Happenstance (4 page)

“You think I’ll see you tomorrow then?” He looks over at me as we
walk towards the parking lot.

“Yeah, 6:00 P.M. ok?”

“Perfect,” he waves goodbye.

As I walk over to my car and get in, I can’t help but think,
perfect indeed
.

Chapter Four

August 2011

Victoria

“Have I got news for
you!
” Is
the first thing Maggie tells me when I lie down on my bed and call
her.

“Oh yeah?
Well I was calling to tell you
about my lunch with Dr. Owens but . . . if you have something else to say . . .”
My voice trails off.

“What! Tell me everything, and I mean
everything
!” Maggie
squeals into the phone.

I giggle and roll my eyes. “
Mags
, it
was just lunch.”

“Lunch!
He asked you to join him for
lunch?”

“It wasn’t really like
that
; they are actually closed on
Sundays. I happened to get there right when he was leaving and he was going to
get lunch.”

“Yes, but then he asked you to join him, right?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“No buts, Vicky! He
was totally wanting
to get to know you. Take it for what it is and revel in it, girlfriend!”

I didn’t want to revel in it though. All the happiness I was
feeling felt like it must be too good to be true.

“
Mags
, I know you are excited for me,
but really, this is nothing. He’s just another guy trying to get his way.”

“Not all guys are like Eric, V.”

I cringe, hating to hear his name, but it was true. My ex-husband
had put a damper on my whole ‘dream guy’ image and I just knew that every guy
wanted one thing and one thing only: to get laid.

“Well, we’ll see.” I glance at my left hand and softly rub the
skin where my ring used to rest.

I tell Maggie about our conversation (omitting the fact that I
was seeing him tomorrow). I would never hear the end of it if Maggie found out
there was a second “date.”

“What did you want to tell me?” I ask her instead, trying to move
away from topics of men.

“Oh my God, yes! I found you a date.”

Well there goes that idea.

“You did what exactly?”

“I logged onto your online dating site and found this super cute
guy for you! He sounds nice and wants to meet you for coffee Wednesday
afternoon!”

I sit up in bed and my mouth drops open so fast, I am sure that Maggie
hears it over the phone.

“You did WHAT?” I repeat while shaking my head. “I can’t believe
you, Maggie!”

“I’m sorry, but I’m just looking out for you. I know you have
tried a few dates but you can’t move on until you find someone decent enough,
sleep with him, and then get back out there for a potential boyfriend.”

“Oh my God, Maggie.
I mean, really? I
don’t remember asking for your help with this!”

“Oh please say you’ll meet him. His profile sounds really nice
and he’s cute! Give him a chance.”

I am seriously at a loss for words at this moment and when Maggie
hears the long pause she then says, “
Pleeeaasseee
?
For me?”

I groan and close my eyes, “Ugh, FINE I’ll do it.
But
Mags
?”

“Yes?” I can hear the relief in her tone.

“This better be the last time.”

“Definitely.”

For some reason, I’m not convinced.

~

Contrary to what I told
Maggie, I can’t help but take extra care of my appearance for my meet up with
Jared. I iron my hair, put on some skinny jeans that hug every curve just right
and a red tank top. I’m not sure how much walking we’ll be doing so I put on my
comfortable beige Guess cork wedges. Arriving ten minutes till six, I decide to
wait out in my car for the receptionist to pack up and leave—don’t want her
asking questions or starting rumors.

As soon as the coast is clear I step out of my car and make my
third walk in one week towards the entrance. I knock on the door and wait. And
wait. And wait some more. Did he stand me up? I start pacing back and forth
wondering if maybe I got the date and time wrong but then I hear the door open
behind me.

“Sorry, were you waiting long? I had to change.”

I turn around and feel my breath get caught in my throat. He just
looks
so
good. He has on a pair of
faded jeans and a black t-shirt that says:
“Zombies love a girl with brains”.
The best thing is the delicious cologne I can smell on him. I noticed that the
first time and now I wonder if he always smells this good at work.

