A Bridge of Her Own (18 page)

After a long pause, he returned, “Want to hear a secret?”

Incapable of speech at that moment, Jane nodded.

Gabe quietly said, “I win either way." Then smiled and turned his head back to the game.

Jane, a slight shade of red, felt her heart pounding in her chest and slowly straightened. Oh my Lord, she thought, and suddenly could not wait until tomorrow night. Her mind was so preoccupied she completely missed the final minutes of the game.

“Looks like I’m cooking,” Gabe smiled.
“Any special requests? Also, any chance I can cook at your place? When I mentioned I had no AC, that was just brushing the surface."

“Of course,” Jane began. “I can help.”

Gabe interrupted. “No way, you won. I’ll cook and clean.”

“Alright, alright,” Jane laughed. “You can wait on me hand and foot."

She turned and caught sight of Lacey and some guy looking very occupied in a corner of the bar.

She gestured towards her. “I should probably go get her."

“That sounds fun. Can I watch?” Matt called out from down the table. Gabe rolled his eyes.

Jane shook her head and went to collect Lacey, which turned out to be easier said than done. At first Mr. Romeo said that he was going home with them. Jane quickly put an end to that idea while Lacey pouted. They settled on exchanging info and sharing one last, very long, and not PG kiss. Jane’s eyes met Gabe’s across the bar, and she glanced at Lacey and her “friend” than back at Gabe and shrugged.

They met up with Gabe and all headed towards the parking lot together. Jane unlocked her car, and Lacey yawning loudly, climbed in. Jane lingered by her car door for Gabe to do something.

“Are you alright to drive?” Gabe asked. “I can follow you if you’d like.”

“I’m good, just tired,” Jane replied.

“Okay,” Gabe said. “Is five o’clock good for tomorrow?” he went on.

“Sounds good,” she said, opening her door and getting in her car.

“Hey, Jane.”

She popped back up.

“I am really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Gabe said, and he leaned in to place a soft kiss on her cheek. With a wave, he headed to his car.

Her hand rose to the spot his lips just were. It felt warm. She watched him get into his car, and with a small wave, headed home. She could not wait. And had a cheek-aching grin the whole drive home, while she unlocked her apartment door, and until she sat down on the sofa. She knew she had to sleep but was way too excited to do anything but replay that kiss over and over again in her mind.

She finally snapped out of it when Lacey said, “Hey, I missed what happened with your bet. Who won?”

“I did,” Jane replied. “He wants to cook over here. Any chance I can have the place to myself tomorrow night?”

“I’m not sleeping someplace else, but I can make myself scarce. So why is he cooking over here?” Lacey replied.

“I guess his kitchen is a mess,” Jane murmured. “He said something about having a fixer upper house."

“He owns his own house?!” Lacey boomed.
“Very grown up. Bummer it’s not all done yet. So are you going cancel your coffee thing tomorrow?”

“Oh crap!” Jane exclaimed. “I had completely forgotten about it."

“So what are you going to do?” Lacey asked.

“I don’t know. What should I do?” Jane worried. “I mean it’s just coffee."

“Right,” Lacey replied. “How long can that take? An hour?"

“You’re right, Lace. Besides all I have to do is pick up a little and get ready before Gabe comes. Will you help me speed clean in the morning?” Jane pleaded.

“Sure, babe. I’ll help but now bed,” Lacey grumbled, heading towards her room.

Jane washed her makeup off, brushed her teeth, and changed into some old sweats and a T shirt. She was out as soon as her head touched the pillow.

Chapter 23

The beeping of a truck backing up woke her the next morning. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. 9 am.

“Ugh,” she grimaced, getting up.

She had hoped it was earlier so she could sleep in a bit longer. She headed to the kitchen to make some coffee. Lacey stumbled in, and Jane raised her brow at her.

“Don’t judge,” Lacey grumbled. “I’m still waking up. Coffee ready?” She sat on a stool.

“Almost,” Jane replied as she took out two mugs. “How do you want it?”

“Black as my soul,” Lacey could be dramatic at times. Jane handed her a steaming mug. “I love you the mostest!” Lacey trilled. “So what do you want me to clean?” Lacey asked between sips.

“You pick,” Jane said. “We need to take out the trash and straighten and wipe down the bathroom and kitchen. Maybe pick up here and there. Other than that, I think I’ll burn a vanilla candle so it smells good.
So, trash or kitchen and bath?"

“I call trash,” Lacey said. “Then I’ll take a shower."

“So what are you going to do while Gabe is over? Meet up with your friend from last night?” Jane asked.

“Hmm.
I think I’ll let him come to me,” Lacey winked.

“So tell me what happened while I pick up the bathroom,” Jane said, heading down the hall and pulling Lacey after her.

Lacey sat on the edge of the tub while Jane took stuff off the counter and placed them into the cabinet below the sink.

“Did you lure him in with your golf skills?” Jane joked, spraying the counter with cleanser.

“Kinda,” Lacey snorted. “He was the only one brave enough to challenge me. There was no way he was going to beat me, but he was pretty cute trying. We got to talking after, and I guess I just grabbed his face and started kissing him. I don’t think he minded."

“I’ll bet!” Jane laughed. “He seemed very happy and got your number."

Lacey shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. Jane wiped down the toilet and motioned for Lacey to move so she could wipe down the tub.

“Do you think he’s going to shower here?” Lacey teased wagging her brows at Jane.

“Of course not,” Jane huffed. “But he might look behind the curtain."

“Why would he look behind the curtain?” Lacey snorted.

“Better safe than sorry,” Jane scrunched her nose.

“If you want to be better safe than sorry you should change your sheets and stock up on protection,” Lacey snickered.

