by Susan Stoker
“That’s beside the point,” she huffed.
Blade’s smile grew. “Actually, I think that’s exactly the point.”
“I’m just not sure it’s a good idea,” she semi-repeated. “I…I’m not all that pretty.”
“Wendy,” Blade reprimanded. “I like you for who you are, not because of what you look like. But I have a feeling that you’re way underestimating yourself. You do that a lot. If it makes you feel better, we can text each other pictures of ourselves first. Then if you think I’m a troll, you can make up some excuse not to meet me.”
“I don’t want to exchange pictures. And you’re not a troll,” she huffed.
“How do you know? I could have a hunchback and my eyes could be uneven and squinty, and maybe I have resting bitch face all the time,” he teased.
Wendy giggled. “Whatever.”
“Meet with me,” Blade said. “As a friend. With no pressure for anything more for now. I can’t imagine I’d like you any less than I do right now. And I have a feeling seeing you face-to-face will only make our friendship grow.”
“I’m not sure…” Wendy hedged.
“This weekend,” Blade went on quickly. “Friday night, after your shift at the assisted-living facility. You already said earlier this week that you’re not working that night for the telemarketing company. You can come straight from work and we’ll have an informal dinner somewhere. What about that new trendy sports bar in downtown Temple?”
He held his breath as Wendy thought about his question.
“I like you, Aspen. A lot. And I’m afraid if we meet, it’ll change our relationship.”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t guarantee that,” she argued.
“Wendy, the only way our relationship will change is if we let it. We’re still gonna talk all the time. You’re still going to call me and pretend to try to sell me something so you can hear a friendly voice when you’re at your telemarketing job. I’m still gonna wait with bated breath for you to call when you say you’re gonna call and laugh when you send me a funny joke via text. The way I see it, things can only get better from here on out. Yeah, our relationship might change, and honestly, right now I’m hoping it does change. I feel closer to you than I’ve felt to any woman in a hell of a long time. I see that as a good thing. You know what I was thinking tonight before you called?”
“What?” Wendy asked.
“That I wished I was waiting for you to show up at my door instead of waiting for you to call. I’d love to hang out with you. Watch a movie. Talk. Eat. I’m comfortable with you, and there aren’t a lot of women I can say that about. There’s something about you that makes me put down my guard.”
“I feel the same way,” Wendy said quietly. “But I’m nervous.”
“About what? Not about me?” Blade asked.
“Yes and no.”
“I’d never hurt you, Wen. Never.”
“It’s not that,” she said immediately.
“Then what?”
“It’s just…”
Blade heard her take a deep breath before continuing.
“There are things you don’t know about me. About what I’ve done in the past. Things I’ve never told anyone.”
Blade clenched his teeth and felt his free hand fisting. “Did someone hurt you?”
“What? No.”
“Stalk you? Do you have an ex that won’t leave you alone?”
“Aspen, no, it’s nothing like that.”
Blade breathed a sigh of relief. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”
She chuckled softly. “That’s so like you.”
When she didn’t elaborate, Blade asked, “What is?”
“You’re always so positive. So worried about others. It’s not normal…but I like it.”
“If more people looked on the bright side of things, maybe there’d be less anxiety, depression, and general grouchiness in the world.”
“True,” she responded.
“So?” Blade asked. “Are we on for Friday?”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay then.”
She didn’t sound very excited about the prospect, and suddenly Blade was disappointed. “You know what? If you really don’t want to, it’s okay. I don’t want to push you into anything you don’t want to do. I know I’m excited about the prospect of meeting you, but if this is something you’re going to dread, or something that you really, really don’t want to do, then let’s not do it.”
“I want to,” Wendy immediately contradicted. “As I said, I’m just nervous about it. You’re the first person in a very long time I’ve felt as if I have a true connection with, and I don’t want to screw it up. The last thing I want to do is let you down. It’ll kill me if we meet and you decide I’m not who you thought I’d be, or if you don’t want me calling you anymore.”
“Your calls are the highlight of my day, sweetheart,” Blade told her honestly. “Unless you get totally shit-faced and start dancing on the tables, you aren’t going to let me down, and I’m definitely going to want to keep talking to you afterward. Okay?”
“Okay. How will I know who you are? Maybe we should exchange pictures after all,” Wendy said in a perkier tone.
“I kinda like the idea of seeing you for the first time Friday night,” Blade said.
“So like a true blind date,” Wendy said with a little giggle. Then she sobered and quickly added, “Not that this is a date or anything, I just meant—”
“Oh, it’s a date, all right,” Blade interrupted. “And, yes, it’s truly a blind date. But so you’ll know it’s me, I’ll be wearing a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, and I’ll bring you a bag of chocolate Kisses because I know how much you enjoy them.”
“Oh…you don’t have to do that,” she protested.
“I know, but I’m going to anyway,” Blade told her. “What will you be wearing, so I’ll know it’s you?”
