A Single Date (Dating Just Got Serious) (7 page)

After placing
their lunch orders, Yani wrung her hands. Last night she’d try to envision her
future and the image was blank. There was no white dress, no smiling groom at
the end of the church aisle waiting for her. If she couldn’t have the man she
wanted, she wouldn’t have anyone. Everyone else would be compared to Drew. But
they were so different, having a fulfilling life together seemed impossible.
Would she grow to resent the things he couldn’t give her? Would he resent her
wanting?

“So how do I uninvited
him to the wedding, now? Drew has a stubborn cord running down the center of
his spine. He’ll probably want to show up just to spite me,” Yani said as they
finished their lunch.”

“You’ll think of
something,” Cat responded.

As they walked out
of the restaurant, Yani turned to her friends. “Just so we’re clear. You both
know I’m going to get you back for this stunt of yours. You might not see it
coming, but keep an eye over your shoulders.” She pointed at them.

Back at her office,
behind the closed door, was the safest place for Yani. Her greatest
accomplishment this morning was getting out of the house before Drew showed up.
She didn’t need to see his fit body or penetrating eyes to know she was falling
for him. She had driven to work wishing she could extricate herself from her
brewing feelings without always thinking she’d missed her one opportunity for
love. Maybe what they’d had would have to be a memory from now on.

That first
Saturday they’d spent together, laughing and looking at samples had been the
most fun she’d had in a long time. He wasn’t pretentious and cautious. He was
just fun.

Long after she
left the restaurant with her friends, their words echoed in her head. Yani
tried to shake the comments off. But the truth in their words stung. She liked
Drew, and ignoring her feelings for him didn’t seem possible. What she thought
she knew about herself and her future was less certain, now. She felt like she
was pushing a gigantic rock uphill and at any minute she’d lose her grip and be
crushed by the one thing she wanted, Drew.

The phone rang,
pulling her away from the unhappy thoughts. Her father’s number flashed in the
display, making her palms clammy. After the third ring, she picked up with a
deep breath. “Hi Dad.”

“Yolanda, I know I
shouldn’t interrupt you at work, but your mom and I have decided to come up a
little early for Phoebe’s wedding. We’ll be there on Monday.”

Yani held the
receiver above her mouth and sighed. He wasn’t asking, he was telling. Always
telling.

“Dad, I’ve got a
lot going on. I’d rather you guys arrived on Friday like we planned.” Her voice
grew firmer. “If you guys insist on coming earlier, then I may not be available
to see you until the end of the week.” She held her breath.

For several
moments silence occupied the line. Yani sensed the irritation her father was
holding back, but she refused to give in. Instead of speaking first she
remained quiet.

“Okay, Baby. Let
me tell your mother.”

She exhaled long
and slow. “I’ll see you then.” She hung up the phone with a grin. “Boy, that
felt good.”

While tidying her
office to go home, she recalled her last relationship, the one her parents had
blessed. The first few dates with Glen had been promising. She was almost
certain they could get serious. But the passion never erupted. They drifted
apart. His only interest was his work. On the few days they managed to schedule
time together, he talked on his cell phone or recapped the events of his day,
in glorious, dull details. It bored her. He fit the profile of the perfect,
professional man, but their relationship lacked sparks let alone a full-fledged
fire.

She had become as
boring as Glen. When she wasn’t working, she was thinking about what she needed
to do when she got there. Without Drew to hang out with or banter back and
forth with the contracts, nothing could take her mind off all the emptiness in
her day. Her life would go back to the monotonous loop that she was so familiar
with. The routine she now hated.

She hurried down the
stairs and out of the building to her car. Tonight she planned to get a good
long look at Drew. Paste it in her memory so she’d never forget how he strummed
her body like a precision instrument. With the bathroom now finished, he would
be done with the whole project long before Memorial Day. Then he’d move on to
his next job or next woman.

Yani pulled her
car out of the parking lot. Maybe she could find another project for him. Her. Like
her new kitchen, her life needed a makeover too.

Torn between what
she really wanted and what she ought to want, her knees wouldn’t stop shaking.
Standing up to her father was like facing down Goliath. But she really hadn’t
slayed the big monster, yet, her fear. And until she learned how to do that,
she’d be running from it forever.

