It's been three weeks since Daniel left. I had to deal with Aiden all on my own. Of course, everyone helped, but I was still alone. Taylor moved into my room last week to help me. Just thinking about it makes me angry. Daniel should be here getting up in the middle of the night when Aiden cries. He should be here with his son.
Taylor brought over Amanda this morning and forced me to get dressed. Amanda is currently spending time with her grandson while I am seated at a coffee shop. Taylor left me here when I complained about my feet hurting.
"Hello," I almost jump at the voice talking behind me. I see a cup of coffee being placed in front of me. Then a guy comes to sit down across from me. He sends me a dashing smile, "I saw you sitting here, alone, and I thought you'd like a coffee?" I smile, "I was just thinking." His smile widens, "You should always think with a cup of coffee." He winks at me and I chuckle.
"How do I know you aren't going to poison me and then kidnap me?" I ask. He chuckles, "I guess you'll just have to trust me." I raise a brow at him, "I'm not in the habit of trusting men at this moment." He tilts his head to the side, a slight frown on his face, "I definitely have to change that." He holds out his hand, "Lucas Garcia." I shake his hand, "Lindsey Moore." He smiles widely at me, "Beautiful name." I blush slightly, "Thank you." He shrugs, "It's the truth."
"How about this, I'll give you my number. You can decide if you want to call me, you know when you're ready. And if I never hear from you again, you'll just be the one that got away." He pulls out a pen and scribbles on my napkin. He pushes it over to me, "There, you make the move." I smile, "I might not ever call you." He shrugs, "Like I said, the one that got away."
I see Taylor approaching and start to get to my feet, "Thanks for the coffee." I take a sip of the coffee. I grab the napkin and hurry over to Taylor. I really don't need her butting in.
"Who's the hotty?" She asks looking at Lucas. "No one. Come on let's leave." I push her in the direction of the exit. "I hope you got his number." She chimes, walking to the car. At first, I didn't respond. "It'll be good for you. To get over my brother? The best way to move on is to date again." I roll my eyes, "We never dated." She glares at me, "No you two just decided to skip that part and jump in the sack."
Her words are like glass slicing at my heart and I look away for a moment. I hold up the napkin, not looking at her. "I'll call him tomorrow." She grabs the napkin. "No, you're calling him now." She grabs my phone from my purse and dials the number. "It's ringing." She whispers.
"Hello?" I hear Lucas ask on the other end of the line. Taylor shoves the phone against my ear. "Hello?" He asks again. "Hi, Lucas, it's me, Lindsey." "That didn't take long." I can hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah, well, no time better than the present." I send Taylor a glare. "So, I'll pick you up at seven?" I bite my lip. I look at Taylor for a moment. "Sure, that sounds fine." "Great." "I'll send you the address."
I hang up and glare at my friend, "I hate you." She smiles, "You're welcome." I sit back in my seat, "You'll be watching Aiden tonight." "No, tonight was my night off." I shrug, "You made me call him." She pouts all the way home, complaining about watching over Aiden.
The doorbell rings and I hurry to the door; I still have to do my hair. Taylor was supposed to come and help me but she's late. I pull the door open, "Thank goodness you're here, I need your help and-" I stop talking when I see Daniel standing in the door. His eyes flash over the black body-con lace dress I have on. "Where are you going?" He asks just as I ask, "What are you doing here?" He smiles, "I came for a visit. I was going to come in two weeks but I missed Aiden, so I came up." I step aside and let him in.
"Who were you expecting?" He asks, setting down his overnight bag. "Your sister. She's supposed to watch Aiden tonight." "Going on a date then?" He asks, and if I'm not mistaken I hear a slight bitterness in his voice. "Yeah, well, she made me." I pull my hair up into a ponytail.
"Where is Aiden?" He asks. The baby monitor lights up and Aiden's cry fills the room. "He just woke up." I say sounding as tired as I felt. I start heading upstairs. "I'll get him." Daniel says, bolting up the stairs. I follow behind him. As I reach the top Daniel comes out with a newly woken up Aiden. "Hello, my love." I kiss his head, "Are you hungry?" I look up at Daniel, "There's a bottle in the fridge, remember to-" "Heat it up, I know." He heads downstairs.