I clear my throat, “
It’s
ok, Dr. Owens,
I understand.”

Jared waves his right hand as if dismissing what I said.

“Please call me Jared, and come inside. I still need to print out
the flyers.”

I walk in and he leads me past the Employee’s
Only
sign, passing a few patient rooms and an office with the name: Dr.
Paxter
. At the end of the hall is a smaller office with his
name on the front door. He walks behind his chair to where a small printer stands
in the corner.

“Who is Dr.
Paxter
?” I ask.

“Oh he’s my business partner; he’s actually a friend of my moms
and has really helped me out. I’ve only been doing this for three years,” he
says sheepishly.

While the printer is humming and Jared sorts through a stack of
papers from a drawer, I look around and see he has a framed diploma from
University of Florida and a Gators banner but that’s about it. His office is
pretty plain and I can’t help wonder if he has a girlfriend and what she thinks
of this office.

“Alright, I think twenty sheets outta do it for now,” he tells
me.

Walking out of the clinic, he grabs his jacket and keys and locks
up.

“Are we going in your car?” I ask. He turns his head back to look
at me and smiles.

“Well, we can’t really get too far while walking, unless you are
in the mood for some sweating and exercise.”

His glaze travels down my legs slowly and I grab at my necklace
which has a small cross on it and start to twirl my fingers around it. I know
what he is saying makes sense but I hadn’t thought this was even a possibility.
I assumed we would have just walked around the street corners and that’d be it.
He interrupts my thoughts.

“This is my car here,” he opens the passenger door of a royal
blue Nissan 350 Z.

“It’s very nice.” And it really was.

“It’s my baby, the first gift I bought myself after I graduated
and landed a job.”

I can tell how proud he is of it and I can’t blame him. He’s so young
and already has his shit together.
That’s how Eric seemed as well.
Shaking
my head, I try to move him out of my mind and forget that part of my life, at
least for today.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asks me.

I shrug. “It’s nothing, I was just thinking of old times.”

“Ah, love problems?” That takes me by surprise.

Was I that obvious?

“Something
like
that,” I respond trying
to avoid eye contact.

Thankfully, he doesn’t press me for more information and we make
our first stop right on the corner of the shopping center. We get out of the
car and right to business, making light conversation, mostly about his work. Before
we know it, all the flyers are out and we’re walking back to the car.

“So when can I take you out again?” He asks me glancing over.

I stop in my tracks because he’s caught me off guard and I’m not
sure what to say. My stomach is doing somersaults, reeling in this news, and my
ridiculous heart is pounding. What could this mean? Is it just a physical
attraction? That has to be it; we hardly know each other for crying out loud!

“Is the ‘love problem’ still around?”

I look up at him and see that he’s frowning. His eyes are pensive
and searching for answers.

I start to play around with my necklace again.

“No! It’s not that. It’s just that, I didn’t expect you to ask.”

“Well I mentioned it yesterday.”

“I know but I didn’t think you were serious.”

He gently grabs my arm and rubs his thumb on my skin.

“I was very serious,” he says, lowering his eyelids. I can
actually feel my skin heat up where we touch and my knees practically give out.

“I was too, when I said I didn’t mind.” I admit softly.

He grins. “Good, how about right now? Its dinner time and all I have
to offer you are

Peanut M&M’s.
I usually don’t share
those.”

I laugh and cross my arms over my chest. “Do we have sharing
problems?”

“Only when it comes to my Peanut M&M’s.”
His fingers twirl a piece of my hair. “And my women, I definitely don’t share
that.”

He stares at me intently, as if daring me to challenge what he’s telling
me. I bite my bottom lip and swallow hard.

“Well, in that case, I wouldn’t want you to have to kill me over
your precious M&M’s . . . so I guess we can go out to eat.”

“Ok, tonight it is,” he grabs my hand as if he’s been doing it
forever and leads me to his car.

