“Yes, yes, and another yes,” Sydney practically giggles, and my heart skips a beat.
“Well, then, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Sydney.” I smile, then whistle before calling out to my pup, “Time to gohome, Amy!” At the sound of her name, Amy perks up from her comfy spot by the chair and scampers over to me. We stroll toward home, Amy happily lumbering ahead.
“Night!” Sydney hollers out to me, and I turn back to catch one more glimpse of her smiling as she practically skips into the house. I can’t believe it. I have a date tomorrow night with the prettiest woman I’ve laid eyes on since Jenna. For the first time, thinking of Jenna and Sydney at the same time doesn’t make me feel guilty. Nope, no guilt, but there is something I haven’t felt in a while…
Hope.
Chapter 4
Sydney
Saturday morning begins with gorgeous sunshine streaming in through the French doors and thoughts of my date with Colin tonight. I’m so excited I can’t see straight. I can’t wait to get to know him better. From what I observed last night, Colin doesn’t seem to fit my normal pattern when it comes to men. You know the type: jerky, cheating, commitment-phobic men who think they’re the shit.
Bitsy’s being needy, making muffins on the soft fabric of her bed and looking at me. Obviously ready for her meal, she lets out a little brrrr and meows. It’s stinking adorable.
Hopefully, in another week or so, she will be eating just the kitten food with a replacement milk to soften it. I can’t wait to get rid of the bottle feeds, even though it has been a good bonding experience. I flop the covers back from the bed, sit up to stretch, and begin my trek downstairs. Bitsy follows closelyat my heels as I do my morning thing then make her bottle. As I feed her, she kneads her tiny paws into the skin of my finger while suckling every last bit of the serving down. Taking in this sweet little one is, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I’ve made lately.
One of my favorite things to do already is dangle a string in front of her and watch as she tries so hard to catch it. The thought makes me giggle when I picture her little wiggle butt and saucer-shaped pupils. After being well fed, the little fur ball scampers to the bay window in the living room but can’t quite jump up onto the bench since she’s too short. I scoop her up and set her right by the windowsill where Bitsy intently grooms her paws and face after eating. I scratch the top of her head, and she rubs against my fingers. I wiggle them above her a little and she sits up onto her back legs, pawing at them with both of her front paws. I play with her for a smidge until I can tell she’s no longer enamored by the flittering prey. She turns in a circle then settles down for a morning nap in the sun.
Cats are great.Though I wouldn’t mind having a lab like Amy. Amy is so vivacious and full of love. Thinking about Amy turns my thoughts back to Colin. I wonder what I should wear for dinner. I pad up the stairs to my closet and begin rummaging through my options. Biting my bottom lip, I bring out a couple of options.
Gosh, it’s been a while since I’ve been out with a guy for dinner. I need to do some shopping. Okay, so my choice is between a sexy, little black dress or a white, floral sundress. The black number might be a little much for tonight. Since it’s our first date, I think I’ll go for the sweet look. It’s feminine and flirty with the eyelet pattern across the bodice. Very Sookie Stackhouse. Oooh, I need to add rewatchingTrue Bloodto my list of things to do this fall. I get back to the task at hand, fingering the material of the dress while I consider what to dowith my hair in front of the mirror. I don’t want to come across too sexy too soon.
The dress is simple with a v-neck to show ample cleavage, and the length hits directly above the knee, so it is also modest in length. The floral pattern consists of tiny, sunshine yellow and pale blue flowers. Not too many or too distracting. It’s the perfect choice to accentuatemyassets, not tobethe asset itself. I can’t wait to tell Ava about the date.
At noon, Ava shows up for lunch. We choose to sit out on the patio again and munch on turkey sandwiches with some fresh fruit I’d grabbed at the local farmer’s market yesterday morning. Ava could sense my antsiness and could tell that I was holding something back.
“So, you seem really happy today. What’s going on?” She takes a hearty bite from her sandwich and eyes me curiously.
“I have a date tonight!” I clap my hands on my cheeks as I blurt it out, unable to hold it in any longer.
“Already?! Who is it?!”
“Well, it’s an interesting story. I was having dinner out here last night when a chocolate lab came racing toward my place, barking like crazy. To my surprise, it was Colin’s dog, Amy. He apologized for the intrusion, and I asked if he’d like to have some lemonade and pie. We chatted for a while, and when he was leaving, he turned around looking all flustered like he had been debating on whether or not to ask, and well, he asked me out.” I take a deep breath, realizing that I’ve been talking extremely fast.
