I nod. “I’d like a yellow flower.”
“For your girlfriend?” she asks.
I quickly shake my head. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” Where would she get an idea like that?
“Oh,” she looks flustered. “My aunt said you come in here a lot. I guess I just assumed…”
“I like plants.” It’s not a lie exactly. I don’t dislike plants. I guess I never actually thought about plants until the day I saw Abby.
“Follow me.” She makes her way from behind the counter.
I follow alongside of her as she heads down a long aisle of plants. I don’t have any particular reason for buying a yellow flowering plant other than I’ve already purchased one of every other color I could think of.
“Here they are.” She points to the small selection of Black-eyed Susan they have in stock.
I grab the smallest and most pathetic looking of the bunch. “I’ll go with this one.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Definitely this one.”
“Okay.”
As I follow her back to the cash register, my heart starts beating wildly again. Now that I’ve finally met her I don’t want this moment to end. Once I pay for the plant it will be weird if I don’t leave.
I try to think of something to talk about. I really don’t know anything about plants. And I don’t know anything about her.
I never have problems picking up women. Maybe it’s because I never actually talk to them. I don’t have to. All I have to say is, “Want to come back to my place?” and they always follow me home. The only other conversation that’s usually necessary is, “Want to get naked?”
I place the plant on the counter so she can ring it up.
“That’s eight dollars with the tax.”
I can’t stop looking into her big dark eyes.
“Eight dollars,” she repeats.
“Right.” I take my wallet from the front pocket of my jeans, remove my last ten dollar bill and hand it to her.
She hands me back two singles and a receipt.
If I didn’t have some money coming in for a commercial I shot I’d be worried. I’ve spent nearly all of the money I have on plants just so I could meet Abby.
Luckily Roscoe doesn’t ask me to pay rent or utilities because he knows my situation and he’s got plenty of money from his inheritance when his mom passed away.
Of course all of that is going to change when I find a new place to live. I’m sure whoever I live with next will expect me to pay my fair share, which I’m more than willing to do.
I just have to earn it first.
I really don’t want to go back to doing odd jobs and day labor if I can help it. It’s hard work and the pay sucks.
Plus I feel like I’m right on the edge of breaking out. As Penny likes to tell me it’s all about timing. I just have to be at the right audition at the right time.
The two bucks I have left in my pocket isn’t even enough for me to take her out for coffee. If she’d even go out with me after the fool I’ve made of myself so far.
“Would you like to go for a walk sometime?” I ask. As soon as the words leave my mouth I realize how ridiculous they sound.
She’s probably got guys asking her out to fancy restaurants, or concerts, or clubs. Why would she want to go for a walk with me?
“A walk?” she actually sounds confused.
“Forget it,” I tell her.
“Okay…”
We both look at each other for several seconds. All of the air seems to have escaped from my lungs.
“I have some work to do in the back,” she tells me. But she makes no move to leave.
“I just thought since you like plants that maybe we could go for a walk in the park.”
“My aunt and uncle own this place and they gave me a job. I don’t have any sort of affinity for plants.”
I’m not sure what affinity means, but it sounds like she cares about plants as much as I do, which isn’t that much at all.
“Plus I don’t know really know you, so I’m a little hesitant to go to the park.”
“I never thought about that.” I hope she doesn’t think I’m some kind of mugger or rapist who wants to get her alone in the woods. Suggesting the park was another stupid idea. Too bad they don’t give prizes for saying stupid things. I’d take first place every day of my life. “Sorry.”
She shrugs. “It’s okay.”
I don’t want to blow my chances with her, but I’m not sure what else to say.
“Do you want to go out for a snow cone?” I ask. I know there’s a vendor down the block who sells them for two bucks. It’s my last shot, so I throw it out there.
“That’s unusual,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a snow cone before. And I’ve definitely never been invited to have one.”
“They’re good,” I assure her.
When she bites her bottom lip, I think about kissing her. And that starts some action downstairs that I wasn’t expecting.
I push my hands deep into my pockets so hopefully it’s not too obvious that I’m getting hard.
“I’ve really got to get back to what I was doing.” She points to the door behind her.
“You must get a lunch hour,” I say trying not to sound as desperate as I feel.
She smiles. “I don’t think I want a snow cone for lunch.”
I glance down at my phone. It’s only eleven. I have plenty of time to go back to the condo and borrow money from Roscoe to take her on a real date. I know he wouldn’t mind.
“I could take you out for Chinese food. There’s a place right around the corner…”
“China Moon,” we both say at the same time. “I love that place.”
“Then it settled,” I tell her. “We both love it. We have to go.”
She scrunches up her cute little nose as if she’s giving the suggestion some thought. “I don’t date.”
“Why not?” Abby is young and gorgeous. She probably has lots of guys asking her out. Why wouldn’t she go out with them?
She gulps. “I can’t.”
