How to Liv (3 page)

“Um…” 
I’m a sweaty mess, why is he even asking me?

Oh god, he’s single!  And hot!  And asking me out!

I looked terrible in my black shorts and hot pink singlet top.  My hair was in total chaos and I was wearing bloody work boots! 
I can’t go have dinner with him and all his handsomeness when I look like this!
  Glancing around me, I looked for an excuse.

“Ah… I have ice cream melting in
here, I really need to get home.” 
It was the best I had.  Idiot!

“Need to get home… okay…”  He trailed off reaching up to scratch the back of his head.  Glancing around, he let out a big sigh.  “Are you seeing anybody?”

“Um…”  S
eriously?

“Sorry for being so forward. 
None of my business?  You can totally tell me to get lost you know.”

Looking a little nervous, he gave me an uncertain smile. 
I was surprised that someone as gorgeous and strong looking as him would be nervous talking to me.

“No… um, I’m not seeing anyone,” I said quietly and his brow quirked up.

“Okay… so I can’t take you to dinner tonight, you’ve got that covered,” he said with a smirk, motioning to my packet of Tim Tams still sitting, and probably melting, in the trolley.  “Could I have your phone number then?” he asked with what sounded like a hopeful tone.

My throat went dry and I couldn’t get my mouth to work. 
This is too good to be true. 

“Tomorrow’s Friday, how about dinner then?”

“I can’t.” 
Shit!
  I had already told Karen that I would work late tomorrow night.

“Just tell me to get lost.  I can take it,” he said looking over his shoulder briefly.

“I’m…”

“Not interested?”  He sighed turning away and walking back to his
ute, seemingly resigned that he knew what my answer would be.

“It’s not that…”  Not wanting to let him get away, I hastily explained, “I’m working tomorrow night.”

“Oh?”  He looked up from where he was bent, loading his groceries in the car beside mine.

“Yeah, I probably won’t finish until late.”

He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets taking a tentative step back in my direction.

“How late?”

“Nine?”  I managed to squeak out in a god-awful voice, that didn’t sound like mine. 
Where did that come from?

“I can do a late dinner,” he said, taking a couple more steps towards me, causing my heart to jump into my throat.

“It may be later than that, I mean, I may finish work at nine but then I’d have to go home and get ready and…”
  Stop babbling!

“Suits me.”

I shyly chewed on my bottom lip and looked around the nearly empty car park.  There is no way that I could possibly say no to this guy.

“Okay.”  I tried not to sound too eager.

“Okay?”  He seemed a little surprised.

“Yes.”

He took his phone out of his jeans pocket and pressed a couple of buttons.  Then he looked up at me through long eyelashes, in a way that made my heart flutter.  It took me a moment to realise that he was looking at me as if he was expecting something.

“So can I have that phone number now?” he asked again, with a cheeky grin.

Damn, those eyes!  What colour are they?

I blushed awkwardly, blinked a couple times and then gave him my number.  He put it in his phone then he turned his attention back to me.

“How about I book us in somewhere?  I’ll text you the address and you can meet me there?  That way we both have our cars and can make an easy escape if it all goes horribly wrong.” 

I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or humorous, but when his lips curved up into another heart pounding smile I decided to go with humorous.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said as his eyes glued onto mine.  It felt like someone had turned up the heat of the already hot sun.  We stared at each other for a moment before turning our attention back to loading our groceries into our cars.

I put the last of my items in my boot and shut it.  When I turned around Joel was standing with his empty trolley, reaching for mine.  I was distracted by his hard muscled bicep peeking out from under his t-shirt. 
Damn!

“Here, let me take that back for you so you can rescue your ice cream from liquefying in this heat,” he said thoughtfully.

I grabbed my handbag and Tim Tams from the child’s seat of the trolley and thanked him as he pushed our trolleys together releasing his one dollar coin from its slot and handing it to me.  I felt the heat turn up another notch when our hands met. 
I wonder if he felt that, too.

“Here you go, I’ll keep yours,” he said.

