Statistic (8 page)

Jackson intrigues me unlike Brent or Wesley ever have. I think mainly because I have always dated the pretty boys like Wesley and Colin; well manicured men who have no idea how to change the oil in a car, or fix a loose floorboard. He isn’t clean-shaven, and his short brown hair isn’t perfect in any of the pictures we have shared. But man, his blue eyes are stunning. He is just your average single guy, living an average life running his landscaping company and living country life.

The only thing left now is to meet him and see if we can stand each other in person for more than ten minutes. That seems to be the biggest challenge with most of these men.

As I get up to go to the bathroom before I drift off to sleep for the night, I notice car headlights in front of my building in the complex. I wish I could say I wasn’t
that
nosy neighbor, but I am. The figure of a man sits in a car and I can only wonder who he is waiting for. Most of the people in this complex are older, so it isn’t like he would be waiting for a woman. I am almost confused as to why he is there.

I go into the bathroom, and don’t think anymore about it. It’s just so strange.

I spent most of Thursday catching up on work. My email box was empty for the first time in a month, and every last thing on my to-do list for the campaign I was working on could be checked off. New client meetings were scheduled, invoices were sent out, and all of my crap was dropped off with my accountant.

It has been the most productive day I had in a long time thanks to pre-school. I often feel bad for sticking Liam in a program from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, but without that I would never get anything done. I guess it just comes with the territory of working at home. Now I would pick him up from school, shower, get ready, make dinner and wait for Colin to pick him up for their weekend visit.

Ever since I threatened his visitation, there haven’t been any problems. I think part of the reason he has been spending more time with Liam is the fact that he was trying to impress women with his
single dad
status. Eventually women would get to know him and realize it is all just an elaborate scam, but whatever. They are stupid enough to get involved with him, just like I was. But Liam loves him and loves going to spend the weekend with him, so the more he does want to take him, I am going to let it happen. I can’t put my own negative feelings before what genuinely is best for my boy.

While Colin really isn’t the best person on earth, it seems like he is at least trying to get his shit
slightly
together for Liam. I can hope at the least. He will only ever have one father and I am starting to think Colin is realizing the importance of that as I start dating again.

The doorbell rings, snapping me out of my thoughts. I close my laptop and head downstairs to the door where a delivery man stands holding a bouquet of flowers on the other side. I would never tell anyone, but I love it when my clients send me flowers or little tokens of their appreciation. Edible arrangements are by far my favorite. Who wouldn’t love a basket of fresh fruit? Let’s be honest here.

I open the door and sign for the flowers, placing them on the kitchen island. I quickly work to open the card and read the message.

Aurora,

Thank you for the wonderful dinner.

I can’t stop thinking about you.

-Wesley

Two things set me off. The first is the fact that he somehow knows where I live. That isn’t cool. I have done my best to keep the details of my life private, especially where I live. I feel like my privacy has been invaded. Like some kind of unwritten rule has been broken.

Yes, the gesture is polite, romantic even. But, Wesley has completely stepped over a line. I wonder how to handle it. Do I tell him? Do I acknowledge it at all? Do I tell him what he did wrong or do I just leave the entire situation alone?

The more I think about it, the more I know I need to say something. If I just leave it as it is, he won’t know there is something wrong. Communication is key. Even if I don’t plan on building any type of a relationship with him. I pick up my phone and type out a text message to him.

How did you get my address?

It is quick and to the point. I don’t need to hint around. I don’t need to play subtle games. I just want an answer. Minutes pass by as I stare at my phone on the counter. Nothing happening. Waiting for a text, and something snaps inside of me. I used to do this. Wait for Colin to text me, reply to me, acknowledge me. All along he was out having grand affairs with any girl that he would show the slightest bit of interest in. Had he only ever shown that kind of interest in me, we probably would have never ended up where we are today.

This emptiness. This unreasonable neglect. It is all something I never want to feel again. Ever. While I have no right to feel any of it right now, I do. It is unexplainable, but I feel like I am living in a loop of déjà vu. The phone vibrates with his reply and I am so mad, I don’t even want to look at it.

I googled you. Your business is listed with your home address. Please don’t be mad at me Aurora.

Mad would be a nice way to put it. I just don’t even know what to think or feel. Yes, I am irrational. I get that. But, this all is just too much. Too familiar. Too uncomfortable. He has overstepped too much. I don’t reply. I can’t feed into it. I put my phone back down on the counter before I reply in a moment of weakness. Because that is all it would be. Weakness. I am weak.

My phone vibrates again, but instead of Wesley, it is Jackson. My date for this evening.

Wear comfortable clothes. Jeans, and sneakers. Xoxo See you in a few hours.

I like where this evening is going already. I am kind of over getting all dressed up for these guys who turn out to be duds anyway.

I type the address Jackson gave me into the GPS and follow the directions. It brings me into the middle of town and right into the parking lot of the recreation center. Mini golf, go karts, an arcade, all the stuff kids love. Liam begs to come here and go on the go karts at least twice a week, and normally I cave because I am a big kid.

