All of You (2 page)

“No point in being rude?”

“No point in your making conversation with
me.”

His brows furrowed. “Why would you say
that?”

I exhaled loudly again and blurted out, “I’m
not sleeping with you.”

Lincoln's face broke out in amused surprise.
“I don’t recall asking you to,” he said with a smile.

“I just meant I’m not giving you my number,
you won’t be calling and asking me out for drinks, and we’re
definitely not going to ‘hook up.’” I used my fingers to make air
quotes. “So there’s no point in this,” I said resolutely, waving my
finger between Lincoln and myself.

Lincoln stared down at me. He stared long and
hard into my eyes as if trying to work out a code behind what I had
said. He was at least a foot taller than me, and with his wide
shoulders, he was more than a little intimidating. “Are you always
this harsh toward men who try to talk to you, or is it just me?” he
finally asked.

I hesitated, biting the inside of my lip. I
should at least tell him it wasn’t because of him. “It’s not just
you,” I said honestly.

Lincoln sighed. “I simply wanted to watch the
parade while standing next to the most beautiful woman in this
whole tent. If you don’t want to make conversation with me, that’s
fine, but may I at least finish watching the parade while standing
next to you?”

I looked down at my hands. He had called me
beautiful again. I knew the inaccuracy behind his words, but how
could he know how off base he was? I suppose I shouldn’t fault the
guy for trying. There was no harm in staying to watch the parade
with him, was there? If that was all he wanted. I looked back up at
him and nodded, feeling ridiculous for overreacting.