“Um…I usually wear scrubs at the facility, but I’ll wear jeans on Friday instead. Um…jeez…you can’t ask me on Tuesday what I’m going to wear Friday,” she teased. “I’m a woman. I’ll have to take everything out of my closet, scrutinize it, and I’ll change my mind about half a dozen times.”
Blade chuckled. “Point taken. How about you just text me sometime before Friday night and let me know then.”
“I can do that.”
“Great. It’s a date then.”
“Aspen?”
“Yeah, darlin’?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For being so amazing. For being easy to talk to. For not hanging up on me during that first call I made when I tried to sell you life insurance. Just…thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Wendy. I’m just as thankful that you called me back that second time. And the third. And the fourth. That you trusted me enough to give me your cell number. And that you want to meet in person after all this time. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Oh, and I want to meet your brother sometime too. That is…if you think it’s okay.”
“He wants to meet you too.”
“You’ve told him about me?”
“Yeah, Aspen. He knows about you,” she said.
Blade swallowed hard. Wendy might be nervous to meet him, but he was glad she felt comfortable enough that she’d talked to her brother about him. “I’d like to know more about him…if you’re willing to share.”
“Of course. Friday?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be waiting for you in the bar area,” Blade told her. “Around five?”
“Five is perfect.”
“I’m going to let you go, Wen, but you should know something.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I haven’t dated anyone in years. This isn’t something I usually do. There’s something about you that I can’t resist and don’t want to resist. Friday is going to be the start of something between us. Unless we find that we can’t s
tand each other, which I can’t see happening, I want to be exclusive. I don’t want you dating anyone else.”
“I don’t want to see anyone else,” Wendy said quietly. “And between working two jobs and raising Jack, I haven’t dated much either.”
Blade couldn’t help but feel a sense of pleasure wash over him at her words. “Okay, sweetheart. I’m going to let you go. I’m looking forward to meeting you. To seeing you in person.”
“Me too.”
“Sleep well. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Blade hung up the phone and knew he had a goofy grin on his face, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to call Casey and tell her that he was finally going to meet the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about. He’d told his sister all about Wendy, and she’d been thrilled for him.
It could be because Casey was disgustingly happy with his teammate and friend, Beatle, but Blade knew it was more because she wanted him to be happy. He was close to his sister, and he knew if something, God forbid, had happened to their parents, both he and Casey would’ve done whatever was necessary to be there for each other.
Blade sat on the couch and stared at the TV for a long while before finally pushing to his feet and heading upstairs to his bedroom. He wanted to meet Wendy tonight. Or tomorrow, but knew she had to work. He also knew without a doubt the rest of the week was going to crawl by. He couldn’t wait until Friday.
Chapter Two
Wendy Tucker opened the door of the new sports bar and slowly walked inside. She was exactly on time for her date with Aspen, but he’d texted her a couple minutes ago to tell her he was running late. He said he’d explain when he got there, but it had to do with his work.
She wasn’t thrilled to have to hang out by herself in the bar and wait for him—being social really wasn’t her thing. Jackson always made fun of her for spilling her life story to complete strangers when she was nervous, and in social situations she was usually nervous. She was always afraid she’d say the wrong thing to the wrong person and have law enforcement beating down her door as a result.
She’d tried to change—to be more cautious about what she blurted out—but she always seemed to run off at the mouth when she was unsure. She was surprised she hadn’t been found already because of what she’d blabbed to people in the past.
Wendy was beginning to think, after all these years, that she just might be in the clear.
She had planned on arriving at the bar at least ten minutes early, but she’d been running late as well because she’d had to change clothes after a resident at the assisted-living facility had gotten sick all over her. Wendy had been assisting a nurse in getting him from his bed to a chair so they could change his sheets when he’d literally puked up his entire lunch all over her shirt, and it had dripped down her body, soaking her jeans. By the time she’d gotten him into the chair, she could even feel the sticky, disgusting mess on her skin under her clothes.
After a shower, she’d had no other clothes to change into other than a pair of scrubs. She’d been hoping to wear something a bit more feminine to meet Aspen for the first time, but she didn’t have time to go home between the end of her shift and the time she was supposed to meet him at the bar.
She’d texted him that morning to let him know she’d be wearing a pair of jeans and a cute black blouse, which she thought slimmed her curves and showed off a bit of skin without being slutty, but that outfit was currently soaking in a sink at the assisted-living facility in the hopes it could be salvaged. Wendy was going to text Aspen and let him know about her new outfit, but figured she’d just tell him when he got there. Explaining why she’d changed her mind and what had happened was a long story, and she was actually looking forward to telling it to him face-to-face for once. She knew he’d be appropriately appalled and amused at the same time. And she’d know who he was because of the chocolate he said he’d bring for her, so she’d just have to approach him when he got there instead of waiting for him to find her.
She wandered over to the main bar area and hiked herself up onto a barstool at the end of the long bar. She still had a direct line of sight to the front door, so she’d be able to see Aspen when he entered.
“Good afternoon,” the pretty woman behind the bar said as Wendy got herself settled. “What can I get for you?”
“I’m thinking a soda, please,” Wendy said.
