The Do Over

The parking lot was empty as it normally was this early on a Saturday morning. Sitting in my car, I thumbed the key. I brought it closer to my eyes, looking at it more carefully.

After a meticulous inspection, there was nothing different or unusual about it. A key was just a key, except this key was Liam's key. I'd had his key on my keychain for almost a week, and I'd only used it once when I'd locked the door as I'd left Monday morning. I still wasn't sure how I felt about having it. I knew how much I'd loved falling asleep with him and waking up in his bed that morning. Just because I was unsure of the key didn't mean I had any intentions of giving it back. It was mine. I was just trying to figure out if it was a blessing or a curse. More than likely, it wasn't anything exciting or dramatic. It was probably something boring, like a key. That thought, surprisingly, disappointed me.

I checked my reflection in my rearview mirror and applied some lip gloss. Pulling out my phone, I bit my lower lip as I sent Liam a good-morning text.

Dani: Good morning. I'm on fire for you.

Liam: I wanna put out that fire. Now, that's the way I like to start my day.

Dani: You just make my fire hotter. You might have to use your hose.


Oh my god, I didn't just go there.



Liam: My hose is on alert and ready to handle any level of heat.



Dani: I'll be the judge of that.



Liam: We'll put it to the test, and you let me know.



Dani: God, I want you right now.



Liam: Me too. I love you.



Dani: Love you lots!



Dani: I can't wait to get my hands on that hose.



Liam: You're driving me insane! I want your hands on my hose NOW.



Dani: XOXO.



Liam: XOXO.



I got my purse and exited my car. As I started walking toward Lincoln Road, I hooked my finger through my key ring, holding his key between my forefinger and thumb. I thought back to Monday morning.

Liam's weight lifted from the bed as he got up. I shifted in my sleep. I was too tired to do more than that. As I felt a kiss on my forehead, I smiled.

When the alarm on my phone buzzed, I hit snooze. Lying back on my pillow, I snuggled under the covers. His scent was on me and all around me. I was content and in love. Reaching over, I grabbed his pillow and brought it into my chest, holding it tightly. Then, I stretched and got out of bed. When my phone chirped, I picked it up to see that I had a text from Liam.

Liam: Good morning. Loved waking up next to you.

Dani: Morning. I love you.

I wanted to stay in his bed all morning long. The sound of my alarm chimed again, and I knew I had to get ready to go. Tomorrow night would be the soonest I could see him, and I missed him already. Before I left, I watched the video of his serenade. Geez, now, I was the sappy hearts-and-flowers dork. I loved it.

When I arrived on Lincoln Road, I noticed the freaks and models around me. Today, there was a couple walking their poodles. There was nothing unusual about that, except that one of the poodles was pink and the other one was blue. It was a mild show if I didn't take into consideration that the owners' hair matched their dogs.

I sauntered down to Van Dyke's. I found my usual table, but there was a new server. Ugh. I'd have to train him.

Françoise came over and brought me a menu. "Mademoiselle, can I get you anything?"

On second thought, Françoise was actually kind of cute, and he had an accent. I sighed.

"I'll have a diet soda for now. I'll order when my friends arrive."

I looked over the menu that I had memorized long ago. Setting it down, I reached for my Kindle, but then I picked up my keychain instead. Again, I thumbed the key. I cocked my head to the side and examined it. I was hoping to talk to Candace about this. I knew she would help me clear my thoughts, but we were definitely not going to discuss this during brunch. I was done with Macy's loose lips. Then, my trance was broken.

"So, we meet again."

I let out a deep sigh and threw my head back, shaking it. "Rick." I sat up and continued to shake my head. "What are you doing here?" I glared at him with a raised eyebrow.

As he stood in front of me, my eye trained on the sweat beading down his arms and a trail rolling down the side of his face. He reached for a napkin on my table to wipe his face. The man made sweat look sexy. I closed my eyes to push that thought away.

"First of all, good morning."

He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. Françoise rushed over and brought him a menu.

