I lift my eyes up slowly, hopefully sexily, and I finally meet his gaze.
Oh my god. The first thought that hits me is how gorgeous he is, how warm his eyes are, how much they make me feel a million different things at once. The second thought that hits me is the fact that I know these eyes. For sure. I’ve spent a lot of time staring into them, feeling everything just like I am right now.
“J… Jace?” Is this for real? This has to be the middle of a nightmare, seriously. “Jace Fairs?”
10
JACE
I knew she was going to be shocked, of course she is. It’s been six long years since we last saw one another and I have gone through a dating agency to get to her which isn’t the most normal route. I knew there would be some surprise here, but I didn’t expect her to go quite so pale. I didn’t think she’d look like she’s going to fall apart. It’s a little upsetting to see her quite so stunned though. It’s almost like this isn’t a nice shock.
“Addie, I’m sorry.” I rise to my feet to greet her but she backs off a
little so I remain where I am, frozen. She’s like a deer and I don’t want to spook her. “I know this is a little crazy, but it’s a good chance to catch up…”
“Catch up?” She folds her arms protectively across her chest to create a barrier.
“Yeah, you know… catch up.” It sounds weak now. “See where our lives are now.”
“I know where your life is,” she bites back. Clearly, she has kept up with my life a little bit and like my mother she isn’t impressed by how I’ve been living. “Did you know it was me when you went through the agency?”
I pause for a moment before I nod. I don’t know how much to tell her, I don’t think saying that I saw Luci’s statement online and went from there is a good idea. “Yes, I saw your picture. I knew it was you.”
“I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to take that. It’s a mess.” She rakes her fingers through her hair. “You are using a dating agency here where you don’t live anymore, and we just happen to end up on a date. It’s too weird, perhaps it’s too convenient for you. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.”
Her eyes dart everywhere, I can tell that I’m losing her. It’s going to take some real magic to draw her back in. This isn’t going like I hoped it would at all.
“Addie, please just sit down. Let’s just have dinner together and talk.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“You haven’t left yet,” I remind her. “There must be a part of you that wants to be here.”
She breathes deep, I see her chest rise and fall. She’s thinking about this, I can almost see the cogs ticking. I try to take a tip from my mother and I don’t over speak. Instead I just wait for her to make up her own mind.
I spend the time running my eyes over the delicious black dress that clings to her curves, the long legs that fly out from underneath, that long blonde hair, although shorter than when I first met her, and the beautiful sweet heart face she has. She’s stunning. Even better than I remember. The last six years have been good to her, probably better to her than they have been to me, I dread to think how I look to her these days. It makes me yearn for her more. I came in to this date determined to make it right, but now I’m even more convinced.
This woman is my one, I need to make her mine.
“No.” She finally shakes her head, determined. “No, I can’t do this.”
All of a sudden, she runs. She doesn’t just speed out of here, she actually runs. Her legs take her quickly through this fancy environment, not caring what anyone thinks of her. She’s so desperate to get away from me that she has lost all the ability to think about proper social graces.
As it turns out, I have too. “Addie!” I cry out loudly. “No, Addie, please wait.”
But she isn’t going to, the only thing I can do is run after her. She must really hate me and I can’t stand that. I can’t have her despising me. It’ll kill me. I have lived the last few years suspecting that she doesn’t like me, but knowing it for sure would be the last thing to finish me off right now.
It wouldn’t be closure; it would be the end of my world.
“Sir, is there anything I can help you with?” The waiter stands in my way, blocking the path. I barely even realize that it’s him for a few seconds, I’m stuck with a one track mind that only cares about Addie.
“Er, no, I just need to get out…” I try and strain to get passed him but he won’t let me out.
“The thing is you have booked the table for the evening. We cannot just let you go…”
“I will pay the money, whatever it costs for a meal for two. I just need to leave. I will get my credit card details to you at another point in time…” He’s looking at me disbelievingly. “I will call tomorrow morning.”
He doesn’t want to, I can see it, but eventually he lets me leave. I barely think about anything, only her, so I race past everyone until I get outside. There I dart my eyes left and right quickly to find her.