The man in the car
behind her blew his horn when she failed to move through the green light. The
vision of Drew disappeared when she pressed the accelerator. She shook away the
image of her fantasy handyman and focused her attention on getting home. It
was silly to think she could be falling in love with someone so different from
the men she’d dated in the past; men with lots of money, long lists of degrees
and pedigrees. But those relationships were behind her for a good reason. None
of them were memorable enough to make her heart yearn.

Yani slowed the car
when she turned onto her block and examined the well-manicured lawn, pleased to
see her landscaper had kept his promise to trim the shrubs and plant spring
flowers in the beds. Now the house had character, it looked alive and
happy…unlike her. Drew came into view in front of the French doors. His
muscular shoulders strained against his white signature t-shirt. Her pulse
quickened and so did her heart. She watched as he fished around in his large
toolbox, and all she could think about was stepping into his thick arms and
letting him capture her tongue again.

Before going into the
house, she checked her make-up in the rear-view mirror to make sure she looked
presentable. Her brown eyes stared back at her, revealing the loneliness she
tried to ignore. Maybe they could have one more fling between the sheets before
she watched him walk away. Nobody had to know about it. She took a deep breath
to steady her nerves before climbing out of the car and heading inside.

“Yani, you’re home.”
His husky voice greeted her.

She nodded. She wished
she could run into his arms, instead she let the kitchen island separate them.
The cold stone functioned as her chaperone. Again, she tried to slow her
breathing.

The ripped wall
from yesterday was now taped and spackled. The progress in one day was
noticeable. Maybe he was in a hurry to get away from her crazy baggage.

“With the
insulation and bug problems, I thought you would get behind, but you’re making
good progress.”

“I called in a few more
men. I know you’re planning a party for the holiday. I don’t want to be the
cause of any delays, princess.” He ran tape along a seam.

“Well, it wasn’t just
about the get-together. The place has been a little chaotic. I want my life and
house to get back to normal. I work better when everything is steady.”

He pressed the tape
firmly into place and then dropped the roll in the box. He swiped his hand on
his pants leaving white chalky marks.

It took a moment for
him to answer. Yani felt uncomfortable with his penetrating gaze. “Is that the
only thing important to you? Neatness. Following directions and work?”

She put her
briefcase in the chair. “Isn’t that why we work, to make a living?”

“Yeah, but it should be
something you enjoy, something that excites you to get out of bed in the
morning.”

“Hammering all day does
it for you?”

“Yes, hammering is fun. 
But it’s a small part of what I do. It takes planning, organizing and
imagination to complete a project.” He gave her his infamous smile as he walked
around the counter to stand closer to her. She wanted to touch him, feel his
skin, to see if the sizzle still existed between them or was her empty life
working her imagination overtime. It took extra fortitude not to move nearer to
him.

“Before I begin
hammering, as you put it, I have to develop a plan and fine-tune it until I
come up with a design that works. Changing your kitchen was akin to working on
a canvas. It’s like art for me, creating something no one else has ever done. I
took your old, non-functioning bathroom and made it into something you can
enjoy using.” He swung his arms wide to encompass the kitchen. “When I’m
finished in here, I’m hoping I can say the same thing about it, too.”

“Well Drew,” she
hesitated. “What you’ve done so far looks great.” She ran her hand along the smooth
quartz of her new kitchen island, admiring his work. The man knew how to use
his hands. Too bad he wouldn’t be using those hands to work a little magic for much
longer. Everything else about Drew was perfect; he almost had her panting and
he hadn’t touched her. She could feel his eyes on her as she moved around the
space.

“Are you staring at
me?” she asked him when she caught him looking at her legs.

“As a matter of fact, I
am.”

“I think you are
supposed to lie when someone catches you.”

“Normally, but for you
I wanted to tell the truth. I don’t make a habit of lying.”

“Uh-huh.” Yani felt
like a schoolgirl, fumbling for the right words. She turned her back on him
and broke eye contact. If she didn’t get out of the kitchen soon she just might
rip his t-shirt off his tight abs and jump on him.

“Am I making you
uncomfortable?”

