“So… what exactly do you need my help for again?”
“I need to change something on the webpage but can’t figure out how. This is what I want to add.” He handed her a hand-written slip of paper.
“Looking for a liberal minded, college educated, financially independent woman who can carry on a conversation?” Cecilia shot him a look as she read out loud.
“Yes. I want that added. No more dim bulbs. She had a body by Fisher, but brains by Mattel, and was an experiment in artificial stupidity.”
“She was one taco short of a combination plate. Her intellect is rivaled only by garden tools and was proof that evolution can go in reverse.”
“Something like that.” He laughed as he gave her the log in… which she had to pretend she didn’t already know. He continued, “Did you hear the FBI just updated their definition of rape to include men?”
Cecilia looked up at him hovering over her. “I read that today on BBC news. They updated an eighty-three year old law. Good for them. Victims can be men or women; they are still victims of a sexual crime.”
“You would make a good lawyer.”
“No thanks, that’s your gig. Hope this addition brings you only perfect dates for the nights ahead.”
Chapter 4
Unfortunately, three nights later, date two wasn’t a whole lot better. Stella had a lot more brains, but not a better attitude. She was blond and beautiful. It should have been enough, but when she told him she’d blown off her mother’s seventieth birthday party for their date, he was shocked.
“My sisters will take care of her. Do I look like someone who wants to watch an old lady eat a chain baked Crisco frosted cake? Puleeze.”
Under the table, before they’d even finished the main course, Stella ran her bare foot up his leg and wedged it against his crotch. He’d nearly choked on his Manicotti.
She batted long fake lashes and purred, “I want to have sex with you. Right now. In the bathroom.”
Talk about being man handled. Now that it was on the books, he should file charges. Weren’t BOTH parties supposed to be up for the game? A minute ago they were talking about bridge tolls, then bam, foot on junk. Where did that come from?
When he said ‘no’ to her offer, she told him no one ever turned her down for sex and left him sitting at the table.
Thank God!
Lee paid the bill and was leaving the restaurant when he got the text from his sister. He went back in the restaurant to place an order to go and knew what he would be doing with the rest of his evening
#
Lee stood outside CC’s house and dialed her cell phone. It rang three times until a muffled voice answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Lee.”
“I’m sick, Lee.”
“I know. I got a text from Tami.”
“Got that flu going around.”
“I am actually standing on your front porch. I wanted to know if you still have that spare key in the frog in the planter box. I’m warning you I’m coming in so you won’t clock me with the bat.”
“I don’t want to get you sick.”
“I got a flu shot and I have the antibodies of a Roman Army.”
“It’s in the frog.”
He sat the shopping bag down and fished out the key. When he opened the door, the room was dark. “Are you in this dungeon, somewhere?”
“Here, on the couch,” she croaked out.
He turned on a lamp. CC was huddled under a blanket with her knees pulled up. Her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. Lee sat down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead. “You have a fever.”
“Fever, then chills, then things I am so not going to discuss with you.” She frowned. “Here to tell me about another date with a beautiful blond? Could I look any worse?”
“You look… great.” That was the truth. She was always beautiful and didn’t need makeup slopped on to achieve it. Even with a cold, her dark eyes mesmerized him. He reached into the bag and pulled out a carton.
“A-1 Teriyaki?” she asked.
“Not for a cold, silly woman. Soup.” He opened the lid and stuck in the plastic spoon. Lee lifted it to her mouth. She opened and took the offered bite.
“You brought this for me?”
“Don’t see anyone else here in need of soup therapy.”
After a few more bites she asked, “So what was wrong with this one?”
Lee left out the roving toes and said a vague, “she wasn’t my type.”
“Want me to change the profile again?”
“Yeah. This time I’m adding, My family and friends are incredibly important to me, as is a woman who can make me feel a part of her life and join in theirs.”
She grinned. “That’s good. Did you think that up on your own?”
“If I can write it on paper, I can wax poetic. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
“You didn’t write that, Shakespeare did.”
“He was the lucky chap. He wrote all day on paper instead of screens.”
“Well, it’s good you are looking with your mind and not your eyes. I look like crap.”
He fed her another spoon full of soup. “You cannot make an objective assessment of your appearance. You do not see yourself as I do. By the way, I came up with that.”
###
Cecilia knew she was in trouble after the third bite of soup. She was losing her objective to finding Lee another woman. All she wanted was to keep him for herself. Why was he adding all this charming talk? Shakespeare, her favorite none the less. What happened to getting him out of her life once and for all?
