When Love Calls (3 page)

I wasn’t up for it today so I ignored her words of concern and moved on. “We’re going out again this Friday…AND
I have a date with a guy named Mike on Wednesday night!” At this point, I knew I was provoking Amber, and I didn’t really care. I was still waiting for the day that she would understand that I’m a grown woman and that she was
not
my mother! Amber got the hint, sat back in her seat and began scrolling through her phone. I was surprised she didn’t get up and leave, but we’d done this dance long enough to know that neither of us really meant any harm. Most of the time, I let her rant and paid it no mind, and today was no exception. Besides, I had other things on my mind.

Just the mention of Mike took me back to our conversation last Saturday. I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind since our brief encounter in the parking lot so I’d made a “service” call. For a split second, I felt tacky for dialing his number so quickly after seeing Josh but then I thought about it.
Shit, I’m single, and there’s nothing wrong with a girl keeping her options open.

Mike told me he was a musician when he wasn’t rescuing damsels in distress via AAA and he also dabbled in automotive repair.
So, I know he’s good with his hands.
The fact that I wanted to know just how good, was what made me ignore my skepticism about his erratic employment situation. I’d dated guys who did less, so surely I could give Mike the benefit of the doubt.

When he invited me to see him perform Wednesday night, I had to stifle my excitement before saying yes. I was more than ready to lay my eyes on his fine ass again. Truthfully since I’d had my little slip-up with Josh I figured I might as well test the waters with Mike too.
I’ll turn over my new leaf next week.
I assured myself.

A rap on the door coaxed me back from my daydream. I barely glanced at Amber as I went to open the door.  “What are you doing here?” Despite my tone, I was more surprised than agitated to see Josh standing there.
I’ll have to let him know popping up at my job is a no-no.

“You left these at my place and I thought you might want them back. Plus, I couldn’t have you thinking I was some perv who keeps women’s underwear,” he said flashing his sexy, crooked grin. I watched him pull out what looked like a pocket square, but as he dangled it in front of me I realized he was holding my lace boy shorts.

As if I wasn’t already embarrassed enough, at that very moment I realized Amber was still sitting behind me. I felt heat flood my face as I snatched the shorts from his hand. Amber was on her feet and at the door just in time to see me shove the underwear in my pocket. “Amber, this is Josh. Josh, Amber.” I nodded respectively.
Yep, this isn’t awkward at all.

Amber extended her hand then quickly recoiled it. “Hi” She smiled stiffly.  “I’d shake your hand, but you just pulled panties out of your shirt pocket! Anyway, nice to meet you, Josh. I hope to see you again under less awkward circumstances, I’ll leave you two alone now.”  She scooted around him and mouthed to me, “You’re nasty,” behind his back before she walked off with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Josh walked further into the office and closed the door behind him. “I apologize. I didn’t realize you had anyone in your office.  I honestly couldn’t see past you.” He was doing it again. He was seducing me. I forced myself to maintain focus on our conversation to distract me from the thoughts slowly creeping into my mind.

 “It’s fine Josh. That was one of my best friends, Amber. I really wish I could stay and chat a while, but it’s time for me to start my rounds.”

“I understand.” Josh turned to walk toward the door.  I reached for his shoulder to stop him. “Wait, I didn’t get a chance to tell you what a great time I had the other night.” I eyed him with an unwavering gaze as I inched closer to him, leaned in and kissed him gently. His lips welcomed mine, and I closed my eyes as he made a trail of sweet, luxurious kisses from my cheek to the nape of my neck. His lips felt like satin as they grazed my skin. His touch had me feeling feverishly hot, and now I couldn’t give a damn about my rounds. Just when I was ready to beg him to take me right there on the desk, he pulled away.

 I felt dazed and confused as he placed one last kiss on my cheek before saying, “I’ll see you Friday Erin. Call me later if you can.”

There I stood hot, and understandably bothered, staring at the door he’d closed behind him. This was the second time in two weeks that a man had walked away and left me wanting.
What the hell?
Am I losing my touch?
I admonished internally.
Wednesday night I’ll be taking back the upper-hand.

