Chapter 10

 

Trevor

 

Trevor stood at apartment ‘C’, hoping he had the correct building. He rang the bell and hid his ungloved hands in his pockets, waiting for Elsie to answer the door.

And he waited...

He pushed the bell again. The thought had crossed his mind that she would probably stand him up, but she did text him her address. Still she was nervous, he knew, and her flaking out at the last minute was a real possibility.

“Come on, Elsie. You can do it,” he said evenly to himself, pressing the bell again. This time, he could hear her behind the door, opening it.

Finally.

When she opened the door all the way, he said, “Hello, Elsie.”

“Hi, Trevor.”

His lips curved into a curious smile as he waited for her to make the next move or suggestion. While he waited, he admired her from head to heel. She had her hair in a ponytail again, no makeup from what he could tell and her outfit was as plain as she was – a solid purple sweater with black trousers. On her feet were black flats. He wondered if the outfit was what she’d worn to work. Whatever the case, it looked nice on her.

“Are you ready?” she asked him.

“Yes, I’m ready. You look nice, by the way.”

“Thanks.” She stood there a moment longer as if in a daze then said, “Oh, let me get my jacket and purse.”

He waited at the door until she returned, then after she locked up, they headed down the stairs together. She grinned when she saw his Range Rover.

“He opened the door so she could get inside while asking, “What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing.”

He closed the door then quickly got in and started the car. “Nothing has you tickled, huh?”

“I was just thinking about the other day. Wednesday, actually, when I got that sauce.”

Trevor glanced over at her, noticing the gold stud earrings in her ear. His eyes traced the shape of her ear on down to her soft jawline. He quickly turned his attention back to the road. “Oh yeah? What about it?” he asked.

“I was laughing because I actually saw you. I was across the street having lunch with Priscilla when I saw you walk out of my building.”

“Oh. Uptown Place Business Pavilion is your building,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “I’ll remember that next time.”

She laughed and he glanced over at her to watch her do so. She had a pretty smile, a nice side profile and for some reason, she seemed a tad more relaxed today. He liked the relaxed version of her so much better than the skittish one. He hoped she’d keep it up in the restaurant so they didn’t have a repeat of the steakhouse debacle.

When they arrived at Landmark Diner, he pulled out her chair allowing her to sit, then he sat down and smiled.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Good, then you can take off your coat this time.”

“Oh. Right,” she said, unzipping her jacket.

While he was still standing there, he helped her with it, then draped it on the back of her chair.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said as he stepped around the table to take a seat.

Elsie was studying the menu but she could feel Trevor’s eyes on her. She glanced up. He smiled. She shied away from him. Gosh his smile was out of this world amazing. Maybe he knew that and that’s why he kept smiling at her. She couldn’t be sure. All she knew was, she was glad he asked her out again, even if it was only a pity date.

“I think I’m going to get an appetizer and a drink,” she told him. “I’m not all that hungry.”

“Me either, actually.”

“After all that packing, you should be good and ready for another steak,” she told him.

“Nah. I had lunch with my girlfriend earlier so I’m still a little full from that.”

Elsie frowned while glancing up at him, watching him laugh.

“Gotcha,” he scoffed.

“Very funny.”

“What?” he said, still amused. “You said this wasn’t a date. Aren’t we free to see other people?”

“Is that how dating usually works? I wouldn’t know.”

“For some people it does. For me, nah. I’m just kidding. I like to see you smile. You look so serious all the time. You need to loosen up a bit.”

“I’m trying to. Trust me. Agreeing to go out with you took a lot out of me, because, like I told you before, I instinctively want to decline every invite. Every party. Anything that involves leaving my apartment. I’m a natural homebody.”

“Also known as a twenty-first century cave woman,” he quipped.

A smile grazed her lips. “If that’s the way you want to put it.”

He glanced over the menu. “I’ll try the shrimp and cheese. Why don’t you choose something you’ve never had before?”

“Um…” Elsie browsed through the appetizers. “In that case, I’ll try the jalapeño poppers.”

He lifted a brow. “You’ve never tried jalapeño poppers?”

“No. Priscilla’s always trying to get me to try them, but I never have.”

“Why not?”

“Because she gets on my nerves and I hate how she tries to get me to like everything she likes. Like her husband for instance. Ugh. He’s a pain in the rear.”

Trevor chuckled. “Why’s that?”

