Taking Back Beautiful (6 page)

That’s what counts.

“Hey,” a strange male voice says.

I turn to see a cute blond guy in a black blazer slow to a stop beside my table.

“Hi,” I say shyly. I’m not used to guys talking to me in bars. In fact, it never happens. Mainly because I don’t go to bars. Ever.

“You’re not here alone, are you?”

“Oh, no. I’m with…” I almost say,
my date
. But I don’t because I’m suddenly uncertain. This guy is making me nervous. Or something. “…a friend.”

Cute guy’s smile widens. “That’s good, because I was gonna say a woman like you shouldn’t be out on a Friday night by herself.”

“Like me? What’s that supposed to mean?” I instantly assume the worst.

His eyes flash, “Whadda you mean,
like you
? You’re gorgeous.”

Is he joking? He must be joking. Nobody calls me gorgeous.

He offers his hand, “I’m Seth.”

I shake his hand gingerly. “I’m Daphne.”

“Nice name. Mind if I join you?” He motions to Apollo’s empty stool.

“Oh, ummm…”

“Your friend. Right. That’s cool. So, uhh, do you come here often?” He winces. “That was stupid. I’m sorry, I’m never good with pickup lines.”

Pickup lines? I can’t believe this is happening to me. Seth is hitting on me! I giggle nervously, “Me neither. Just pretend we know each other.”

“Huh?”

I laugh, “How’s work, Seth? Still working those late hours?” I can’t believe I’m flirting back.

“Right,” he grins. “Late hours. Yeah, work is a bitch. The boss has been busting my ass all week.” His eyes flash again as he laughs.

This is surreal. “I hate those ass-busters,” I giggle.

“Aren’t they the worst?” He chuckles.

Our eyes lock.

Seth is interested.

In me.

I know it like I know my own name. What I don’t know is how this could possibly be happening to me. I have never had a guy walk up to me in a bar or even a bus station and ask me anything other than if I will give him money. This is the polar opposite of that. Seth is asking for my affection. Before this week, no man had ever asked me for that.

He rests his hand on the back of my bar stool. “So, um, what else?” His fingers brush my arm and I nearly jump.

Did he do that on purpose?
“Uhhh,” I laugh, not sure what to say. But I do know that Seth is the kind of cute I should be dating. Not ravishing like Apollo, but realistic. If I’m being honest, this thing with Apollo is a fluke. A statistical anomaly. Sooner or later, reality is going to set in and he’s going to realize I’m not Fashion Forty Fiona or whoever else he’s used to dating. If I’m being sensible, I should give Seth my phone number so he can call me down the road when Apollo moves on to someone more suitable.

“So…” Seth says, “Do you live near here?”

“I’m in the Valley.”

“Me too!” Seth beams. “Where?”

“Van Nuys.”

“I’m in Valley Glen! You’re right next to me,” he says, hope shining in his eyes. “I bet we’ve crossed paths at some place like Trader Joe’s without even knowing it.”

“You shop at Trader Joe’s?!”

He nods, grinning.

“I shop at Trader Joe’s!!”

“Wow, small world,” he chuckles, blushing.

He’s blushing. For me.

“Hey, buddy,” Apollo says, coming up behind Seth holding two big glasses of water with lemon wedges. He leans between me and Seth, forcing Seth to withdraw his hand from my barstool, and sets the glasses down.

Seth says, “You must be the friend.”

Apollo shoots me a look. He looks mad.

Why? I don’t know. But I wince anyway.

Apollo says to Seth, “I’m the
date
.”

Seth’s eyes go big. “Oh! Sorry! I was picturing someone more feminine!”

Apollo’s sunshine smile slides into a delicious smirk. “What about me says feminine, buddy?”

“Sorry, I meant, you know, Daphne here said ‘friend’ so I thought she meant a girlfriend.”

“Nope. She meant me. Her…
date
.” He puts his arm around my shoulder.

Did Apollo just claim me? I believe he did.

Seth looks between me and Apollo. “Well, uhhh, it was nice meeting you, Daphne. Have fun.”

“You too,” I smile.

Seth scampers off toward the men’s room.

A tiny voice in the corner of my heart says,
Shouldn’t I have gotten Seth’s number?

I ignore it.

