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Jackson
***
I walk across the wooden pier with twenty minutes to spare. I’m carrying a large arrangement of white and pink flowers, but honestly, I don’t even know if I was supposed to pick them up or not. I just know I’d feel kind of weird showing up empty-handed. After all, this secret admirer of mine had gone through the trouble of setting this all up.
I still haven’t a clue as to who it could be, but sooner rather than later, I’ll be finding out.
I continue walking until I reach a small table. It’s laced with a pink and red tablecloth, holding little cards. I look and find my name on one of them. I pick it up and see that I’ve been assigned to table number two. It’s funny how the restaurant that Paige and I would sometimes go to was hosting this event. I have to say that I’m a bit surprised I hadn’t heard anything about it beforehand.
Usually, the tables here accommodate up to four people, but tonight, they have been replaced with smaller ones, allowing for couples to sit. They have been decorated with a colorful assortment of candies and chocolates in heart-shaped boxes in the middle. In front of each seat sits a medium-sized easel with a set of paints to the right.
Anyway, I’m one of the first ones here. There’s one other guy waiting patiently for his date for the night to arrive. You can tell he’s nervous by the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He flashes me a small, nervous smile. Poor guy. He looks like he’s about to toss his cookies.
At a nearby table, one of the couples is sitting staring into one another’s eyes; I guess this was a match made in heaven. Both of them look pretty smitten with one another.
I quickly adjust my tie–yes, I settled on a black three-piece suit–and continue walking ‘til I find the table with my number on it. I place the bouquet of flowers down gently on the table before sitting down and taking in my surroundings once more. Another guy, looking as nervous as the first, walks past me to get to his seat. Slowly but surely, the guests are beginning to arrive. Each time I see a woman walking over, my heart speeds up, wondering if she’s my date for the night. And just as quickly as that happens, I realize I have no idea who the woman is, and she must be here for someone else.
I wonder what Paige is up to right now. She looked exquisite once again at the office today, but unlike every other day, she had seemed a bit... off? Actually, come to think of it, the last week or so she had seemed off. I’m not sure what’s going on with her, but something is definitely up. She’s not the same. I just hope she’s all right and knows that she can talk to me about anything. Maybe I should text her now?
No, no. Probably not a good idea. What if my date shows up now, or what if she’s on a date or something with some guy? It is Valentine’s Day, after all, and just because she hadn’t told me she had plans tonight doesn’t mean that she doesn’t. Fuck, I really hope she’s not out with some other guy right now. Shit, what am I saying? I’m being a little hypocritical. I don’t want her dating, yet here I am, waiting on my secret crush to come reveal her feelings for me. Damn, I wish more than anything that Paige was the one who I’m waiting for.
I take a deep sigh and continue waiting. At five minutes to seven, one of the waiters from the restaurant walks out and begins talking on a microphone.
I chuckle to myself, finally recognizing him. It’s Don. He had served coffees to Paige and me back when we were working on the Martinez case. Damn.
Don clears his throat and begins. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Don, and I’ll be your host for this evening. In about ten minutes, we’ll get started with our singles event. We’re just waiting on a few more guests to arrive, but while they do, please feel free to dive into the goodies spread out across the table. We hope you’ve come hungry because we’ve also got a three-course meal coming your way!” he exclaims.
There’s going to be food, too? Geez, I don’t know if I can eat while I feel like this. I’m too anxious to meet whoever this crush of mine is. I spin my head around and, before I know it, I’m greeted with the most beautiful angel making her way toward me. I blink and have to do a double-take because I can’t believe my eyes.