Yet here I am happy that we didn’t get to that tonight. Maybe it’s because there’s good conversation to be had, understanding, history. She makes me smile. I recall how we said once maybe another time and place.
It dawns on me that maybe that time and place is the present. Not tonight, but the foreseeable future. That does something to me. It could entail lots of talking, dinners, and yes, hopefully lots of sex too—an abnormal amount of sex. It’s not like I’m about to head out and look for a new wedding ring, but I am just not convinced she’s the one to have a copious amounts of rebound sex with. She is more than that.
My head has questions and thoughts shooting around my brain because I don’t know the protocol. Not as a soon-to-be divorcé. What is the next step? I don’t want to be alone forever, and while I wasn’t expecting to make any big changes now, something in me wants to move a step or two forward. I’m allowed to enjoy time with a woman, right?
Chapter Four
Abby
“He didn’t kiss me or ask me out. I know, crazy, right? He walked me to my car and gave me an innocent kiss on the cheek. But to be honest, I wouldn’t have known what to do anyhow. It’s been awhile…” I speak to my unconscious listener as I finish sewing the cat—who just had his sexual appetite destroyed—back up.
It’s been a few days since the hot tub night. It was good to talk to someone who understands the disintegration of a marriage, but I can’t help feeling that it was more than that.
Definitely curious. Over the years, I have followed Lucas on social media and heard updates from my folks. I was always… curious. In a “jump when you hear his name” kind of way.
This is insane. Am I still harboring a teenage crush as a thirty-something-year-old?
I need to get a grip.
Looking over the chart, I sign off and give it to reception to put in the system. Grabbing my coat off the coat rack, I inform Penny, the receptionist, that I will be back in a bit. Need to get a strong coffee and not the weak stuff from our little break room.
A short walk later, I find myself at Smokey Java’s to grab a coffee. The barista in the quaint bakery and coffee shop fills my recyclable to-go cup, and I find a table to enjoy my coffee without the sound of animal noises in the background. Sitting, I debate if I should indulge in a brownie or red velvet cupcake.
The clearing of a throat brings me back to my surroundings.
“Tough day at the clinic, Dr. Call?”
My face forms a smile as Lucas slides into the chair across from me. “Can’t complain. And you, Dr. Kade?”
He drinks from his to-go cup. “It’s okay. The usual aches and pains. We really keep running into each other.” The corners of his mouth quirk.
“So it seems.” A thought comes to me. “As a family doctor, you basically see all ages, right?”
He nods as he grabs a packet of sugar. “Yeah. A general doctor, some people call it. I thought about specializing in pediatrics, but I like having the variety. Being an ER doc on call all the time wasn’t my idea of fun either. And you? All animals?”
“Just family pets, I guess. The occasional farm animal too. Actually, I delivered a calf the other week which was cool and messy as hell.”
“We might need to start comparing stories of who’s had a more gruesome day at the office.”
I can’t help but smile as I’m enjoying this flow of conversation. “You keep planning on stalking me then?”
His dimple appears, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he pierces me with his gaze, eyes smoldering.
After a few moments, I’m nervous where this conversation can go or maybe that it will end all together.
Fleeing seems like the best option, so I stand. “Well, I should go. Have a parrot to see. I guess see you–”
He grabs my arm to stop me from walking away and there is a fluttering sensation across my chest.
“Wait. I’m happy that I ran into you again. Can you sit down for a sec?”
I sit down again without hesitation.
He continues. “I wanted to… I was wondering… okay, I’m not going to lie, this is new to me. Total new terrain, and I have no freaking clue how to navigate this. Dating feels different this time around–”
“Dating?” I crack out and hope this somehow involves me.
He flashes me a charming look. “Yeah. Would you maybe want to grab dinner or something? Without everyone else around?”
My stomach does somersaults. Do I ever! “That sounds good.” It comes out casual.
His smile widens.
I add on, “And it’s new for me too. I haven’t… well, anything… you know… since the divorce.”
Should I be admitting this to him?
“Not even once?” He’s shocked.
Yeah, definitely shouldn’t be admitting this.
I shake my head no. “Nope. Nada. Wasn’t really on my mind. I just came out of the most serious relationship of my life, it felt odd to jump into anything. Sure, the occasional flirt here or there, but I didn’t have the energy for more.”
“And now?”
I try to hide my excitement, but it’s a fail. “I feel pretty open.”
Travel guides have called La Muse romantic. A restaurant with a few tables decked out in white cloths and candles. A menu of artistic creations and all completely delicious. Lucas hands the waiter the wine menu after ordering us a bottle of red. I can’t help noticing how great he looks tonight. Dark jeans, buttoned-down light blue shirt, and his intense brown eyes make me catch my breath a few times.
“I’m curious. Do you wear a white coat?” I ask.
“I do and have a stethoscope around my neck normally too,” he confirms.
I’m beginning to think I need to switch doctors just to get a view.
“Why, do you want to play doctor-patient?” He raises his eyebrows at me.
Looking away, I decide to compose myself and offer some banter back. “Would we use your stethoscope or mine?” My mouth smirks, and I can see he enjoyed that comment.
The waiter returns with the bottle of red. Lucas samples it and then agrees to the bottle. The waiter pours two glasses of wine and leaves the bottle on the table.
Lucas holds his glass out to me. “What should we toast to?”
“Hmm…a new and different chapter?”
He flashes his pearly whites and it appears he is pleased with my choice of words. “Cheers.”
My smile widens as our glasses clink. “Cheers.”
“Crazy question. Your folks don’t know you and I are having dinner together, right?”
He laughs. “Hell no. They would phone your parents, and next thing we know; we have a joint family dinner at the golf club.”
I have to laugh how scarily true it is. “My nightmare really.”
“Was your mom crazy during your wedding planning too?”
“Not too bad. But I do think I ended up with a wedding that wasn’t really me,” I reflect.
“How so?”
“Looking back, I would have had a smaller wedding. A different dress. Request no gifts. All these things that in retrospect should have been the sign to me that I wasn’t entering the right marriage. A wedding can be quite telling. We let other people’s expectations make our wedding decisions. I guess that is how our marriage ended up. Always doing what we thought we were supposed to do. You?” I drink a big gulp of wine as it’s very needed.