Date in the Dark (7 page)

“That makes sense.” I nod. “I’ve been guilty
of that trick.”

He laughs at my response, and at the sound
I’m oddly aware that his presence makes me extremely comfortable,
considering the situation. Tonight might not be so bad after all. I
just wish I could place his voice. I know I’ve heard it before.

“Where do you work, Allie?”

“I’m a library assistant.”

“Really?” he replies and there is no hiding
the shocked tone of his voice. “Which library?”

“Isn’t it my turn for a question?”

“Yes, of course. I just thought it was
odd.”

“What’s odd?”

“Your name and where you work. My br –
friend, also works with a woman named Allie in a library.”

I laugh. “You’re right, that’s weird. How
funny would it be if I was that same woman?”

“It’d be pretty comical. So, what do you want
to ask me first?”

Parker

“If someone wanted to film a movie about your
life, who do you think would be the best actor to play you?” Mary,
my date asks.

I rub my chin as I consider her question. She
has been asking questions nonstop since our date started. It’s nice
that she wants to get to know me, but I’d like to get to know her
too. I’m here for the next three nights. I might as well embrace
it.

Our date is going extremely well, which is
shocking, considering the environment we’re in. When they brought
us, the men, into this room, I almost turned and walked right back
out. It was pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing and not knowing how
big the room was, or how much space we had, had me starting to
panic. As we got further into our date, I relaxed, and I owe most
of that to Mary. Her voice is kind and since she hasn’t stopped
talking, I haven’t had time to think about what I was so worried
about in the first place.

I’m actually having a good time and thankful
I lost that bet. If I wasn’t here right now, I’d probably be at
home, thinking of Allie and how she doesn’t want to date me, but is
clearly attracted to me. I’ll have to ask her to explain that to me
tomorrow when I drive her home. If she lets me.

I shake the idea of Allie from my head and
focus on Mary again. Just because I can’t see her doesn’t mean she
doesn’t deserve my full attention. I’ll worry about Allie
later.

“Am I still alive?” I ask, hoping I don’t
have any movie limits.

“Does that make a difference?” She
laughs.

“Definitely, if I were alive I would pick
myself. If I’d passed away…hmmm, I think I would choose Ryan
Gosling.”

“Seriously! He’s amazing. So your life movie
would be a romance?”

”Probably, is it my turn?”

A light laugh comes from her side of the
table. “You’re right, I’m sorry, I’ve been talking this entire
time. I’m just so nervous. My husband and I decided to do this
whole thing as a way to spice up our marriage.”

“You’re married?” I ask. Why would they let
married people join?

“Is that your question? Because I’m going to
be honest. I don’t think I could answer very many personal
ones.”

“I, no, that’s not my question, but I guess
it can be.”

“I’m sorry, did I ruin your night?” Mary
asks, her voice growing soft. It’s the same tone my mom would use
on me when she knew I was upset about something. It’s a dead
giveaway about her. I guess this means I can go back to finding a
way to win Allie over. Until then, as I told myself before, I may
as well embrace this night.

“I’m not upset, but I did think of a
question. What’s your family like?”

“Oh, bless your heart that’s so sweet of
you.”

For the next hour I listened to Mary tell me
about her husband and two kids. Then she regrettably told me she
wouldn’t be coming back the next two nights. I found it to be a
relief. This way, I still have a chance to ask Allie out. They
always say the third time’s the charm.

****

“How’d your date go?” Miles asks the moment
we get into my truck.

“I was paired with a married woman,” I laugh.
“What about you?”

“I think I got paired with the same Allie you
work with.”

My neck all but snaps as I turn to look at
him. “Are you serious? What makes you think that?”

“Her name is Allie and she works in a
library.”

I rest my head against the back of my seat.
“That doesn’t mean she’s the same Allie that I work with.”

“No, but then she told me how she is working
some events this week. Then later in our date she told me she
doesn’t date coworkers. Makes perfect sense.”

“She told you all that in one night?” I ask
with disbelief.

