Love Realized (14 page)

Once again her thoughts ventured to her daughter, who would be mortified to see that her mother was reading
Twilight
out in public, where everyone could see. She barely contained her desire to stick her tongue out at Madison, for the second time today, even though she wasn’t there.
Gotta love little victories.
Since the kid-free time was so infrequent, she eagerly dove back into the world of Forks High School.

While deep in the imaginary world of sparkling vampires, Gillian leaned forward to reach for her coffee and barely registered the fact that someone was talking to her. Except that the deep timber of his voice caught her attention and quickly distracted her from the book. Looking up, she found a striking set of blue eyes set within a very masculine face surrounded by thick black hair, staring down at her expectantly. Was he talking to her?
Only one way to find out.
“Excuse me?” she asked. He smiled down at her and holy shit, what a smile it was. It was hands down a jaw-dropping-panty-melting-excuse-me-while-I-wipe-the-drool-from-my-chin kind of smile.
Am I drooling? Oh, please don’t let me be drooling.

“I was just wondering what team you were on?” he asked in that very sexy voice again. It was intoxicating. Shaking herself out of her sudden case of swooning, she found her voice.

“Varsity, my daughter cheers.”

He smiled at her again and motioned toward her book and said, “I was actually referring to your book. Isn’t that the book where everyone is on a ‘team.’”
Oh you are a spaz, Gillian!
She felt her cheeks blush with embarrassment at misunderstanding his question, but seriously what man asked that kind of question.
Aw dammit! He must be gay
. Well, that would be a big disappointment.
Just answer the man, and let him get out of here before you really do something stupid.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you were asking because of my shirt,” she said, motioning to her shirt that sported the name of the high school and mascot proudly on it, and just so happened to showcase a view of her cleavage very nicely.
Thank God for Victoria’s Secret.
“But to answer your question, Team Edward,” she said with a smile because this was just a funny topic to have with a stranger. Hopefully she wasn’t about to find herself in a conversation where she felt she was being judged for liking
Twilight
.

He looked like he was processing that bit of information before he said, “And what are the other options for teams? What’s the other guy’s name?”

She smiled bigger before responding, “Jacob.”

“Yeah, Team Edward and Team Jacob. Now which guy is the one who never seems to be wearing a shirt?” She practically snorted at his question as he continued, “This is important information, you know. I think a single guy nowadays needs to be knowledgeable in this kind of stuff.”

Gillian laughed out loud at that comment, but knew it was true. “You are absolutely correct about that. A guy must know the basic information about
Twilight
. The best advice I can offer you is that if you’re dating a
Twilight
fan, never tell her you think she is weird for loving it. It’s more than just a movie, you know,” she said as she gave a little wave of her book. “And the shirtless one is Jacob.” She dramatically sighed and fanned herself to be funny. His smile got bigger.

“Good to know. Not that I would ever
do
something like that. You know, make fun of someone for being a fan.” Then he leaned toward her and lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. “Closet
Star Wars
fan here,” he said, while exaggerating a look over his shoulder to see if anyone heard his confession. Then when he looked back at her, he winked. As he stood back up straight, she noticed that he had to be a few inches over six feet tall, and his shoulders looked nice and broad under the jacket he was wearing, which was unzipped and his scarf was hanging down in front, denying her the God-given right of women everywhere to objectify his chest.

“If you would allow me to buy you another cup of coffee, you could provide me with any other
Twilight
no-no’s for the single man. Either that, or we can chat over the fact that our children apparently go to the same school,” he said as he gestured toward her shirt. Okay, so he must not be gay since that was the second time he mentioned that he was single. Was he flirting with her? It seemed very likely just by the fact that he winked and kept smiling at her. And that smile alone was lethal for crying out loud. Should she flirt back? She was feeling a bit tingly inside, and had a swarm of butterflies demanding attention in her abdomen. Could she do this? There was no reason
not
to flirt back, it wasn’t like she was throwing herself at his feet, but if he gave her a little time she just might be.
Just do it, girl! What have you got to lose?

“Sure, I would love another cup of coffee, but I’ve got to warn you, I like the most expensive drink on the menu. I’m a bit of a coffee snob. Not sure you will want to make that kind of investment just for some advice on
Twilight
,” she said with what she hoped was a flirty tone.

“Oh, it’s already proven to be a very good investment. I'm Mike Lawson, by the way,” he said as he extended his hand toward her. Gillian reached up and placed her hand in his big strong hand.

“Gillian. Gillian Baxter.”

“Very nice to meet you, Gillian.” There was that smile again. “What’s your vice? I want to get you that coffee before you change your mind and give that empty seat next to you away.”

As she rattled off what her Starbucks beverage of choice was, she couldn’t help but enjoy the cool feeling she was experiencing. Someone was flirting with her, and she was hopeful that what she was doing back was flirting. Definitely a cool feeling, she thought, as she watched him head to the counter for their drinks. He certainly looked good coming and going, and clearly he was way out of her league.

Oh well, he may be out of her league, but it’ll be fun while it lasts. Worst-case scenario, she could have friendly conversation with a fellow parent since he said his kids go to the same school. She quickly pulled her phone back out and checked the time—she still had twenty minutes before she had to head to the school. She decided to send Allie a quick text.

Gillian: Wanna know what my coffee and the guy buying it for me have in common?? They are both HOT!! LOL

She sent it off, and it only took a few seconds for her best friend to respond while she quickly peeked up to see where said guy was.

Allie: You slut! How hot is hot? No wait, I don’t want description, I want a pic!

