Page 5 of Sweet Dreams
"Hey, you're early!" I said, right before he pulled me into his body with a gentle hug. He smelled like the same sunscreen from yesterday, blended nicely with soap this morning. I was getting the sense he liked a lot of bodilycontact.
"Good morning! I just think you should never keep a beautiful woman waiting," Ivan responded as he let me out of the hug. He kept one hand on my waist and I didn't know if he even realized he was still touching me. "Did you want whipped cream on that hotchocolate?"
"It's not really hot chocolate if it doesn't have whipped cream," Ijoked.
"I like the way you think. Why don't you have a seat to save our table and I'll go order for us," Ivan said as he helped me into the chair. He finally lost contact with me as he moved to stand in line. If I was being honest with myself, I already missed his touch. There was something very warm and welcoming about him. His touch wasn't too forward, it was just nice. If I wasn't so busy being nervous, I bet I'd love those hugs andtouches.
I may not have been able to touch him, but I tracked him across the store with my eyes. I wouldn’t pass up the perfect opportunity for me to study him in line without being caught staring. He was tall, I'd guess 6'3", with stereotypical California good looks. Blond, shaggy hair that was kept long on top, but short on the sides. Those blue eyes that could mesmerize you with their intensity. His muscular physique really was yummy. Just enough muscle to make you look twice and appreciate it. I was thinking he was late 20's, probably older than me if he was already a supervisor, rather than just a regularlifeguard.
Let's be real: he was straight up gorgeous. And that was just talking about his body. Add in the sweetness and the soul-searching blue eyed gaze and he probably had women falling at his feet. I'd have to ask around and see if he had a reputation. I just had a hard time believing that a man that delectable, and not taken, wasn't also a total player. But, I reminded myself, this was just a trial run, a practice, for testing out my flirting skills. It shouldn't matter whether he was a player or not. This wasn't going to develop into an actual relationship. In fact, him being a man-whore might actually help me hone my flirting skills better. Hmmm...I wasn't sure how I felt about his potential reputation. Did I want him to be a player ornot?
"Okay, here we go. Hot chocolate with whip for you, black coffee for me," Ivan said as he sat down at our table with our drinks. He was positioned just to my right, his knee touching mine under thetable.
"Wow, really getting adventurous with that coffee order, Ivan," I said smirking. I willed my brain to focus and not let that knee distract me, even though I wanted my hand to join the party down there and really feelaround.
"Well you know, I'm a guy and I drink guy coffee," he said with a shrug and a teasingsmile.
"I didn't realize men couldn't enjoy variety in their coffee orders without forfeiting their man-card," I replied wryly. Okay, this was working. I was actually flirting and teasing without tripping over my ownsentences.
"You make a good point, I admit. I guess I like to keep things simple. I like to eat healthy so I can perform my job to the best of my ability. That matters to me more than some triple shot, double whipped mocha frap concoction," he said with a more serious expression. Those blue eyes lost focus for a minute, making me wonder for the first time if maybe there was a lot more behind that happy exterior. The possibility intrigued me more than the hot body. There were hot men everywhere, but finding one with depth? That was thejackpot.
"Sounds like your job is super important to you, if you'll forego the bliss of whipped cream. How long have you been a lifeguard?" I wanted to know more. I took the first sip of my hot chocolate. Subpar really, but what could I expect from a national chain hot chocolate? Good to know I kicked the competition's assthough.
"Not much to tell. I've been ocean lifeguarding since high school. I finished my EMT training a few years ago so I'm now a Marine Safety Officer, getting the necessary experience to be a Lieutenant in the next few years if certain people end up retiring as planned. I see myself doing this gig for as long as I can. Which means I need to make sure I'm in good shape," he explained, picking up his black coffee. His eyes had cleared and his bright smile wasback.
"The black coffee/health nut approach is obviously working for you," I said with an appreciative glance at his upper body. "I'm glad the lifeguards out there are dedicated to keeping me safe while I just enjoy the beach. I must admit that it was comforting to know yesterday that help was readily available. You're good at what you do, Ivan," I said with genuineappreciation.