“You got it.” The bartender nodded and turned to make the drink.
“A soda?” a dark-haired woman asked. “It’s Friday night, surely you need and want something a bit stronger than that.”
Wendy turned to face the woman sitting on the barstool next to hers. She appeared to be alone, but she was smiling brightly and seemed friendly enough. She was tall and slender, wearing a short skirt and a black shirt with an extremely low neckline. The push-up bra the woman wore made it more than clear she’d enhanced what God had given her. She had long brown hair that lay in curls over her boobs, successfully bringing attention to them. Her makeup was heavy but done in a tasteful way. Her legs were crossed, and she swung one back and forth, bringing Wendy’s gaze down to the bright red, four-inch heels on her feet.
She looked like she was ready for one hell of a night out, and Wendy felt extremely frumpy next to her in her basic cotton scrubs.
Remembering the woman’s comment about her choice of drink, Wendy was a bit defensive, but she tried not to take the other woman’s words personally.
“I could probably use something stronger, but I’m meeting a man for the first time tonight, and I want to make sure I’m not tipsy or anything when he shows up.”
“I’m Christine,” the other woman said, holding out her hand.
Wendy shook it. “Wendy.”
“So…blind date, huh?” Christine asked.
“Sort of, yes. We’ve talked on the phone a lot, but haven’t seen each other in person. We decided to go for it tonight. Of course, if the evening goes the way my day did, it might not be a good thing.”
“I figured something must have happened because I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing those scrub things in public…nonetheless to meet a man, especially for the first time.”
Wendy wrinkled her nose. She wanted to tell Christine to fuck off, that not everyone was born with the genes she obviously had. But it was easier to let things roll off her back than get into an argument.
“Yeah, well, I got thrown up on at work and didn’t have a choice.”
“Ewwww!” Christine said. “You poor thing. Where do you work?”
“Cottonwood Estates. It’s a senior living community. We offer independent living for those who can still be on their own but want either a place with others their age they can hang out with or who need a bit of assistance with house cleaning and maybe one meal a day. We also have memory care, nursing home care, assisted living, and even rehabilitation.”
“So, you work with old people,” Christine said with a straight face.
Wendy struggled to keep her face clear of emotion. She really didn’t like the woman sitting next to her all that much, but never liked to cause a scene. She’d learned a long time ago that it was better to be nice and blend in than to cause a stink and bring attention to herself.
“The elderly, yes.”
The bartender came over with her soda and placed it on a napkin in front of Wendy with a smile. Wendy picked up her drink and took a big swallow as Christine asked, “So you got puked on today and had to change. Did you tell the guy you’re meeting? What’s his name again?”
“Aspen, and no, I figured I’d tell him the whole story when he got here,” Wendy told Christine.
“Aspen? What kind of name is that?” the other woman asked.
Wendy gritted her teeth. She’d loved Aspen’s name from the first time she’d heard it.
“It’s English.”
“Isn’t it that ski resort town out in Colorado?” Christine asked.
“Yeah. It’s also the name of a tree.”
“Hmmm. What’s h
e do?”
“Who, Aspen?”
“Yeah.”
Wendy sucked down another swallow of the soda and wished that Aspen would walk through the door and save her from Christine’s nosey questions. She’d get up and move but that would be super rude, and she didn’t want to cause a scene. She hated confrontation, and the last thing she wanted was for Christine to get huffy with her. “He’s in the Army.”
“Ah, a military man. I bet he’s muscular, huh?”
Wendy shrugged. “I guess. He works out a lot. He’s always talking about how he does PT with his friends.”
“What time’s he supposed to get here?”
Wendy looked at her watch and thought to herself, Not soon enough. But instead, she said, “We were supposed to meet at five, but he texted and said he was running late. He should be here any minute.”
“How are you going to know who he is? I mean, you said that you hadn’t met each other in person before. Let me guess, he’ll be carrying a red rose, right? That’s so romantic!”
“Nope, a bag of chocolate Kisses. I told him how much I loved them during one of our phone calls.”
Christine rolled her eyes then looked Wendy up and down. “Yeah, that’s obvious.”
Wendy gaped at her. She knew she wasn’t exactly model thin, but this bitch pointing it out was so out of line it wasn’t even funny. So what if she wasn’t stick thin? But of course, now that Christine had pointed it out, Wendy began to feel self-conscious. She’d told Aspen that she wasn’t skinny…hadn’t she? Suddenly she couldn’t remember. What if he was expecting a tall, slender woman? She’d told him she had brown hair, but that was about it. Shit.
“Hey, you’ve got something between your teeth,” Christine said.
Wendy’s hand shot to her mouth and she covered it. “Really?”
“Yeah, it’s something black. Maybe you should run to the restroom and take care of it before Aspen gets here, huh?”
Wendy put down her drink and nodded. “Yeah, I think I will. Thank you so much for pointing it out.” She suddenly felt guilty for thinking mean things about Christine. She couldn’t be all bad if she was trying to save her from embarrassment around her blind date.