"Thank you, and please bring me a bottle of Evian," he said to the server. "I can ask you the same thing," he said smugly.

"Really? This should be very interesting." I crossed my arms in front of me.

"If you think about it, the first time we ran into each other could be blamed on serendipity. The second time was maybe a coincidence. But now…Daniela, come on, I told you I run this way every Saturday, and here you are again." He smiled, showing off his dimples.

Françoise brought his water.

"Thank you. Now, this is water."

I was in the twilight zone. I sat, staring at him, and then I laughed. "What? You've got to be kidding me." My elbows were on the table as I still held my keys in my hands.

"Are you dangling the keys to my heart in your hands?" he asked in a deep voice.

As his lip curled into a smile, our eyes connected, and my heart beat faster. I looked away and set the keys down.

"No, they're not the keys to your heart," I said with a hint of sarcasm. I rested my chin on my hands, regaining most of my composure. "Now, tell me, what are you doing here?"

His eyes met mine as he matched my posture. "So, whose heart do those keys open?"

I looked away. I felt awkward and very uncomfortable. That was personal and hit too close to home. I sat up and shifted in my seat.

"You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?" I asked again.

Sitting back, he picked up the menu. "I'm having breakfast. That's what I'm doing here. What do you recommend?"

"I recommend you get your ass up out of that chair and get the hell out of here. You cannot have breakfast!"

As he started laughing, I glared at him.

"Cariño, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I've been running, and I need to replenish. I think I'll have the seasonal berries and yogurt." He signaled for Françoise who rushed over to our table. "I'll have—"

I interrupted him. "He's not ready yet." I smiled at Françoise and then returned my grimace to Rick. "Macy and Candace will be here soon. This isn't a good idea. Eat your most important meal of the day but not here."

"Okay," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Where do you want to go?" He put the menu down and pulled out some money.

"No, I'm staying. You're going." I smiled flatly and then buried my face in my hands.

"You know I don't like to eat alone. If you won't go with me, then I'll just eat quickly before your friends come. Will that make you more comfortable?"

"I can definitely see that my comfort is of your utmost concern," I said sarcastically.

"Ugh," he said, clutching his heart, "that hurt my feelings, Daniela. What's the big deal? So what if your friends see me at the table?" His eyes were pleading.

"You're not exactly their favorite person," I deadpanned.

"No, but I've changed. I'm man enough to face them and own up to how I treated you."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

He shook his head.

I relented. "Fine, but I need to be back in half an hour, and I can't lose the table."

His eyes danced with excitement as though he'd won the lottery. Rick had the ability to wear anyone down. He never took no for an answer. He was great at sales as evidenced by the fact that I was about to do something that I didn't even want to do.

"No problem." He winked and then went over to speak to Françoise. The next thing I knew, he was back and pulling my chair out for me. "After you."

I reached for my purse, grabbed my keys, and got up. "Are you sure my table is going to be here?" I was nervous. Somehow, I'd convinced myself that this was the lesser of the two evils.

"Relax. I took care of everything." He winked again.

As we started walking down Lincoln Road, he said, "By the way, you look beautiful. You know how much I've always liked it when you wear your hair like that."

"Thanks, I think. And what are you talking about?"

I quickly became self-conscious. It was true. My effortless look generally meant that I had my hair pulled up. Nah. I shook off any thoughts that he was right. I wasn't expecting him. I'd just worn my hair down. It meant nothing.

He glanced over at me as we continued walking. "Accept the compliment and stop looking for ulterior motives. It looks good. You should always wear it down."

What the hell am I doing? I shouldn't be walking down Lincoln Road with Rick of all people.

"Thank you. Listen, I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

"What idea would that be?" He stopped.

I glanced away. "That…I don't know, Rick. I have a boyfriend," I stammered.

"Look at me."

As I looked back to him, his eyes caught mine and held the stare. I hadn't been this close to him in years. When he reached down, grabbing my hands, a shiver traveled up my arms. I looked away.

"Cariño, relax. Why can't we just be old friends grabbing a bite to eat?"