*****

On Wednesday, Mike showed up—in an actual shirt, I wouldn’t have objected if he’d shown up without one, but his fitted navy blue polo, dark jeans, and those familiar black boots suited him nicely. As I peeked around him, I saw the matte black BMW motorcycle parked in my driveway. There was a helmet strapped to the back that matched the one Mike had tucked beneath his arm. “Nice bike.” I deliberately continued to look past him at the bike. “So, are you expecting me to ride with you on
that?”
 

 “Well, yeah unless you wanna drive me around in your Lex, but I was
hoping
 we could go and check out the Taste of Chicago and maybe take a ride down Lake Shore Drive. It won’t be quite the same in your car, but if you’re scared, we…”

“I’m not scared.” I interrupted. It was true. I wasn’t scared to ride. I’d ridden bikes before, but never with anyone I didn’t know.  In fact, I knew the last man who had me straddling a bike knew me
very
well. He was my ex, and that was more than a decade ago.

Before I could drift too far into my own psyche, Mike’s voice caressed my ear. “I promise I’ll take good care of you and I won’t go any faster than you want me to.” I shifted my focus to his face and locked onto his almond eyes as his smile crinkled them in the corners.
He is just too sexy.
Suddenly it felt like I was in for a long, torturous night. I knew how I wanted it to end, but there was the formality of the whole
date thing
in the way.

When I realized, he was still waiting for me to give him the go ahead. I snatched the helmet from beneath his arm and sauntered toward the bike. “Ok.” I shouted over my shoulder.

“Oh, so you’re just gonna take
my
helmet, huh? Well, the other one isn’t my size and trust me sweetheart, you want the driver to be able to see. So how about you let me have that back,” Mike grabbed the helmet from my grasp and slid it on, “And you take this one.” He unsnapped the second helmet from a strap on the seat.

“Wait, what about your performance? I was really looking forward to hearing you play.”
 

“Well, it’s still pretty early so if we
get going
we’ll still have time to make my performance too.” I studied what I could see of his face through his helmet, as my brow knit into a frown. Was not going to the performance an option? Wasn’t he the keyboard player? How would that work?
He doesn’t sound too committed. Oh well, it’s his gig, and I’m not looking for him to commit to me so, whatever.
He must have sensed my hesitance because he interrupted my silent thoughts again. “You good?”

“Yeah! Let’s go.”

“I don’t think that helmet is going to go on with your hair pinned back like that. Maybe you should take it down.” I couldn’t see his mouth, but the glint in his eyes spelled mischief. I pulled my hair out of the bun on the back of my head and shook it loose. Mike’s eyes widened for a split second, and I gave him a knowing look. “How’s this?” I asked and tossed my hair dramatically.

 “Yeah, that’s better. Now you look ready to have some fun!” Mike chuckled as he gently pulled the helmet down over my head and clicked my chin strap in place. He turned and swung his leg over the bike, and I followed his lead. It felt weird being on the back of a bike again, but for some reason I felt safe with Mike. It had been a long time since I’d had that feeling. Something about Mike quieted that looming sense of fear and replaced it with a foreign kind of peace.  I wasn’t sure if or how long it would last but, for now, I was going to enjoy every moment.

*****

The Taste of Chicago was in full swing, when we arrived, with the smell of fresh grilled corn, seafood and barbecue that wafted along the lake breeze. “Wait here, I’ll go get us some tickets,” Mike said as he headed off toward the ticket booth.  He returned with strings of tickets in both hands.  “Alright, let’s do this!” I couldn’t help but grin.
Look at him. Cheesing like a kid on Christmas.

 “Ok, what should we try first?” My eyes widened as I inventoried the array of vendors. I knew I wasn’t leaving here without hitting up the tent marked Girbou’s Gumbo. I needed to eat at least one ear of grilled sweet corn and we would have to find some good homemade lemonade to wash it all down. Just thinking about it got me excited.

Somewhere in the middle of beef rib tips, fries and warm yeast rolls, Mike convinced me to let him pick what we’d try next. He mentioned something about helping me step out of my box and try new things. I kind of took that as a sign since it was what I was supposed to be doing anyway. I’d nodded between nibbles and watched him set aside sixteen tickets toward our food adventure.

