The cafe is a side shop that looks onto the busy streets of Cali. The place is full, which convinces me that the coffee must be good. The music is classy jazz. I'm reminded of the 1950s. In my phone's camera, I check out my face. Again, I have light makeup and slightly rosy cheeks. My eyeshadow is delicate and glittery, and my lipstick isn't too thick and gives a natural pop of pink.
My hair is bone straight and touches my back. I look okay. Well, not really. Bumps are forming on my forehead again! Why did I have all that sugar?? I zoom in on the area with my camera and frown. "Why the long face?" Brad says. I didn't even hear him come in. He sits across from me. Brad has on a nice plaid shirt and blue jeans. His dirty blonde hair is behind his ears again.
"I'm breaking out," I whine.
"You look amazing." He delivers the words with undeniable affection.
My cheeks burn. "Thank you." His chocolate eyes mesmerize me.
A waiter approaches our table. "What can I get you two?"
"Two coffees," I answer, while turning my phone down against the table.
"Anything else?"
I look to Brad. "Maybe bagels?"
"Yeah, we can do that."
"Alright, that'll be about five minutes." The waiter jots our order down; then goes to the table next to ours.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" His low voice sounds lovely in this setting; it matches the saxophone in the music.
"Let's get to know each other better." I start the conversation as if at a business meeting.
"Alright. Do you want me to start?"
"Sure."
"Umm...I have three sisters. I'm the youngest. I love dogs; walking them is the best job I've ever had. I'm into gaming, mostly Lord of The Rings, Mortal Combat, GTA, and Call of Duty. I've been playing hockey since the 5th grade and won some trophies. Um...that's all I can think up."
"Guess it's my turn now. I'm an only child. Lily is my sister from another mother. I love dogs, so that's something we have in common. The only games I play are Sims and the PS2 Bratz game."
"Hey, the Bratz game is legend."
"Sounds like you played it before." I squint at him.
"No comment." He looks out of the window beside us.
"You have! Who's your favorite? Mines Cloe."
"Oh, that's freaky!" His mouth shapes into an O. "She was the hottest one. It's freaky because you look just like her."
"So, you did play it?" I beam at him.
"No comment." He repeats.
"You're already busted. And yeah, that's my game twin. I dressed up like her every Halloween."
"I was Gandalf so many times."
"The sexiest Gandalf, I bet." I flirt. "Are you single?"
"Yes."
"How come?"
"Well...my last girlfriend cheated on me, so I took a break."
"Oh....sorry," I grit my teeth apologetically.
"That's okay. I'm over her. She was pretty toxic, my sisters warned me. I didn't listen. So now I have them evaluate who I match with since they have superpowers."
"So, you showed my profile to them?"
"Maybe..." He smirks; so does his dimples.
I grin. "Do you like to drink?"
"I love red wine; I have it once a week."
"You're just into that one drink?"
"I tried others. I haven't found my style of alcohol."
"I can help you with that; I'm a bartender."
"Really?"
"Yeah, at San Jose. I'm pretty good at mixing."
"How is it you keep surprising me??" Brad's brown eyes latch onto mine with complete bewilderment.
"Oh...there's more."
"I'm all ears."
"I have to ask you something. Umm...like I said, I'm a virgin, and that comes with a certain mindset."
"Alright...what does that mean?"
"It means I want to hold off on sex."
"For how long?"
"Until after marriage...I'd like to go about things in the traditional way."
"Oh." He sounds disappointed, his forehead crease as he computes what I've just told him. "Wow, umm...I don't know if I can do that."
I look down at my hands; my eyes begin to sting. Oh, no....it's happening! What I feared is happening! I blink away tears before they can fall. This was dumb of me. Why didn't I just call him to save myself this embarrassment? Now I truly feel like a virgin. Being turned down by a guy for denying sex. "Oh, okay...I...I guess it was nice talking." I reply bleakly.
He places his hand on mine and leans forward. "I still want to know you."
"You do??" I ask, dumbfounded.
"Yes. I like you...it's just the sex part. You kind of got me looking forward to it a lot sooner."
"I made a mistake doing that...I'm sorry."
"A wonderful mistake."
I peer up at him and am met with lethargic eyelids. A look I've only seen on love-stricken men in romance movies. I freeze in place and stop breathing. Suddenly, the table between us has too much space. My mind tries to influence me to close the distance and make out. I look back down at my hands to counteract this thought. "It can't be like that again. I called this meeting because I thought we could date. But we can just talk, since you're not into my thing."
Brad's hand caress mine. "So, you want to date?"
"I know this is all backward, but I like you. So yeah..." I shyly rub the back of my neck. "We can't get physical like we did before."
"Say if we date...will making out be allowed?"
I nod. "Yeah...but later on."
He closes the distance between us, so that we're now face to face. "How about just one kiss?"
I laugh and swoop my hair behind my ears. I'm sure I just took his breath away by the way he inhales. "Not yet." I reply, then observe his full lips.
"You say that...then you look at my lips. I'm getting mixed signals."
"I'm a tease, remember? I can't help it." Our coffee is steaming when it hits the table. I blow across the top of my cup, so the steam floats in his direction. I give a crooked smile, pick up a bagel with both hands and push my digits deep into the bread. I open my mouth to bite and chew to one side.
Brad watches my protruding jaw, parting his lips. "You're so sexy."
"I wasn't always this way. Tinder ruined me."
"I'm pretty sure guys thought that about you before Tinder."
"No...in high school, guys treated all the girls the same. They weren't thinking, "you're sexy," they were thinking, "I want sex."
"Man, I hated those dudes."
"You weren't one?"
"Hell no!" He titters. "No way was I going to treat girls like that. My sisters groomed me to be a gentleman."
"Okay...who's sexy now?" I bat my eyelashes.
"Let me guess...oh, it's still you." He jabs. I redden again. "I love how easy you blush." He dotes on me.
"And...I love your dimples."
He moves his fingers through the hair around my ear, then scroll down my cheek. The touch of his skin on mine is so warm and gentle. "Is this okay?"
"Hmm, mmm," I mumble.
Brad repeats the same motion, fingers through my hair, then cheek, back and forth until my skin tingles. "I think this will work out..."
"I do, too," I mutter eagerly.
"I mean, it's new." His fingers trail to my chin and curve across it. "But new is good. I wouldn't mind something serious for once."
"Exactly...I can't do meaningless. That's why I'm waiting."
"You're a mother's dream; you know that?"
"Yep, a good girl, suitable enough for their boy. I'm like bible sent or something."
"With a few modern modifications." I giggle as his hand goes underneath my chin and stops at my collarbone. My eyes go drowsy, and my heart picks up in pace. His palms cup the sides of my face in a blanket of heat. "This will work out," Brad reassures.
#Romance
#Love