by Laura Ann
Mateo watched with narrowed eyes as they paused in the parking lot and Ms. Gresham put her hand on the man’s forearm. Maybe she isn’t taking this email thing as seriously as I am.
Glancing both ways he started across the parking lot, his eyes still on the blonde woman. As he got closer, the man turned, got into his car and left. But Ms. Gresham spun in Mateo’s direction and locked eyes with him. As Mateo approached, he noticed her looking him up and down, blatant approval in her eyes and pursed lips.
“Well hello,” she purred as he stopped in front of her.
Mateo scrunched his eyebrows. She’s much bolder than I expected her to be. Her emails make her sound so innocent. He cleared his throat. “Hello. I’m uh, well ... there’s no easy way to say this. I’m M.K.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and ducked his chin, looking at her from under his eyelashes, a little nervous of how she was going to respond.
The woman tilted her head, her eyebrows raised and expectant.
“Umm ... M.K.? From the dating site? You’re L.G., right?” Mateo shifted his weight from side to side. She doesn’t look like she knows what I’m talking about.
She scrunched her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “L.G.?” The woman asked. “And you say, you’re M.K.? From the dating site? Online?” She didn’t appear to be happy about the situation.
Mateo felt his ego take a hit. I could have sworn she looked happy I was here a minute ago. “Yeah. I, uh, when you mentioned you taught at Middleton, I looked you up. L.G. I heard someone call you Miss Gresham? So what does the ‘L’ stand for?” He tried to smile at her, but their easy email banter obviously didn’t translate into real life and he just felt awkward.
“L.G. and I teach at Middleton. Oh!” Her face lit up, as if finally recognizing what was going on. “L.G. And I teach at Middleton. We were writing from a dating site.” She laughed, loudly, leaning forward and holding herself against his arm.
Mateo looked around uncomfortably, hoping no one could hear the obnoxious laughter coming from the woman next to him. Luckily, they were alone in the parking lot.
Keeping her hand on his arm, she finally got herself under control and sidled up close to him. “Well, M.K. It’s nice to officially meet you. I’m Lillith. Lillith Gresham.”
Mateo cleared his throat, “I’m Mateo Kingsley.”
“Kingsley?” She raised an eyebrow as she looked him over again.
“Yes. My mother is latina, if you recall, but my father is caucasian. I mentioned that.” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. He still felt uncomfortable, although she had finally recognized who he was. Maybe I just need to spend a little time with her. Get to know each other in person like we’ve done online. Standing right beside her, he felt zero draw to her, but he couldn’t deny the easy chemistry they had had through words. Give it time. He told himself.
“Would you like to grab something to eat tonight? You have been hinting that you would like to take things to the next level and I thought maybe this would be a good way to start?” He stepped back from her reach, as she started to draw circles on his arm with her bright pink nail.
“Oooh ... that sounds nice.” She stepped into his space again. “What time would you like to pick me up?”
“Seven?” He leaned back, fighting to keep a light smile on his lips.
“Perfect.” She fished in her bag for a business card and handed it to him. “See ya tonight handsome.” She gave a small wiggle of her fingers and strutted to her car. Just before she closed the door she called out to him. “I like nice dinners. None of those small mom and pop places.”
Before he could answer her, she slammed her car door and took off.
“That did not go how I thought it would,” he mumbled to himself as he walked down the street to where he had parked. “Surely as we get comfortable with each other I’ll see the girl I’ve talk to online.”
His shoulders were slumped and his heart felt heavy, as doubt crowded his thoughts. With a firm shake of his head, he stopped the depressing emotions. “You haven’t given her a chance,” he scolded himself. “Patience. Patience.”
Dear L.G.
Since our latest step forward this afternoon
I wasn’t sure if you wanted to continue to write?
I mean, we can if you want, I don’t mind.
I just wanted to know your opinion. And
I guess we didn’t really get a chance to talk
About it, so FYI my favorite season is
Also summer. I love being outdoors and
Being active. Hiking, biking, climbing, love it all.
Let me know what you want to do.
M.K.
PS
Evidence #31: Superman can lift a whole building.
CHAPTER 9
Lucy felt a stone hit her stomach as she read the email waiting for her. He doesn’t want to write anymore? After our latest step forward? What does that mean? She felt tears prick her eyes. “He must have been scared off when I hinted at taking things to the next level. Oh my gosh.” She put her fingers over her trembling lips. “I was actually starting to think we had something.”
Although her voice had mostly recovered in the last week, it would now seem that her heart was was the wounded and raw part of her body.
She stepped away from the computer to clear her head for a few minutes. If he wants to stop writing, why didn’t he just say so? Was he just trying to let me down easy? Is he just unsure about our relationship? Is there even a relationship? “I thought there was,” she murmured out loud. “Maybe I’ve waited too long to move forward. Or maybe I haven’t waited long enough?”
Lucy tried to distract herself by making dinner and watching a sitcom, but when bedtime rolled around, her head was still swirling chaotically.
