“Yes, it’s one person, no to the other question.” I answer.
“To which one? Seeing her more than once, or giving me the deets on your hook-ups?” he grinned.
“The second one. Not sharing secrets. Sorry man.”
“You are no fun. All right, so tell me about the woman. It is a woman right?’
“Yes, ass**le. Her name is Clare. I met her at the hospital, actually. She’s a single mom. Widowed.” There. I figured I might as well get all the shit out on the table.
Colin just stared at me blankly before running a beefy hand through his sandy blonde hair.
“What?” I asked.
“Okay, I’m going to say this in the nicest way I know how. But dude, you’re kind of a dick.”
I would act offended if it weren’t true.
“I see from your non-reply that you agree. So, I gotta ask. What are you doing with a woman like that? You can’t f**k around with her.”
“I know.”
“Do you? I sure hope so. Because she’s not a casual f**k, Logan. You can’t just bang her and leave. A woman like that is someone you stick around for. Are you ready for that?”
I remained silent, unable to answer. I honestly didn’t know. But despite everything, I wanted to find out.
~Clare~
"He came over to your house?" Leah whispered from the mat next to me as I arched my body, progressing through the movements of our Wednesday morning yoga class. In the last year, I had enrolled Maddie in preschool for a few mornings each week and if Leah’s schedule allowed, we always tried to make this class together. It was nice having a bit of “me time” with my best friend, even if she was currently trying to get us kicked out with her chattering.
"Yes, we ran into him at the home improvement store down the street, and he just offered to do the entire project for me. The store had me so turned around, I couldn't refuse," I whispered back, quietly moving into plank, enjoying the feel of my muscles as they flexed and lengthened. I tried to center myself; concentrating on the movements I was transitioning to when Leah interrupted me again. I really needed to find a new yoga partner.
"More like he had you so turned on, you couldn't refuse!" she exclaimed, a bit loudly, earning a scowl from the older woman next to us. Great, now I could never come back here again. We pushed back into the cricket pose and stretched back, settling into plank again.
"Leah! Shut up!" I hissed, keeping my voice lowered to a hush, hoping the grumpy old lady next to me wouldn’t overhear.
"It wasn't like that. He was very nice, and a complete gentleman. I assisted and he did, well, whatever you do when you put that type of thing together, and then he left. That's it."
Mostly.
I left out certain parts, like how I playfully threw jelly beans at his head, or when I got choked up seeing him going down the stairs with Maddie in his arms.
She glared at me in disbelief, but allowed us to continue our class in peace. I think even she had been a little scared of the grumpy lady with the evil-eyed stare.
We finished up and wandered over to a coffee shop about two blocks down from the yoga studio. It was one of our favorite places to visit during the spring. The owner, Phil, was obsessed with potted plants, vintage wrought iron tables, and anything else that screamed shabby chic. And yes, if all that didn’t clue you in, he was g*y. It was a brutal crime against all women because the man was fine. He’d done some modeling when he was younger and it showed in his chiseled physique and turquoise green eyes. Women all over Richmond came to this coffee shop, and it wasn’t just because he could make a mean cup of coffee. Gay or not, he was a fine sight to see.
After saying our hellos to Phil and getting our weekly “ogle” in, we made our way to the outdoor seating area. "You know, this probably cancels out everything we just did in class," I said, pointing to the double mochas and chocolate muffins we had ordered. Did I mention Phil baked? It really was a crime. His partner was a lucky, lucky man. I took a seat next to Leah at the table we selected. It was a beautiful spring morning with the perfect amount of sun and warmth. I leaned back in the wrought iron chair and let the heat soak into my pores, easing my tired, worn out muscles.
“Well at least our minds are clear, our bellies might as well be full," Leah said, defending our breakfast as she shoveled a piece of muffin into her mouth and washed it down with her coffee. I don’t think Leah’s mind has ever been clear. There are too many dirty thoughts going on in there.
"So, that was it? You totally missed your chance, Clare! It's not like you’re going to keep running into Dr. Hot Ass every day. Do you want me to steal his phone number from work? I can still do it," she asked again with an exasperated sigh, clearly not done talking about Dr. Matthews.
"What? No! I mean, I have it. He gave it to me already," I said, the words stumbling out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
Crap. I’m in so much trouble.
She was giving me that look. The look that said I had broken the “girl code.”
"Clare Elizabeth Murray. He gave you his number? When? Sunday?"
I nodded, unable to hide the grin that spread across my face.
"And you didn't tell me until now?"
Still not talking, I nodded, again, grinning like an idiot.
"What the hell? I hate you," she said, pouting.
"Oh stop, you do not. I didn't tell you because it's nothing. He gave it to me because he invited Maddie and me to see Swan Lake on Saturday. He obviously needed a way to contact me. It's not a big deal," I said, looking away from her penetrating gaze and taking a sip of my coffee.
I decided not to mention how we had been texting and calling each other ever since. She would probably make a big deal out of that, too. I was still trying not to overanalyze anything. He was so hot and cold, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. But every time I saw his name flash across my phone, my stomach would flutter. Our conversations started out innocent - figuring out what time he was going to pick us up on Saturday, where we should eat, but then we would somehow start talking about something entirely different. When we would start to wrap up our conversation, he’d say “I’ll call you later.” And he would.
"Um, excuse me. That's a big f**king deal. He asked you out!" Leah exclaimed.
"What? No, he didn’t. Did you hear what I said? He basically asked Maddie out. I'm only there for supervision. I think he's just being nice."
God, how I hoped he was not being nice. Did he ask us because he wanted to spend more time with me, or was he really just doing it for Maddie? I had convinced myself of the latter, but I was hoping for the former.