’ll fill you in on the details. Now, enough talk about that.” She stood up and grabbed Clair’s hand. “Come with me. We’re going shopping; those shirts simply won’t work.”

  Clair shook her head and pulled out of her grasp. “Oh no, I’m not. You’ve spent way too much money on me already. I can’t let you keep buying me stuff. It’s not right.”

  “Well lucky for you, you don’t get to tell me how to spend my money.” She pointed to the door, “Let’s go!”

  While running errands with Roz, Clair found herself constantly checking the clock. She didn’t want to be late when Alex came to pick her up, even though she had a feeling Roz would never let that happen. Clair knew she may not be one hundred percent sold on this date thing, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t willing to try to make a good impression. After about an hour of running all the errands Roz had planned for the day, she took her to the mall. Thankfully, she didn’t make her try on a zillion different outfits like the last time she took her shopping. Clair was a simple girl and she wasn’t used to getting all glitzed up to go out.

  A few outfits later, Roz was unlocking the front door with Clair in tow, carrying her bags.

  “Go on up and get ready. It looks like you have about an hour before Alex gets here.” Roz said, glancing at her watch.

  As she walked up the staircase, Clair hoped a quick shower would help settle her nerves. The mere mention of Alex’s impending arrival made her stomach flip, letting loose a swarm of butterflies inside her.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Alex

  Rummaging through his closet, Alex pulled out a navy collared shirt with tiny orange stripes across it. He slipped it on over his plain white tee-shirt and paired it with khaki pants and Topsiders. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was too early to pick up Clair, and the anticipation of the date made him nervous. It had been a long time since he had been in a relationship, if you want to call it that, and he promised himself that it’d be a very long time, if ever, before he got into another one. The people he loved made a habit of leaving him and Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to risk that kind of heartache again. Maybe it would be better if he went on the date without expecting anything more than just two friends having dinner together. He couldn’t help but feel like they had a connection; and he’d never had that with anyone else before. She seemed to la
ck self-confidence, which he thought was crazy because she had such a determined, sometimes stubborn mind. Even with the messed-up hair and bruised face, Alex thought she was beautiful. He enjoyed the little conversations they had engaged in and wanted to get to know her better, if she’d let him. Still, with all that, he didn’t want to get his hopes up, since he had no idea what Clair thought of him. Alex hoped after tonight, he’d have some indication.

  When Alex pulled into Roz’s driveway, Roz was on the porch watering her potted flowers. Stepping out of the car, his hands started to sweat. Get a grip! He told himself, wiping his palms on his pants. You were fine when you saw her yesterday. It’s just dinner. No big deal. He tried taking a couple of deep breaths, but his mental pep talk couldn’t overcome his anxiety.

  “Hey Roz, I thought you’d still be at Stu’s house. How did your fancy dinner go last night?”

  “Oh, it was wonderful,” she said, grabbing a hold of his arm to walk into the house. “The food was delicious. I’ve wanted to go there for years,” she laughed, “which is probably why Stu chose it for his birthday dinner. It was nice that he did it for me more than himself, but I still paid the bill.”

  “Oh boy, I bet he wasn’t happy about that, was he?”

  “Nope. But he got over it.” She waved him off with her hand. “He forgot all about it after we got home,” she winked.

  Alex put his hand up to stop her from speaking, “Please, spare me the details. I don’t need the mental image.”

  “By the way, why didn’t you tell me you asked Clair out?” Roz asked. “This is a big deal. I should know these things.”

  Alex chuckled, shaking his head. “Three reasons,” he said. “One, I haven’t seen you since yesterday and that was before I asked her. Two, it’s not a big deal; it’s just dinner. And three, you are not my mother; even though you might as well be.”

  “Fine,” she threw her hands up. “I think it’s a big deal, but no one ever listens to me,” she mumbled, walking up the staircase. “You two will see what I mean someday. I didn’t get this old without learning a thing or two.”