She found her thoughts drifting to the man she had met at the park a week ago. “Mateo,” she whispered in reverence. If she focused, she could still recall the strong draw she had felt to the handsome man. His dark, handsome features seemed branded into her brain, but she knew the odds of seeing him again were slim. “Maybe I should start going back to the park and keeping an eye out for him, since it seems my luck with online love isn’t exactly panning out.”
Deciding to wait until morning to make any decisions, she finished her bedtime routine and crawled under the covers. While snuggled up on her side, she let one tear drip down her cheek and soak into her pillow. Why is finding love so hard?
MATEO STEPPED OUT OF the car and walked around to open the door for his companion. His collar felt too tight and he reached up, trying to loosen his tie so he could breath.
Lillith stepped out of the car and surveyed the restaurant they had stopped at. “Very nice,” she said approvingly. Glancing up at him, she stepped close and reached up to his tie. After tightening and shifting it, she gave it a little pat. “Want you to look your best now, don’t we?”
Mateo closed his eyes for a moment as she strutted toward the front door. I suppose she was trying to be nice. Following her through the parking lot, he found himself once again pulling on his tie, it felt as if it was getting tighter and tighter. He held the door to the restaurant open for her and said as she passed, “I haven’t said, but you look very nice tonight, Ms. Gresham.”
And she did, maybe a little too much. Her red dress was tight and a little lower cut than he considered appropriate, her perfume wasn’t bad, even if she was wearing a bit too much of it. Her lipstick matched her dress and once again brought out the paleness of her skin, which he had to admit look smooth and silky. She’s probably just nervous and trying a little too hard tonight. He justified for her.
“Yes,” she murmured as she walked past him, not even acknowledging his act of chivalry.
Mateo huffed out a breath. He reached up to run his hand through his hair, but stopped himself at the last moment. She’ll probably make some comment about it being messy. Instantly he felt bad. That wasn’t fair. I can’t judge her. I don’t really know her yet.
After th
ey were led to their table, they both took a few minutes to look over the menu.
“Have you been here before?” Lillith asked.
“Yes,” Mateo replied, still glancing at his choices. He brought clients here when he was trying to impress them.
“Well, what’s good then?” She set her menu down and looked at him.
Mateo smiled slightly. “Just about everything. At least everything I’ve tried. You might try the halibut cheeks or the salmon fillet?”
Lillith scrunched her nose just a little bit, but didn’t respond.
“They also have several wonderful pasta dishes. Right up your alley. The shrimp linguine with white wine sauce is excellent.”
Lillith studied him for a moment longer before saying, “Fine. Order me that.”
O—kay. Glancing back at the menu he decided to order a tried and true favorite, a fillet with blue cheese butter.
After the waiter returned and Mateo had ordered for them both, they sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Just as Mateo’s tie was starting to become constricting again, she spoke up.
“So ... tell me about yourself. Mateo.” She imitated a spanish accent as she said his name.
He scrunched his brows. “Well, you already know—”
“Let’s just pretend we haven’t been writing. Pretend I know absolutely nothing. Like, you just saw me in the parking lot and were so struck with my beauty you decided to ask me out and here we are.”
“I see. Okay, well. I mentioned before, my name is Mateo Kingsley. I’m a real estate agent, specializing in commercial real estate. I also do a bit of development on the side, when I can.”
She took a sip of her water and her eyebrows raised at his statement. After putting down her glass, she spoke. “So do you own real estate then?”
“A bit,” he said evasively, not wanting his money to be a factor in their relationship. “My mother and most of my siblings live one city over and I go to my parent’s house every Sunday for a big family dinner. My mother makes the best tamales this side of the Mississippi.” He grinned.
“Eww. Mexican food makes me bloat,” she moaned in disgust.
Mateo froze. She never said anything like that before, why would she turn up her nose now? Unsure how to respond to her rude remark, he chose to ignore it and move on. “Well, I guess that about does it. How about you?” He waved a hand in her direction; giving her the floor.
She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and sat a little straighter. “Well, as you know, I’m L.G. Lillith Gresham. I teach at Middleton Prep, in particular, I’m doing summer school this year.” She twirled her empty wine glass between her fingers. “I like eating at nice restaurants and getting all dolled up for dates.” She fluttered her lashes at him. “I suppose that’s about it. There’s not really much more to tell.”
“Not much more to tell? We seem to have talked about a lot more than that during our emails—”
She dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. “Oh you know how it is ... the desire to sound more impressive when you don’t really know the person. We really should just forget about those emails and get to know each other now.”
Mateo sat back and folded his arms across his chest. “If you say so,” he muttered. She is not what I expected at all. He sighed. But I really haven’t given her much of a chance, patience ... patience. He chided himself.
MATEO SIGHED A BREATH of relief when he finally dropped Lillith off at her apartment. Shaking his head, he backed out of the parking spot and got back on the road. His lips curled in disgust as he rubbed at the red lipstick stain on his cheek.
“Here I thought she was so innocent and down to earth in her emails.” He spoke aloud as he drove. “Just goes to show how things are not always what they seem.” He sighed as he drove. “But I had hoped ...”
Dear M.K.