“Thank you,” Lincoln said and smiled widely
while motioning for me to return to watching the parade.

~~~~~~~~

The last float retreated down the street away
from the tent and away from Lincoln and me. Its glowing lights
faded as the crowd began to disperse.

“Wow. That was really awesome,” I said as I
turned toward Lincoln with a huge smile on my face.

“I agree. Best parade ever,” Lincoln said
with his eyes locked on my face.

Having him stare at me made me feel
uncomfortable again, but not enough to want to leave just yet.

“What was your favorite float?” I asked
shyly. The way he was smiling at me was helping to erase the
feelings of discomfort I had around him.

“I have no idea. I wasn’t watching the
floats. I was watching you,” he replied bluntly, making me blush
terribly.

I looked down and took a half step back. As
nice as it felt when he smiled at me, I needed a little more space
from this man.

But he either didn’t notice or didn’t care
what my reaction to his confession was. “You looked just as excited
as the kids watching the parade. The expressions on your face were
captivating. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

I was speechless. I didn’t even know this
man, and he was calling me captivating. Clearly there was something
wrong with him. “Um… well… thank you,” I stammered while shaking my
head.

Lincoln's grin grew bigger as he finally
noted my discomfort.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said
to me,” I admitted. It was true.

Immediately Lincoln’s smile dropped, and he
looked confused. He continued to stare at me, and my discomfort
grew to the breaking point as I pondered what I had just said, if I
should say something next, or if I should just leave.

Lincoln interrupted my thoughts. “Listen
Chloe, I know you said you weren’t going to give me your number,
but if I don’t ask, I’ll always regret it.” Lincoln had a glimmer
of hope in his eyes as he waited for my answer.

For a second I imagined giving him my phone
number. Maybe I would wake up to a good morning text from him, and
he could call me and we would spend time together doing fun things.
But then reality stepped in and snapped me back, and my smile
faded. Nothing in that scenario would happen. I hadn’t even given
him my real name, for Christ's sake.

Lincoln must have seen me floundering in my
decision. “I promise I’m a stand-up guy,” he said quickly in an
attempt to persuade me. “I have a decent job… I own my own house…
I’m nice to kids and small animals... I pay my taxes… Do you want
me to keep going?” He nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his
neck.

I smiled sympathetically. I appreciated his
attempt, but there was only one way this could end.

“Look, I’m sure you’re a great guy, but I
just can’t.” I tried to say it gently.

Lincoln's smile faded, but he nodded in
defeat and then dumped his cup of hot chocolate down the front of
my pretty white coat.

Chapter Two

I saw it a second before it happened. An
adorable little girl with blond curls had been playing with the
other kids. They were chasing each other around the tent after the
parade ended. The girl went to make a circle around where Lincoln
and I were standing but was knocked sideways by an older boy as she
ran past Lincoln. The little girl collided with Lincoln’s leg,
causing his knee to buckle and his balance to shift forward. His
upper body pitched forward, and hot chocolate erupted out of his
Styrofoam cup, splashing all over my chest.

In the back of my mind, I registered that
this man had probably just ruined my coat with his chocolately
drink, but my only concern was the little girl who was now sitting
on the ground with her lower lip quivering.

I didn’t even hesitate. I immediately
crouched down on one knee and in my most calming voice asked the
little girl if she was all right.

She turned her bright eyes shining with tears
up to me. “I FELL ON MY BOTTOM!” she howled and burst into sobs.
She raised her arms in a ‘pick-me-up’ motion, but I was unsure if I
should comfort the child. I didn’t know who this little girl was or
to whom she belonged, but she needed comforting. I scooped her up
and propped her on my hip. She immediately wrapped her arms around
me and buried her head into the crook of my neck and continued
sobbing.

“Your coat,” I heard Lincoln say as he
offered me a small stack of napkins. I took the napkins but used
them to dry the tears on the little girl’s face.

“Hey, you’re all right, aren’t ya?” I said to
the little girl who had stopped crying and was currently rubbing
her eye with her fist. She nodded slowly. “My name’s Jillian.
What’s yours?”

The little girl told me it was Bianca.

“Well, Bianca, which one of these pretty
ladies is your mommy?”

Bianca pointed at a lady who I could see had
just spotted us through the crowd and was quickly making her way
over.

“Oh, my goodness. What happened?” Bianca’s
mother asked as she took Bianca out of my arms.

“I fell on my bottom, Mommy,” Bianca told her
mother.

“She got knocked over by one of the older
boys. But I think she’s okay,” I said with a smile. The little girl
smiled shyly back at me and I reached up to caress the girl’s head.
The mother thanked me and then disappeared with Bianca back into
the crowd. I was left smiling after them.

“Jillian?” I heard my name from behind me and
remembered Lincoln had been standing with me. Embarrassment flooded
through me. I turned to look at him and saw the hurt in his eyes.
“Jillian suits you better,” he said while looking away from me. He
cleared his throat with a small cough. “I brought you some
sparkling water and napkins if you want to try to get the chocolate
out of your coat. Otherwise I can pay to have it dry-cleaned. Or
buy you a new one. I should probably just buy you a new one. Would
three hundred be enough? Or we could go shopping together…but then
you’d have to give me your number, and you clearly don’t want to do
that. “

“Lincoln,” I said, interrupting his rambling.
“It was an accident. Accidents happen. Don’t worry about it.” I
took the napkins and started to attempt to clean myself up to
appease him but realized most of it had soaked in, probably ruining
the coat. But there was no way I was telling Lincoln that.

“Please let me replace it,” he pleaded.

“No, it’s fine. Really,” I protested
again.

Lincoln exhaled sharply. “Look. You clearly
don’t want to spend time with me, which is your decision, but you
will at least let me pay for your coat.”

The anger in his voice surprised me. Why
would he be angry? I was the one with a chocolate blob down the
front of my coat.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I gave you a fake name,
okay? It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you. I just…
can’t. Trust me. It’s better this way.” I wanted to explain to him
that it wasn’t him. It was my issues. But even I knew that sounded
lame without a detailed explanation, and I wasn’t about to open up
that much.

“Patrick’s?” Lincoln asked without changing
his expression.

“What?” I asked, confused. I almost turned
around to look for a man named Patrick. But then I saw the corner
of Lincoln’s mouth curving upward in a smile.

“Patrick’s,” Lincoln repeated. “It’s a bar
not too far from here. I’m supposed to meet some friends there
after the parade. Would you like to go with me?”

I shook my head in confusion. “Lincoln, I
can’t go to a bar with you. Didn’t you hear what I said?” How was
he not getting this?

“Why not? You said, and I quote, ‘It’s not
that I don’t want to spend time with you’. Which means you DO want
to spend time with me. Despite whatever reasons you may think you
have to not go with me, I am asking you to go to the bar with me.
One drink, on me. An apology for the hot chocolate.” Lincoln waited
for my answer.

“I can't — “ I started to say but Lincoln
interrupted.

“Yes, you can,” he said stubbornly.

“I don’t —” I tried again.

“Yes, you do,” Lincoln interrupted again, but
this time he held his hand out for me. I looked down at it and then
back up at his face. His eyes were hopeful and confident and so
damn sexy.

“Can I borrow your scarf?” I asked.

“What?”

“Your scarf. Since you’re the one who covered
me in hot chocolate, if you’re going to force me to go to a bar
with you, you could at least give me your scarf to cover the
stain,” I said teasingly.

Lincoln’s smile broke out, and I felt myself
smile involuntarily in return. He unwrapped his scarf from around
his neck and handed it to me. I took it, situated it around my
neck, and draped it down my coat. The fabric hid the majority of
the stain and the rest would be difficult to see in a dark bar.
Lincoln extended his hand again and this time I took it as he
started leading me toward the exit of the tent. When Lincoln wasn’t
looking I pulled the scarf up to my face and inhaled deeply. Damn,
he smelled amazing.