“Yeah, maybe the darkness really does bring
out the truth. I might have to try that one of these nights when I
get a girl back at my place.”

I glare at him. “So you’re not going to give
her a chance even if it is her? And please tell me you didn’t talk
that way in front of her.”

“Dude, you’re in to her. I can’t date her.
Not even on these date nights. It feels weird. And screw you, I was
a total gentleman. Minus the moment I’m pretty sure I touched her
boob.”

“You what?” How is this happening? How did he
end up with her, and me, not with her? Life can be unfair, but in
this case. If it is the same Allie, I learned some valuable
information. There has to be a reason she doesn’t date coworkers.
And that’s probably the reason she keeps telling me “no.”

I need a plan. Something to show her I’m
different. I turn the key and my engine roars. “Tell me everything
about your date tonight.”

Chapter Eight

Allie

The moment I see Parker the next morning, I’m
immediately reminded of what Miles had said last night about his
brother. Could it be Parker? I’d thought about him more than I
should’ve during my date. I kept imagining it was him sitting on
the other side of the table. I mean, he did almost kiss me less
than two hours before the date. Coworker or not, I still wanted him
to. What would I have done if it where him last night?

A sigh slips past my lips as I pass the front
counter, where Parker is standing. They both seem like really great
guys. But it would be insane to date brothers. I couldn’t do it. It
would be weird.

“Good morning, Allie,” Amber and Levi say in
unison. Amber blushes, and Levi nudges her with a grin. Looks like
I’m not the only one with a coworker crush.

“Good morning.” I return the greeting and a
smile touches my lips when Parker pulls his gaze away from the
papers in front of him to look at me.

“Allie,” he says and steps toward me. “I have
something for you in your office.”

He does?

“Okay?” I try to hide the growing grin on my
face.

“Can you two finish filling this out for me?
I’ll be back in a few minutes to get it before I start the Digital
Learning class.” Parker touches my lower back gently and points to
my office. “Shall we?”

I glance over my shoulder when I faintly here
Levi and Amber whispering behind me. Their eyes go wide when they
see me looking. What are they up to?

“Don’t mind them,” Parker says. “They’re just
a happy couple who are lucky enough to be working together.”

I pinch my lips together to hold back my
laugh. He’s relentless. And I kind of like it. But I can’t change
my mind. No matter how much I’m starting to like him. This job is
too valuable to me. “For now, anyway.”

Parker slows to look down at me. His gaze
sends a tingle down my spine, but I keep walking.
Why does he
have to have such amazing eyes?

I stall my steps as we reach my doorway and
try to peek inside without actually stepping through the door.
Parker chuckles behind me.

“Nothing is going to jump out, I
promise.”

I laugh nervously and step inside. Everything
looks…normal. I turn around with questioning eyes. “Did I miss
it?”

“You haven’t even reached it yet,” he says
and guides me to my desk with his hands on my shoulders. “See,
right there.”

I look down to see a cup of coffee, my
morning checklist, and a stack of children’s books sitting in the
middle of my desk. I leisurely set my purse down and remove my
coat. I’m still not seeing it. I glance back to Parker.

He smiles proud and winks at me. “Now you can
relax for most of the morning while I handle the DL class. We can
meet up later, maybe grab lunch and discuss how you want the
afternoon poetry slam to play out?” he pulls out my chair and I
take a seat. That’s when I see it.

“You did everything on my checklist?”

“Yep.”

“But we haven’t even opened yet.”

“I know. I came in early.”

I watch him for a moment and then grab the
coffee. It’s the same white and yellow cup from the café I visit
each morning. I take a sip. Mmmm. He even got me the right coffee.
“What are the books for?”

“Oh, I ran into Harold when I got here and he
said you hadn’t picked any out yet for tomorrow. These ones—” he
taps the books, “—were my favorite as a kid.”

I tilt my head to read the spines,
Where
the Wild Things Are, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Oh, the Places
You Will Go
and
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.

