AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I chuckled. Frazzled wasn't the word. I was exhausted. "Oh, you know, just one big argument after another."
"Girls can be hard. Just wait until she hits her teens," Iris said, nodding in understanding. "Almost as hard as boys, only with far more attitude."
"That they can, and no offense, but girls are way harder."
She laughed. "None taken, and you are probably right."
"How were the boys?"
Iris grabbed the sugar and added a couple of teaspoons to her coffee. "Not bad, I'm sure, though it’s not over. Like I said, they have been fighting a lot since the other boys have been picking on them. They have even been fighting amongst themselves, which was something they never did. I just hope it’s temporary."
"I'm sure. You know, after we spoke last night, I was thinking. Why don't we make plans to get the kids together for a day? That way, Gracie can get to know you, and I can get to know Noah and Dylan. We can take them down to the water, they can fish, swim, and we can even take a picnic lunch. You know, make the day for them."
Iris sat there stirring her coffee. I could see hesitation on her face. I wanted to ask what it was she was thinking but didn’t. Finally, she nodded. "I think that would be wonderful. It will give us time to spend the day together. I mean, not us as in you and me, besides I think the boys need it,”she said, avoiding my eyes now.
The way she had changed direction of what she was saying made me worry she wasn’t okay with what had happened between us, and I wanted to ask her but knew this wasn’t the place.
"How is Sunday? I have dates with contractors all week. Lord knows I'll need the downtime."
Iris pulled her phone from her purse and opened her calendar, finally nodding. "Sunday works."
"Perfect. How about Gracie and I pick you up and we'll go from there."
"Alright. I'll pack the picnic lunch."
* * *
I lay in bed, going over some financial statements that the contractors had left for me, but I was having a hard time concentrating.
Ever since I’d returned from coffee this morning, the only thing on my mind had been Iris and the weekend we’d spent together. I feared I’d made it difficult for her, especially now that the boys were asking such tough questions. I rested my head against the headboard and thought about how her face had lit up when I’d suggested we get together this weekend. I tried to focus back on the statements, then put the pencil down and picked up my phone and quickly typed out a message to Iris. Then deleted it, throwing my phone back down.
When we’d left The Crispy Biscuit today, I’d wanted to kiss her. Fuck, I stood there, feeling the softness of her lips on mine, yet couldn’t do a damn thing about it because we’d made some silly agreement to be friends. Who the hell was I. After the weekend we’d spent together, I must have been out of my mind to make an agreement like that.
I ran my hand over my face and picked up my phone, trying to figure out how to ask her if she still felt the same way as I did, but I didn't want to appear to be pushy.
Instead of texting, I dialed her number. It rang, and the second she answered, I got nervous and hung up. It was like I was some stupid teenager asking a girl out for the first time, not a man who’d walked down an aisle with one woman.
Seconds later, my phone vibrated, and I looked down to see a text message from Iris.
Iris: Some weirdo called and hung up just as I answered. Any ideas?
Yep, it was me, and I’m a huge-ass chicken, I thought to myself.
Zach: Huh
Iris: number said it was you. Any ideas? ;)
Zach: Must have been Gracie playing with my phone.
Iris: At eleven pm, I'd really like to hope she’s sleeping by now, or she’ll be a monster in the morning.I know how much you love that!
Zach: Okay, confession, the hangup was me.:|
Iris: :P What's up? Is everything okay?
I tapped my phone. What was wrong with asking the woman a question? Was I afraid of the answer? Was I afraid she’d turn me down? Damn right I was. I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and then typed out what I wanted to know and hit send without thinking about it.
Zach: Yeah, I was just wondering something, but I don't want you to think I’m pressuring you.
