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After all, the worst she could say was no. It was a gamble.
But one I was willing to take.
“You don’t have to be the one to buy. My mom asked you to dinner, then didn’t show up, as it turns out, but I still feel like I should be the one to pay for this,” she said, but I shook my head.
“You didn’t ask for this, nor did you have any real obligation to come, but you did anyway, and I had a great time. The least I can do is pick up the tab for the meal. Oh, and maybe ask you if you wanted to go get a drink after? I don’t know about you, but I’m having a great time, and I would love to spend another hour together if you’re not busy.”
She looked at her watch, and I suddenly realized it was a school night. I didn’t want to keep her out beyond what she was comfortable, but I still wanted to make the most of the time we had. I didn’t hesitate long. I was just on the brink of letting her off the hook and telling her I didn’t realize it was a school night when I asked her out when she responded.
“Sure, why not?” she said. “I know it’s the middle of the week, but I’m not that old yet. I might as well get out and have another drink for the hell of it before I head back home.”
“Great.” I grinned. “My treat, of course.”
“We’ll just see about that,” she told me with another one of her million-dollar smiles.
I grinned at her but didn’t argue as she led the way out of the restaurant. I was convinced she was having as much fun with the date as I was, and the fact that she was willing to go with me to get a drink after the meal just solidified that in my mind.
I didn’t want to waste the time that we had right now, but I was already thinking about when I would be asking her out again. I wasn’t about to let this one slip through my fingers and not make the most of the chance. I couldn’t believe I had been this lucky anyway, I wanted to make the absolute most of it.
She slowed down when we reached the door of the restaurant, and I slipped my arm through the loop in hers. I walked her to her car, making sure I was the one who closed the door for her after she was buckled in. She rolled down the window.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked.
“Just drive to your favorite place,” I told her with a wink. “I’ll follow you.”
“Dangerous. I might have expensive taste,” she said with a flirty grin.
“Have I mentioned I’m a doctor?” I asked.
Harper giggled as she walked beside me. It was magical. One thing was for sure.
I was quickly becoming hooked.
EIGHT
Harper
I ledthe way to my favorite dive bar. I knew it was likely to be busy, even on a weeknight, but I was okay with that. I felt there was a strong enough connection between the two of us to be able to withstand having to stand closer to each other in order to be heard.
“I didn’t expect you to pick something so upbeat,” Trevor said when he sat next to me at the bar. “Not that you aren’t lively. I just figured you would want something a little bit more relaxed.”
“I guess you just never can tell about people.” I grinned. “I guess it reminds me of my class in a way. I mean, not that I would compare my kids to acting like a bunch of drunks, but I like the fun, lighthearted atmosphere.”
“That makes sense.” Trevor nodded. “This is entirely different from the environment I work, but then, I wouldn’t really go to my work to find something relaxing, either.”
“Not like you work with a bunch of little kids, either,” I told him. I wanted to tell him I found it incredible what he did with his life, but I wasn’t going to be overly flirty with him. The fact that we were having this good of a time together after my mother set us up like she did had to mean something. I was sure of it.
But, I wasn’t going to go all in with this date.
It was a blind date for all intents and purposes. A date my mother had set up spur of the moment, and I wasn’t sure how she thought this was going to turn out okay for me. But, my mother had always been that way, and I had to admit, it wasn’t at all surprising that she would set me up on a date with her doctor.
I couldn’t even say I was that surprised when she didn’t even show up for the dinner herself. It was just like something she would do to me, but I was having a nice enough time now I was okay with it. Certainly wasn’t something I would ask her to do again for me, nor was it something I regretted by any means.
I was glad he seemed to like the bar I’d chosen, and we ordered a small bowl of powdered donut holes to split over the drinks we were having. There were a lot of other people who were playing games and watching the tvs mounted on the wall.
Trevor, for the most part, seemed engrossed with me above all, and I was okay with that. I liked his attention. I liked the way we interacted with each other. I liked the way he made me feel. There was just something about him that really made me feel like he cared about me, like he saw me as a person who he wanted to get to know. He might not have been the one to ask me out, but then, he was at work.
It's not like it would have been professional or appropriate for him to have asked me out, considering I was there with my mom. Really, for this to have worked out the way it did, my mom had to be the one to stick out her neck and get him to agree to see me.