“For one thing, he talks way too much. He sounds like those infomercial men who are always trying to pitch you something. But I guess it works since he’s successful. And every time he sees me, he calls me Elsie, Elsie. I never understood why he has to say my name twice.”

Trevor laughed again.

The waitress came by to take their orders, then Trevor looked at Elsie and said, “So, Elsie, tell me about yourself.”

“You do realize we had the tell-me-about-yourself conversation the last time we went out.”

“Yes, and I barely learned anything about you. I remember you’re from Boston. I think you said your parents were still there.”

“Yeah.”

“When was the last time you visited them?”

“Oh, goodness. It’s been years.”

“Years?” he asked.

“Yes. I haven’t been back there since I moved here for college.”

“Wow.”

“I talk to them on the phone very sparingly, but—”

“Not in person.”

“Right.”

Trevor could see sadness fall over her face. He knew it was none of his concern but he wanted to know the story behind her purposely staying away from them.

“What about you, Trevor?” she asked, making pointed eye contact with him. “Are you close with your parents?”

“With my mother, yes. My father…well I could ramble all night about that buster. He’s the reason I didn’t go visit my mother at all last year. I know I shouldn’t let that hold me back, but some things in life are better left alone.”

Elsie nodded.

When the appetizers arrived, she tried one of the jalapeño poppers, liked it, then offered some to him.

“Mmm…that’s a good popper. Would you like to try some shrimp? And before you ask, yes, it is as good as it looks.”

“Okay. You’ve convinced me. I’ll give it a try.”

“Awesome,” he said, proud of her for not saying no. He watched her taste it, taking in the innocent beauty of her face. Her eyes were as dark as charcoal which matched the black hair on her head. Her eyelashes were long and beautiful. Nose, elegant. Lips ample and plump, and she had one of the most beautiful smiles he’d ever seen. He visualized in his mind what she would look like without her glasses and with her hair draping her shoulders instead of hidden in a ponytail.

“Not bad, right?” he asked after she ate the shrimp.

“No. Not bad at all.”

He resumed eating, then asked, “Do you enjoy your job, Elsie?”

“It pays the bills.”

“So, the answer is no, then.”

Elsie dabbed her mouth with a napkin, then explained, “It’s just another one of those things that an introvert has to go through. The job is a job and I’m too shy to try to work my way up the ladder or go somewhere else to apply for something better and meet a whole new set of people. It’s nerve-racking.”

“So was coming out with me tonight, but here you are.”

“Yeah. Here I am,” she said.

“What is it about me that interests you, Elsie?”

“Who says there’s something about you that interests me?”

“You’re saying it without saying it, so tell me.”

Elsie grinned, then took a sip of water before she said, “Okay. I know this is going to sound really stupid, but I always had this dream man in my mind and you fit him perfectly.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep, that’s so and I can’t believe I told you that, actually.”

“So, you’re only interested in me because of the way I look? Is that what you’re telling me, because I thought introverts went deeper than the surface.”

“And what do you know about introverts?”

“I wrote a paper on your kind college.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“What would make you choose such a boring subject to write about?”

“It’s not boring. Normal people are boring, like myself. I figured it would be too mind-numbing to write about myself being an extrovert and all, so I went the opposite direction.”

“You’re basically saying I’m abnormal.”

“You are,” he responded incautiously. “I’ve never met a grown woman who was afraid to look me in the eyes.”

Elsie nodded slowly, but felt like she was being scolded for some reason. She knew her faults. She didn’t need them reiterated to her, especially in an uncompassionate kind of way.

When Trevor noticed she’d gotten quiet, it dawned on him who he was talking to and how he’d spoken to her. She wasn’t a woman who could handle his unfiltered candor. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean that in a insulting way.”

“That’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. I’m sorry. I want you to know that.”

“Okay.”

He took a sip of water studying her again. Thanks to him, she was getting uncomfortable. He hoped a change of subject would bring her back. “What do you do for fun, Elsie?”

“Um…watch football. Sleep.”

He chuckled. “You sleep for fun?”

“Yep, and watch movies. What about you? What does the it guy do for fun?”

He laughed. “I do a variety of things. I do operas, basketball, skating, painting—you name it. I like to keep my options open.”

Elsie’s brows raised. “You do opera and painting?”

“I do, and I’ve been known to take a cooking class here and there.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Is it?”

“Yes. Women like men who can dabble into a variety of things, especially cooking.”

“Or maybe it’s just you who likes it.”

