He smiled and took a healthy sip of wine. I tried not to laugh. “Wow, that sounds like you are a bit delusional, but I like that. It’s probably why you are the youngest junior partner.”
“Exactly. You have to believe that you can do whatever you set your mind to. That is the thing holding most people back in life.” He pointed to his temples. “The thing right between here.”
I nodded. “I guess I can agree to that. So, your father is a plumber who likes to take expensive trips.”
“Yes, he is. You’d be surprised to see how much a good, reliable plumber can make. Everyone needs them eventually.”
“That is true,” I replied. I sipped my wine and leaned back in my chair.
“So, I’m a little surprised that you agreed to go out with me,” Tyler said softly.
“Really? Why is that?”
“Because, you were very standoffish at first. I pegged you for someone who is all business and you are not here to make friends or to date anyone.”
“That’s right; I’m not. But I guess you kind of wore me down.”
He chuckled. “I have that effect on people. It’s really just a matter of persistence. So much in life is that. I’m not the most talented guy, and I’m not the most charming, but I do think I have more perseverance.”
“Oh, don’t count yourself short. You are very charming.”
“Persistence is charming,” he corrected me.
“I guess you’re right.”
“How about you? I’d love to hear more about your life growing up.”
I sighed. “Well, as I’ve mentioned before, I was an Army brat. My dad was in the Army and I got moved around a lot. It was an odd way to grow up but I think it made me tough. It went a long way in making me the person that I am today for sure.”
“That’s great, because I really like the person that you are.”
I smiled.
We finished up dinner with a wonderful dessert of pie with several different flavors of ice cream with a chocolate brownie on the side. It was incredible and probably added a few inches to my waistline. But I figured I’d run it off tomorrow and tonight was a bit of a special occasion in my mind.
We started the walk towards my place. I only lived a few blocks away and though we’d met at the restaurant, I was glad to see that Tyler was happy to walk me home. Of course, I could feel that the heat was on between us and that once we got to my place all bets were off as to what was going to happen. I felt a burning desire for him deeply inside of me and it was growing by leaps and bounds. I could only hope that he felt that same burning desire for me.
As we walked along, I felt his hand on the small of my back. He was pulling me slightly towards him, our strides matching up perfectly. The night was warm and not too muggy. The sun had just set and the last purplish pink still drifted heavily on the clouds in the far horizon. It was breathtaking. It was so romantic. I felt like some sort of a princess.
“Tonight, has been pretty spectacular,” Tyler said as we walked along. “I’m really glad you said yes.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you ignored my initial cold as ice demeanor. I can be pretty bitchy sometimes.”
“Nah, you are just being a tough nut to crack. I like to work for things.”
“Well, hopefully you won’t have to work too much harder,” I said.
He stopped beside me and turned towards me. Our eyes met and he began to lean down to me to give me that sweet kiss I’d been thinking about. Our lips were almost touching when I got a very uneasy feeling washing over me.
It was hard to describe and I barely had time to react to the way I felt, the change in the atmosphere before it happened. The bushes moved quickly and then a dark blur swirled around us. It was like being wrapped up in some type of thick fog that happened all of a sudden.
It took my mind a moment to put it all together, what was happening and what I was now seeing standing before us. I saw three large men, all brawny and thickly built. All very tall, close to six feet three to six feet five. Tyler was six feet and they towered over him.
The men were all wearing black from head to toe. Except their faces. There they wore only evil, yet smug grins. I had a very bad feeling about this. Something wasn’t right. My first thought was that they wanted to do something to me. No… please God no…
But I quickly realized they knew Tyler and were hardly even paying attention to me. Tyler held his arm out in front of me to scoop me behind him. He was going to do his best to shield me from whatever may happen next.