But, it was so nice. And she was sick. And he was taking care of her. “What else do you have in the bag?”
“Your favorite movie. The Fisher King.”
“No way.”
Lee put the DVD in the player. He stretched out his arm for her to snuggle against him and kicked off his shoes.
“You’re shivering,” he said concerned. “Can I get you anything? Water? Aspirin?”
You? She almost blurted out. Self conscious, she touched her face.
“See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek.”
“Stop”.
Couldn’t he quote something from a Shakespeare death scene instead of love soliloquies? Didn’t he know with that honey silk deep voice he was melting her into the cushions? Cecilia laid her head on his chest. He was warm like a big blanket and smelled spicy and male. When he wrapped arms around her, she could feel his heart beat.
She was in so much trouble.
Chapter 5
Lee lay awake most the night. When a garbage truck clattered by, he dragged himself out of bed and made a pot of coffee. He tried to read the paper, but his mind was elsewhere. He folded it and threw in the basket on the floor.
He sat up and briskly rubbed his face. It was the day before Valentine’s Day and truth be told, even guys were drawn in by the idea of having someone special to spend the day with. That had to be why he couldn’t stop thinking about Cecilia. She had been a part of his life for years, so what changed to make him feel like this?
What would she say if he asked her on a real date? She was one of his best friends, could she ever think of him in a different light? A man who struggled with feelings surfacing of her as his lover?
But, Cecilia wasn’t his type. She wasn’t blond and petite… or ditsy… and only interested in his money… or his body… and she could carry on a conversation about… everything.
When he logged in to the website last night there were twenty-five blinking hearts. All blonds. Why suddenly did none of them seem appealing? He wanted a woman with brown hair and dark eyes. Eyes that danced and laughed without words.
Things were going too fast. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, and he would give Cupid’s Okay one last try.
##
When the phone rang, Cecilia knew it
was Lee without even checking the caller ID.
“Thought you were going on another date?” She tried to make her voice light, but every time, with every date, it grew more complicated. Good or bad dates, she didn’t want him seeing other women and hated this possessiveness.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Must have been a short term bug or the miracle soup you brought over. I feel great. I’ve been out for a jog already this morning.”
“I have my truck packed with hiking and snow gear. I know you are recuperating from being sick, but I thought maybe we could go up to Paradise Lodge for a short hike and a late lunch.”
“It’s Valentine’s Day. Aren’t you supposed to be with your one true love?”
“I’ll be at your place in an hour. Bundle up. I don’t want you getting sick again.”
Cecilia stared at the phone when he hung up. She hadn’t said yes, had she?
Lee was on her doorstep in exactly one hour. He wore a black ski jacket and his head was covered in a hand knit, two-tone hat with ear flaps his mother made.
She crossed her arms. “You had another date today. What happened this time?”
“Didn’t work out. I told her we were going mountain hiking. When I showed up dressed like this, she was in some sexy black get-up. How did mountain hiking end up to be misconstrued as sexual innuendo?” He blew out a breath. “Why do women think just because I have money all I want to do is hang out at clubs, golf, and have sex?”
“You don’t?”
He stopped and grinned, a wicked grin. “Well, two out of three are wrong. Come on. By the time we get up there we’ll have only a few hours of light. We have to make it fast.”
Cecilia licked her lips and batted her eyes. “But, I like it slow…”
“Knock it off.” He chuckled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. “Come on.”
For February it was unseasonably warm. When she and Lee reached the end of the trail, the view took her breath away. The evergreens were far below with the dusted mountain peaks poking through in the distance.
Cecilia wiggled off her white tasseled hat and striped multi-color knit gloves. “Wow, what a day. It’s perfect. You, Tami, and I have been here before, but not when there’s snow. It’s amazing.”
Lee shrugged off his backpack and dropped it to the ground. He fished out a bottle of champagne, popped the top, and poured two paper cups.
“Only the finest china. Let’s toast to Valentine’s Day.” He bumped his cup with hers. After they drank, he took her cup and set it next to his on a rock.
“I hate Valentine’s day,” she muttered.
“I have something for you.” He pulled out a palm-sized Styrofoam red heart and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
There were two pieces of paper safety pinned to the top of the heart.
“This is what I’m changing my profile to read.” He took the piece of paper. “What I am looking for in a woman: You are independent and smart. I can be myself around you without feeling judged. I work long hours-but so do you. We can always find time to be together. I only have eyes for you, you only have eyes for me. We communicate this verbally, physically and consensually. Warm and comforting cuddling can be just as good between us as making love. Fights are rare and when we do, we don’t stop talking until we’ve reached some sort of peace. I hope, unparalleled friendship will grant us the foundation for a lasting long-term relationship. We’re already best friends, and I would never want to jeopardize that, so we can take it easy if you want. If you are willing to take a chance this Valentine’s Day, take it with me.”