I nodded, unable to find my voice.  Is it weird that it gave me a funny tingly feeling because we were swapping coins?  I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d actually put a two dollar coin in my trolley though.  I guessed he would find that out when he returned it.

I pulled my keys from my bag, opened my car and reluctantly entered the hot box.  Chucking my bag and biscuits on the passenger seat I hurriedly turned the key in the ignition and set the
aircon to arctic.  It was worse than a sauna in the car, the air so thick I found it difficult to breathe.  I wasn’t sure if Joel was expecting me to wait, to say goodbye or something, but my car wouldn’t cool down until it actually got moving, so I slipped into reverse and backed out of my spot.

As I was driving out of the
car park I spotted Joel leaving the trolley bay.  He was looking at the coin in his hand, obviously realising he had made a 100% profit on his trolley return.  I couldn’t help the small chuckle that left my lips when I smiled in his direction.  He smiled and waved back when my car passed him.

Oh my god!  Did he just wink?

Well most of my day had been pretty shitty but meeting Joel more than made up for that! 
I can’t believe I actually have a date with that man tomorrow night!  Ahhh!

I so could have used an extra couple hours of sleep, but when my alarm went off at the ungodly time of quarter past four, I somehow managed to have an extra bounce in my step.  I guess it was the thought of seeing Joel again.  I was already tucked up in bed when I heard Ally come home from work at about eleven last night.  I should have been asleep, but I was having trouble getting there, too anxious for tonight.  I was extremely excited, but also nervous about it.  I’m not much of a conversationalist at the best of times.  Being one on one with a stranger made me panic just a bit, especially one as hunky as Joel. 

Looking in the bathroom mirror I instantly regretted spending my night finishing off the last of those Tim Tams while watching old Buffy episodes.  I had a massive zit on my chin.  It was an ugly mess.  I’m nearly thirty years old for fuck’s sake, I shouldn’t be getting pimples!  Typical though, the first date I’ve had in god knows how long and I’m going to have to face him with that!  Joel was going to take one look at that thing and run away screaming.  It was almost the size of a five cent piece, okay that may be a slight exaggeration, but it was horrible.  I dabbed it with some acne cream that I found in Ally’s stash and prayed that it would clear up by tonight.

Karen and I both arrived at work bang on five a.m.  As we entered the empty factory she informed me that Jess wouldn’t be in again today.  I huffed in disappointment and made my way to my locker, ditching my bag and shrugging on my lab coat.  Then Karen and I made ourselves coffees and sat down in the staff room for a quick chat.  I was a hard worker and did overtime daily, but I also wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to bludge on company time for ten minutes before anyone else arrived to know about it.

“So what are your plans this weekend
Kaz?” I asked before taking a sip of my coffee, the hot liquid scalding my tongue.

“Well, after work tonight I have the place to myself, a few hours of peace as the kids are at their grandparents for a sleepover. 
Then, tomorrow the usual really… running kids around to their friend’s houses and the like.  Nothing exciting.  How ‘bout yourself?”

“Ah… I’ve actually got a date tonight,” I said bobbing my head shyly.  Karen was well aware that this was a rare occurrence for me.  With eyebrows raised and a surprised look on her face she waited patiently for more information, though I didn’t have much to give.  “I met him at
Woolies.”

“Really?
  I’m so happy for you Olivia.  It’s about time, maybe your dry spell is about to end.  Hang on –
tonight
?”

“Late dinner, don’t panic.”  I reassured her that I still intended to work back late.

“Phew, for a sec there I thought you were dumping me and I really need you here if we’re ever gonna get back on schedule.”  She hissed through her teeth staring at my chin.  “Well if you’ve got a date tonight I better get you some tea tree to put on that humongous zit on your face.”

“Gee, thanks for pointing that out,” I giggled at her.

“It’s kinda hard to miss.”  Karen laughed, dodging my slap.  She left the room only to return a few minutes later with a small amber bottle of oil and a tissue.  “Here you go, I whipped up a little blend for ya.  Dab it with this every four hours or so.”