Jane blushed and mumbled something incoherently as Lacey laughed. Together, they headed back to the living room and each had a bowl of cereal. Jane took both bowls when they were finished and placed them in the sink then headed to take a shower. She struggled with what to wear.

She wanted to look nice, but she didn’t want to look like she was trying to look nice. It was strange. Normally, she got dressed just trying to look pretty and comfortable given whatever kind of weather was going on.
But in this situation, she wanted to look good to make Wyatt regret how things ended, but at the same time, not good enough for him to think she was interested in him. It was a conundrum.

She went with dark washed jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt and ballet flats. He preferred her hair down, so she purposefully wore it in a low pony tail. She kept her makeup simple and used a light floral body spray, brushed her teeth, applied lip gloss, and headed out. Lacey called out as she reached the door.

“Ah, I was hoping you would get all decked out and make him rue the day he ever broke up with you.”

“Don’t be silly, Lace; I am wearing exactly what someone meeting an old friend would wear. Besides, I would hate for Wyatt to think I was getting dressed up for him,” Jane returned. “And hey, don’t forget the trash."

Jane grabbed her keys and sunglasses and headed out. She stopped for gas on the way. It was a breezy morning. As she stood by the pump, she regretted not wearing a light jacket. The weather in Richmond never quite made up its mind during the change of seasons. It was warm one day, then almost freezing the next, and then warm again.

She contemplated running into the convenience store for some vitamin C but decided against it because she did not want to be late. Before taking off, she took out her phone and opened the picture Gabe had sent her of the two of them and mentally thought she would definitely get dressed up for their date. Even with her stop, she still ended up at the café a couple of minutes early.

Great, she thought. Wyatt would probably take this as her being eager to see him. Sometimes her punctuality backfired. A positive, though, in beating him there was that she could order and pay for herself. That way, he would not be able to offer and assume they were on a date. She used to hate it when he would order for her. Even when she told him what she wanted, he would change it every time. It was funny that she remembered that now.

One time, he had even ordered a skim milk and no sugar coffee instead of her normal cream and sugar while explaining to her it was never too soon to start watching her figure.
Grrr. Just thinking of that made her order a chocolate croissant with her coffee just to spite him. She had just finished paying when he entered and admonished her.

“Jane, you should have waited for me. I would have taken care of this."

She sweetly replied. “No worries. I can take care of myself."

Wyatt nodded and went to place his order as Jane found a table flanked with two cozy armchairs outside of the draft range of the entrance.

When he came to sit down, he began, “Jane, it is so good to see you again. We must do this more often.”

“
Mmm,” was all Jane could manage in response. After a few moments of awkward silence, Jane said “So, tell me about your internship."

That was all Wyatt needed to launch into a detailed monologue of the absolute honor of receiving such a sought-after position with a prominent local engineering firm.

“That is very impressive, Wyatt” Jane said, trying her best to seem interested.

“I know it’s impressive,” Wyatt sniffed.

Jane thought to herself that he was humble as ever. She did her best not to giggle but looked forward to telling Lacey. Just then, she heard, “Is that you Jane?”

She turned to see Gabe’s friend Matt behind her.

“Oh hey, Matt. How are you?” Jane replied.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Wyatt huffed.

“Of course,” Jane said flustered. “Matt this is Wyatt. Wyatt, Matt."

“So Matt, how do you know my girlfriend?” Wyatt asked, puffing up his chest.

“Your girlfriend?” Matt repeated, looking at Jane.

Jane, meanwhile, felt frozen in place except for her jaw, which dropped as she looked at Wyatt in disbelief.

She composed herself and pointedly said, “We used to date. We do not currently date."

That managed to deflate Wyatt only slightly until he looked directly at Matt and replied, “For now."

Matt laughed and returned, “Huh. That’s really interesting seeing as how Jane—”

But Jane cut him off and said, “It was nice seeing you, Matt." He gave her an “are you sure?” look and shrugged when she nodded.

Taking that is a hint, he said, “Jane, it was nice seeing you.” Then, he turned to Wyatt. “I’d say the same for you, but, well, you know I just can’t. Bye, Jane.” He left.

Jane cringed, imagining what he would say to Gabe. She turned to Wyatt. “Why would you say that?” she exclaimed.

“Jane, dear, I assumed that you understood that that is where this is going,” he returned, gesturing around them.

“No. I did not assume a coffee to catch up with an old friend would constitute a rekindling of our relationship,” Jane groaned. She picked up her purse and coffee then took a purposely large final bite of her croissant and headed for the door.

“Jane, don’t over react,” Wyatt called after her.

Jane struggled to get the key into the ignition of her sedan. Once the car was started, she took five deep, cleansing breaths before shifting into reverse and heading home.

She muttered to herself the whole way home. She alternated between “what a jerk” and “holy crap” and “oh my God.” By the time she got home, she may have been more ticked off than she was when she had left the café.

“Lacey!” She called out when she entered the apartment. “You will not even believe what just
friggin’ happened."

She slammed her keys and purse down.

Lacey calmly looked up from a fashion magazine. “Must be bad. You broke out a friggin."

Jane relayed the café drama while pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the living room.

“No he did not!” Lacey gasped.

“I know, right?” Jane replied miserably. “Matt is going to totally tell Gabe. How awkward. Oh my God, what if Gabe cancels?”

Lacey looked pensive and returned. “Well, this could actually work in your favor. If Gabe knows other guys are into you, maybe he’ll up his game."

Jane replied, “I don’t even want to think about games,” and dramatically lay down across the sofa, pulling a pillow over her head.

“Alrighty missy. It is not time to turn into a pumpkin ‘cause you have a prince coming to cook for you so let’s get you all dolled up."