Ava chokes on a piece of strawberry due to the exciting scoop and covers her mouth with one hand while waving the other to indicate she’s okay.
“Oh my gosh, no way! I can’t believe it, Syd! You must’ve made one hell of an impression on him Thursday at the clinic because, hun, you are the first person he’s been out on an actualdate with in five years, and that was his wife!” Ava stares at me with wonder. “So, where are you guys going? And, the more important question is, what are you wearing?!”
I share all the details of the night that I’m aware of as she follows me up to my room so I can show her the dress I picked this morning. Ava loves the dress and assures me that Colin will too. She agrees with my decision not to go too sexy and describes the dress as flirty with a subtle sexiness, which is the exact impression I’m aiming for. We discuss that I should leave my hair down and curl it in nice, big waves. Ava even picks out which shoes she thinks will make the best statement with the dress. Her choice is a pair of four-inch, white leather, peep-toe slingbacks with heels and bottoms that look like wood. They will indeed be perfect. Ava is fastly becoming a great friend, and I send up a silent thanks to God for sending her my way.
By the time Ava leaves, I only have about two and a half hours to get ready. To calm my nerves, I pour a small glass of sweet red wine and sip it while taking a hot bath. I make sure my legs are silky smooth and smothered with a fragranced body butter, smelling like gardenias afterward. I take my time picking out my underthings. It’s my favorite part of the outfit because I get to be as adventurous as I want with them, no matter how I appear on the outside. Dressing sexy underneath makes me feel sexy, giving me that extra boost of confidence and a secret smile. I choose to go with a white, lacy, see-through balconette bra with matching lace tanga panties. It’s a gorgeous material.
At seven on the dot, the doorbell rings, and Bitsy looks up from her spot on the bed and meows. That little booger found a way up onto the bed. She’s getting stronger. I pet her and smile as my stomach starts doing backflips. If I thought the butterflies in my stomach last night were bad, they are nothing compared to the craziness going on in there now. I grab my shoes and hurry down the hall toward the staircase while hollering, “I’mcoming!”. I manage to make it down the steps without slipping in my rush, so that has to be a good sign right? I take one last look to check my makeup in the foyer mirror after slipping on my heels right before opening the door with a big smile.Just breathe.
The man standing in front of me is the most devastatingly beautiful man I’ve ever been blessed enough to lay eyes on. Even sexier than both times I’d seen him before. How is that possible? His brownish-black hair is in perfect place with what I guess is hair wax because it doesn’t look like gel. He is wearing a black button-up, tucked in nicely to a pair of nice blue jeans. His sleeves are rolled up to his forearms, and his shoes are black leather. He shaved the stubble gracing his jawline last night, leaving sexy, smooth skin in its place, just dying to be touched. His crystal blue eyes stand out stunningly, and my heart beats faster as his smile grows wider while he eyes me with appreciation. Best of all though, the man is holding a handful of white daisies in his hand, and from the look of it, they were handpicked.
“These are for you… Wow, Sydney, you look beautiful,” Colin chokes out. I can tell he means it because right after the words come out, the pulse at his throat begins working overtime and he adjusts his neckline as if he is too warm while swallowing hard. He looks nervous, but in a good way.
What I would give to step into his arms and kiss those lips right now. It’s been at least six months since I’ve even had a date, let alone kissed a man. The thought of kissing him makes me flush, and my inner monologue groans and begs me to yank him into the house to start an all-out kissing fest. Screw the seafood. I mentally tell that inner bitch to settle the fuck down and hold her horses on the Samantha theatrics so early into the date. I don’t even want to think about the last time I had sex. My insides jumpat that thought, and I hope I didn’t just blush even more than I feel I am.
At this rate, tonight is going to be a long night of pushing that inner voice back in her place. Maybe I’ll get lucky and at least get a kiss at the door.Oh, you will. Just look at him.The attraction and tension already swirling between us is so tight right now, you could cut it with scissors.
???
Colin
Man, I am so hyped up and nervous, I could hurl. I check myself over and think I look pretty decent. Hopefully Sydney agrees. Before I leave the house, I pick a handful of daisies from Jenna’s little garden that I still keep up in her memory. I don’t think she’d mind. My heart pounds as I ring the doorbell, hearing Sydney scramble down the stairs and holler that she’s on her way. Blood whooshes in my ears, and the anticipation really kicks up a notch just knowing that she’s about to open that door any second.