“Okay, thanks
Kaz.”  I immediately opened the bottle, dripped a little oil onto the tissue then held it up to the zit.

I may work for an essential oil company
but I rarely paid any attention to the aromatherapy side of things anymore.  When I first started I was fascinated by it, studied up on what oil did what, but all these years later I really just come here, do my job, then go home.  I should pay more attention, having access to aromatherapists and discounted oils could probably benefit me some.  Luckily I have Karen who is always full of information.

Karen and I had the place to ourselves until just before eight a.m. when others started showing up.  We’d managed to make great progress by that stage but unfortunately that was when Karen had to return to her desk to get on with her normal duties, leaving me to fend for myself for the remainder of the day.

Daniel, who worked in despatch, was at a loose end and helped me for about an hour before he knocked off at five o’clock.  He was a sweet guy, twenty-one and cute.  A few of us sometimes went for drinks after work on Friday’s and Daniel was usually one of them.  Although, it seemed no one was really interested in going out tonight, which he was a little disappointed about when he left.

“Say hello to Ally for me,” were his parting words.  I replied that I would, but I had no intention of actually doing so.  Just the thought of the two of them together made me cringe.  A few Fridays back we were having after work drinks, Ally had the night off and had been complaining of having no plans and so I had invited her along.  Daniel was instantly taken by her and I was not surprised that my twenty-six year old sister took him home to our place that night.  Age had never been a barrier for her, nor had one night stands.  It didn’t really even matter to me but it did make things very awkward when I had to face Daniel at work the following Monday.  There are just some things that shouldn’t be shared with co-workers and the noises they made in bed
was one of those things.  Daniel wasn’t fazed by it though and didn’t seem to mind that I knew what went on.  So eventually I let it go and stopped feeling so awkward around him.  Didn’t mean I wanted to encourage it to happen again though.

Around six-thirty Karen went out for take-away.  The smell of the Chinese food she was eating in the staff room wafted through the factory making my stomach twist in hunger.  I’d decided to forego any food because of my date with Joel, but I was insanely hungry.

“Mmm this is delicious, are you sure you don’t want any?” Karen called out to me.

“Stop teasing me!” I yelled back.

“Hey where’s this guy taking you anyway?” she asked, poking her head out the doorway.

“Um, good question,” I replied, standing up and heading over to her.  Somehow during my dreary day I had actually forgotten to check my messages, I guessed because I was so used to not get any.  “I’m
meeting him somewhere, he was supposed to text me,” I explained as I went to my locker to fetch my phone, checking it for the first time all day.  I pressed the button revealing that I had missed two text messages.  Both from a number I didn’t recognise.  Joel.  The first one was sent at about ten o’clock this morning and it was the address of a local pub that I had been to before.  It was a little classier than your average pub, with a newly renovated intimate bistro.  I thought it was a perfect choice and when I told Karen, she agreed.  The second text was only sent about twenty minutes ago and it read:

Looking forward to seeing you soon

That message made me jump up and down like a school girl, I’m embarrassed to admit.  Karen of course grabbed the phone off me to see what I had got so excited about and her eyes went wide.

“And you only met this guy last night?”

“Mhmm.”  I bit my lip in an attempt to contain my excitement.

“Well he’s obviously been thinking about you all day.  Which
Woolies did you say you went to?  I think I need to do me some shopping!”  She giggled as she handed me my phone and sat back down to eat her dinner.  I put it back in my locker and returned to the factory with a smile plastered on my face.

I felt sorry for
Karen, she’s a single parent, which I can only imagine must be tough.  She has dated a couple of times but doesn’t have any luck with men, not that I ever do either.  I’m used to being single though and she has a tough time with it.  I’ve never even lived with a guy, whereas she was married to her high school sweetheart for fifteen years before they got divorced last year.  She still gets on well with her ex-husband, Matt, and they have the co-parenting friendship down pat, but I know that she misses having a partner.  Comments like the one she just made in jest remind me that she is lonely.