That seems like an odd thing to say. I don’t think it’s a religious thing. She’s wearing short shorts and a pretty tight top. From what I’ve seen most of the religious girls keep a lot more hidden.
Of course now that her shorts and top have my attention I can’t seem to keep my eyes off her lovely little curves.
Then it occurs to me that maybe it’s just her way of telling me that she just doesn’t want to go out with me.
I have to know the truth, even if it hurts. It’s supposed to be like ripping off a bandage, right? Just get it over with as fast as possible.
“Do you not date at all, or do you just not want to date me?”
“It’s not you,” she says quickly. It should be a relief, but there’s still so much hesitancy in her eyes. There’s definitely something else going on. Something she’s not telling me.
“Then what is it?” I search her face looking for clues.
She presses her lips together. “I’ve actually been hoping I’d see you again. I noticed you walking by one day a few weeks ago. I was watering some plants outside.”
That’s the same day I first saw her. From the moment I laid eyes on her I had a feeling my life would never be the same again.
“Go out with me,” I press. “I’d really like to get to know you better.”
She glances behind her at the door then turns back to me. “I don’t know if I can. I’ll have to ask my aunt.”
That seems like such a strange thing to say. Does she have to ask for permission to go out for lunch?
“I have to take care of a few things,” I tell her. “But I’ll come back at noon. If you can get things sorted out I’ll take you to China Moon.”
She licks her lips. “I haven’t been there in a while.”
“Neither have I. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
She smiles. “You haven’t even told me your name
yet.”
It’s just one dumb thing after another with me isn’t it? “Chris Rhodes.”
She looks at me for several long moments. I can still see the hesitancy on her face.
“What’s your last name Abby S.?” I ask.
“Sullivan.”
“Abby Sullivan.” I like the sound of her name on my lips. “I’ll see you at noon.”
***
“Dude, I need to borrow twenty bucks.”
Roscoe is typing away on this laptop. He doesn’t even react to my request.
“Did you hear me?”
He stops typing and turns to face me. “Why do you need twenty dollars? We give you food and shelter. What else do you need?”
“I sort of have a date.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You don’t date. You pick up chicks and bang them. You don’t even give the illusion of ever wanting to see them again.”
“This is different.”
Now I have his full attention. “I’m listening.”
I take in a deep breath then exhale. I really didn’t want to tell him about Abby until things were further along. Just in case they never actually got any further along.
I think that’s a strong possibility once she gets to know me. I don’t exactly have a lot to offer. I’m an unemployed actor who owns nothing but the clothes on my back. In a town where net worth means everything, I’ve got none.
“There’s this girl who works at the nursery. I want to take her to lunch.”
He glances over at the twelve plants I’ve purchased over the last few weeks. “That explains a lot.”
He reaches into the pocket of his jeans and pulls out his wallet. He removes two twenty dollar bills and hands them to me. “That’s so you can leave a generous tip. Really impress her.”
I need something to impress her. I definitely won’t be doing it with my conversation skills. I barely made it out of high school. The only thing that saved my skin was being the star of our high school’s football team. No teacher wanted to be the one who kept me from taking the team to the state championships.
“Thanks, Cuz. You know I’ll pay you back when I get paid for the commercial.”
He waves away my offer. “Don’t worry about it. Do you really like this girl?”
I nod. “I think about her all the time. And it’s not just about sex, which is weird.”
“For you it is.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Like you didn’t get a lot of snatch before you met Nellie.”
“That’s how you know you’ve met the right one. You don’t want anyone else.”
“I haven’t even thought about going to a yoga class in weeks.”
Yoga studios were the places I knew I could always pick up easy girls. Not that there aren’t easy girls all over LA, but yoga girls are also flexible and have a lot of stamina.
“We’re going to have to think of something else to do with the sparkling vitamin water. We’re running out of room in the fridge.”
Sparkling vitamin water is like my trademark. I was given a lifetime supply by the manufacturer and I gave it to all of my overnight guests.
When I had ladies over every night and two guests on Sundays, it put a dent in my supply.
Since I’ve been pursuing Abby I haven’t been scoring as much.
Okay, I haven’t been scoring at all.
I really haven’t wanted to.
And then there’s the situation with Penny. I know she dates guys in the business. Powerful guys who can help her career. But she and I don’t date. I’m more like her plaything.
Even so I don’t know how she’d feel about me being with anyone other than her. The subject hasn’t really come up. But something tells me that she doesn’t like to share her toys.
Nothing is going to stop me from going out with Abby now that I have the chance. Especially not Penny Wagner.
As I run a brush through my dark hair I stare at myself in the mirror for several moments. This is my one shot to make an impression on Abby. I don’t want to blow it. The best thing I can probably do is ask her questions about herself so I don’t have to talk about myself. That will significantly lessen the odds that I’ll say something stupid.
***
“I don’t really like to talk about myself,” Abby tells me after I ask my very first question.
