His eyes light up, and he welcomes me with a big smile that makes about a million butterflies flutter around in my stomach. “Amy! You’re so nosy!” He rubs the dog’s head affectionately. “I’m sorry if she bothered you. How’s it goin, Sydney? How’s the kitten doing?” As if on cue, Bitsy struts toward my ankles. Upon getting an eyeful of Amy, she poofs up like a little porcupine, spitting her disdain for the dog and causing us to laugh. Amy puts her chin down on her front paws and her butt up high and wiggling in the air. She’s playful and wants to make friends. I don’t think Bitsy’s too keen on the idea yet.
“Well, I think Bitsy just met her match. Huh, little girl?” I coo and chuckle as I bend down to smooth Bitsy’s spiky fur. She begins purring and nuzzling against my hand. Scooping her up to make her feel more secure, I nuzzle back against her head.
“She looks real good,” Colin says, reaching out to scratch below Bitsy’s chin while never taking his eyes off me. I feel my cheeks flush. Hopefully, he doesn’t notice.
“So you’re my neighbor?” I state more than ask. “I’m also guessing this is Amy from what I heard you calling her? Is that the same Amy as in Amy’s Care Clinic?”
“The one and only.” Pride radiates from his voice. “I bought the business after the last vet retired four years ago and renamed it after her. Amy was from an abandoned litter, the runt of the pups that survived. Two years after we adopted, Imean, I adopted her, is when I took over.” Colin’s face flushes at the almost mention of his late wife.
I deduce it isn’t the right time, or polite for that matter, to ask about Jenna. If he stumbled over his words like that, he’s probably more than unwilling to share. Plus, it would be completely inappropriate at this point. For crying out loud, we just met. Although, it feels like I’ve already known him for years.
He’s still staring at me, and the silence is a tad awkward for my liking. I’ve never been good with awkward silences. I always seem to have to fill them with some quirky comment, but I can’t think of anything except for his blue eyes. As if he had read my mind, Colin looks down, kicking lightly at the sand, his movements like trying to sweep that awkwardness under the rug, and thankfully starts a new subject for me.
“I see Mabel left you the house. She was great. I really miss that old lady.” After the last part, you can tell he doesn’t know if I’ve taken offense or not to the “old” part and quickly blurts out, “I mean, I’m sorry for your loss. Everyone around here misses her. I used to help around with things that she couldn’t fix or reach herself. She always made a mean lemonade.” He smirks while probably reminiscing and hoping that his second string of comments redeemed him from calling Nana “old”.
“Speaking of lemonade, would you like a glass? Nana passed on her recipe to me,” I spurt out, giving him as charming of a smile that I could muster up. “I also have some apple pie if you would be interested in a piece?”
At first, Colin’s eyes seem to give off the vibe that he is fishing for an excuse to get away, but at the mention of the pie, I can clearly pin the moment I see him yield to the idea.
“I would really enjoy that, as long as I’m not interrupting your dinner.” Colin nods toward what’s left of my meal.
“I actually just finished that and was about to get a slice for myself… Plus, I would enjoy the company.” I pull out a chair unoccupied by a fur ball and smile. “Please, sit. I’ll run in and get everything.”
???
Colin
I admire the view of Sydney walking away, smirking as she scuttles into the house. My idea worked beautifully. Amy will most definitely be getting a special treat when we get home for giving me a chance to talk to Sydney tonight.
My stomach twists in nervous knots. I almost mentioned Jenna but caught myself before slipping up. It wasn’t what I wanted to lead with. Eventually, I’ll bring Jenna up, but first I want to get to know Sydney.
She is captivating. Tonight she’s sporting a curve- hugging, bright red scoop tank, showing off a modest bit of cleavage, with a sexy pair of capris and thong sandals. Her hair is down and a deeper color now that the sunlight isn’t bouncing off of it. I notice the fire engine red color of her toenails, and for some strange reason, they are doing something for me. I’ve never had a foot fetish, but Sydney’s toes are tantalizing to look at. They’d look good sliding up the inside of my leg…Shit…
At that thought, my head pops up to see Sydney in the doorway juggling a pie on small plates with some utensils. “Here let me help you,” I voice, jumping up to grab the pie from its teetering position atop the small dessert plates.
“Thank you.” Sydney smiles and blushes as I invade the already small space between us. I am all too aware of her. She smells of gardenias or some other type of fragrant flower, and it is intoxicating to the point where I want nothing more at this moment than to sweep the table clear, set her cute, little butt on top of it, and kiss her breathless.
Where are these thoughts coming from?Five years has come and gone and not once, until now, have I seriously entertained the idea of kissing or seducing a woman. Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve missed sex. I just haven’t come across anyone who’s really stirred the feelings that Sydney’s stirring right now.
Bitsy stretches lazily and yawns in her chair, clearly over her aversion to the large dog who is now lying by my feet snoozing. I’m glad Sydney brought her home. That cat is pretty cute. I reach down and pat Amy’s side, and she happily ‘grrrummphhhs’ from the attention but makes no move to open her eyes. Sydney slides a slice of pie in front of me and fills up a glass with lemonade. I take a big swig and appreciatively hum at its taste. It’s exactly like Mabel’s.
“Did you make the pie? It’s very good,” I praise.
“Yes, it’s delicious, but unfortunately I can’t take the credit for the pie. Ava, our neighbor down the road, brought it over this afternoon to welcome me. She’s very sweet. I’m looking forward to having dinner with her next week and meeting Jane, our other neighbor. I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d meet many people this quick, and at that, ones that I’d enjoy forming relationships with.”
“Ava is sweet and has a very optimistic outlook on life. You’ll like Jane too, although they’re complete opposites. Jane is very outspoken, bold to a certain degree, and there is never a boring moment with her. From what I’ve seen from you, you three will be great friends in no time.” I take a gulp of my lemonade, extremely thankful that Mabel passed the recipedown to her, and try not to think too much about the fact that she liked all of us enough to form “relationships” with us.
“And what have you seen from me? In your opinion?” Sydney raises her eyebrows at me. It’s saucy. I like it.
“Well…” Put on the spot, I swallow slightly before answering. “I think you’re a very compassionate person, considering how you were worried about those kittens. They are doing very well by the way. Brynleigh, my secretary, took the little white one home.” Sydney smiles, pleased with that news. “I think you seem like the type to get along well with most personalities and that you’ll fit in perfect here.”
We continue chatting for a while about her big move from St. Louis, peppering in some of our memories of Mabel while finishing our pie. I am truly enjoying sharing the evening with Sydney. Everything about her intrigues me, and I want to know more about her. After helping take the dishes into the kitchen, I’ve made up my mind to invite her to dinner. The nerve to ask finally hits me as we’re stepping down the patio steps onto the pathway leading toward the beach.
“Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” The question jumbles out of me as fast as I can manage before my nerves trap it inside.
“Like a...like a date?” Sydney smiles widely, enough to disarm the last of my reservations on dating again. “I think I’d enjoy that very much, Colin.”
“Then it’s a date. I’ll pick you up around seven? Do you like seafood?” I was on the verge of babbling in excitement, so I needed to get home soon before I ended up making a fool of myself.
