Page 68 of Reaching Hearts
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Brendan
M.R.I. Experience: weird, but cool. Lung: on the mend. Wound: stretched a little, but good enough. Eyes: on Annie’s ass as she walks out of the hospital first, since I’m a gentleman.
“Do you want to drive?” Annie asks me, moving a soft lock of hair behind her ear as we leave the hospital.
“No, that’s okay. You can drive, but thank you for that.”
She nods. “I wish I’d brought your shoes back.”
Walking barefoot along the pavement, I say with a laugh, “It’s okay. I’m just happy to be out of that room. I wouldn’t have cared if I left wearing one of their hospital gowns.”
“The jeans and jacket with no shirt combo is very hot, by the way,” she smiles and reaches for my hand, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for her to do. I keep my eyes forward, but I’m very aware of her next to me. Walking out into the real world with her by my side feels natural to me, too, and that’s what makes it strange. I’m normally not this comfortable with the women I’m interested in, because that interest has always had an inevitable end-date.
Distracted by these thoughts, I let her hand go and carefully lower myself into her car. She gets in and we both shut our doors at the same time, saying nothing, the silence charged. As she puts the car in gear and looks behind her back to reverse out, I glance to her face and see her mind is just as full as mine, so I sit back and focus on the dashboard. It’s got a thin layer of dust on it and I mentally make note to have it detailed for her when I’m up and running again. I know a carwash that does a great job with interior detailing; I’ll take it there for her as a thank you for helping me.
“Where do you live?” she asks, as soon as we’re at the exit.
“Go left. My place is just a couple blocks up from your bar.”
She smiles, instantly wistful. “Oh… right.”
I know what she’s thinking, that we were supposed to go there that night. I’d promised her it was nearby and… “Yeah.”
She cuts a glance to me as she turns the wheel, checking her rearview. “Burgers first though, yes?”
A grin spreads on my face instantly. “Right! I forgot. Burgers! Zoe’s is great.”
“That’s on Mission, too, yes?” I nod. She smiles and heads in the direction of home. God, I can’t wait. “Tell me about your job. Do you love it?”
Grateful for a familiar subject, I launch in, telling her all the things I love about my job; the people, the creativity it affords me, the pay. She listens to a few of my campaigns and shows real interest, asking good questions, really listening. When we get to Zoe’s, we’re still talking about it, stopping only to order a couple of burgers and fries to go, with a salad to share. We take a seat at the bar while we wait and Annie opts not to drink, but I get a Sazerac, one of their signature cocktails because she wants to taste it, see what the competition is doing.
“Well, it’s not really your competition, since you don’t serve food. You want to promote that, too. Show what you are, clearly, so that people know what they’re getting.”
She leans forward a little and puts her head on her hand, facing me on her bar stool. “What am I, exactly?”
“You’re a dark and classy lounge bar for the hip, up and comers who want to get together with friends, or make out in a dark corner if they’re really lucky.” I grin at her as she looks at my mouth, hers spreading into a slow smile.
“You nailed that,” she says.
My grin fades and I lean in and kiss her. She receives the kiss and bites her bottom lip, licking it as I pull away. She tries the drink and likes it, and we go back to talking about Location Times Three until the burgers arrive.
Walking outside, she points to her car. “See, told you we wouldn’t get a ticket.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Parking in the red in this city is begging for a ticket.”
After she opens her door, she looks at me over the top of the car. “I would normally agree with you, but I think you and I are fresh out of bad luck.” She tilts her head to the side and shrugs both shoulders before dipping down and getting in.
I lower myself in, holding the bag of food, and give her my address. Then I take a deep inhale. “Annie?”
She’s looking to her left to see if traffic is coming. “Yeah?”
I take in her profile, her arms bent at the elbows, her hands gripping the wheel. As I follow these, my eyes naturally fall on the radio. It’s off. I didn’t even notice it was off. “My place is really close to here, so you’ll want to drive slow.”
Annie pulls out onto the street and mumbles, distracted by traffic, “Okay. I can do that.”
With my eyes on the cars in front of us, I’m stunned and silent. I was just about to give her the speech. I was going to tell her what I tell all of them, not to get attached. I will be seeing other people. Everything Rebecca and Teri, and probably all the others, memorized.
The voice that is always in my head saying, Protect yourself, said something else a little louder.
Don’t.
Protect.
Yourself.
Not this time.