Page 31 of Unexpecting

“Oh, probably, but it’s too nice a day to go there. And don’t you have a date or something? You do look nice, you know.” He glanced admiringly at my short white skirt and purple-flowered shirt for longer than he needed to.

″You already said that.” Now it was my turn to feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

″I thought it was worth saying again.” He smiled down at me, and I swear my heart did this humongous flip-flop in my chest. “Too bad it’s for this David guy. There’s still time to bail and come out with me, you know.”

″Thanks, but…” I could tell my cheeks were warm to the touch. I began to back slowly out of the room. “I’ve got to go.”

″It’s been twelve years—I think he can wait a little longer.”

″Okay, enough!” I said irritably in response to his sarcasm. “I said you can do the whole ‘I told you so’ if nothing happens, but until then, I’d appreciate a little support. Or at least some silence on the subject.”

″Look at your track record, Case. There’s no way it would work even if he wasn’t dredged up from your past. You have crappy luck with guys. Even without all the pressure with the baby thing, there’s a good chance you’d crash and burn.”

″That’s not very nice! Saying that you don’t think it would work out—how do you…?”

″Do you really think I want you to find someone it will work out with?” J.B. asked, turning back to his laundry.

″What’s that supposed to mean? You want me to be unhappy?”

″No. Not at all,” he said mildly. He leaned over and scooped up the pile of dark socks and gym shorts I’d left on the floor. “Hey, thanks for the laundry lesson.”

″Yeah.” To say I was confused about his words is putting it lightly. Did he not want me with David because he wanted me to be miserable or because he couldn’t stand the thought of me with another man? Neither option seemed overly realistic. I gave my head a shake and vowed to worry about it later. I was going out with David, and there was no sense dwellingon J.B.’s cryptic remarks. “You really should learn to do it yourself, you know.”

“Why bother when I’ve got you?” He smiled at me again, and I could see the creases around his bright blue eyes. He didn’t shave this morning, and his cheeks and chin were covered in scruff. I couldn’t help but think about how my face would be scratched if I kissed him.

″Oh. Look, I—”

″Go. Have fun. But not too much fun, you know. Make him wait a little longer, you know.”

″Yeah, I guess. See you.” Since when did J.B. give me dating advice? Or since when did I give him advice? You need a nice girl to settle down with. Where did that come from?

I was almost back in my apartment when J.B. called after me. “Hey, Case? You smell good, too.” Which of course made me smile again, but then I tripped over the doorjamb into my apartment. J.B. was obviously watching me because I could hear his stifled laugh.

″You okay?” he called.

″Fine. Just clumsy.”

As I left to meet David, I had all sorts of thoughts unrelated to David swirling around my mind. Damn him!

“Just like old times, eh?” David asked as we finally settled into our seats in the movie theatre. He gave me a wide smile that reached into his brown eyes. I wished my heart would flip-flop a little more when he smiled at me. It did a little flip, and that would have been perfectly acceptable had it not been for my earlier exchange with J.B. and the ensuing thoughts about his scruffy face. David had shaved perfectly for me. Not a trace of stubble or even any evidence of a nervous hand nicking his cheek. Stop thinking of J.B., I savagely ordered myself. Don’t compare the two. David, David, David, David….

″David,” I said aloud, “it is just like old times, isn’t it? You, me, at the movies? Just like it was yesterday, right, David?” He looked at me quizzically at the use of his name, but only nodded in agreement.

Okay, not starting out that great.

Why do people go to the movies on a first date? I can see when you’ve been together for a while and don’t have a need to talk and learn about each other. There was so much I wanted to learn about David, and I kindof felt like I had a deadline. Especially since I was being so easily distracted by silly thoughts of J.B. With all my might, I shoved any thoughts of J.B. Bergen firmly out of my mind and focused on David. David, David, David, David…

Despite the ease I felt around David on Saturday and how positive I’d been feeling (and how I sounded), it was at least halfway through the movie before I really began to relax. It wasn’t that David made me uncomfortable, but just that I was ultra conscious about everything about him. The way his laugh boomed out unexpectedly at the funny bits. The way his eyes narrowed when he was concentrating on the suspenseful parts. How long and tapered his fingers were as they dipped into the popcorn, and the tiny sizzle of electricity I felt when he absentmindedly reached over to snag one of my Fuzzy Peaches. After that happened, I’m glad to report the creases around J.B.’s blue eyes finally faded from my mind and I didn’t have to order myself to concentrate on David.

″Sorry,” he whispered. “Guess I should ask first.”

“It’s okay.” I smiled at him. That’s when I finally started to relax because that’s how it was with us. We would sit silently in the movie theatre, both of us concentrating solely on the celluloid world unfolding onscreen, never speaking until it was over. Even at the concession stand, it was like no time had passed. David remembered that I like extra butter on my popcorn, and asked them to shake it to make sure it all dripped into the bottom. He ordered me a bag of Fuzzy Peaches because that’s what I always would get, and got himself a box of raisin Glossettes to go with his 7-Up.

David offered me his box of raisins. “Do you like them yet?” he whispered.

″Still can’t stand them,” I grinned.

It was like I’d fallen back in time. Is that a good thing? Can you really go back again? There are so many aspects of my life that I would dread going back and redoing, but what about the four years I spent with David? Right now, that period in my life seems it has a rosy glow about it, giving me a lovely warm and fuzzy feeling. I was in university with David; my friendship with Morgan developed when I was with him. We studied together, argued politics and the ways of the world…

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