So far all the food was delicious, and I couldn’t resist teasing Mike a bit by sucking barbecue sauce from my fingers. “Mmm…sweet and sticky,” I lilted with a coy gaze.

 Mike just shook his head and laughed. “You really like to put it out there, huh?”

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I pressed further.

 “It’s cool with me sweetheart and I’m
far
from uncomfortable. I’m just…taking notice.” He matched my seductive gaze, and I knew he got my message this time loud and clear.
Good.
Some would say I had a tendency to be what could be considered forward or too direct, but in my life, I didn’t have time for playing games and beating around the bush. If I saw something I wanted, I went for it. Let the chips fall where they may.

I watched as Mike polished off his yeast roll, and his expression changed from satisfaction to excitement. Without warning, he grabbed my hand and began pulling me through the milling crowd.  I could tell he was on a mission as we zigzagged between booths toward a vendor who was selling frog legs. 

“Two orders please.” Mike said handing ten tickets to the attendant.

My heart and my stomach dropped, but I tried to mask it as indifference and asked, “And who exactly is supposed to eat
those
?” 

 “We are, woman! You said you would try something different and that I could pick, so I choose these. I haven’t ever had frog legs. Have you?”  My stomach rolled instinctively, and I wondered if my face showed the angst my body felt.
It’s just four puny little frog legs.
I made an abysmal attempt at psyching myself up. The thought of consuming them made me squeamish.
Vag up! You’re a doctor damn it!
I took in a deep breath and refused to back down from Mike’s challenge.
I can do this. People eat these all the time.

 “No, I haven’t tried them before. Let’s do it!” I put on my bravest face as I bit into the meat and pulled it from the bone. To my surprise, the flavor was sweet. It tasted like seafood and chicken combined.  Mike ate all four of his legs, so I quickly offered him the rest of mine to get out of having to finish them. He grabbed my tray and tossed it in the trash as he glanced at his watch. Before I knew it, we were off again and weaved through a throng of people. Music played out between swaying bodies and snapping fingers as we passed tents basked in fragrance and atmosphere. I wanted to pause just to watch the people laughing and enjoying the ambiance, but Mike gently tugged my hand, beckoning me to follow. The further he pulled, the closer the sound of live music came.

Mike stopped in front of a canopied stage and motioned for me to have a seat at a vacant picnic table. I watched him signal one of the musicians on stage before he ran over to me. “Sit here. I’ll be right back.” I took the moment alone to watch the couples and families around me. They all looked happy.
I think I could handle that.
After all, it might be nice to have someone steady in my life and maybe even a child or two one day. Maybe my new leaf would bring not only new beginnings but a new love.
Yeah, I could handle love.
I was still trying to convince myself that I was ready for the next chapter in my life when the sound of a kick-drum startled me into the present.  The stage lit up, and there was Mike, sitting behind a keyboard in the front right corner.  He pulled the microphone close to his lips and said, “Thank you all for coming. My name is Michael Larza, and we are… Epiphany. Tonight, we hope to give you everything you never even knew you wanted. Alright, let’s get it!”  Mike was smooth, confident and clearly in his element. His poise excited me; I couldn’t take my eyes off him and as I scanned the crowd I realized I wasn’t the only one. Everyone seemed mesmerized by the melodic hypnotist that was Epiphany. The band was nothing short of amazing and I found myself basking in the warmth of the evening air as the music rode the subtle breeze. It was almost through no will of my own that I stood from the bench and let my body sway. I closed my eyes and let the music have its way. It had been years since music had sparked or inspired me, but for one transient moment I yielded. I let my guard down and hummed along, as I rocked to the marriage of rhythm and melody. As I opened my eyes, the glimmer of the moon on the lake was there to meet me. It was the perfect backdrop to the band’s soothing sound. I watched the waves and committed the image to memory.
Beautiful.
 When the set was over, Mike came down and met me at the table. “Well, what did you think?”

  “I thought you were incredible!! Your band is awesome! Who knew you had all that talent riding around in an AAA car?”