Instead of carrying on toward the bus stop, I walk with Simon to the mall across the street from the bookshop where I work.
At first, it’s really awkward browsing shirts with a total stranger. Especially one who is this good-looking. I haven’t felt self-conscious in a very long time, but he has me nervously brushing my fingers through my hair to try and neaten it and wishing I’d worn something a little more flattering today.
But Simon has a way about him that sets me at ease.And dammit, he is sexy!
He’s so calm and easy-going that it’s impossible not to feel drawn to him.
He isn’t in any kind of rush, and soon I’m actually having fun helping him choose a shift.
“You’re quite fussy,” I tease, bolder than I usually am.
“I know what I like in life. Is that fussy or decisive?” he counters with a grin.
“Fussy,” I grin too, scrunching my nose.
His laughter is infectious.
Strangely, I’ve been friends with Brandon for a year, and I’ve never once thought of him as a potential attraction. There was never a spark. But in such a short time with Simon, I’m blushing, being playful, and finding myself staring at his lips. The spark is so obvious it’s almost blinding me.This is how it’s supposed to feel. Or is this me being reckless?
Simon chooses a dark charcoal colored shirt. He insists it’s not black, and I tease him again for being so specific.
Once I’ve paid for the shirt and our shopping is over, my heart sinks a little, disappointed that our moment together is over.
Simon is standing in front of me, wearing his new shirt and holding a bag with his other shirt in it. “Thank you, this is great,” he says, tugging at the shirt.
“It looks good. I am sorry again for the inconvenience,” I say.
“Actually, I really enjoyed myself. I might even have dragged it out longer than I needed to,” he smirks.
The remark makes me blush and puts me at a loss for words as I grin and stare down at my feet.
Is he flirting? He is. And it’s not the first time since I poured his drink down his front.
“Blair, you should have dinner with me,” he says. It’s not a request, more of a demand. One that I find quite sexy with his deep voice filled with confidence.
“Oh no, I couldn’t. I should get going because…”
“No, seriously. I took up so much of your time choosing a shirt. Let me take you to dinner. It’s late. You haven’t eaten. I know I’m hungry,” he says.
Getting asked out to dinner twice in one day. Who would have thought?But this is so different. I can’t even compare him to Brandon. He’s so much more… powerful…it seems like such an odd word to choose, but it also feels right. He has an intense masculine energy. Yet he’s calm and confident.
And regardless of what I want to admit to myself, the attraction was instant and has only gotten stronger over the hour I’ve spent with him.
There is no attraction with Brandon. I knew that when I said yes, and honestly, I knew our dinner date would never amount to anything more.
With Simon, there is something intriguing, something exciting. Why shouldn’t I enjoy that and take a little chance?
“Ok,” I smile, agreeing to his invite before I can spin out into a thought loop and think myself out of it.Why not? Just go for it! When last did anyone make you feel even a fraction of what he’s making you feel right now?
And you were just thinking that you should give dating another chance.
My stomach churns nervously. Ok. Maybe don’t call it dating. You said yes to Brandon because he was safe. There wasn’t much risk of you falling for him. Simon is anything butsafe.
“Are you in the mood for steak or seafood? There are two great places close by,” he says.
“Seafood, actually. But I just need to send a quick message if you don’t mind,” I reply.
I feel terrible canceling on Brandon, but at the same time, it’s liberating. Something inside me is nervously coming back to life. Something I’ve carefully packed away and refused to let out for fear of things that happened in the past repeating themselves. But it’s okay. It’s time. And it would be stupid of me not to say yes to a man as charming and gorgeous as Simon,even if he terrifies me as much as he intrigues me.