I laugh to myself, knowing this is exactly the kind of night I needed. Especially after the crap with Wesley. I park my car next to a huge black SUV with tinted windows. As I get out of my car I notice a Sheriff sticker on the back window. I guess I picked the right car to park next to.

Rounding the corner for the front door I see him standing there waiting for me. He is tall, but not as tall as some of the other men I have been out with. Maybe six feet tall. His dark brown hair is trimmed short in a military style haircut and his jaw has a light sprinkling of stubble. Not your typical five o’clock shadow. But enough to look ruggedly handsome. The black t-shirt he is wearing showcases all of his muscles. He clearly works out and stays in shape. But given the fact that he works a very physical job it isn’t unexpected.

“Aurora?” He says, as I make my way in his direction. His eyes squint as he looks me over. Per his request I settled on my best pair of ripped jeans, and a Wonder Woman t-shirt. I couldn’t put sneakers on though. Flip flops are my go to shoe choice for everything, especially on a warm summer night.

“Jackson?” I reply with a smile. He takes a step in my direction and gives me a friendly hug with a peck on the cheek. A warmth envelops my body from head to toe. It isn’t the spark I felt with Wesley, but when my heart skips a beat I know it is something I can’t ignore.

“I see you like to break the rules?” he laughs and nods to my flip flops.

“I like to live life on the edge,” I laugh. “I always wear flip flops. If I really do need sneakers I have a pair in my trunk for when I go jogging.”

“I think you will be okay in those. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t show up in some sky-high heels that you couldn’t go kart in.” He laughs, and I instantly know he must have had some pretty crappy dating experience just from the demeanor of his comment.

“You know, this is one of my favorite places in Sharonville.” I laugh as I admit the childish streak I have in me. I guess parenthood gives me an excuse to act like a child sometimes. Now if I could just save enough money to bring Liam to Disney World and really act like a child. Ha!

“Really? I brought a woman here for a date once and she stormed off. Never heard from her again.” he let out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders.

“Women like that are no fun,” I shrug back and we head inside to start our adventure.

As the night goes on, we enjoy two rounds of some seriously intense mini golf, in which I absolutely kicked his ass. Followed by a couple rounds of go karting where I let him beat me so his ego wasn’t too bruised when we left.

“I’ve never seen someone take mini golf so seriously.” he jokes as we walk to our cars.

“I always play with a four year old. I never get to win, so I had to showcase my extreme mini golf skills tonight. Don’t hate.” I mock him. The smile on his face is bright and I think he has had as much of a good time as I have with the night.

“You didn’t need to let me win the go karts either,” he laughs. And I am caught. I smile and nudge him in the arm.

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings even more. You looked pretty crushed after that second round of mini golf.”

“I had a really good time, Aurora.” His hands come to a rest on my hips, but still keeping a safe enough distance away from me. Polite and romantic all at once. The perfect combination of respect and sexy gentleman who wants more.

I put my hand on his chest, making somewhat of the first move.

“I did too, Jackson. This was a much needed change of pace.” I smile at him as I look up to lock eyes with him. One of his hands leaves my hip and cups my chin.

“Can I kiss you Aurora?” he asks, and patiently waits for me to answer him before making another move. I don’t think about my answer, I just say yes. Because right this second, I don’t want to think about anything else but feeling his lips touch mine.

His head dips down and his lips sweetly press to mine. I kiss him back, pulling his bottom lip between my teeth gently. We stand there for several minutes just making out like teenagers in the parking lot of the rec center. It isn’t until we hear a throat clear behind us and we both turn at the same time to see who we were being interrupted by.

I am shocked to see Brent standing there with his son, Max. My hand flies over my mouth as I gasp in embarrassment. Completely caught by a man I was making out with the same way a month ago. But, I am not upset because he saw, I am disappointed in myself because Max was a witness to the show Jackson and I were putting on in public.

“Hey guys! What are you doing here?” I ask Brent and bend down to give Max a hug.

“Daddy wanted to ride go karts, so I told him I would bring him.” Max says with a huge smile on his face. I know it was probably the other way around, but I will let him get away with the story he has chosen to go with this time.

“Is that so? Well you guys have fun.” I say.

“Miss Aurora, where is Liam? Is that Liam’s dad?” Max starts spouting off questions and my face starts to heat with more embarrassment.

“No honey, this is my friend Jackson. Jackson this is Max and his dad Brent.” the men exchange handshakes and Max gives Jackson a high five.

“Come on Max, let’s let Miss Aurora go.” Brent interrupts the pending round of questions the little boy is about to explode with. He is a smart boy. He wouldn’t let me get away with not answering his questions about Liam, considering the boys are nearly best friends now.

“Have a nice night guys. Brent, I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” I question, and he nods in agreement. I know he’ll be waiting patiently for a text from me in the morning to see how everything went with Jackson. I wouldn’t dare tell him how my date with Wesley went though. I have a feeling it would have completely broken his heart.

We may have built a close friendship, but I can still see the way he looks at me on occasion. With hunger and lust. Something I know we would never indulge in.