This time I don’t set my drink back down when I pick it up, instead I opt to take a long pull through the straw.
I don’t want Axel to leave, but I’m not quite sure how to ask him to stay without sounding desperate. Or creepy, considering I was here to meet with his freaking son. But it’s not like I’d been dating Brian and then decided to switch to his dad. I haven’t even met Brian. And based on the fact that he was going to stand me up, I don’t much care for Brian. Not to mention if he had come, he isn’t even old enough to buy me a drink.
Saving me from my internal dialogue, the server appears next to our table. “How you guys doin’ over here? Would ya like a drink?”
Her question is directed at Axel, but he’s looking at me when he responds, “Would you like another one, Baby?”
Baby.
Fuck me.
Every single one of his words sounds like honied gravel and the deepness of them vibrates through my body, settling in my panties.
I definitely don’t need another drink, but I really want Axel to stay. And since a little extra liquid courage can’t hurt, I nod my head.
Axel breaks eye contact, looking towards the waitress, and my lungs finally expand. The way he looks at me, listens to me, is so much more than anything I’m used to. I feel like I haven’t breathed fully since he sat down across from me.
Chill, Maddie.
You need to freaking chill.
Except I can’t chill because he’s staying. Axel, the tall, dark, and so-handsome-I’d-swear-he-was-fictional man is staying.
The server starts to walk away, and as Axel turns his head back to face me, I catch the wide-eyed look that the waitress throws my way – a look that saysholy shit that man is hot. I raise my brows in aoh my god I knowlook before she turns away and heads to the bar.
I spin my glass slowly between my fingers. “Thank you for coming here to let me know about- you know…” I pick up my drink and take another sip. “I hope it didn’t mess up your plans.”
“Plans?” There’s a hint of amusement in his voice.
I’m being forward. Way more forward than I’d usually ever be. But there’s a crinkle of humor next to his eyes and it’s making me feel brave.
“Yeah, plans. The things people often make for Friday night. With friends. Or… girlfriends.” Every part of me wants to look away, but I keep my gaze locked on Axel when I say that last word.
His expression doesn’t change. “I didn’t have any plans.”
Dammit, he’s going to make me ask. And really, it’s only fair since obviously he knows that I’m single.
“So, no girlfriend then?” I roll my lips together.
His light blue eyes bore into me, like he’s trying to figure out my motivation for asking such a question. But I feel like my motivation should be pretty clear. I’m asking because he’s the hottest man I’ve ever talked to, and before I let my fantasies take over, I need to make sure he’s not taken.
Even if I’ll only climb him like a goddamn swing set in my imagination, I need that peace of mind. I don’t ever want to be theother woman.
An eternity later, Axel shakes his head.
It’s not quite the resoundingnoI was hoping for, but I believe him and let out a small exhale of relief.
“Well, even if you didn’t have other plans, I still appreciate it. I was already stressing out about how long I should sit here and wait for him if he was late.” I sigh. “I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, which means I’d probably have sat here forever. Or at least until the pitying looks of others proved to be more than I could handle.” I’m rambling now, my internal switch having flipped from stunned silence to nervous chatter, so I clamp my mouth shut.
Anger clouds Axel’s features, “Any man that makes you wait, is not worth your time.”
In the split second it takes my brain to register his words, my throat tightens.
My mom said those exact same words to me once. I was in high school, in the process of being stood up for my first ever date and in full denial, and I blew up in her face. Telling her I’d wait as long as it took, that he’d be there, that true love took work. Of course, none of that was true and my night ended with me crawling under my covers fully dressed and sobbing into my pillow.
And thus started a trend of me being stood up that would carry on until… well now, apparently.
I swallow against the memory.