Cecilia stared at him and knew her mouth gaped open.
He took a step until he was close and tipped her mouth closed with his finger. “I don’t know what I thought all these years. I was looking for something, someone, that I think was right in front of me.” Lee touched her cheek, letting his fingers stroke through her hair and bent his forehead to hers. “Say something CC. Say yes, no, or go to Hell. What are you thinking?”
Her heart thundered in her chest as she looked up into his crystal blue eyes. “I’m thinking I want you to kiss me.”
He smiled. “Funny…I was thinking the exact same thing.”
His gaze moved over her face as if was seeing her for the first time, and then drifted to her mouth. Something sparked between them. He pulled her close and kissed her.
Cecilia felt touched, held and embraced by nothing more than his lips. His mouth was warm and intoxicating. The kiss took everything she would allow, and then a little more.
“CC…” he whispered the nickname he’d always called her. Now it sounded sexy, heated, and desperate. She loved it.
She wound her hands around the back of his neck and kissed him again. She softened it, shaping the contours of her mouth to his. His fingers tightened on her waist as he fitted her flush against his hard body. When they finally broke apart, she saw his breath was as unsteady as hers.
“I had no idea you liked me. Why didn’t you say something?” she asked.
“What about you. Before I kissed you, had you ever thought of me…romantically?”
“For longer than I care to admit.”
“Really? Then why did you fill out the profile for me on the dating service?” He paused, looking confused. “You did do it didn’t you? I wasn’t hacked?”
“I thought if you found someone else, I could forget about you.”
“Do you want to forget about me?” he asked. “Because, I want you as mine, and I’m not sure I can ever forget you.”
At that moment Lee was so impossibly handsome her words stuck in her throat. He radiated masculine energy that made her body hum. She couldn’t believe that with a few words, after all this time, he was offering to be hers.
“I want you as mine,” she confessed.
He held her like the most precious thing on earth and pressed his mouth against hers again. Slow and sweet, he deepened the kiss until her knees threatened to buckle.
“Sometimes, I set goals right in front of my nose that make me not see the obvious.”
“Were those goals blond and five-foot two?”
“I have a new goal. Five-nine brunettes. Know any who might be available?”
“I think I might know a few.”
“Sorry, I’m only interested in one. The other note pinned on the heart is my withdrawal from the dating service. I filled it out myself… online … without your help.” He chuckled softly.
Cecilia kissed him lightly as they lifted their champagne filled paper cups. “I guess Cupid is okay after all. This has been quite a Valentine surprise. But I can live with years of surprises!”
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If you enjoyed Valentine Surprise look for Jennifer Conner’s other short stories:
Excerpt from Cupcakes and Cupids:
Cupcakes and Cupids
The Valentine Day wedding for Mark and Julie Spencer was the first big job Analeigh Russell contracted for her cupcake company, Let Them Eat Cake. Excitement, and a little too much caffeine coursed through her bloodstream.
The head food critic for Seattle’s Metro maga
zine was the mother-of-the-groom. Everything had to be perfect. She hoped the magazine’s write-up about the wedding would help her business skyrocket.
Analeigh looked into the rearview mirror and rubbed at a smear of pink lipstick on her front tooth. She smiled, as she looked at the reflection of white plastic containers stacked in tidy rows in the back of her SUV. They would be nothing but impressed when she delivered the order early.
Headlights in the mirror caught her eye. The car’s not stopping. Her smile flipped, her eyes widened, and her mouth formed an O. She pushed harder on the brake with both feet and prayed she wouldn’t be thrown into the intersection.
For a split second, her mind raced as she desperately thought what she could do. Should she speed forward? No. There were cars flying through the busy intersection in front of her. A woman waited to her left waited at a crosswalk. Not that way. Analeigh tensed her shoulders, grasped the steering wheel, and closed her eyes. The impact of the collision filled the car with the sounds of crushing plastic, metal, and broken taillights.
Her car lurched forward and then stopped. She forced her eyes open. The car that hit her suddenly backed up, hooked a u-turn and started to speed off.
Fear replaced anger. She yanked open her door, jumped out, and yelled at the disappearing car, “Come back here, you… you moron! You hit my car!”
Valentine Surprise Page 2