He takes me to a bar about twenty minutes from the clinic called
Slim’s
. It’s nice but casual. We’re lead to a booth and sit
down to order our drinks; for me a Vodka Tonic, him a Corona. He tells me about
his first year as a vet, even Lucky, who I find out is a three year old
Australian Silky Terrier. We then start going through the typical first date
questions: where are you from? (He was born and raised in Tampa and lived with
his mom). And did you play any sports in High School?
(Surprisingly,
baseball, like me).

“I only played in high school. First baseman, what about you?” he
leans forward to dip a
french
fry in ketchup.

“Left fielder.
I liked running . . .” My
voice trails off as I focus on the little bit of ketchup that lies in the
corner of his full bottom lip.

“I can tell by the legs you got on you.” He scoots all the way to
where I’m sitting and places his arm gently over my shoulders. I’m already feeling
the warm buzz of the liquor in my veins so I lean back and place my head on his
shoulder. He goes to grab a napkin to wipe his mouth but I surprise him by
taking my finger and wiping it myself. Before I grab my own napkin to wipe my
finger he grabs it and pulls it into his mouth. I gasp when I feel his tongue
wrap around my finger and softly nip my fingertip. I tighten my legs together.
Holy shit.

“How come you didn’t continue playing in college?” I ask
flustered and try to focus on anything but that damn tongue. Most sport guys in
my school lived to continue to play throughout college.

He shrugs. “It was just something I did for fun. Besides, trying
to play a sport while also attending my insane classes would have led me to
suicide. I wanted to be done as soon as I got in.”

Yup, he’s ambitious. I’ve always admired that trait.

He raises his hand slightly up to brush the hair that has fallen
around my cheeks and starts rubbing his thumb along my cheek bone.

“
Mmmm
,” he says, “your skin feels so
soft.”

I tilt my head up so my nose brushes his neck and inhale his
delicious scent, “And your skin smells
so
good.”

He takes the bait. Placing his beer down on the table, he lifts
my chin up a little higher and places his lips on mine. It’s a soft kiss at
first, tiny little pecks on the lips, but then he presses down a bit using his
tongue to open my mouth. I’m ready for this and succumb to his advances. My
body is filled with warmth and a tingling response down to my toes. I haven’t
been kissed like this in a long time—much too long.

My hands hold his cheeks, feeling the soft fuzz of his stubble
and I pull him down deeper. I never want to let go. He groans and grabs me
around the waist pulling me onto his lap. I can feel his arousal underneath my
thighs which just excites me even more. God only knew how far I was willing to
go with him tonight and didn’t Maggie tell me to have a little fun? This is
definitely fun.

Before my thoughts go any further, he pulls my face
away,
a bit giving us just enough space where our noses
touch and we’re able to breathe.

“Victoria,” he says, “
if
we continue, I
don’t know when I’ll be able to stop. You’re driving me crazy.”

I was driving him crazy? He was driving
me
crazy!

“I know what you mean,” I whisper.

“Let’s get you back to your car, I’ll call you tomorrow,” he
tells me, but he can’t resist stealing another kiss.

~

I can’t help but smile as I float over to my bedroom, lie
down on the soft comforter, and pick up my cell phone to dial my grandmother’s
number. It was just after ten and my grandmother often stayed up to watch the
eleven o’ clock news.

“Hi, Abu.”
I grab a pillow I’ve had for
years, that
my grandmother embroidered.

“It’s so nice to hear from you,
mija
.
”

I love her accent and I can hear the smile on my grandmother’s
face. I hope she can hear my own.

“How is your first week treating you?”

I sigh. “Well, so far it’s been interesting.”

I fill her in on what has happened with the dog and Jared. My
grandmother quickly picks up that I have a new love interest.

“It sounds like you have someone of great potential there.”

I groan. This is why I never like to talk about any guy to
anyone. I’m reminded of my conversation with Maggie.

“
Ay
, no Abu, I am not
sure where this will go but it can’t possibly
be
good.
I’m new here and he just wants to test me to see how far I will go with him.
I’m not sure I want to analyze if he wants a relationship right now.”