"Thank you. My job means a lot to me," he responded, then changed topics abruptly. "So, let's talk about you. What do you do? Where are you from?" he asked. Those eyes were pinning me with a stare I couldn't look away from even if I wanted to. Interesting. He didn't want to talk about himself. Definitely a story there but I'd give him a pass fornow.
"I was actually born and raised here in Huntington Beach. I love living right by the beach. It's like my ultimate happy place. If anything's bothering me, I just walk along the ocean and I'm calmed by the sound of the ocean: the crash, the hiss, the rhythm of it all. I don't think I could ever move somewhere that wasn't near the beach. I even went to college in San Diego simply because it was far enough away from home but also kept me near the ocean. So it made sense to come back here right aftercollege."
"I know exactly what you mean. The beach is definitely my home too." Ivan paused, then the look in his eyes intensified. "I'm going to assume you're not dating anyone or else you wouldn't be here right now with me. Is that correct?" He kicked the stare up another notch and leaned even further in, now only a few inches from myface.
I was no expert, but this felt like we were leaving the flirting zone and entering a more seriousconversation.
"No, I'm not seeing anyone right now. Haven't been for a while, actually. I'm not really looking to get involved with anyone at the moment," I rambled on nervously. "How about you? Seeinganyone?"
"No. I'd like to be seeing you, but it sounds like it might take some convincing," he said in a lowvoice.
"Well, um-" I stammered. He was straightforward that was for damn sure. My eyes darted around as if the perfect response could be found written on thewall.
"That's okay. You don't have to say anything right now. Just know I'm interested and I'll do my best to convince you to give me a try." He paused, looked down at his hands and then back up as we locked eyes again. "I won't play games with you. I haven't been seriously interested in anyone in a long time. I don't mind waiting for you to be on the same page." He shifted so his hand was on mine, stroking my skin with his thumb, destroying my ability to concentrate on all the reasons I should push himaway.
"I-I don't really know what to say to that. I'm flattered but I really can't promise you anything. I totally meant it when I said I wasn't interested in dating. You seem great, really great, and under different circumstances... But it's just not a good time for me," I hedged. I really was conflicted. He seemed sweet, he was crazy hot, and it felt like there was real substance under that gorgeous exterior. But I'd promised myself to focus on my business and not get veered off track by a handsome face ever again. I had to remember my truegoals.
"No problem. We'll just get to know each other then. As friends. You can be my friend, right?" Ivan asked, while still stroking my hand, in stark contrast to hiswords.
"Sure, I can definitely do that," I replied, grabbing onto the lifeline he extended to me. ‘Friends’ was safe. I withdrew my hand under the guise of taking another sip of my hot chocolate, breaking contact to get my hormones back undercontrol.
"Okay then. I'll call you tomorrow. And if you're on the beach today, I'll be at tower 17 again. You know, if you want to stop by and say hi. Minus the jellyfish this time," he said smiling as he rose from thetable.
I stood up too and grabbed my bag. "Will do," I said with an answering smile. I had survived the non-date and made it clear to him I wasn't looking for a relationship. And I even got in some flirting. I was calling it awin.
He grabbed me into one of his big hugs again and this time, I allowed myself the luxury of relaxing into it. And it felt good. Like stay-for-awhile good. Like let my hands explore his back while I pressed tighter into him good. Which is crazy-talk because we'd just agreed to remain friends. Which means feeling him up would definitely send the wrongmessage.
Before I could explore my conflicted thoughts and decide which way I'd go, he released me, spun me around toward the exit, and kept one large hand on my lower back as he walked me out. He was a dedicated toucher. And I was starting to think I liked it. Strictly as friends, ofcourse.
As it turned out, I never got a chance to visit Ivan on the beach that afternoon. I had a chocolate emergency at Chocolate Dreams. One of the larger vats that stirs the hot chocolate decided to stop working out of nowhere. We had to transfer the hot chocolate to multiple little vats and then I had to tinker with the big vat to see if it was fixable. I found the problem and got it working again with the help of YouTube DIY videos. But my afternoon was shot, and all I wanted was to leave the shop in my trusty employees' hands and head home to mybathtub.
