Over the Moon

Pleased with my full and productive day, as I close my laptop for the night, a knock on my office door grabs my attention. “You ready to go, Aubrey?” Jack says as he takes a few steps into my office.

“Almost, I just need a quick minute. Meet you in the lobby?” I say as I stand and grab my purse.

“Sure, I have to drop off Honey with Harper anyways.” I look behind him and see Honey patiently waiting for him. I walk by and give her a good pat.

“Good girl.” I look back at Jack, “See you in a minute.”

I go into the staff washroom to freshen up and reapply some makeup. I take a look at my outfit and decide to remove the blazer. Damn, this outfit makes me feel sexy. I walk out the door and make my way to the elevator just in time to see the door start to close. “Hold please,” I say and a hand juts out to block the door from closing. When the door opens completely, I step in. “Thank you,” I say and then I look up.

I’m now alone in the elevator with Wolf, his eyes are almost bugged out of his skull and his jaw has gone slack. He looks like that old cartoon wolf that goes crazy for a sexy lady. I chuckle to myself and say, “My eyes are up here.” He glances up at me and I turn to face forward. “And I am off the clock.” I can see he regains his composure in the reflection of the elevator door but remains silent as we descend to the main floor.

The elevator dings and I walk out without saying goodbye. I see Jack standing by the front door and I walk straight to him and place my hand on his arm. He looks up, sees Wolf behind me, and smirks. He places his hand on my lower back and ushers me out the door to his truck. When we leave the parking lot, I catch sight of Wolf standing by his truck staring at us.

I try to forget every interaction I have had with Wolf over the last few days. Tonight is about me and Jack and I want to stay present for this date. “Where are we going?” I ask Jack as we drive toward Main Street.

“I thought we could have a late dinner at Waterside and go from there.”

“That sounds great, I haven’t been there before.”

Jack turns into the parking lot of the almost packed restaurant. “You will love it. Do you like seafood?” I start to laugh. “What is so funny?”

“I used to get asked that all the time when I lived in Chicago. Being from the east coast you would think it would be a given, but I do not like any seafood.”

He looks at me like I am crazy. “No seafood? At all? No lobster, shrimp, crab, halibut?”

“Nope, I hope they have a good grilled chicken salad,” I say.

“I am sure they do, let’s get in there before we have to wait for a table.”

We walk into the restaurant and are seated right away in a back corner booth. The booths are small, so they are perfect for an intimate dinner date. Jack orders the halibut and fries and I go with a grilled chicken burger and a Caesar salad.

“So, what brings you to Styre Cove?” I ask him in polite conversation.

“How do you know I am not from here?” he asks.

“You have a Portland accent,” I respond.

He gawks at me for a moment and then smiles. “How did you catch it? It isn’t far off from your accent.”

I nod. “I have family in the city. You sound exactly like them.”

He takes a bite of his dinner. “Wolf brought me in when he opened the company four years ago. Nate and I were his first employees. Harper was only a few months behind us. Small-town life is good for me, helped me slow down.”

I look down at my salad. “It can be an adjustment, moving from a city to a rural town.”

“Nate told me that you were in Chicago for the last few years. Why the move back?”

“It’s a long story, and I don’t want to bring the mood down.” I smile at him, and he smiles back. Under the table, his knee touches mine as he holds my gaze. When I don’t react negatively to his touch his leg relaxed more, and he places his hand on mine. We finish our meals and opt to skip dessert.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Jack asks as we leave the restaurant. “We can head to the beach from here.”

I look up at the stars in the night sky. “It would be a lovely walk. Let’s do it.”

We make our way down the path between the restaurant and the clothing store next to it. I put my blazer on for the walk. It’s early May and still cold in the evenings. Jack put his arm around me, and we start walking down the beach. His arm around me makes me feel safe but something is missing. We are led to believe that love at first sight happens every day and that relationships should be instantly explosive with lust and love. It’s more likely that you grow into love. I shouldn’t be putting such pressure on this date. I am just out of a long shitty relationship. I can just have fun.

Jack’s phone dings with a text message. “Sorry, I forgot to put this on silent,” he says politely as he takes his arm from my shoulders and removes his phone from his pocket.

“You can check it, Jack, I am not offended.” He looks at me with a smile and then quickly checks his messages. I am looking out at the ocean when something catches my eye. No, wait, not something but someone along the edges of the tree line about eighty feet away. When I try to focus on where I saw the movement, there is nothing there. Jack’s arm comes around my shoulder again and we keep walking. He is slightly chuckling to himself.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

“Oh yes, everything is perfect.”

“I love living in the country, but I would love to live by the ocean. This is just so serene,” I say as we keep walking.

“Funny you mention that. See that house right there?” He points to a white cottage-style house with a wrap-around deck looking over the ocean.

“Is that yours?” I ask.

He nods. “It is. You would like to come in for a drink?” He puts his hands up and says, “No pressure or assumptions, Aubrey.”

“Sure, I would love to.”

