“You don’t see yourself living in the city at all?”
Is she wondering if things progress with us, or is this just a question to pass the time? “I don’t know. I’ve never really lived in one. I go from time to time to hang out with old school friends, but as far as living there…I couldn’t say.”
“Understandable. It can be a lot.” She sighs and cuddles closer to me despite the warm night. “I can see myself living in a place like this. The slower pace, and tight community, are things I’ve always wanted for my kids.”
That’s good to know. There’s a possibility of us being closer together. “You can always look for places here in Asheville. They have houses for sale a few streets over from mine.”
She laughs, “it’s a little too soon for me to start looking for houses near yours. Besides, my kids have school coming up, and Isaac doesn’t handle change well.”
“You never know,” I place my other hand on her knee, “this could be a change he needs.”
“Or it could be disastrous. I’m honestly surprised he talked to you when we ran into them earlier. He has to know on some level that we’re more than friends.”
“It’s possible,” I lean over and kiss the top of her head. “But you will eventually need to tell him you’re dating.”
“I plan on it.”
“Good. He may take it better than you expect.”
I can feel her roll her eyes. She’s right, though. I talked to the kid for less than five minutes, and I don’t know him the same way she does.
“I plan on talking to him tomorrow evening. Probably after baseball practice because I don’t want to do anything that could make that go badly.”
“Probably smart.” Rushing it on my end isn’t going to do anything. I need to let her do it at her own pace. Hopefully she really does talk to him, though.
Shifting my weight, I pull my phone out of my pocket. “What are you doing?” Joan squeals as the seat moves.
“Capturing our first real date.” I hold the camera in front of us, hoping like hell I don’t drop it. “We’ll want to remember this when we’re old and gray, and telling our grandkids of how we hit it off.”
“You’re very presumptuous.” I take a photo of her staring up at me.
I bend down and press my lips to hers. Another photo. “I like to think of it as optimistic.”
It’s the only way I get through life. If I think of all the hard things and let that hold me back, I won’t be able to do great things. Some may look down at me for my job, but I make people smile while I’m behind that bar. They know they can come to me with whatever is bothering them, and I’ll give them a listening ear.
The ferris wheel moves around slowly, and we remain silent the rest of the ride. Taking in the sounds of music playing around us, and the crowd below chattering excitedly. Other than unexpectedly running into her kids and ex-husband, today is the best day I’ve ever spent with a woman. I only hope it leads to more like it.
“Why are you up so early?” Joan grumbles in my ear. “My alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”
“I know.” I lean on my arm beside her. These past two nights are the best sleep I’ve gotten in ages. Well, when we actually fell asleep late into the night. “I was trying to be nice.”
“By waking me up before I have to be functional?” She turns on her side and moves until her back is flush against my chest. “I need my beauty sleep.”
“You’re already beautiful.”
“It’s too early for you to be cheesy.” She grabs one of the pillows and pulls it over her head.
“Fine, I’ll let you sleep.” Her alarm will go off in about forty-five minutes, and I want to make sure she has a good start to the day. Her breathing has evened out, and I know she won't wake up.
Sliding out of the bed, I do my best not to jostle the sheets. In the dark, I make my way to the dresser and pull out a shirt. I have no idea what color is, and I don’t care. I’m just happy I have my room memorized, otherwise I would have made noise and woken her up again.
I crack the door open enough for me to slip through before softly closing it behind me. Our bags from yesterday are on the kitchen table, and I sort through them. I have a couple of reusable bags in the pantry and I grab one to put her things into. There’s no sense in her carrying a bunch of bags when she can take one.
The house is silent and I wish I could put on some music, but I don’t want to wake her. I’m not sure how heavy of a sleeper she is, but I don’t want to chance it. Moving my stuff to the coffee table, I finish cleaning off the one in the kitchen.
It’s a good thing I bought groceries before she came to stay for the weekend. I plan on sending her off with a good breakfast and coffee. I set two plates on the table and a fork. I can’t make a lot of things, but I’m pretty good at eggs since it’s what I eat pretty much every morning after my run. Which I’ll have to do after she leaves. I don’t want to miss a moment with her, and I know we won’t be able to do this again for another two weeks.
As quietly as possible, I pull out the pans I’ll need to cook. A baking sheet slips and I catch it before it clatters to the ground. Damn, I’m not used to needing to be quiet in my own house. I place it on the counter and turn to the fridge to get everything else.
