The One who got Away

When I arrived at the office, I greeted everyone happily before realizing I needed to tone it down a notch, judging from the surprised looks on people’s faces. The

y were going to start getting suspicious, and the last thing I needed was to have my father come in and start asking me questions, or worse, Jordan. I knew I should probably feel guilty about having this feeling about his ex-wife, but for some reason, I didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt. Maybe it was because he treated her like complete shit, and she deserved so much more. When I sat down at my desk, I realized I had several hours before meeting Tiffany and needed to find something to take up my time. Luckily, there were meetings scheduled all morning, so I happily trotted down to the conference room and listened intently to each person’s presentation. My father looked over at me and furrowed his brow, noticing my happy, awake status. He was used to my normal scowl and twelve cups of coffee. Slowly, I picked up my cup and took a sip, trying to wipe the look of excitement off my face.

When the meeting was over, I finished up my notes and looked down at my watch. It was noon, and time to head over to the restaurant. I had picked one several blocks away to avoid running into Jordan or anyone from the office. As I turned into my office, my father poked his head out of his.

“Jason,” he said, making me freeze in place. “Jordan and I are going next door to the deli for lunch. You want to join us?”

“Oh,” I said letting out a deep breath. “Um, not today, Dad. Thanks.”

“You got a hot date?”

“Ha,” I laughed awkwardly. “Maybe.”

I laughed like it was a ridiculous sentiment and heard my father laughing as well. I shook my head as I grabbed my jacket off the chair and headed out to the elevator. As the doors flew open, Jordan stepped off and looked at me suspiciously. I smiled and stepped around him into the elevator. He looked back at me curiously as he made his way to my father’s office. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I leaned back against the wall and let out another deep breath. Why did it feel like I was on some secret mission from hell?

I grabbed a cab and headed over to the restaurant, nervous and excited all at the same time. I still couldn’t believe what had happened yesterday. I sat there with Tiffany’s number on my screen and my finger hovering over the call button when she had called. At first, I thought I’d pressed the button, but when I put the phone to my ear and said hello, her sweet voice came through on the other side. I wasn’t a big signs kind of person, but there had to be something more than just coincidence to that. It had to be some kind of sign, even though the thought of me dating Tiffany seemed strange and taboo. Maybe, just maybe, in some sort of lightning strike of good luck, I somehow managed to get myself in a position where Tiffany and I could be in a relationship with each other. I took a deep breath and shook my head, realizing how crazy I sounded. That was nuts, I needed to keep my head on straight and not go running around with these silly fantasies in my head. We were friends, meeting for lunch, and nothing more.

The other night, sitting next to her in the booth at the club had been amazing on many levels. We laughed, we talked, we reminisced, and I even found us flirting quite a bit. Every time her leg had brushed up against mine, electricity had jolted through my stomach. And my crotch. I hadn’t even realized how one person could want someone as much as I did at that moment and not even realize it until I had gotten home. Sure, at first, it was complete and total animal magnetism, but then my thoughts turned her sexy laugh, her enchanting eyes, and her fragile sensibility that she kept hidden underneath a strong and tough façade. Regardless of whether this was a date, or just two friends having lunch, no one could deny the amount of sexual tension that had built between us in that booth the other night.

I pulled up in front of the restaurant and hopped out, pulling my coat closed and shivering. The weather had taken a turn and the air was almost frigid. I loved New York, but the winters could sometimes be brutal on the senses. Shockingly, it was only October but felt more like December than anything else. I pulled the door open and approached the hostess.

“Hi,” I said smiling. “I’m meeting a woman named Tiffany.”

“Yes,” the hostess smiled. “Right this way.”

I looked up as we moved through the restaurant, spotting Tiffany in the back corner. She was looking down at her hands and seemed nervous. She looked absolutely beautiful in a warm, off-white sweater, jeans, and flats. Her hair was pulled halfway up with curls cascading over her shoulders. Her fair skin was offset by her rosy cheeks, and her eyes glimmered as she looked up and saw me walking toward her. She smiled wide and waved as I approached. I leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek, lingering longer than I probably should have. I took off my coat and hung it on the chair, thanking the hostess and sitting down.

“You haven’t waited long have you?”

“No,” she said. “I just got here, too. See my hands are still cold.”

She reached up and put her fragile, sweet hand against my cheek. She smiled and held it there as we stared at each other across the table. As if noticing we’d held gazes a little too long, she blushed and pulled her hand back into her lap. We looked over the menus and ordered some coffee to warm us up. I watched Tiffany as she poured cream and sugar into her coffee, stirring it and then licking the spoon. Her pink lips were drawing me in, and I had to take a deep breath and clear my throat to get my mind back on track. We started talking about our day, and she listened intently as I talked about work, forgetting that she worked there, too.

Her laugh was intoxicating, and I soon lost myself in our conversation, not paying any attention to the time. She told me about her parents and their problems, about her brother and how he had made it out safely from his time in Iraq. She spoke about her brother like I hoped she talked about me, with warmth, love, and admiration. The fire in the restaurant’s fireplace crackled as we ate and continued talking for about an hour after our lunch was done. I couldn’t tear myself away from this woman, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, my phone cut into the conversation, and I apologized, looking at the text message. It was from my father, letting me know I missed the last meeting and that everyone was headed home. He wanted to make sure I was okay. I stared blankly at the message. Why was everyone heading home? Then, I saw the time. Wow, three o’clock.

“Wow,” I said laughing. “It’s almost three.”

“Oh, no,” she said, panicked. “Did you miss anything important at work?”

“Nah.” I laughed. “Just that normal marketing meeting that puts everyone to sleep. No big deal.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work,” she said smiling. “I have some things I need to take care of in town before heading home, anyway.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.” I stood and came around the table to pull her chair out.

As she put her coat on, I placed cash in the bill holder and turned to her, entranced by the way her hair swished around her as she buttoned her jacket. She was stunning, and I didn’t want the date to be over yet. I walked next to her through the restaurant, my hand on her lower back as we moved toward the door. We stepped out into the cold air, and we both pulled our collars closed around our necks.

“Gosh,” she said, shivering. “Winter just got here out of nowhere. Pretty early for these types of temps. I’m going to have to turn on the heat at home.”

“I know. I’m used to this weather in December, not October,” I replied.

We continued talking about the weather as we took the elevator up the parking garage to her floor. I followed her out and across the garage to her car parked in one of the spots. The place was pretty much empty, and I watched her standing next to her car and got the impression she didn’t want to part ways either. She pulled her keys out and looked up at me, a shy smile on her lips.

“Thank you for lunch, “ she said kindly. “It was really good seeing you again.”

I looked at her for a moment, and though I knew better, I stepped forward, framed her face with my hands, and pressed my lips firmly against hers. She stood tense for just a moment before her body released, and she leaned into me. Her hands pulled around my waist, and she stepped close

r, opening her mouth and allowing me to taste her. Passionately, we kissed for several moments before she opened her eyes and pulled away, running her fingers over her lips.