“Only a little. But
it’s okay.”

“What’s okay, the fact
that I’m staring at you, or your level of comfort?”

“Both.” She laughed as she
realized they were flirting. She wanted to stop flirting and listen to her
heart. With her parents living in Florida it should have been easier to ignore
their sobering advice. But Phoebe had listened to her father, and now she was
getting married to a wonderful guy. Maybe following her parents’ wishes would
lead her to the right man, too. But no one could do to her heart what Drew had
managed.

“You have a beautiful
smile.”

An uncomfortable silence
hung between them. Could he sense her desire and her reluctance? She averted
her eyes and tried to hush the demands of her body.

Finally, he said, “I
think the new design will fit your lifestyle.”

“Oh you do, do you?”
She leveled her glaze at him wondering why she felt so uncomfortable. Her brain
refused to function. Instead of his usual barbed responses, he was being
gentler with her. Maybe he detected her angst tonight.

“I didn’t mean to
offend you. Judging from your full pantry and the new commercial range you
wanted installed, you must like to cook. The new kitchen will make it easy for
you to do that even more, because of the flow.”

“I love to cook
and I enjoy entertaining. Once you’re all done, I can do both.” She flashed a
quick smile at him.

“You shut me down
yesterday for dinner, so you still owe me a meal.”

“What do you mean?
We had a nice dinner. An even nicer night. And my memory does serve me
correctly.” She dropped her voice to sound sexy.

“Let me take you
out tonight. A real date. Where I put on dress clothes and you put on a nice
dress. We don’t argue over the bill and I get to pick the place. You know, like
real people do?”

Before she could
reply he continued. “Why don’t you change and I’ll come back for you in an
hour?” The alluring set of his mouth was like a serenade. Desire lurked behind
his eyes. Every familiar emotion surfaced and held her body captive. She
exhaled a little at a time, afraid to say yes, because doors would open that
she could never close again and walking through to the other side was both
scary and exciting.

With his stance
wide and his muscular arms folded across his chest. He appeared comfortable and
relaxed. Yet she was a bundle of nerves.

She pressed her
weight against the counter for support. For a moment, she thought she
misunderstood him, but he continued to stare at her. She nodded her head before
she could get the words out. “Okay,” she managed. Maybe tonight she could live
out the fantasy that had chased her all day. The one where he gathered her up in
his arms cleaned away all the old relationship cobwebs. The one where they were
a real couple on a real date. Even if it was a single date.

“For a moment I thought
you were going to turn me down and break my heart.”

“Break your heart?”

“You heard me right.”
He pressed her body against his. She could see a tiny imperfection under this
chin, a small half moon scar that resembled his smile. “I’ll be back in an
hour.”

Her eyes never left his
masculine physique while he collected his tools and walked out. The invitation
stunned her. As soon as his truck pulled away, she dialed Cat’s number.

“He asked me out, again,”
she yelled as her friend answered the phone.

“What did you say?”

“I said okay. I can’t
believe I agreed. He gave me this look, this intense stare that almost dared
me to say no.”

“Maybe you’re coming to
your senses.”

“This is crazy. But he
seemed so confident and sure of himself. The way he looked at me was enough to
get me excited. This feels so right. I’m so excited my stomach is doing
somersaults. You would think this is my first date,” Yani groaned.

“When are you going
out?”

“Tonight. He’ll be back
in a few minutes. I’m supposed to change into a dress.”

“Then you better get
off the phone and put on something sexy. Forget the uptight suits you wear to
work.”

“Cat, all day long
all I thought about was Drew. I have never had my thoughts so preoccupied by a
man before. Now I know what you and Phoebe must feel for your men. I know
you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I think I’ll pursue this. If Drew is
halfway serious about me I’m going to do it. I can’t believe how close I came
to letting him slip out of my life. I don’t care what my parents think. As a
matter of fact, today I actually told my father he couldn’t come early for the
wedding. So somehow, I’ll deal with my mom and dad. Once they get to know Drew,
they can’t help but know he’s different. They can’t stay mad at me forever.
Besides, maybe my brother will do something really stupid and then they can
turn their attention on him. What was I thinking?”