I guess I hadn’t planned on stopping our
Emailing. But if you feel it’s necessary, I won’t
Fight you on it. I have enjoyed our letters but don’t
Wish to make you do something you don’t
Want to do. And just to respond to your
Last letter, I also love being outdoors.
I often sit in the park and just enjoy the
Feel of the sun warming my face. I enjoy being
Active, but I’ll admit I don’t do much anymore.
When I started teaching year round,
it took away my time to do those things.
L.G.
PS
Refute #31: Captain America can inspire a nation.
CHAPTER 10
The walls of Lucy’s apartment were closing in on her. She needed to get out. She hadn’t been back to the park for over a week, not since she had met Mateo. Whenever she thought about him, she still felt her heart rate and breathing speed up. You don’t even know him! She scolded herself.
The draw to him, however, had been unmistakeable and it both excited and frightened her. “With things looking like they are going downhill with M.K., maybe I should allow myself to get to know Mateo.” Her brows furrowed and she bit her lip as her thoughts swirled. She felt so torn. She had a small history with M.K., since they had been writing for a couple of months. Which makes it feel like we have a commitment of some sort. She mused. “But now he’s pulling back and then there’s the chemistry I felt with Mateo.” She huffed out a breath. “A man that I will more than likely never see again.” She shook her head.
The claustrophobia became too much and she headed out the door, walking in determined strides towards the park nearby, clutching a bag of bread crumbs and refusing to think about whether or not she would see a certain dark, handsome man sitting on her bench.
When she arrived at the park, she breathed a small sigh of relief mixed with disappointment. Mateo was nowhere in sight. Lucy shoved away the negative emotion, telling herself it was for the best.
Sitting down at the same bench as before, she leaned her head back and let the sun’s rays kiss her cheeks. A smile pulled at her lips as she felt her whole body warm and her tension begin to melt in the cheery sunshine.
“Fancy meeting you here,” a deep voice spoke from her left.
Jerking upright, she nearly lost her sunglasses. Her mouth flapped a couple of times, but she was too shocked to speak. Lucy mentally face palmed herself at her actions.
Mateo chuckled and sat down on the other end of the bench. “Yep, it’s me. It would seem we have the same taste in parks.”
“And benches,” she quipped.
His eyebrows shot up and a smile lit his face. “She talks! And in english, no less!”
Lucy felt the electricity between them start to buzz as she returned his smile. “Shocking isn’t it?”
“I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure you were truly human after our last encounter.” He teased.
Lucy tilted her head, her grin turning playful. “And just what did you think I was? A robot?”
“Nah,” he waved the idea away. “You’re definitely alive, just maybe, not ... human. A human looking alien, like, Superman.”
Lucy raised her eyebrows. “I’m not sure whether I should be insulted or flattered. On one hand you think I’m an alien, but on the other hand, I’m being compared to an alien that is extremely good looking, so ... ” She used to hands to create scales on either side of her and tipped them back and forth.
Mateo laughed. “It was meant as a compliment.” His eyes twinkled, letting her know he also enjoyed their banter.
Lucy felt her cheeks flush and ducked her head away from his penetrating stare. “So,” she cleared her throat. “What brings you back to the park today?”
Mateo sighed as he turned towards the lake in front of them, leaning back into the bench he folded his arms. “Needed to clear my head. Sometimes life makes things complicated, huh?” He glanced over at her with an eyebrow raised.
“True that.” She nodded and pursed her lips. “Want to talk it out? I can be a pretty good listener.” Plus, talking abou
t your troubles will keep me from wanting to jump into your lap and steal a kiss. She tossed some bread crumbs to a flock of geese waiting at the water’s edge while she waited for him to reply.
He gave a little smile. “Sure ... why not?” He said. “I’ve ... well ... see I met this girl.”
Lucy’s heart sank. Well, talking is going to be a better deterrent than I thought.
“I first got to know her through some emails, but now that I’ve met her in person, I’m not sure what to think.”
Lucy threw another handful of crumbs, feeling that he wasn’t done, but he seemed to be struggling with what to say next.
“She’s not terrible, she’s just not quite what I imagined her to be.”
When he paused again, Lucy spoke up. “Do you feel that she lied to you in the emails?”
Mateo twisted his mouth. “Not exactly. I feel like I may have misinterpreted them. But we’ve only gone out once, so one part of me feels like I haven’t spent enough time with her to get to know her. The other part is upset that the chemistry I feel in the emails obviously isn’t there when we talk in person. I mean, I had kinda fallen for her in the emails, or at least the version of her I had imagined in my mind and I don’t really want to walk away from the possibility that we could be good together. But when we met, I expected, I don’t know ...” He trailed off, his eyes searching the landscape as if it held the answers he was seeking.
“More.” Lucy’s voice was raspy and she cleared her throat again.
“Yeah.” His answer was soft as he turned to look at her. His brown eyes pulled her in, the buzzing from earlier becoming stronger than ever. He scooted a little closer to her. “I want there to be a pull, a draw.”
“Electricity.” Her voice had also gone soft and she found herself leaning towards him.