Finding My Own

1. In The Beginning

"What did he have?"

"Chinese."

The silence was palpable as we stared at each other.

"Ew, you should have done him a favor. When is he coming back?"

"...Same time next week."

"Good. Make something he can't resist eating. Offer it to him and snatch him up." Stacey laughed and finally took a seat. "Trust me on this, Roxie. Sometimes people wear wedding rings just to scare off the wrong crowd. I did it once."

"He seems genuinely in love with his wife though." I slid her a plate. "How can one keep up a false act for this long and make it look like it's real?"

"Are you dense? It's called acting, baby girl. You should look into that some time."

We sat in silence for a bit. Have I been out of the dating game for too long? I hadn't been on a real date since...college. Stacey's brother and I had a little thing going, but I wouldn't call it a relationship. He dropped me the moment another girl caught his eye. Stacey warned me about him, but, of course, I wasn't going to listen to her. She barely listens to the advice I give her.

As we chatted about our jobs and what we would do for the weekend, I realized I hadn't been out partying since I moved into my new house. It's been about five months and I've been so busy working and getting renovations done. Stacey had been dragging me to a lot of places, but we hadn't thought about going to any parties that popped up every now and then. Since it was nearing Spring break for most of the college students around here, there were going to be a lot of parties going on.

Stacey brought this up and I knew I just had to go to one of them. If I didn't, I was going to find myself surfing the web. I'd end up just like my parents. There's no way I'm going to subject myself to that kind of behavior. I'm nearly thirty. There's no need for me to keep myself away from the world. I want to be married. I want to meet the guy of my dreams. I want to see my parents' faces when I tell them I didn't meet my boyfriend online.

"Now that that's settled, we're going shopping this weekend." Stacey pulled out her phone. "I know your boss has given you most of the week off. We're going to use that to our advantage. Okay, hon?"

"Fine." I sighed. "As long as you don't have me wearing anything skin tight."

"No worries. I wouldn't even wear something like that to a college party. Trust me, men these days like revealing more than skin tight. Plus, you gotta have them work to see all of you. Don't let them see all the curves before they bed you."

"Stace...I don't want anyone to bed me."

"Of course, not. I'll see you tonight?"

"Same as always."

Since I didn't work today, Stacey and I were going to go walk along the beach. We did this every chance we got to scope out the late night beach guys. I knew a few of them by name, but they never really caught my eye. They were always with other girls who probably wanted to sleep with them for a couple of days then move on to another guy. Honestly, I wasn't up for catching anything from anyone.

I was busy sorting files in my home office when the doorbell rang. I wasn't too concerned about seeing who it was, so I took my time answering the door. I was carrying notes on my next interior design plans. When I opened the door, I was more than surprised to see Sebastian standing on my doorstep. He had changed out of his plaid button up into a wifebeater, while balancing a sledgehammer on his shoulder.

What in the Wattpad...

I dropped all my papers, while quietly beating myself up about being clumsy. I silently squatted down to retrieve them. They kept slipping out of my hand as I tried to keep calm. Sebastian leaned his sledgehammer against the wall and joined me.

"I didn't frighten you, did I?" he asked. I nearly melted at how concerned he sounded.

He's married! My conscience hissed. Homewrecker!

"N-n-no," I stammered and glanced up at him. I tried not to drool as I watched the sweat glisten and roll down his face. "Can I help you?"

"I left some of my tools in the bathroom. I remember you said you were working early tomorrow, so I decided to come get them now. It would be weird waiting for you to get home and asking you about it tomorrow." He grinned.

"Oh...true." We stood up and I tucked the papers under my arm. "I'll be in my office if you need anything else after you grab everything."

"Great."

I stepped aside to let him in, shivering in delight as he slightly brushed my arm. My heart thumped in my chest. I needed to get a hold of myself and focus on right now. There's no use drooling over a married man.

I returned to my office and pushed myself to focus on getting everything organized. I've been living here for five months and I still haven't found a way to arrange my office. I can't blame it on the renovations. My office was the first place I had remodeled since I moved in. I think the problem is all the extra room. I'm used to being in a smaller space with other designers.

"Hey, thanks for letting me get my things. Sorry for the inconvenience." Sebastian poked his head into my office.

"Nah, it's all good. See you next week." I smiled up at him.

"Later."

I watched as he waved and closed the door. My brain hadn't caught up to everything, so I was late to notice how empty his hand looked. I went back to what I was doing.