I hurry to my room. I make a bun with my hair and pull out some strands. I add some silver flower pins to my hair before hanging a necklace around my neck. I pull on black pumps. The doorbell rings again and I start making my way down the stairs.
I hear the door open and then Daniel, greeting someone. The voice that answers him is Lucas. Crap. I hurry down the stairs, careful not to hurt myself. When I reach the front door I see the confusion on Lucas's face.
"Hello." I say hoping he would forget the baby and the man at the door. "I'm ready to go." His eyes flash to Daniel and Aiden. "Sure." I step outside and shut the door. The car ride was silent. But not in the way it was silent with Daniel and me, but awkward.
I could tell he had a lot of questions. But I decided to give him his space and let him ask first. How do you explain this in one date? How do you explain that the man who opened the door is just your child's father? How do you explain that you did love him? How do you explain that you still love him but need to move on and that's why you're on a date?
We finally reach the restaurant's parking lot. Lucas cuts off the engine then turns slightly to face me, "Your husband seemed nice?" "He's not my husband." I say quickly. His eyes flicker to the roof of the car, "Your fiancé? Boyfriend?" I shake my head. "Then that wasn't your kid?" "No, that was my baby. His name is Aiden. He-" "And the guy who answered the door?" "He's the father." He looks away from me, "I'm sorry. I can't do this. I was just looking for an uncomplicated thing, and this just got a whole lot complicated."
I look down at my hands, folded in my lap. I pick at a loose thread, "I understand." "We can still go to have dinner." He says softly. I shake my head, "We don't have to. There's no use now. You can just take me home."
The car roars to life and we head home. I get out of the car, "Goodbye." I shut the door and walk up to steps to the porch. I hear the car disappear into the night. I take a deep breath before opening the door.
"That was quick." Taylor chirps from the couch. Daniel turns down the volume of the TV. "What happened?" I shrug, "He, uh, he wanted something uncomplicated." Taylor frowns, "So?" I walk over to Daniel and take Aiden from him, "Hello, my love, is daddy letting you watch TV? Doesn't he know we go to bed early?" I coo and kiss his cheek. "We were just heading up." Daniel says, sounding sheepish. "What happened with Lucas?" Taylor presses. "I'm just going to change; I'll help you put him to bed." I bite my lip and hurry to my room.
When I reach my room I pull out the flower pins and throw them onto the desk. I pull my hair out of the bun and let my hair fall freely. I take off the necklace and kick my shoes off. I struggle to reach the zip of my dress. I let out a frustrated groan, still trying to reach the zip. There's a knock on my door and I feel myself almost falling to pieces.
The door opens slowly, Daniel peeking around the door, "Can I come in?" I sink to the floor as sobs get stuck inside my chest. He shuts the door behind him and comes to sit in front of me. "Linds, what happened?" When I don't respond he takes my face into his hands, "Talk to me." He presses. He wipes at the tears from my cheeks.
"What's wrong with me? I can't even go on a date. Am I ugly? Fat?" I ask, my chest tightening. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're beautiful." Daniel says, pushing some of the hair out of my face behind my ear. "It's his loss, Linds. You are wonderful."
For a moment I believe him. For a moment I get swept up by his blue eyes, capturing me in a trance. For a moment I believe him.
But then I remember him leaving me. More than once. First the day after the photo on my nightstand. Then the day after Taylor's part. And again three weeks ago. No. There must be something wrong with me.
No one wants me.
I push off the floor and past him, trying to get this dress off me. "Here let me." He turns me around and I reluctantly let him. He softly gathers my hair and places them over my shoulder. As he unzips the dress I feel the cold hit my back and goosebumps rise on my skin. My heart hammers in my chest.
"Done." I turn around to look up at Daniel. His blue eyes seem to look everywhere and nowhere all at once. He cups my cheek, "You are so much more than any of us deserve." My heart goes wild as he leans down and places a kiss on my forehead. He steps back, "I'll go put Aiden down." He leaves the room and I'm all alone all over again.
I rip off the dress and sink to the floor again. I grab one of my pillows and cry into it, hoping it muffles the sound.