#b#b#b#

DAPHNE

“You know what I like about you?” Apollo says.

I nearly drop my fork in my chicken salad. I quickly set it down before I do. “Um, no. What?”

The bar is still crowded. Earlier, Apollo had to hunt down menus for us and order our food at the bar. He saws into his steak. “You’re straight up. Nothing about you is fake.”

“Thanks.” It’s true. I’ve always been honest and direct. What you see is what you get.

“You know what else I like about you?”

“What?”

“Your eyes. They’re like blue diamonds.”

“Do they even have blue diamonds?”

“Lucky Charms do.”

I giggle, “Those are marshmallows in a kid’s breakfast cereal. Not real diamonds.”

“So? If they don’t have them, they should make them.”

“Why?”

“Because I have no doubt that anyone who sees your eyes never forgets them. And we all know that a memory is never as good as the real thing. I bet there’s tons of people who, after looking into your eyes, want to immortalize the feeling your eyes gave them. If they had a pair of blue diamonds set into a ring, they could gaze upon those two blue diamonds every day. It wouldn’t be as good as looking into your eyes, but it would help them better remember forever.”

My jaw hangs open. “How do you know how to talk like this?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. But it’s true. Your eyes are blue diamonds.”

I roll my eyes, hiding my embarrassment. I can’t even answer. Nobody has ever complimented me this much. Well, maybe my music teacher Mr. Atkins in high school, but that was for playing the cello. This is different.

Apollo says, “You know what else I like about you?”

“What?” I chuckle.

“You don’t let your beauty turn you into a bitch.”

“Are you drunk?” I laugh.

“Huh?”

I wring my napkin in my lap. It takes me a moment to figure out what I want to say. “Apollo, I’m not beautiful like Fiona or ninety percent of the other women I’ve seen at Body Fitness. You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying,” he says defensively.

“I’m serious, Apollo. You don’t have to say all these things. It’s… it’s kind of weirding me out.”

He frowns and sets his utensils down. He reaches over into my lap and takes my hand. “I’m not bullshitting you, Daphne. I think you’re gorgeous.”

“I’m fat, Apollo.”

“You’re healthy.”

“That’s not what my doctor says.” I don’t like where this conversation is going.

“Fine. That’s why you came to me. To get into shape. I’m all about exercise and healthy living. I’m the perfect guy for you. Right?”

Now I’m distressed. “Why are you doing this, Apollo?”

“Doing what?”

“This. Me. You’re out of my league.”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Why does it feel like we’re arguing?
“Yes. After I put this dress on at the gym.”

He shakes his head, “And did you not see what I saw when you walked out of the locker room just now? I’m pretty sure it was the same exact thing because the women’s locker room doesn’t have those bendy circus mirrors to make you look different.”

“How do you know?” I chuckle.

“Because I’ve cleaned them.”

“Oh.”

He squeezes my hand again. “I don’t know what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, but I can tell you that I’ve never had to prove to a woman I was attracted to her. Usually it’s obvious and they figure it out. But with you, it’s like you think I’m faking or something.”

“Aren’t you?” Whoops. I don’t know why I said that.

He frowns. “No, I’m not fucking faking. What the fuck, Daph? What do I have to do to prove it to you?” He stands up suddenly.

He called me Daph. Swoon.

He wads his napkin and tosses it onto the table before walking off.

I am so utterly confused right now I just sit there as I watch him disappear into the crowd.

He probably just disappeared forever.

Maybe I should go look for Seth.

Chapter 9

DAPHNE

“Can we talk?” I mutter.

Apollo stands outside in a service hallway that has a trellis roof. The hallway leads to the alley behind ReaXion. He stares up at the moon through the trellis, hands stuffed in his pockets, leaning against the stucco wall in a corner near a stucco planter that holds several small banana trees. He doesn’t look at me.

I sigh. “I’m sorry, Apollo. It’s just… You have to understand. This is all so new and overwhelming to me. I’ve never been on a date before. I mean, not a real date. Like this. With a guy like you. I’m not making any sense.”

He nods but doesn’t look at me. Just stares at the moon.

“Apollo? Can you at least look at me?”

“No,” he grunts.

“Why not?”

He grumbles, “Because if I do, I’m going to kiss you.”

