Page 23 of Amor in the 305

Sol:Graciasfor tonight. I had a great time.

My heartbeat quickens at the words in the text message. She’s coming around and I’m ecstatic thinking about it. I’ve been here for twelve years and although I barely know her, Sol is the first woman to make me feel I want more. The first night I met her I was drawn to her, as if she had a rope tied around me and was pulling me toward her. After she left, I thought I’d never see her but couldn’t stop thinking about her. I drove Eduardo crazy with all my talk of the mystery woman, as he started calling her.

Her texting me tonight is a big step for her considering she’s been so reserved and reluctant to let me in. I know I can be imposing and have no filter when I speak, which could frighten her. I need to be cautious on how I approach her and how I get her to open up with me, to feel like she can trust me.

Our date tonight went too quickly, but I’m so happy she said yes. Turns out the Argentinian restaurant was a good choice. She was relaxed as soon as we sat and took the liberty to insist I eat my steak a certain way. Turns out I liked the steak as recommended. Who knew?

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Sol eat her meal. She truly savored her food as she consumed it. I like that she ate and wasn’t shy about it. I’ve not been on a lot of dates but most of the time the girls I dated didn’t eat much. I’m not sure if it’s because they weren’t hungry or if they didn’t want to eat on a date, but either way, it was weird to me, especially since I love to eat.

There are so many things I want to text back to Sol but instead I keep it simple to let her know I hope we have a second date soon.

Amaury:Gracias a ti. Que se repita pronto. =)

CHAPTER NINE

Soledad

Melida answers on the third ring, which I’m thankful for. I want to tell her about my date with Amaury last night. I’m terrified of what I’m feeling and know she’ll have sound advice for me.

“What’s up Sol, I was just thinking about you. Your ears must’ve been ringing.”

“Yeah, whatcha thinking about?” I ask, as I pour some water into the gourd.

“How much I miss you. Definitely not the same with you gone. The other day I wanted to go to your house to chill and couldn’t. It felt so weird.”

“I miss you too, especially since I have no friends here yet. I mean, the office manager at work has invited me out and she seems nice. I’ll probably finally have lunch with her this week once things have settled in at work and I’ve finished unpacking.”

“How do you like Miami so far?”

“I’m liking it a lot, and it’s always hot outside, which I love!”

“I like the warmth too but love my four seasons—even if I bitch about it half the winter.” She huffs before laughing.

“How’s the girls? I haven’t talked to them.” It’s been a couple weeks since leaving and I’ve only spoke to Jestine once, and only texted with Krissa. I just left Boston and already communications are dwindling.

“They’re good. I haven’t seen either of them in over a week. Krissa has been working a lot of OT and Jestine met a guy right after you left so she’s been out with him a couple of times. I probably won’t see either of them until next week.”

“Wow. I’ll have to reach out and get all the details. If you talk to them, tell them I miss them!”

“I will.”

“So, remember the guy from the club in April, the one who drove us home? Well, I ran into him last week and we went out last night.”

“No suh! What are the odds? So, how’d it go? Tell me everything!”

I update her on running into Amaury and everything that transpired on our date. “When I’m with him I feel comfortable, and that scares me. I’ve had such rotten luck with guys in the past, but you already know that.” They’ve all been the ones to break up with me, except for Carmine, who is an aggressive asshole and stalker. I shift in my seat at the mere thought of his name.

“Speaking of your past, I saw Carmine the other day and I don’t know if it was a coincidence or if he was stalking me to find you.”

“Knowing him and his past behavior, it’s the latter. He’s probably freaking out now that my apartment is empty, and he doesn’t know where I am. Did he say anything to you?”

“Yeah, he came up and said hi, had that smirk on his face. You know the one.” Carmine’s grin was sexy and enticing. His full lips would stretch across his beautiful face in a half grin. It’s the first thing I noticed about him when we met, his panty melting smile. For the first several months of our relationship he was kind and hid his true nature. It wasn’t until he’d wrapped me around his finger did his true colors start seeping. “I told him to fuck off, that I had nothing to say to him and walked away,” she says.

“That’s it? He didn’t say anything else?” I ask, shifting on the stool. At first, he would get angry about me hanging out with my friends, said I spent too much time with them and not him. He became wary of me, started monitoring my phone, and would have jealous outbursts in public places. I made excuses for him, apologized for his behavior, which only made him worse. It was a mindfuck!

“As I walked away, he told me he’d be seeing me again soon,” she replies, causing me to shiver. When controlling me wasn’t enough, he started intimidating me through his insults and threats of harm to himself, and to me. After scaring the shit out of me, he’d apologize profusely and profess his love for me, promise it would be the last time he’d act that way. They were all lies. I was blinded and unable to see what was in plain sight.

“Mel, he’s following you because he’s looking for me. I’m freaking out just thinking about it.” Eventually my friends caught on to his behaviors, but I covered for him.

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