A smile glowed on her face. “Maybe you’re right.” She took a sip of water. “So, I’ve been itching to ask you this and now’s my chance.”

He chuckled. “Okay.”

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Ah, the age-old question...must be something wrong with me since no one’s snatched me up yet right?”

“No. It could mean you’re just very picky.”

“I am picky.”

“I thought so.”

“But there’s more to it than that. A year ago, I was supposed to get married. A few days before the wedding, my fiancée, Rachel, broke up with me. It was very cut and dry. There was no feeling behind it. No explanation. She just broke up with me and that was the end of that. I never did find out why.”

“That must’ve been devastating.”

“It was. After that, I had no real desire to date. After all, I was one of those men who never wanted to get married in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, if I was in a relationship with someone, I was committed to that person so to me, there was no point in getting married. But Rachel kept asking and I saw how upset it made her that I wouldn’t put a ring on her finger and sign a piece of paper. I hated to see her upset, and I did love her, so I proposed. I proposed and she dumped me before the wedding.” He shook his head. “See, I’m not perfect after all.” Trevor finished off his water, then asked, “What about you? Any bad break ups?”

“No. I dated a guy briefly in college and when I say date, I mean he was like my study partner who kissed me a few times.”

Trevor grinned. “Nothing concrete ever developed?”

“No. He said I was boring—no surprise there, right?—then he started seeing some other girl who he later called an upgrade from me.”

“Well, he sounds like an idiot.”

Elsie chuckled.

“I’ve always believed there’s much more to a person than the way they look. With that being said, I think you’re beautiful, Elsie, and somewhere lost inside of you is a graceful, willing spirit dying to escape the chains you’ve bound yourself with.”

Elsie’s face reddened as she smiled uncomfortably while looking down at her plate, deciding if she could stomach more food.

“Don’t be afraid to live, Elsie.”

“Easier said than done.”

He nodded in agreement. “You know, I still haven’t told my parents about the breakup. They think me and Rachel pushed the wedding date back and that we’re still together.”

“You’re not going to tell them?”

“I will, I think. I’m not sure. I don’t want to disappoint my mother. I couldn’t care less what my father thought about any of it.” Trevor tossed the last shrimp into his mouth. “Hey, do you want to share a dessert or are we done?”

A bold change of subject Elsie thought. She looked at him. He was staring back with his kryptonite eyes. Her eyes took in their magnificence as well as the hair above his top lip as he chewed when she replied, “I didn’t get to look at the dessert menu, so we can go if you would like.”

“Actually, I can recommend an excellent dessert here. Do you like strawberry cheesecake?”

“Yes.”

“They make a decadent one here and the slices are so big, you can’t eat it by yourself. What do you say we split a piece?”

“Fine with me, although I thought you were ready to go.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because of how you changed subjects so fast.”

“Only because we’re supposed to be having a good time. I want you to enjoy yourself, not think about my past relationship or yours for that matter.”

Trevor ordered the cheesecake when their waitress came back, then he asked Elsie, “Who told you that you were an introvert?”

“Nobody. I told myself. I definitely fit the definition. What’s crazy is, some people take my standoffish ways the wrong way. They think I’m stuck-up when I’m really too timid to be a social butterfly. I’m socially challenged.”

“I get it. My mother’s the same way.”

“Aha! So, that’s why you wrote that paper on the subject.”

“It is.” He smiled. “I think I’m the exact opposite of her because I had to learn early on to be more outspoken for her sake. To protect her.”

“Protect her from what?”

The waitress came back with dessert and two forks.

“Dig in,” Trevor said. “I would hate to eat all of this by myself. My abs would hate it, too.”

Elsie scooped up a strawberry. Since Trevor didn’t bother answering her question about his mother, she left the subject alone. “Do you work out a lot?”

“Not a lot. I cut it back to three times a week and then it’s just weight training.”

“Oh.”

“What about you?”

“I know I should but I don’t, and that’s just me being lazy.”

“I’m sure there’s a fitness center at your complex.”

“There is. Now, ask me how many times I’ve been there.”

“I think I have an idea.”

She smiled.

He watched her again as she ate dessert. He knew now that she was as sweet as the cheesecake she was eating. He also knew he didn’t want this to be the last time he hung out with her. That surprised him because after Rachel, he’d turned down every woman who tried to get his attention. Granted, Elsie hadn’t tried. Her friend went behind her back to pull this off, and he took it from there and happy he did so because there was something special about Elsie Evans, and he intended to find out exactly what that was.