In My Wildest Dreams

Chapter Four

"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew." - Arrigo Boito

         I am not sure what surprised me more, the fact that Darren was here, playing basketball with the kids, or that he had tracked me down. He passed the ball to one of the kids, and smiled at them.

"Alright guys, I am tuckered out. You have to remember I am old, these bones only take so much!" The boys complained, but laughed at his joke.

    "Tyler, I am going to talk to Zoey for a couple minutes. Then I will meet you in the study to help with your math. Tomorrow I can show you those moves to help with your tryouts." He walked up to where Tyler and I were standing. I was probably being rude, but I couldn't take my eyes off of his face. Tyler looked back and forth between us and smiled.

"Alright, see you in there." Tyler gave us another smile and headed inside.

"Do you have somewhere private we can talk?" Darren stared at me, taking in my apron and spaghetti necklace.

"Sure, my office is upstairs." I turned and he followed me in and up the stairs. He paused when I opened my office door.

"You're the director?" He questioned.

"Yes, for three years now." I turned on the light and then walked behind my desk to the window.

"That's amazing, you didn't tell me that the other night." He wandered around my office, looking at the pictures of me with the kids, with paint or flour on my face, me getting tackled by five year old's, and getting sprayed with water guns.

"What are you doing here Darren?" I turned from the window to face him. He looked at me silently for a minute and then came over to stand in front of me.

"Why did you leave?" He hooked his fingers into his pockets and then stared expectantly at me.

"I-I just figured that I would leave before thing got weird." I swallowed, his gaze was unnerving me.

"Why would it have been weird?"

"Because I was a wedding hook up, I don't know why you even bothered with me. I know I was easy, but I also know that one night is all it was." I turned from him to look back out the window, but his hand gently grabbed my wrist and turned me back around.

"Okay, first of all I meant everything that I said to you that night. You are so beautiful and wonderful that I would consider myself a lucky guy to have more than one night with you. Secondly, a wedding hook up? You being easy? Zoey, we didn't have sex." My eyes shot up to his.

"What? We didn't have sex? But I woke up in your bed, naked. I just assumed..." I stuttered, from shock, relief, and honestly a little disappointment.

"Well that's actually a funny story." He laughed, "Do you not remember that night?" He studied my face closely, he seemed concerned by what my answer would be.

"I remember dancing with you, talking, and then you kissing me." I looked at him, my cheeks turning pink. He smiled broadly, and started caressing my hand with his fingers.

"Why don't you let me take you out tonight, and I can help clarify some things for you." He moved a little closer to me, he smelt like camp fires. I loved camping...

"Okay." I smiled weakly at him. If he keeps staring at me like that, my legs are going to go out.

"Great," He turned and grabbed a pen off of my desk and pulled a little notepad out of his pocket. "Write down your address and phone number for me." He smiled broadly at me, I couldn't help but smile back.

"That seems a little stalker-ish." I laughed at him, and the expression he gave me.

"Trust me, I have had my fill of stalking. Finding you and this center was quite the feat." I laughed and then wrote my information down.