Gillian: I can’t take his picture! We just exchanged names you freak =)

Allie: Just give me his name and I will stalk him on Facebook later….

Gillian: You scare me sometimes girl…I will give you his name so if something happens to me you have somewhere to start looking for my body…

Allie: Now why the hell didn’t I think of that….gimme it!!

Gillian:
It’s Mike Lawson…I will text you later.

Allie: You better call me slut =)

Gillian: Slut!

Allie: Very cute…call me later, I want details.

Gillian: Love you too…xoxox

Allie: xoxoxoxo

She laughed and put her phone in her bag as Mike walked back over, coffees in hand, and that damn magnificent smile on his face. “Here you go. You didn’t change your mind did you?” he asked as he carefully placed her cup in her hand. Cradling the cup in her hand, she closed her eyes and took a tedious sip of the coffee—filling her mouth with the melting whip cream on top—it was her favorite sip.

As she opened her eyes and looked up, she smiled at him and said, “Mmm … I’m sorry, did you say something? I was busy enjoying my yummy beverage.” He smiled back at her as he sat down in the chair next to her.

“No, please, don’t let me interrupt you. I would have no problem watching you drink that whole cup in silence if that was how you were going to do it.”

“Sorry to disappoint you. The first taste is the best, and the only one worthy of such attention.”

“Guess I'm going to have to get that drink next time then.” She was still smiling at him like some fool, but she couldn’t help it, this was fun. Flirting and being flirted with was not something she was familiar with in her recent years. Well, of course there were times when there was some form of harmless flirting during the course of her marriage. But this time, there was intent behind it for her … and shockingly, it felt good. The anticipation of what could be, coupled with the fear of the unknown, was a heady feeling. She leaned back in her chair and got comfortable while still cradling her coffee in both hands.

“So, Mike Lawson, what is it you would like to know? I want to make sure you get your money’s worth and all, and since I have to be on my way in about fifteen minutes, you might want to get to it.”

“Well, what do you think I should know? I mean, if I were having dinner with a beautiful woman, like yourself,” he paused and gave her a wink before continuing, “Is it inappropriate to bring up
Twilight
and assume that she’s a fan?”

Gillian once again smiled and laughed at his questions. “You would really bring up
Twilight
in a conversation with a woman while on a date with her? Wouldn’t you prefer to bring up a topic like work or your children? I believe it would be far more tolerable for you. You know, since you are a man and all.”

He considered her question and responded, “True, I would prefer to talk about my children or my work because they are important to me. But I am currently sitting in a coffee shop, talking to a beautiful woman about
Twilight
. And I'm tolerating it just fine. In fact, I have a newfound respect for the franchise all because of you. Besides, how else would I get to know the woman I am dating if I don’t listen to her talk about something that she might be passionate about? So hit me with the need-to-know stuff.”

Taking another sip of her coffee, she watched Mike talk over the top of her cup. She couldn’t even tell if he was intentionally flirting or if it was just honest comments. He could totally be working an angle, or he could be genuinely curious—she had no clue.
This guy was good. Considering what to tell him, she realized that she didn’t want to talk about
Twilight
; she would rather talk about his kids or his work.

“Well, as a woman, sitting in a coffee shop, with a handsome man,” she winked at him, copying what he did earlier. “I would prefer to talk about your children or your work rather than
Twilight
. I have girlfriends and a teenage daughter for that. So let’s conclude the
Twilight
lesson and say that it’s good to use to get the date, but maybe not while on the date.” Knowing full well that she just made it sound like she would go on a date with the man, she sat back and waited to see how he would proceed. Keeping his gaze on her, he waited a few moments before he replied.

“So, Gillian, what you’re saying is that you will go on a date with me?” he asked with a triumphant smile, proving that he picked up exactly what she said.

Wanting to have a little more fun with him, she said, “I'm sorry, Mike, but I don’t recall being asked out on a date.” She smirked back at him as she leaned over to get her phone out of her bag. If he just so happened to get a glimpse of her cleavage while she did, so be it.
Allie would be so proud!
Sitting back up, she glanced at the screen on her phone for the time.

“That’s because I didn’t ask you out on a date, Gillian,” he replied. And that took the wind out of her sails. For a split second, she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, as she realized her maiden attempt at flirting backfired terribly. She was about to get up and thank him for the coffee when he said, “Yet.”

Touché, Mike. Touché.
And just like that, the anticipation of seeing where this would go built itself back up inside her belly. He looked down at his watch and said, “I believe my time with you is almost up. I, too, have somewhere to be, but I would really love to get to know you, Gillian. Could I take you out some time?”

If she had her wits about her she would’ve messed with him some more and played hard to get, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to say yes and didn’t want to delay it. Even though she hadn’t realized she wanted to try and date. Besides, she didn’t have much time before she needed to get to the field, so she couldn’t string him along. Smiling at him once again, she said, “I would love to go out with you some time, Mike.”

“Is it too late to ask if you are available tomorrow night?”

She felt her confidence start to climb again. “Well I do believe that is a trick question,” she said as she slowly stood up and started to slip her jacket back on in preparation of leaving. “If I say yes to tomorrow, then you will know that I have no life and was going to be home on a Saturday night. But if I say no, that I'm not available, I will just be sitting home all alone wishing I had said yes.”

If it was even possible, his smile got bigger when he said, “Well, when you think about it, since I asked if you wanted to go out with me, you clearly know that I didn’t have any plans for tomorrow night either. So I couldn’t judge you for that. And if you say that you are not available, then I, too, will be sitting at home all alone wishing you had said yes.”