11DanielAs I drive to the restaurant, I keep changing my mind. I never used to be this indecisive, and when I was with Karen the other night, she reawakened things in me that I was sure were firmly dead.
Luckily, I don’t have a problem parking, and I start to walk toward the restaurant. It’s lively, and I regret not booking a table. I assumed we'd easily get a seat.
“Hi, how are you today? Do you have a reservation?” the pretty hostess says as I open the door and try to figure out if one of them got here early. But there's no sign of them.
“No. But, I can see it’s busy.”
She smiles, “Friday nights. It’s always busy, but I’m sure that I can find a single table.”
I smile back. I know the hostess is flirting with me. It’s not hard to see why. With this body, women will fall over themselves. Before Karen’s mom, I used to love the attention of women. And let me tell you, they used to love my attentions too.
She’s winking at me and checking reservations, but spending more time staring at me than the book.
“There’s three of us. Not just me. Is that going to be an issue?”
She smiles, “For you? Not at all.”
She calls on a waitress and then instructs her to take me to table twenty-two. I can’t help but ask the question, “Thank you. But I didn’t quite catch your name.”
“Oh, it’s Maria, and I’m here every Friday night.”
I nod, “Okay, thanks, Maria.”
The waitress isn’t happy about me talking to Maria. It’s clear by the fact that she’s walking full speed ahead toward my table with no instructions. Any other time I would've found it annoying. Told her to stop so that I could at least catch-up. But after my conversation with Maria I’m feeling a bit better. I feel as if everything’s going to work out the first time in a long time.
I’m getting back some of the magic that I thought I’d lost forever.***Twenty minutes later, and despite me calling both of their phones, Colt and Karen still don’t turn up. I’m just about to order some food because I’ve been drinking too much of the bottle of wine I ordered. That’s when I see them waltz in together. I can’t help but notice that not only are they coming in together, but they’re also walking so close it’s as if they’re joined at the hip.
Karen looks stunning; she’s wearing a red mini dress. It emphasizes the right parts of her body. A bit loose around the legs and tight around the breasts. It’s as if they have a life of their own as they bounce up and down as she walks in her heels. Her hair's tied back emphasizing her blue eyes and long neckline.
Colt’s casual in a white shirt and jeans. They look quite the attractive couple as they walk in, and Karen’s turning heads as she confidently comes to the table.
“I thought that you guys weren’t coming?”
I sound like a typical dad checking in on them, and I think about the fact that I chose the restaurant so that we can be on neutral ground and we can talk. Not so that we can start an argument once again. I shake my head at my voice and especially my tone. I really need to calm down.
“Sorry about that.” Karen kisses me on the cheek as I stand up to greet her. I want to wrap my arms around her as I did the other night. But then I remember it was a mistake. I’m not going to get carried away like that ever again. I’m married to her mom, even if we don’t live in the same house.
“Colt.” I shake his hand, and he has a smile on his face as he quickly takes out the chair and then kisses Karen on the cheek.
Shit, he knows!
The way he looked at me, and he’s flirting with her; it’s clear that he’s making a point.
“No worries. I was about to order. You guys weren’t picking up your phones either.”
They both exchange looks and start to laugh. I don’t like this one bit.
“Karen you look beautiful. Stunning, even.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” Colt winks at her, and anger shoots up my spine.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
So damn jealous. I wish that we could change places. I hate the fact that he just took his hand and traced it along her arm.
Doesn’t she remember the other night?
About what happened between us?
Why is she acting as if it meant nothing?
“Shall we order?” I ask as the two of them blatantly flirt in front of me. I might as well not be here.
“Actually, I’m going to go to the restroom real quick,” Karen says and gets up. Colt stands up partially and I do the same as Karen gets up from the table.