Cold Hearted Bachelor

“You promise this is the only time you’ve followed me?” She stares up at me with her big baby blues.

I nod.

“I appreciate what everyone is doing for me. I really do.” She shakes her head.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

She doesn’t smile, only glances around. “I'm just tired of this. I want to find this asshole once and for all.”

“Promise me you’ll let me help you.” I don’t want her getting any ideas on trying to help herself, or going after this person on her own.

For all we know it’s not someone she even knows, and some whack job guy who deserves to be in a looney bin. I won’t let her get hurt.

In fact, I need to take action into my own hands.

Who says I can’t pay a few people a little visit.

“Did I ruin your day?” I ask her.

She smiles wide, shaking her head. “No.”

I kiss her on the tip of her nose. It feels good being this way with her. Having my arms around her where they’ve always wanted to be. “What were your plans today? Maybe you want some company?”

“I was just going to look at furniture. Maybe pick out a couch. Want to come?”

I smile, my mind momentarily stunned when she asks the innocent question of if I want to come, and my dirty mind taking it to mean something else entirely.

It’s been a while since we’ve been together, and already my body misses her. I ache for her.

“Sure.” I smile, and I swear she smiles right back, realizing the faux pas.

But, I won’t bring it up, because if I do I won’t be able to get my head out of that place with her. That place where I’m happy and thinking about kissing her and touching her all night long.

So instead, I check the streets, to be certain no one is following us, and we head toward the furniture store where she was earlier.

For the next hour we look at couches, and more couches. I thought looking at sofas would be the worst time in my life, but doing it with Paisley only makes the experience...well, more.

I love hanging around her.

She makes me smile, especially when she lays across each couch, testing the comfort.

Which is different for me.

I think the attendant, Linda, has had about enough of us, and I finally tell Linda we’ll just look on our own.

“What do you think of this one?” I ask Paisley.

She rubs her chin. “Hmm, I never pictured me with a purple couch before, but the more I stare at it the more my house comes alive.”

“Remember, you’ll have a blue kitchen.” I don’t know much about designing, but I do know blue and purple don’t match very well. But who knows, maybe they do.

Sometimes I’ll think things don’t go together, but then somehow Paisley pulls it off. Paisley is the type of girl who can wear stripes and polka dots and make it look good. But I could be biased, because I think Paisley looks good in whatever she wears… or doesn’t wear.

She decides against the purple couch and we pick out a nice beige number, and after sitting on it together, snuggled for over fifteen minutes I squeeze her closer. “Maybe we should go.”

“No,” she squeezes my arm tighter, “just a few more minutes.”

“I can see this sofa in your house.”

She smiles, leaning forward so she can glance over her shoulder to look into my eyes. “So can I.”

“I can see me and you on this sofa together every night.”

“Really?”

I drop my arms from around her. “Yes.” I stand from the couch, missing every bit of relaxing there with her. “Should we go tell Linda this is the one?”

She smiles. “Ok.”

After I kiss Paisley goodbye, I head home for a quick shower and then I’m off to find this asshole who’s stalking her.

I’m going to start by chatting up her friend Colby.

I’m not a stalker, but I guess you can say I have some mad skills, because I found his number and called, asking to meet him at a local bar near his house.

I told him we needed to talk. Now, the thing about this guy and myself is we run in the same circles. You can’t be in construction and real estate without knowing a few of the same people.

I head into the bar earlier than when I tell him to meet me, mainly because I want to get the lay of the land. I want to make sure this guy doesn’t surprise me in any way.

I’ll be certain by the end of tonight that if this is the man messing with Paisley that it’ll end once and for all.

Colby walks into the bar. Sounds like the start of a corny joke.

He’s all cocky and arrogant in the way he walks, and talks.