Someone grab me a fainting couch. When none appears, I reach out and touch the back of his hand with my fingers.

His face swivels around, his brow dark, his eyes hot. He inhales deeply, scowling.

Then he throws me against the wall and buries his tongue in my mouth. I dig my fingers into his back muscles through his sweater and moan into his mouth.

Our tongues fight.

Our lips slip and slide.

A heat wave fires in my chest.

His hard hands grab my ass and he lifts me up, pushing my back against the wall and my thighs apart. My dress bunches up to my waist. I feel him hard between my legs. I wrap myself around him and he grinds against my wetness.

I moan again.

“Whoops!” a woman’s voice says. “I think the ladies room is the other way!”

Apollo doesn’t even notice.

He just attacks me with his lips and tongue. His hands massage my ass through my dress. I swear, he’s going to make me come.

“Oh, Apollo…” I moan.

He breaks our kiss and leans his forehead against mine and growls, “Do you believe me now?”

“Kiss me,” I whisper.

He does.

#b#b#b#

DAPHNE

“You know what I really like about you?”

This time, his question doesn’t make me nervous but I can’t manage to answer. My head is still spinning from our kiss. And that was three hours ago.

We stand beside his car, which is parked on a neighborhood side street near ReaXion. They kicked us out when they closed at 2am. I’m very aware of my lips. They’re throbbing from all the kissing we did in that hallway outside under the light of the moon. It took at least a half an hour before the manager asked us to stop. I was so embarrassed. But we went back to our bar table to finish eating and talking.

Three hours later, they kicked us out at closing, and three hours later I can still feel the ghost of his cock pressing between my legs like a wet memory, fighting to punch through my underwear. I wish it was his real cock.

“Where’d you go?” he asks.

“I’m right here.” I shiver pleasantly despite the warm evening.

He automatically puts his arm around me. “I was saying, you know what I really like about you?”

“What?” I’m all smiles.

“The way you make me feel.”

“What do you mean?”

“You make me feel like life isn’t running out.”

I wrinkle my nose, “What does that mean?”

He stares at his dress shoes. “I don’t normally talk about this, but with you, I feel like I can talk about anything.”

“You can,” I encourage.

He nods and meets my eyes. “My dad died last year at 52. On Christmas Eve.”

“That’s so sad, Apollo. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks. It was a sudden heart attack. Nobody saw it coming. The thing is, I’m 28. Over half way to the grave. There’s nothing like seeing your own name staring back at you from a tombstone. It puts everything in perspective.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m just being realistic. I miss that guy like you wouldn’t believe. My mom misses him too. They had a great relationship. Really loved each other, you know? She was crushed when he died. I always envied what she had with him. I don’t know anybody who has a relationship like my parents did. They were best friends.”

“They were lucky.”

“I know. But you know what?”

“What?”

“Something about you makes me feel like maybe I can find that special best friend connection with someone. Maybe some day.” His eyes search mine. “Maybe even with you.” He breaks eye contact and stares at his shoes.

As he says these things to me, I’m jumping up and down inside screaming,
I make a great best friend! Ask all my friends! They love me! I’m always there for them, helping them, making them laugh! I’m the bestest best friend anyone ever had! I’ll totally be your best friend, Apollo! And you can screw me any time you want! Any time!
What I say is, “I know what you mean.”

“You do?” He looks up at me, surprised.

“I mean, yeah. Who doesn’t want that? Love and friendship and everything else.” Everything being sex and babies, neither of which I’ve ever had, both of which I desperately want. With him. I know it’s crazy. I’ve known him for two days. I can imagine Lynn telling me to be careful. To which I would say,
I’m 29. I only get older from here.
Common sense tells me I will never have another Apollo come along in my life. Ever.

He smiles, “We should go.”

I’ll go wherever fate takes us!
“Yeah.”

“We still need to get you back to your car at the parking garage.” He beeps the alarm on his car and opens the passenger door for me. “Shall I help you into your carriage, madame?” His British accent is quite good.

Mine isn’t, but I try anyway, “Why yes of course, good sir.” I giggle as I climb into the car and he closes my door for me.

Chapter 10

APOLLO

Saturday morning.

“I met someone, Mom,” I say to her across the table.

“What else is new,” she laughs. “If I remember correctly, you meet a new woman every week.”