We reach a wooden staircase that takes us up to his small backyard. When the Atlantic Ocean is your backyard, there is nothing else you can ask for. We go up the second set of stairs that brings us up to his deck. The view from here is gorgeous. He unlocks his patio doors and leads me inside. His home is exactly what you think of when you hear the word cottage. It’s small but cozy, clean but full of life and character.

He walks over to his liquor cabinet and says, “What’s your poison? Or would you like a coffee with some Baileys?”

I perk up. “Yes. That sounds great.” He grabs the Baileys and starts moving around the kitchen making coffee.

As he works away, I start to roam. His kitchen and living room are just one space with a kitchen island with bar stools separating the two. He has an overstuffed loveseat and a matching chair in the living room. It’s small and not likely to fit a full-sized couch. He has lots of art and photos on each wall. I notice some children’s art in frames: a red barn, a silver rocket ship, and Pikachu. Interesting.

“Dark roast, okay?” Jack says.

“That works for me,” I say as I keep exploring. Then I stop. I recognize the person in this picture. It’s an infant with bright red hair, wrapped up tight and in Jack’s arms. The frame is one of those decorative ones with block letters attached that say, ‘Daddy & Me’. I turn around and look at Jack as he pours our coffee and tops it off with Baileys. He looks up and sees the expression on my face.

“What is wrong, Aubrey?” I pause for a second because I feel like I am a little crazy, this is just our first date, but something is off.

“Do you have any children, Jack?” I ask trying to calm my nerves. He looks at me confused.

“You don’t know?”

I shake my head. Jack sets the bottle of Baileys down and walks toward me, putting both hands on my upper arms. “I am so sorry Aubrey. I thought she told you.”

A little stunned I ask, “Who?”

“Harper. We have a two-year-old together.”

“You’re Silas’s father.” He nods with concern in his eyes. “I am sorry Jack, I didn’t know. This makes things really weird. Harper said she was your wingman. You guys aren’t into swinging, or anything are you?” I ask innocently.

He laughs. “No. Let me explain.” He leads me to the back deck with our coffee in hand and we sit on the Adirondack chairs facing the ocean.

“Harper and I became close the first year we worked at Lawson’s. We flirted for months and then went on a few dates. We had lots of fun, but it was clear to both of us that we were good at sex but sucked at being a couple. A few weeks after that she found out she was pregnant. I told her that I would support her in every way, but it was ultimately her decision.

I was dying inside though. We may not be a couple, but I couldn’t have picked a better mother for my son. I was over the moon when she decided to keep the baby and that we would do this together. The best day of my life was when he was born. It didn’t take long for us to figure out a routine, I even moved in with her for the first few months. Raising a child with your best friend is pretty awesome.”

I watch Jack as he tells his story. I can see by the look on his face and how he talks that he is a man in love with his son and happy with his life. I still find it weird that Harper approved this date, but I like her too and I can’t wait to meet Silas at some point. “That's sweet, Jack. And I am sorry, it's a little weird that Harper is your wingman.” I laugh.

“We have each other’s backs, and we decide together when it’s a good time to introduce Silas to who we are dating. Well, that is the plan but neither of us has liked anyone enough to share that part of our lives yet,” he confesses as he picks up our empty coffee cups and places them on the table.

“I can understand that.” I place my hand in his as he helps me up. Instead of letting my hand go he holds it and pulls me closer. He leans down and I go on my tiptoes to meet his lips for a kiss. They are soft and warm, the kiss is nice and sweet. His phone dings again, another text message that he ignores. Our kiss ends and he pulls back a bit, his arms still around my waist.

“You feel any sparks?” he asks me.

I laugh and shake my head. “No, I don’t. You?”

“Not for lack of wanting it. You are gorgeous.” I blush at his words.

“Jack, you are one charismatic man, and I should be dragging you into your bed and having my way with you right now. But I think that our relationship will be limited to fun friendly flirting.”

“I have to agree, though what you said about dragging me to bed sounds good,” he says with a wink.

“Let’s head back,” I say.

We make our way down the stairs to the beach for the short walk back to the parking lot. Jack’s phone continues to alert him to text messages until he finally pulls his phone from his pocket and silences it.

“Are you sure everything is alright?” I ask. He reaches out to hold my hand as we walk.

“Everything is fine. Someone else isn’t but they will either get over it or do the right thing.” He doesn’t offer an explanation, and really, it’s none of my business, so I don’t ask any more questions.

A little while later we arrive back at Lawson’s parking lot. He jumps out of the truck and opens my door to let me out. “Such a gentleman,” I pretend to swoon.

He takes my hand and walks me to my car. Just before I unlock my door, he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. It’s a long, beautiful kiss. When our lips part, he says, “Now?” and I shake my head. “Same. Just wanted to make sure.” I smack his arm and we both laugh.

“Thank you for the lovely evening, Jack, I had a good time. Let’s do it again soon but with Harper as well.” I unlock the car door and he opens it for me.