By nine o’clock I was exhausted and ready for bed.  I couldn’t believe that I had to go on a date after such a long day.  No matter how tired I was though there was no way I was going to miss it.  So after farewelling an equally weary Karen I headed home for a shower to freshen up.  Ally was at work when I got there and for once I was disappointed not to have her about.  I really had hoped to ask for her advice about hiding the zit on my face.  Not that she gets them often but she knows more about make-up than me.  I sifted through her stuff in the bathroom and found something called
concealer which hid it a little.  It had gone down a lot since this morning, though the ‘miracle cure’ that Karen gave me hadn’t made it completely disappear.

Knowing where I was headed for dinner I opted to wear my best jeans, with my sheer red short-sleeved shirt and matching camisole top.  I really wanted to wear my black, heeled boots to finish off the outfit, but it was still rather hot outside so I chose a pair of beige wedged sandals instead.  I’m not much interested in dressing up, and definitely not one to wear high heels, so this was actually a good effort for me.  I left my long hair down and I also decided to wear a little make-up, just foundation, some mascara and a bit of lip gloss, too.

I hastily drove the short distance to the pub, my nerves reaching breaking point as I parked the car.  I took a quick look in the mirror and found that my concealer was already coming unhinged and my zit was far more noticeable than when I had left the house. 
Shit!
  Not being able to do anything about it, I just took a few deep breaths instead and exited the car.

I spotted Joel straight away.  He was sitting at a booth, large enough to seat six, against the far wall of the room.  The restaurant was dimly lit creating a slightly romantic ambience which made my heart pick up in speed – this was a real date, it had been so long.  When Joel noticed me and gave me a breathtaking smile my heart went into overdrive.  He stood as I got nearer to the table.  He was wearing jeans, the same dark denim as my own and an untucked polo shirt. 
Thank god - I can’t stand it when guys tuck their shirts into jeans! 
His shirt just happened to be red, too.  I chuckled when I realise that we’d co-ordinated our outfits.

“Sorry I’m so late,” I said as I reached him.  It was already quarter to ten.

“No problem, I’m just glad you came,” he said with what I thought was a smile, though I couldn’t quite tell because he had his hand in front of his mouth.  He motioned for me to sit down with his other hand and then he sat opposite me, leaning his elbow on the table, his chin in hand.  “Too many Tim Tams?” he asked with a laugh, pointing directly at my chin. 
Right at my zit!
  I gasped at his rudeness and went beetroot red with embarrassment.

And then he moved his hand from his chin revealing a zit twice the current size of mine in almost the same spot on his face. 
We’d co-ordinated those too! 
I lost it.  I laughed loudly, his laughter joined mine and increased.  All the tension and nervousness left my body as Joel’s hearty belly laugh warmed me from the inside.

“Well that’s a relief.  I tried everything to get rid of this thing today,” Joel smiled, pointing at the lump on his chin.  For a moment he spoke in an almost shy manner.  “I even considered Windex, like in that movie… um, what’s it called?”

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”  He nodded, still smiling at me.

“Do you reckon that works?”

“No idea.”  He shrugged as he laughed, there was a casual easiness forming between us.  He no longer looked nervous either.

A waitress came over and placed a bowl of potato wedges in front of me and a plate of calamari in front of Joel.  I was about to say something to her, tell her she had the wrong table as we hadn’t ordered yet, when Joel spoke.

“I hope you don’t mind, I was starving and the kitchen was about to close, so I ordered for you.  Chauvinistic, I know.  I wasn’t sure what you liked so I ordered these for us to share and I ordered three mains, so you can take your pick. 
Stupid of me to choose this place.  I didn’t even think about the kitchen closing so early.  I’m really sorry.”  He spoke so quickly with a look of concern, that casualness quickly draining from his face.  He was obviously worried about my reaction.

“Not your fault I got here so late and I’m starving, too.  I’ve just worked a sixteen hour day, so I’m not that picky, but this is a great place.”  I smiled at him reassuringly.