Erica
I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Trainer last night. He was rough, the way that I expected, but it didn’t cross a line. No, it was just enough to set me on fire.
I wanted more.
It looked like it was time to officially abandon my idea of avoiding the man. I was fighting a losing battle. Every time I saw him, I felt like there was a magnet in the center of my chest, pulling me in his direction.
“Comeon,we’re gonna be late,” Dominic waited impatiently by the front door while I pulled on a pair of ankle boots.
“Okay, okay. Don’t rush me,” I grumbled.
I was never much of a morning person, but how could I say no when Dominic asked me to get up early on my day off to take him to the library’s Youth Reading Program? It wasn’t an option. I was blessed with a great kid that loved reading, of all things, and was eager to embrace the freedom of our new life. So, I dragged myself out of bed when I would have rather lingered beneath the warm comforter.
We left the house and hit the Starbucks drive-thru before going to the library. I was surprised by the number of kids there already. Who would have thought that so many kids liked reading enough to come here on a Saturday morning?
There were at least two dozen kids, between the ages of five and ten, all crowded into the kids’ room. The main body of the library was standard: neutral walls, tall bookshelves, and a quiet atmosphere. But the kids’ room was an explosion of color. The carpet was a deep blue, while the walls were a cheery yellow. There were paper mache planets, suns, and moons hanging from the ceiling, which I thought might be a part of some kind of art program offered by the library. Even the books were all an array of colors.
One of the librarians was bringing bean bag chairs out of a closet and scattering them over the floor for the kids to sit on. Dominic lingered by side for a few minutes, as the other kids interacted. They had probably been coming to this bi-weekly reading program for a long time, and all knew each other.
“Hi, I’m Dave,” a man beside me spoke.
“Erica,” I responded. I was getting used to using my fake name. I hardly had to think about it now.
There was a little girl at his side, but she was quick to hurry forward and join the others. “Wait a minute, Stacey. Why don’t you take our new friend here over to meet everyone.”
She came back, boldly grabbing Dominic’s hand and pulling him into the thick of things. I chuckled as he looked back at me with wide eyes, but it didn’t take long for him to join the others, introducing himself and claiming a beanbag chair as his own.
“Thanks for that,” I said.
“I know how it is. Not always easy to meet new people.”
“And it gets even harder as you get older,” I agreed.
“I think that depends on the person,” he said, his voice deepening as he leaned a little closer to me.
Is he hitting on me?
There was something familiar about Dave. He was tall and classically handsome with his clean-shaven jaw and crew-cut blonde hair. He was… smooth. Confident. Those sounded like good qualities, but unease gripped me.
Then, I realized. He reminded me of Jeff.
“They’re starting,” he said, nodding to the group children as the head librarian passed out copies of the book they would be reading together. They all settled onto bean bags, their rapt attention on the woman seated before them. All the parents filed out of the room, some heading straight for the exit, others lingering to chat quietly. “It’ll be at least a half an hour before they’re done. Do you want to go grab a coffee, maybe get to know each other better?”
Dave flashed what he probably thought was a charming grin, but it fell flat for me.
“I already have one,” I held up the frappuccino I had picked up on the way to the library. “Thanks anyway.”
Luckily, he took the hint and didn’t press the issue. As Dave made his way out of the library, I looked around, getting lost among the shelves. I was a fan of true crime, and they had a whole section that I spent time perusing, but I didn’t have a library card, and I wasn’t sure if I would need identification to get one.
Only fifteen minutes had passed, so I made my way outside for some fresh air. It was a perfect spring day, with a cloudless blue sky and the sun shining overhead. The leaves in the trees were new and green, and dandelions were starting to pop up in the grass. There were metal benches lined up along the sidewalk, and I took a seat on one.
I looked around, taking note of the Methodist church across the street and the community center a block away. There was a flower shop next to the church and a gas station by the library. As I looked that way, my eyes landed on a motorcycle parked at the gas station. My heart lurched as I realized that I recognized that bike.
The door of the gas station opened, and the man that had been running through my mind appeared, opening a candy bar. Trainer was dressed as usual in his leather jacket, black t-shirt, and worn jeans with a pair of cuffed up riding boots. The sight of my big biker man indulging in chocolate of all things made a goofy smile stretch across my face.
The gas station wasn’t far from the library, and he happened to have parked on the edge of the parking lot closest to me, so it wasn’t a surprise when he spotted me watching him. I didn’t even try to pretend that I wasn’t staring, just lifting my hand and waving at him.
Trainer looked at me, then at his candy bar before shoving the thing into the pocket of his jacket, still half-eaten. I could swear that he almost looked embarrassed, which had me giggling as he bypassed the motorcycle and walked over to me.