“These are all great choices.” I tell him.
“This was really sweet of you, but I still have to get this list
done.”

Parker chuckles again behind me and I find it
contagious.
God he sounds sexy when he laughs.

“If you look a little closer, I’ve already
checked them off for you.”

I quickly glance to my list. Wow. He really
thought of everything. This is great. Technically, I’m ahead and
can get other things done. It’s nice to have someone around who
wants to help without being asked. This guy just keeps surprising
me. I turn to thank him again when he reaches into his pocket,
pulling out his cell phone and holds a finger up.

“Sara, is everything okay?”

He turns to face the window behind my desk.
When I begin to rise from my chair he waves a hand in front of me.
I slowly sit back down and try to busy myself in hopes it will help
me not focus in on his call.

“I know, I can’t believe it. This nine months
went by much faster than the first,” he says into the phone.

I tilt my head in his direction. I hate to
eavesdrop, but this is my office after all.

“The moment I held that little guy in my
arms, I knew it was a future I couldn’t wait to have. You are an
amazing mother… Okay, see you after work…I love you, too…Bye.”

He taps the screen on his phone and smiles at
me. “Got to love family.”

“Yeah, of course.” I say still not sure what
to make of the conversation. Or even if I should make something of
it, it was clearly none of my business.

“My sister, Sara, just had her second baby a
few weeks ago.” He shakes his head. “She could call her husband or
even our brother, but for some reason, she chooses me.”

He’s a family guy.
I swear I feel my
heart melt a little, pulling a layer of my no dating coworkers rule
with it.

“So, I’ll meet you in the lobby at noon?” he
says backing toward the door. “You’re welcome to come observe me
teaching this class. You might be impressed with a few of the
things I added to your agenda.”

I watch in complete silence as he leaves.
When he is out of sight I glance around my office. What do I do
now? Most of my morning duties are done thanks to Parker. I freeze
when I catch my reflection in the mirror. My smile is ear to ear.
Damn, it’s been too long since I was this giddy over a guy.

Thirty minutes later, I walk into the
computer lab and take the only open seat at the back. His body
straightens when he sees me and his face lights up. His eyes meet
mine and the moment I see a glimmer of excitement in them, I look
away.

How am I going to be able to observe him when
all my mind can think about right now is how amazing he looks?

Somehow, I manage to do it peacefully and I
even get up to help a few members until the next person walks into
the room. Then, my mind races immediately in excitement for
tonight.

Parker

I spot her from across the computer lab and I
watch for a minute as she helps a teenage boy with something on his
computer. It’s clear that he’s more interested in the way her chest
is hugging her soft blue top than in what she’s trying to explain
to him. I know exactly how he feels, but I can’t let him keep
looking. I calmly make my way over to them, keeping my focus on the
punk kid who thinks he’s being discreet. They both glance in my
direction, and I direct my attention at the young boy, giving him a
hard stare. He quickly looks away, blushing, and I return my gaze
to Allie.

“Parker.”

I stop immediately at the sound of my
brother’s voice. He’s walking toward the lab with a grin. A woman
crosses his path, and I think he’s going to break his neck as he
watches her walk away. It blows my mind how he can act like that
and still manage to get women into bed with him. I’m a guy, I
should be asking him to show me how he does it, but I’ve never had
that mind set about women. He looks up to notice me watching him
and his grin gets bigger.

“I didn’t know they had chicks that look like
that on this side of town. I should start coming to library more
often.”

“What do you want?” I ask, knowing for a fact
this is Miles’s first time inside this library.

“Bad day, huh? That librarian still turning
you down?”

I cross my arms and my left brow rises. He’s
up to something. I know by the chipper sound in his voice.

“Okay, okay,” he says, holding his hand up
like he’s surrendering. “I just wanted to see what your plans for
tonight were? I’m guessing you don’t want me to going, but I can’t
just stand the girl up.”

“Hey Allie,” I say and she looks up. “Do you
mind if I step out for a minute, I need to have a word with my
brother?”