Page 7 of Christmas Eve Do-Over
I was a fairly tough guy. I rode a Harley and I could probably bench-press any of those girls. Tattoos from drunken nights in sketchy towns I should never have been in etched their stories across my skin. I'd gotten in a few fist fights and I'd held my wife's hand steady as we learned, yet again, that our hopes and dreams had been dashed. I held the record for most saves in a lifeguard career in all of California. Calluses on top of calluses lined my palm.
But those girls scared me.
"Their bark is worse than their bite." Shasta had walked over to stand next to me, patting my back.
Hey, if shaking in my boots got her to touch me, I'd have to remember to do more of that.
"I'm a little shaken up right now, I gotta admit. Are they always like that?" I hooked a thumb over my shoulder.
Shasta smiled, the first smile I'd seen from her that reminded me of the girl I knew twenty years ago. It looked genuine and natural. "Yep. They're pit bulls half the time and giggling girls the other half. They're my besties. Couldn't do life without 'em."
I nodded my head, my own smile growing. "I'm glad to hear you have them. That's how I feel about my lifeguard buddies."
Her head whipped toward me. "Lifeguard buddies?"
"Yeah, I'm a lifeguard. Well, semi-retired now. I just moved to HB to be one of the supervisors of the HB Junior Lifeguards program. I helped train other divisions along the coast, but now I'm trying to settle down and work part time."
I was thinking she'd be happy for me, but her face had drained of color. Awkward silence confirmed it. My answer wasn't going over well.
"What? Don't like lifeguards?"
"Oh, it's not that I don't like lifeguards, it's just that lifeguards have a certain stigma with me and my girls." Her cheeks burst with pink, making me thoroughly curious what she meant by "stigma."
"You wanna explain that one?" I leaned in a little closer. Her cheek looked so smooth and soft. I wanted to touch her but, just as much, I wanted to give her no more reasons to run away from me.
Her granite gaze met mine. "No, I really don't."
"That's okay. We have lots to discuss over dinner." I put my hand on her elbow and pushed the door open to let her go out in front of me.
"Dinner?" She slid to the side, out of my reach.
"Yes, dinner. Remember last night when I asked you to dinner tonight? I've got reservations and, if we leave right now, we should still make it."
Her eyes narrowed and my fate hung there in the silence. My gut twisted. I'd thought I couldn't want a woman as badly as I did when we were nineteen and dating. I was wrong. This was straight torture waiting for her to agree to tolerate a simple dinner with me.
She sighed, and I tried not to let my self-esteem take a direct hit. It was like the very idea of spending time with me was a chore. "Fine. Dinner. Where are we going?"
And just like that, I had plans for the evening and my loneliness fled.
* * *
Dinner went better than I could have expected. For hesitating to join me, Shasta was entertaining and sweet, showing me more and more flashes of the girl I used to know. We reminisced about our high school friends, who we were still in contact with, places we had gone together. Neither of us brought up the breakup, or the guy she left me for. That topic lurked in the background, too serious for either of us to bring up. Not when we were having such a good time.
Shasta tossed her head back and laughed, the sound loud and happy in the intimate space of the candlelit restaurant. I'm sure other patrons were looking at her, but I didn't care. The fact that I'd said something funny enough to bring out her bigger-than-life laugh was priceless. So I took a chance.
"You're beautiful when you laugh. I'm glad I got to see that again."
Her laugh faded, but a soft smile remained. "You always were a smooth talker."
"Only with you, Shasta."
She placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her clasped hands. "So what are we doing here, Duke?"
I remained calm, hoping I could float an idea by her without her running out on me. "Just having a nice dinner together. Reconnecting."
"Mhmm..."
She hadn't left the table yet. Time to go for broke.