~~~~~~~~

Lincoln and I walked into Patrick’s bar with
our hands still joined. It felt awkward to hold his hand,
considering I had just met him, but it would have been more awkward
to pull my hand free. Besides, it felt nice and warm.

The parade had ended only an hour before
midnight. By the time we left the tent and made our way through the
crowd, there was only a half hour left until the New Year
arrived.

Patrick’s was packed with people in various
stages of alcohol impairment. There were sure to be more than a few
people who wouldn’t remember ringing in the New Year. But for the
most part, everyone seemed to be well behaved and having fun, just
extremely loud and boisterous.

People were dressed in various paraphernalia
to help usher in the New Year. Hats, tiaras, colorful feathered
boas, and goofy, glowing plastic glasses with the numbers for the
New Year on them all added to the party atmosphere.

The men drank beer and shouted insults at
other men while flirting with the women. The females in the bar
laughed and gossiped with each other and either welcomed or fended
off the advances of the latest drunk to hit on them. Everyone was
happy and celebrating, and it made me smile.

It had been a long time since I had been out
having fun with other people. It’s not like I was a hermit. I had
fun at work with my coworkers, but I didn’t have anyone other than
my family who cared to spend time with me doing fun things.

A sense of dread inched into my mind, making
me question why Lincoln would want to spend time with me. I
reminded myself he was just trying to apologize for covering me in
chocolate and I felt silly for reading too much into this.

“Is this all right?” Lincoln asked, looking
down at me and squeezing my hand. I didn’t know if he was referring
to the bar or to holding my hand but I gave him a small smile and
nodded. Lincoln led us toward the back corner of the bar. The area
was crowded, and several tables had been pushed together.

A man stood up on a chair and bellowed over
the crowd in our direction. “LINC!!! OVER HERE!!!” He jumped off
the chair and gave Lincoln a strong one-armed man hug. “You finally
made it!! Ken’s been here for a half hour already! What took you so
long?”

Lincoln looked back at me and pulled me
forward as if I was the answer to the man’s question.

The man looked at me with surprise and then
grinned at Lincoln and slapped him on the shoulder. “You dog. Does
this mean I don’t get to be your New Year’s kiss at midnight?” They
burst out in laughter.

“Dude, I’d have to be rip-roaring drunk
before I kissed you, and even then I’m sure I could find something
better like a bag full of used jock straps!” Lincoln said and
laughed along with the man. Lincoln raised his hand up and shouted
for the group’s attention. “Everyone! Hey! This is Jillian!”
Lincoln announced as I shyly tried to hide behind him. Most of the
group waved to me and shouted words of greeting before going back
to their conversations. It seemed everyone knew each other, but
there were definite cliques within the group. Lincoln leaned down
and spoke quieter, directly in my ear. His closeness and breath
against my cheek made me shiver.