Page 65 of The Lessons

“Good, good. Just wanted to swing by. I haven’t seen you much this week.” He flashed a white smile at me as he abandoned the doorframe for the chair across from me.

I winced as I shifted in my seat, still a little tender from the other day. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just been slammed with work. I’ve got this big customer development presentation next week, and Cathy keeps emphasizing how important it is and how it’s going to set the stage for the entire marketing and communications plan for the next two years…”

“Ha. No pressure, then?”

I smiled weakly. “Exactly. No pressure at all.”

“Well, she must have a lot of confidence in you if she’s just handing it over. Word on the street is that she’s?” He leaned in.“?kind of a control freak.”

I chuckled and squinted at him. “Cathy? Hmm. Maybe. I don’t know. We work well together, but maybe I’m just lucky.”

Brad sat back in his chair. “So…I just wanted to check that we are still on for tomorrow night.”

I smiled. “Yes. We’re still on. What do you want to do?”

“I was thinking grab dinner and then catch a movie? The theater near my house is re-screeningChocolat.”

I wrinkled my nose, and Brad laughed.

“I thought all chicks likedChocolat.”

I shook my head.

Brad looked confused. “But it has Johnny Depp.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Johnny Depp isnotthe problem. What else is playing?”

He bit his lip before answering. “Just the new Marvel movie,” he said carefully.

“Great. Can we see that?”

He made no effort to contain the look of shock on his face. “Did you really just say you want to see a Marvel movie with me?”

I looked around the room. “Uh, yeah. Why? Is that okay?”

His face slowly moved from a look of shock to a huge grin. “Natalie, I know I may look like a stud, but at my core, I’m an IT nerd. And…I think you may have just found the key to my heart.” He placed his hands over his chest.

I shook my head at him, his grin contagious. “Well, that’s settled, then. Superheroes it is. Maybe I’ll let you buy me somechocolatat the concession stand.”

“You got it. Why don’t you swing by my place at seven? It’s just down the block from the movie theater. Does that sound okay?” He stood up.

“Sounds perfect.” I offered my most sincere smile.

“I’ll text you the address,” he suggested.

“Wonderful.”

“Looking forward to it. See you tomorrow, dream girl.” He winked as he left.

Dream girl?

Oh, boy.

~

The sun had just dipped past the horizon, and the fog was in full-force as I shivered and hurried down the street towards Brad’s place. Something about the chill of San Francisco fog—it was able to cut straight to my bone. I pulled my scarf up around my neck and stuffed my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket while turning the corner onto Brad’s street.

As I approached his address, I thought this couldn’t be right.This wasn’t an apartment or a condo. No, I was in front of a full-sized house…and a large one at that. It was a Queen Anne Victorian, an historical style that typified San Francisco architecture. I looked down, double-checking the address— Yep, this was it; I was definitely going to have to ask him about that. I let myself in through the wrought-iron gate, walked up the stairs, and rang the bell.

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