"She isn't that bad. Besides, when she isn't using it to bitch at me about not taking her out in public, her mouth is spectacular! Seriously, she does this thing with her hand and her mouth..." he pauses, making a hand motion and kissing sound like an Italian chef before saying, "Benissimo." I groan at this ridiculous conversation.
I know better than anyone that Caleb is still hung up on Manda. In the four years since the accident, he has never been in another relationship. Don't get me wrong, he's had plenty of women to warm his bed, but never anything more. Last weekend, I drove past the cemetery and saw him laying on her grave playing with a little black box. I have no idea what's inside, and no desire to ask him about it either. I just know that box meant something to him and Manda, because he never goes to visit her without it. I ran into his sister the other day, and she told me he still goes to "talk" to Manda three to four times a week. I worry about him, but I understand how he feels. I can't seem to move on either.
"Come on, we have a meeting in fifteen minutes, and I know you didn't finish your paperwork from last night." I slap him on the arm heading to the door.
"Thanks for breakfast, Jess," I say holding up my coffee.
"No prob, see ya tomorrow."
Jesse
UGH, WHY does he have to be so hot? I watch him stride out the door, and I can't help but check out his butt as he goes. I'm sorry, but the man has a good looking rear end. I love when he wears his suit and tie for work, but my favorite is when he comes in on the weekend on his way home from the gym. All sexy and sweaty, with his shorts and tight t-shirt pulled across his perfectly muscled chest. I have got to stop checking him out every time he comes in here. One day he is going to catch me, and I won't be able to control the eleven shades of red my face turns.
Detective Brett Sharp is my idea of the perfect man. Tall, dark, handsome, nice dresser, employed, and since he is a cop, I'm assuming he doesn't have a criminal record. On second thought, he’s every woman’s perfect man. Which could be precisely why he doesn't seem to notice that I'm single, available, and very interested. I'm sure he probably exclusively dates six feet tall, blonde runway models. He's never brought anyone in with him before, or even ordered an extra coffee for someone possibly waiting at home.
I don't just sit around staring at him though. I'm going to make this dream a reality. I have been devising a plan for months to ask him out. Women can ask men out these days...right? Girl power or something like that. Well, one day, I overheard him talking to Caleb about how excited he was for the upcoming Bears season. So I called my brother and asked if he could get me tickets. His company has a big box they use to impress clients. The only problem is I know absolutely nothing about football. If you want to know the honest truth, when I asked my brother for Bears tickets, I thought they were for a hockey game.
My plan is to pretend I just happen to have an extra ticket, and ask Brett if he would like to go with me. The game is this weekend, so I'm really cutting it close. I would have asked him sooner, but I needed to make it believable that I would actually attend a game. I've spent weeks of studying nothing but football in order to pull off this ruse.
Two weeks ago, I asked my brother his prediction on the game so I could make a flirty little bet. Luckily my brother isn't as stupid as I thought he was when we were growing up, and I've won both bets I made with Brett. The forty bucks I've won only proves that this is an awesome plan. Tomorrow is the day I'm going to launch my stealth operation. I'm so nervous that I may need to come to work drunk in order to actually follow through, but regardless, I'm doing it.
"That is one fine piece of man," I hear from behind me as I try to stop thinking about his butt.
"Yeah he is," I say a little too dreamy.
"So when is the big day?" Kara asks.
Kara Reed is my best friend. She got me this job at Nell's Coffee House six months ago when the family I was a nanny for moved from Chicago to Colorado. We first met in college three years ago, when she was forced to attend the same "Picking your major" seminar being given by our advisor. We were surrounded by ten high school seniors. Kara and I were not new to college, but we had been in school for five years and kept changing our major, thus never actually earning a degree. Apparently his seminar wasn't very effective because after eight years in college, neither one of us has settled on a major. Unlike Kara, I did actually collect enough credits in one area to apply towards a diploma. I just didn't see a future for myself utilizing a Bowling Alley Management Degree, so the very next day I re-enrolled.
"Tomorrow," I reply to Kara's question.
"I can't believe you are actually going on a date with that man!" she yells, jumping up and down.
"Well he hasn't said yes yet, but what man could turn down box seats to the Bears game? He'll probably be so excited by the invitation that he snatches me up and kisses me on the spot," I joke while picking up a rag to wipe down the counter.