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Michele laughed. “That means that the mistakes from my past help to form my present, which will influence my future. I need to reconcile my past so I can enjoy my present, which will lead to peace in my future.”
“That was very philosophical of you, Michele. Thank you.”
“Now, my young friend. You have dinner with four lovely ladies who are very desirous to hold your fabulous form and then you’ll need to get ready for the passing out of the invitations.”
Michele got up and went to his wardrobe. She pulled out different dress shirts and slacks with a different pair of shoes. “You pick which one you want and then leave the rest out. I’ll put them away.”
After Matt finished getting dressed, he got on the golf cart and the driver drove them to the tennis courts. All four ladies were dressed beautifully and he commented as such to each of them. Dinner conversation was light and he tried to be fully engaged in their conversations, but he was having a hard time.
They laughed, they ate, they flirted… but it wasn’t Evie.
“Let’s dance,” Verlia suggested as she jumped up and offered her hand to Matt.
“Sure,” he agreed. He got up and led Verlia to the dance floor. He started to grab her hand as Evie did when they danced but soon realized that Verlia wrapped both arms over his shoulders, so he awkwardly placed his arms around her waist. He quickly realized he preferred Evie’s way of dancing to Verlia’s.
When the song finished, Matt stepped back and led Verlia back to the dinner table. “Kristie?” he asked as he held out his hand. Kristie smiled brightly and followed Matt to the dance floor holding his hand. She danced in the same manner as Verlia, but she held onto Matt a lot tighter than he would have preferred.
When that song finished, he danced with Aaliyah and then Dorothy. After the dancing was over, he asked Aaliyah if she’d join him in a one-on-one. She readily said yes and they walked hand in hand toward the garden. The first thing he thought as they were walking was to change the place of dinner if he was to do a group dinner date again. Everything about this path reminded him of Evie.
“How are your feet?” he asked Aaliyah.
“They’re fine, why?” she inquired.
“Let’s take a different path,” Matt suggested.
“Sure!”
With Aaliyah’s hand still in his, he guided her to a different area of the garden that didn’t remind him of Evie and he was much happier.
“What is one of your biggest dreams?” Aaliyah asked.
“That’s a great question,” Matt replied. “Let me think. I never really thought about obtaining dreams. I’m the type of person who wants something and usually works hard to get it.”
“An example of that would be…” Aaliyah probed.
“An example would be becoming a firefighter. When the opportunity presented itself, I did the research, the footwork, and I got it.”
“Do you see yourself always living in California?”
“As a firefighter, we can move from state to state, but every state has different requirements, so I’d have to fulfill those requirements… but if the situation called for me to move, I’d be willing to do so. How about you? Would you ever think about moving to California?”
“I think it would be really hard for me to leave my family, but if it felt right, I think I would.”
The conversation continued to be easy and he found himself enjoying Aaliyah’s company. If he really wanted to settle down and become a family man, Aaliyah seemed interested. As they wound their way back to the tennis courts, Aaliyah stopped and looked up at Matt. The music was still playing in the background and the ambiance was perfect.
He lowered his head, and for the first time since meeting twenty-five beautiful women, he kissed one of them. It was a sweet and gentle kiss, and he liked it… very much.
Aaliyah pulled away and smiled.
Matt smiled back at her.
“That was very nice,” she purred.
“I agree!” Matt nodded. He leaned down and kissed her one more time and then took her hand and led her back to the mansion.
He turned in the opposite direction and headed back to his trailer. Now he needed to ponder on the three more he would add to his list of five to send home that evening.
“Tonight,” Carl began at the day’s closing invitation. “We are going to do things a little differently, unbeknownst to Matt.”
