A date.
Finally.
“What time? I’ll see if I can squeeze you in.” I banter with him because he knows I won’t make it easy for him.
He chuckles darkly down the phone, and I love how he’s been starting to show me little glimpses of his personality: he finds me funny. Hell, the man couldn’t even crack a smile when I first met him; now he laughs. It’s a giant leap for him.
“Six o’clock, Sapphire. I have things to do first.”
What he means is that he already had his day scheduled. When he said he was feeling sick earlier in the car before we arrived at his dad’s care home, I swear he was experiencing a panic attack.
He’s not someone who likes changing plans or having plans sprung on him, and I could be wrong, but I think this is something else he’s struggling with too.
The closer I get to him, the more I hope he’ll open up about whatever’s going on inside his head.
Maybe I read the situation wrong, though, and perhaps it was the thought of me spending time with his father when his family is very private about his dad’s illness.
I hope he knows me well enough to trust that I would never share any details about his dad’s condition with anyone.
“Let me just check my diary.” I don’t but pause to add to the drama. “Oh, you’re in luck. I’m free tonight, Eli.”
“Glad to hear it. I will pick you up around five to allow for traffic.”
He really is very particular about timekeeping.
“That’s perfect,” I reply.
What the hell am I going to wear? Do I go sexy, smart, or casual?
This isn’t like me to stress about what I’m going to wear for a date, but here I am fretting like a girl going on her first date in high school.
This feels like a big deal.
It is a big deal.
This is Eli freaking-walls-up-Hart who hasn’t dated for five years.
Five years!
There’s a lot of pressure on me tonight.
“I’ll see you then, Sapphire.”
“Can’t wait.”
“And Sapphire?”
“Yeah?”
“Hope you’re hungry, but I can’t promise you’ll leave with just a full stomach.”
“Oh.” My eyes widen at his brazen flirting. He’s different today. Lighter.
“Cat got your tongue, Sapphire?”
For the first time in my life, yes, yes it has.
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