“Hey, hon, you just missed my gentleman friend,” she said, swiping a length of yarn over her finger.
We discussed this every time, whether she knew who I was or thought I was a nurse visiting. I had no idea why she was making up visits, but I had a conversation with her doctor about it, and he seemed to think it was normal, so I played along.
“Oh, really. That’s nice. What did you guys do?”
She filled me in on her pretend visit, saying they ate an early lunch together before he ran off literally minutes before I entered her room.
I shook my head, listening and knowing she was doing everything she could to cure the loneliness, even if that meant making up a person to visit with her.
It wasn’t long before she went away and began calling me nurse. I spent the rest of the visit pretending to be someone I wasn’t. I was sad, and my heart was breaking, but when I got up to leave, she came back in time to tell me she loved me and to hug me.
It was a joyful moment in the mix of sadness, but I would take it nonetheless.
By the time I got home, I was determined not to let my past keep me from a happy future. Not saying that Matthew was going to be a part of my future since I had no idea what he was thinking in terms of where I stood in his life, but I wanted normal.
Normal relationships.
Normal thoughts.
And a normal sex life.
Even though I no longer had my pop’s wedding band for good luck, it was time I received my precious moment in time. If we were just passing through, then I wanted to spend that time with someone who looked at me the way Pop used to look at Grammy.
As soon as I stepped into our apartment, I knew Lilly was gone for the night, and a note on the kitchen counter confirmed that. I went into my room, stripped my clothes, and showered.
With a towel wrapped around my body and one drying my hair, I swiped my phone and texted Matthew with renewed determination.
Me: Hi.
Matthew: Hey, gorgeous. Feeling better today?
Me: I feel perfect. I want to see you.
A few minutes passed, making me feel like maybe he wasn’t going to respond. And then finally …
Matthew: I’m all yours. What did you have in mind?
Me: Drinks. Lots and lots of drinks.
Matthew: Lol ok. So a club? Dancing? Or a bar?
I hated going to clubs full of half-naked women with beautiful bodies, but the bars had alcohol, and if I were going to go through with my plan to seduce Matthew, I needed all the alcohol in Charleston.
Me: A bar sounds perfect. I’m not much for dancing. What time?
Matthew: I’ll be there to pick you up at 9.
I typed out my response, took a deep breath, and pressed send.
Me: See you then.
FIFTEEN
MATTHEW
DROPPING MY KEYS ON THE COUNTER, I pulled open the refrigerator for a bottle of water. Running always cleared my head, so after an early lunch with my new friend Iris, I came and ran the length of Battery Front Park.
As soon as I walked in my door and was tugging my shirt over my head, my phone buzzed with a text message from Shannon. She wanted to see me. Wanted to go out drinking, which I wasn’t sure was a great idea for either of us. At least not until I figured her out.
Her reaction the night before had confused me.
I stared down at my phone, feeling unsure of her response.
Red: See you then.
Something was up. After the way she reacted to my touch, it was obvious Shannon was dealing with dark demons. I wanted her to talk to me about it—open up and let me in so I could fight whatever it was stalking her.
I would do that for her.
I would slay her demons.
One thing was for sure. After watching her storm away from me and feeling the desperation of needing her to come back, I was prepared to admit I was falling for Shannon hard.
It didn’t make any sense. After years of keeping my distance from emotions and women, I couldn’t get close enough to Shannon. I wanted to be with her all the time.
Touching her.
Laughing with her.
It was all I wanted.
All I needed.
The rest could come when she was ready, and if by some chance she was never ready to move to the next level with me, then so be it. We could cross that bridge when we got to it.
I was going to tell her that tonight after the bar. It was time I sat her down and told her what we were doing was no longer just about sex. It was so much more to me now. So. Much. More.
I KNOCKED ON HER DOOR A LITTLE BEFORE NINE.
She stepped out into the breezeway of her apartment building without inviting me to come inside.
She was wearing yet another dress. This one the color of fall leaves with tiny bits of green. It had long sleeves with a low-cut neckline and fell just above her knee. She had a thing for wearing dresses that showed off her gorgeous legs. My eyes dipped down, following the curve of her knee and landing on the brown suede boots she was wearing.
She looked amazing as usual, but instead of saying something and making her feel uncomfortable again, I looked away and ran my fingers through my hair to keep from touching her.
“I take it Lilly and Devin are inside?” I asked since she was so quick to keep me from going inside her apartment.
“Yep.” Her smile was different.
As if she was trying extra hard to be happy.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded, and her smile slipped into something a little more genuine. “Everything’s fine. I promise.”
Once we were in my car and our seat belts were buckled, she turned my way with an excited smile. “Which bar are we going to? I haven’t been to many.”
I chuckled. “So another wild woman night then?”
She had been pierced and tattooed. Now it was time to go bar hopping, apparently.
She giggled. “Another wild woman night sounds fun. Let’s do that.”
“Ever been to The Waterfront?” I asked.
Her eyes went wide. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
I took a back way to The Waterfront on a road that ran alongside the coast. Shannon stared out at the moonlight reflecting on the water as I drove. Every now and again, I’d peek over at her and take in her profile. The tilt of her chin and slide of her cheek.
She was beautiful, and tonight, I planned to make her mine.
Not sexually, since it was obvious she wasn’t ready for that, but completely mine.
The Waterfront didn’t disappoint with its lavish setting and back deck on the water. Shannon was in awe of the beautiful view and so was I. While she was looking at the water and the view of the bridge in the background, I was looking at her.
“Hey, Matt, what’s up, man?” Curtis asked as he passed me with a girl on his arm.
She was cute. A tiny brunette with too much makeup and not enough clothes.
“I’m good. Where’s your brother?” I hadn’t thought about the fact that Curtis and Jonathan would be there as well as everyone else I knew. But I didn’t care. I wasn’t hiding Shannon from them. I was more worried about hiding them from her.
They were the embarrassing ones.