Sean knocked on Nicole’s door. He remembered how nervous he’d been when he first came to her house. Today, that nervousness was amped up. He chewed the inside of his cheek. Maybe he was a little apprehensive as well. He realized he’d forgotten to eat dinner in his excitement, and now he felt a little queasy.
He waited for Nicole to answer the door. With each hour-long second that passed, the more sweat broke out. A sheen of sweat started at his forehead and now covered the rest of his face. He patted his pockets looking for anything to wipe the sweat off. He found a receipt from a grocery trip and was using that to blot his face when she opened the door. Her smile took his breath away.
“Thank you for coming over,” she stood back and opened the door wide for him to enter.
She shut the door behind him as he walked through.
He toed off his shoes. Nicole’s hair was in soft waves framing her face. She must have gotten a new lipstick because her lips were the color of raspberries, his favorite berries. He looked at her and waited for her to make the next move.
“Can I get you something to drink?” She rubbed her hands on her pants. He could see her pulse beating in the hollow between her collarbones.
“That would be nice. What do you have?” He had a sudden strong desire to do anything he could to make her comfortable. He bit the inside of his lip and stopped himself from saying, “Relax, Nicole.” He knew no one liked to be told to relax.
“I have some red wine, or water? Or I could make tea?”
On the kitchen counter, there was a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. “A glass of wine sounds good.”
“Great I’ll go get us the wine.” She turned to go to the kitchen and then turned back. She waved her hand. She had on black nail polish. He loved when women wore black nail polish. “Sit wherever you’d like.”
Sean looked around and decided on the loveseat. He hoped she’d sit next to him and not sit in the recliner. Sean tried to stifle a yawn. The day had been long and his sleep had been awful. Nicole was pouring the wine and missed seeing his valiant attempt not to yawn.
She walked into the room and set the wine glasses on the coffee table. She stood for a second longer and then decided to sit next to Sean. His inner self did a cartwheel. He breathed in her scent, and it grounded him after a long, stressful day. His longing for her made his chest ache. How he wanted her in his life!
“Should we toast?” she asked, giving him a darting glance.
“What would you like to toast?” he asked quietly.
She tilted her head, and it was all he could do to stop from leaning over and start kissing her neck. He shifted slightly as his pants started to strain.
She brought her glass close to his. “To a new beginning?”
He clinked his glass against hers and said, “Tell me more.”
They both took a drink, and then Nicole set her glass back on the table. Sean kept his glass and leaned back, getting comfortable on the loveseat. He was ready to listen to anything and everything Nicole had to say to him.
“A few years ago,” she began, “I was engaged, and we were in the midst of wedding planning when I found a lump in the shower.”
“Oh Nicole," he said his throat thick. "Is this what you mentioned when we were at Common Grounds? It was cancer, wasn’t it?”
Nicole’s eyes were glossy with tears, she sniffed. Sean’s heart ached for her, and he fumbled in his pocket, pulled out his receipt and handed it to Nicole. “Here,” he said.
She took the receipt. “Um?” Her brow furrowed.
“I panicked. I wanted to give you a tissue, but all I had on me was this receipt.”
She smiled and her cheeks flushed. “That’s so sweet of you. Can I give you a hug?”
“Always. Remember, I’m a hugger.” She moved closer to him and hugged him hard. He rubbed her back, and then he smoothed back her hair and kissed her forehead. He held her for a moment, listening to her heartbeat and waited for her to continue.
“Yes, it was cancer, and it was the aggressive kind where you definitely have to have chemo plus radiation.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t even know what to say.” His eyes were stinging with tears.
“It’s okay. I get that. If it wasn’t me, I wouldn’t know what to say either. Plus, it’s even worse when you’re young. Like how the heck could I have cancer? I was only thirty-three.”
“That must have been such a shock.”
“And because I was young for breast cancer, I got genetic testing.” Her voice quavered.