So much for my plan to not talk about myself.
She was waiting for me outside of the nursery when I showed up at noon.
“Your aunt was okay with you going on a date?”
“I wouldn’t say okay exactly, but she didn’t say no.”
We’re both quiet as we walk the few blocks to China Moon. Honestly I’m afraid to say much because I don’t want to make a fool of myself.
Now I wonder if not saying anything is making me look like a fool anyway.
Luckily the restaurant isn’t crowded yet and we have our choice of tables. I ask about seating us near the back where it’s quiet.
When I glance at the menu and see the prices I’m thankful Roscoe spotted me forty bucks. I don’t remember the meals being quite this expensive.
It’s worth it to get to spend time with Abby though.
“Everything sounds good,” she remarks as she scans the menu.
“I like ginger beef,” I tell her.
“Me too. And I like the Szechuan chicken.” She tightens her thin lips. “It’s hard to decide.”
“Maybe we could order both and split them,” I suggest.
Her face lights up. “You don’t mind?”
I shake my head. “Of course not. That’s what Roscoe and I usually do.”
Her brow furrows. “Who’s Roscoe?”
“My brother from another mother.”
She doesn’t seem to get the joke. Or maybe it’s just not funny. It’s hard to tell. She’s definitely not an easy girl to impress and I’m failing miserably at it.
“He’s my cousin,” I explain. “But we’re so close we’re like brothers.”
She nods, but doesn’t comment.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I ask her.
She shakes her head.
“I’m an only child too,” I tell her.
That’s when she stares at me again. It’s almost like she’s trying to look right through me. It makes my stomach knot. I actually haven’t felt so nervous since I played football.
Luckily the waiter comes and Abby looks at him instead of me.
“What can I get for you?” he asks.
Before I have a chance to say anything Abby orders for both of us. “We’ll have the ginger beef and the Szechuan chicken to share. Half white and half fried rice.” She looks back at me shyly and asks, “Do you mind if I add something else?”
“Go ahead.”
“And egg rolls,” she adds to the order.
She folds up her menu, hands it to the waiter then grins at me.
I realize I don’t have a lot of experience with dating. For the most part I’ve been a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy. But I always thought the guy was supposed to be the one who ordered the food.
I close my menu and hand it to the waiter. He looks at me like I’m some kind of loser.
Once the waiter leaves Abby places her small finger to her perfect lips. “I hope you like egg rolls. I forgot to ask. Sorry.”
I shrug. “Sure. I’ll eat almost anything.”
“I love egg rolls.” She sounds like she’s talking about a lover rather than a food. I imagine what it would sound like if she said she loved me that way.
Of course that will probably never happen because I’m a dumb jerk who apparently can’t even order a meal on a date.
“So what do you do?” she asks. “When you’re not buying plants at the nursery?”
“I’m an actor.”
“I haven’t seen you in anything.”
I cringe. I hate having to explain that I’m still trying to break into the business. “I just did a toothpaste commercial. It’ll be airing soon.”
<
br /> “You do have a great smile,” she tells me.
Finally something positive. Maybe there’s hope for us after all.
“I’ve been doing a lot of auditions. I have a really good feeling that my big break may be just around the corner.”
“That’s great. How long have you been at it?”
“Too long,” I tell her.
That makes her laugh. “You can’t be older than twenty-five. Did you start when you were a kid?”
“I’m twenty-six. I started auditioning about five years ago.”
“That’s not too long.”
“How old are you?” I ask her.
Her face reddens. “So you want me to tell you the truth?”
“Of course.”
“Nineteen.”
For some reason I didn’t think she was that young. Not that she looks older. She just seems a lot more mature than the average nineteen-year-old.
“Does the age difference bother you?” I ask her.
Even though she shakes her head I can tell that something is making her uncomfortable about being with me.
I hope it isn’t just me.
“You seem younger,” she tells me. I’m not sure that’s a compliment.
“So what do you like to do when you’re not at the nursery?” I ask.
She lets out a small sigh. “I don’t have a lot of free time.”
She looks lost in her thoughts for several moments.
“Do you work every day?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I usually get two days off every week.”
“What do you do when you’re not working?”
The egg rolls are served before she has a chance to respond. The plate barely has a chance to hit the table before she grabs one.
Abby is a tiny girl. She’s maybe five foot three inches tall and all of a hundred and ten pounds. But she’s acting like she’s starving.
I love to eat just as much as the next guy, but I’ve never seen a girl devour food so fast in my life.
The first egg roll disappears into her mouth. It doesn’t even seem like she took the time to chew it.
There are two egg rolls left on the plate and she’s eyeing them like a hungry lion eyeing a big, juicy steak.
“Have one,” she tells me without taking her eyes off of them.
I feel like if I grab one she might bite some of my fingers off. “Go ahead,” I tell her.
Beautiful Abyss (California Dreamers #3) Page 2