Page 31 of Not Mine To Love

I nodded, trying to ignore the little flashes of heat that I felt when his breath touched my ear. He was sexy, available, and so far polite. Nice. And he was considerate. Definitely a winner. I so wanted to text Dana a version of my happy dance.

The patio was adorned with little Christmas lights, and fake palm trees were placed strategically around the space. There was a blues band playing that night, and we sat a little far off from it so that we could actually hear each other speak. I wasn’t a fan of blues, but I liked live music. The band was clearly good, and couples were already on the dance floor. The evening seemed primed for romance. There was moonlight, music, and a gentle breeze. It was almost magical. While I took in our surroundings, a waitress came out and we ordered a few drinks. It turned out that Douglas didn’t drink, but he didn’t mind if I did.

Wow. It seemed an extra bonus that I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting sloppy drunk. Before Piper met Ty, she had plenty of stories of her dates ending up as drunken slobs in the back of a taxi.

We talked about his job and what it was like to work for Dana. I told him a little bit about what I did. I didn’t tell him the sordid details, but my stories of cheating spouses did make him laugh.

“So did you ever think that you would be making a living off of following around people with questionable morals?”

“Nope. I’m pretty sure that’s a career my advisor never considered for me.”

We both laughed and he ran a hand through his hair. He seemed hesitant about what he was about to say next, but continued anyway. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it seems that both of us are sort of just floating through life trying to find our place.”

I hadn’t thought about it before, but he was right. “That’s exactly how I feel.”

“So tell me about your last date.”

I thought hard about it, and he called me on it. “You don’t even remember, do you?”

“No,” I said, feeling self-conscious. I didn’t want him to think I was some sort of dateless loser. “I’m so busy with work that I don’t get a chance to date much.”

“I get it,” he said, taking a sip of his soda.

“How about you? When was your last date?”

He rubbed a hand through his hair, and his tight shirt pulled at his muscles. God, he had a great body. He was yummy to look at. So yummy that I totally forgot I had asked him a question. I needed to focus.

“It was a total disaster,” was the part I heard. I grimaced, as if I knew what he was talking about.

“So what do you really want to do? If money were no object,” he asked, changing the subject again.

“Sleep?”

He laughed, “Come on.” He nudged my arm playfully. “Open up a little. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“A travel photographer,” I said instantly. “I would travel the world and take photos.”

“So why don’t you do that?”

I laughed, “I can’t. I can’t just…”

“Why not? What’s stopping you?”

“I—I… maybe… I don’t know.”

What was stopping me? I wasn’t married. I didn’t have any children. Yeah, I was trying to help dad with a few bills, but I really didn’t have an excuse for not pursuing what I wanted. So what exactly was my problem? “How about you, what would you like to do?”

“Animation,” he said without hesitation.

“Like video games?”

He smiled “Actually no. Like cartoons. Love your shirt by the way.”

I was wearing a shirt with my favorite cartoon character.

“So what’s stopping you from making cartoons?”

He laughed, “Well, besides the fact that I know nothing about animation and can’t draw.”