AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Me: I’m in the area, doing some work stuff. Time to meet up for a drink?
Marisa: It’s a little early for alcohol. ;)
Me: LOL I was thinking coffee. The place by your apt.
I watched the dots bounce around as I waited for her to respond. Fuck, if she sent me another selfie, I might spooge all over my phone.
The dots disappeared.
My happy delight at the chance of seeing her deflated. I couldn’t force Marisa to want to spend more time with me. She had said Wednesdays, and it had only been every Wednesday for the past several weeks. I should have kept my mouth shut. I dragged a hand over my face. My phone chimed with an incoming message.
Marisa: Sure. I can make some time for coffee. Can you give me an hour?
Me: See you then.
Marisa: I’ll meet you there.
I wasn’t even in her neighborhood. I wasn’t at work. I was still at home. Call me an asshole for lying about that little fact. But who could blame me? The fact of the matter was, I wanted to see her. If I had to wait five hours to see her, I would have gladly done so.
* * *
An hour later, I waited impatiently outside the coffee shop down the street from Marisa’s place. I hadn’t felt this way about a woman since my ex. And trying to conjure up the feelings of back then to compare with my feelings now, I didn’t think they could even hold a candle.
The sight of Marisa in a bright yellow sundress made my heart race. I tried to keep my eyes from popping out of my head and my tongue from falling out of my mouth, feeling like a ridiculous cartoon character. My eyes refused to break contact as she sashayed her way over to me.
I stood, unable to stop myself. I was drawn to her. That was obvious to me as my mind and body reacted to the magnetic pull of her being in my vicinity. Her fruity-floral scent was aromatic and smelled like exotic flowers blooming under the afternoon sun. I wrapped my arms around her and inhaled the sexy aroma, enjoying the feeling of her in my arms.
“Hey you,” she said. Her lips were sticky from the lip gloss she wore, but I didn’t care. I welcomed the kiss she bestowed upon me, happy, even relieved, that she gave me one before I had to ask. “Hey, Bee,” she said, looking down and seeing me clad in shorts.
It was a refreshing relief that Bee was a non-issue for Marisa. Even our first night together, she had made everything so easy. Today was the first time she’d seen me dressed in shorts outside the bedroom. I couldn’t deny I had been nervous about how she might react with my leg not being covered out in public, or if I’d be able to sense that she felt weird about being seen with me. Or how she would handle the looks if someone stared.
Her reaction was exactly what I had hoped for. She simply linked her arm through mine, gave me a bright smile, and said, “Let’s go. For some reason, I’m craving a bear claw.”
We placed our orders, standing with clasped hands as we waited for our vanilla lattes and pastries. I chose based on her recommendation and noted that she told the barista to make my drink “half-sweet.” When I asked what that meant, she told me she thought I’d prefer it because I didn’t like overly sweet coffee.
“Oh, I thought maybe it was because I was already sweet enough,” I joked. Secretly I was impressed and delighted she remembered this tiny detail.
“Hardly,” she teased right back.
We were flirting as we usually did when we first reunited again. It was our go-to response after not seeing one another for six days.
I led her outside to where the sun was shining, the air was warm, and the breeze just enough to keep us cool.
“I’m glad you could meet me,” I said, taking a sip of my latte. “Mmm, this is pretty good,” I added, surprised that I liked it as much as I did.
She winked at me. “I wouldn’t steer you wrong.” Then she added on a laugh, “Unless you pissed me off.”
“There she is. The feisty little ball of fury I’m used to.”
“Shut up and taste this,” she said, popping a piece of her bear claw into my mouth. “It’s good, right?”
I nodded. I wanted to mention that I’d rather be tasting her right now, but I didn’t want this meeting to be all about sex. I wanted to see what might be between us outside of our Wednesday night bang fests. I felt there could be something more, but I needed to test the waters.
Besides, I was happy being with her. Even if it was just for coffee.
We crossed the street and continued our walk along the beach. Somehow our conversation steered to my ex, and I found myself willingly opening up to Marisa.
“Yep. I mean, I definitely never expected to be divorced. Especially at thirty-two years old. But at the end of the day, we just . . .”