I gently pulled my hands away. "Because we're not old friends," I said softly. As I tucked my hair behind my ears, I could feel the beating of my heart in my throat. He shouldn't have this effect on me.

"Then, let's be new friends." He cocked his head and gave me his signature dimpled smile.

For a brief moment, I wanted that.

"Come on, there's a bookstore over here that sells breakfast," he said, leading the way.

When we arrived, he ordered at the counter while I secured a small bistro table outside. I settled into my chair and took in the surroundings. It was a beautiful day. The palm trees swayed to the soft breeze against the backdrop of the bright blue sky. The color of Liam's eyes. I sighed as my stomach dropped.

Rick walked over with his food and our drinks. He set the tray down on the table, opened my can, and poured it into a cup. He looked up at me and smiled. I didn't know what to make of him. I always knew he had it in him to be that guy.

I sipped my soda, looking up at him through my lashes. "Thank you for the drink."

"Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

I shook my head.

"This is nice. I miss this." His eyes were sad.

A part of me missed it, too. "Please, we can't go there. I have a boyfriend." Bringing the straw to my mouth, I sipped my drink.

"You have a boyfriend. You keep saying that. Who are you trying to convince? I already told you that I'm not a threat. Or am I?" His eyes danced as they locked on mine.

"No, you're not. I don't want you to think that you are just because I'm sitting here. You're not. It's just that I don't think Liam would appreciate this. In fact, I know he wouldn't." I started to push back from the table.

"Wait, don't go." He started to get up as he reached his arm out to stop me. "Please. I give you my word. There's nothing inappropriate going on here. I just want to eat my granola and yogurt and catch up as much as we can in the next fifteen minutes."

"As long as we're straight, okay? I love him, and I don't want to hurt him." I looked at Rick with pleading eyes. "I suppose we can't really do anything inappropriate in fifteen minutes."

"That's not true. There's plenty I can do in fifteen minutes." He had a mischievous smirk and a sparkle in his eyes.

"Stop it!" I said, rolling my eyes. "And when on earth did you start running and eating yogurt? Really? Wild berries? Granola? You?"

"I run every morning and eat healthy. I won't lie. On occasion, I might cheat and have a pastelito de guava y queso. I recall someone loved those."

I couldn't believe he remembered. Then again, who doesn't love those? It might have been a lucky guess.

"I already told you that I'm reinventing myself. Now, it's your turn. Tell me something," he said as he looked down at his watch.

Ordinarily, I would've been offended, but something in his eyes told me he was aware of how much time we had left.

"I'm still trying to figure out this coincidence that doesn't feel like one. I've been coming to this area every Saturday for more than a year, and I've never seen you here before. Now, surprisingly, I see you three weeks in a row. That just seems suspicious."

"Let me see if I follow your logic. Just because you've never noticed me before, you think I'm stalking you." Sitting back, he put his arms behind his head as he laughed.

I was amusing him. We quickly fell into the old pattern of his laughter disarming me.

"I didn't say that exactly. When you put it that way, it does sound creepy and pathetic," I said.

"I'm glad I ran into you. Maybe this doesn't feel like a coincidence because it's fate. Why complicate things? Just enjoy the moment. Who knows? Maybe this'll be the last time we see each other. We have this moment, so let's enjoy it."

Something about potential finality made me sad. As crazy as it sounded, spending this time with Rick felt therapeutic.

"I'm not buying it. Fate? No, you're stalking me. Just so you know, I'm here every Saturday." Shit. I did not just say that.

"What a coincidence, I run here every Saturday. Come on, Cinderella, our time's up."

He pulled back my chair and walked me back to Van Dyke's, and true to his word, my table was waiting for me.

"It was great seeing you. Thank you for breakfast," he said.

He leaned in and grazed my cheek with a light kiss, sending tingles throughout my body. I stood there, stunned. He turned around, placed his earbuds in, and ran into the crowd.

He was still the man I had known, but there was a glimpse of the man I'd hoped he would be. I quickly released those thoughts. I just couldn't let myself go there.