The Anomaly (8 page)

I’m with my friends forty minutes later, eating cocktail peanuts from a small bowl in the center of the table.

When I look across the room, I see him. It’s not possible for me to miss this man. It’s Carter. He’s wearing jeans and a polo shirt. He stands by the bar, looking tall, his dark hair cut a bit shorter than during the first week of yoga. If I’d known about him being here tonight, I would’ve made more of an effort in getting ready. Still, I’m happy to see him a day earlier than expected.

I stand up and casually make my way to the bar and grab a toothpick from a cup, not wanting to be too obvious. Within a minute, Carter and I are having a conversation. He says he’s been so busy this summer, that the yoga class, though work, is a good outlet to relieve some stress.

I take Carter in and glance at my friends, who are enjoying themselves. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think that I have to get home early enough to finish the laundry. Tomorrow’s Monday and I have to work. An hour passes then an hour and a half, and I just want to keep talking to Carter. It doesn’t matter where we are.

He tells me of his family’s move from London to Connecticut when he was eleven. His dad’s company transferred him, and his parents thought living in another country would be a good experience for their two young boys.

His parents had since moved back to England, choosing the farming country town of Kent, to settle down in. But America’s now his and his brother’s home; they grew up here, so they chose to stay behind.

I tell him about my sister and brother and our ideal childhood in the suburbs.

“My older sister didn’t really yell at me when I went through her closet. I’m just a bit hard-headed once I want to do something, so maybe I just thought ‘Stay out of my closet!’ was part of the older sister-younger sister routine,” I tell Carter. He gives me a face of mock surprise and laughs, and I then add, “And my little brother’s always been well behaved, plus my parents have been together forever.” I rub the heel of my palm over my right eye, an eyelash or something’s irritating it. “So, I can’t really complain.”

“You’re a lucky one. Most people just don’t have that kind of upbringing.”

I nod in agreement.

Then Carter says he has to go. He’s promised his brother he’ll drop off some tools that are in his trunk tonight; he’d borrowed them yesterday.

“Bye, Leigh,” Carter says with a genuine smile. And a minute later, he’s out the door. I go home anticipating the next day and dream of Carter throughout the night. It’s like I’ve been struck by cupid’s arrow.

After yoga on Monday, Carter asks me out. Of course I tell him yes, and we exchange phone numbers.

I take extra time to get ready for my date, super-psyched to learn more about this

man. We talked about the basics last night, but I’m eager to see if my intuition is correct.

I head into town to where we’ve agreed to meet up.

Carter says he’d like to learn how to cook, so he signed the two of us up for a cooking lesson at a popular cookware chain store. I must admit that I think of myself as a decent cook, especially living off campus, but hopefully it’ll be fun to learn something new.

Carter’s already at the store when I get there. I’ve got on my favorite blue jeans and a purple baby doll top. My hair blows with the gust of wind that comes in when the entrance door opens up behind me. There are about eight other people around the cooking station. The chef for the cooking course tells us we’ll be making fontina risotto with chicken.
Wow
, I think.

I curl my lips and open my eyes wide.
Is this an intermediate class?
It didn’t sound like something a beginner can cook.

Carter nudges my arm with his elbow. “You’re looking sort of nervous there,” he teases.

I take the opportunity to inch a little closer to him. He smells sexy of aftershave and cologne.

I giggle. “I was just expecting a simpler recipe.”

“Oh, my dear, but you’ll see how absolutely easy this dish is,” says the chef.

I guess she overheard us because we’re at the first station up front. Brightly colored bowls and cooking utensils are set up at each station. I wash my hands at the sink and pat them on the kitchen towel next to it. I can’t help myself and I pick up a fork, clanging it lightly against one of the bowls. “I hope it’s bon appetite for us after this meal’s done,” I tell Carter. “Do you cook at all?”

Carter shakes his head. “It’s mainly take-out for me. I do know how to boil a mean rice, though.” He makes a chopping gesture with his hands. “Add a variety of steamed veggies and mix it up.” He chuckles. “I just buy different proteins―fish, chicken, beef―to go with the rice, or I cook up some pasta dish.”

“Who doesn’t know how to boil pasta, eh?”
Where did that come from? Suddenly, I’m Italian?
Only I sound more like a cartoon character.
Relax...so I don’t make a fool of myself on our very first date
. I mean, I’d like for us to go out more than this one time.

Carter laughs. “You sound like a cartoon character.”

I gasp and fix my face sternly. “You know, I was just thinking the same thing.”

Carter’s laugh gets louder.

The chef clears her throat. She’s ready to give us the steps to the recipe. “This is a go-to dish...,” she says, as she makes a kissing motion against her clenched fingers, “a healthy yet decadent basic that can be eaten alone or can go with anything.”

Carter and I take turns adding the ingredients. I pour the chicken stock into the pot, and then add Arborio rice, the thyme and the ground pepper. Carter chops a medium-sized onion, grates a cup of fontina cheese, and dices the smoked chicken breast. I watch how good he is with his hands and smile. Hopefully, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for us to feed each other in the future.

We prep our ingredients, add it to the pot, stir, stand and wait, talk, stir some more, until it’s time to taste our dish.

“Here, Leigh, let me serve you,” Carter says, picking up a silver serving spoon. He takes a plate and heaps two large servings of the food on top. Then he places the plate on the counter and dishes out his serving. The chef hands everyone a complimentary glass of wine.

“Cheers.” Carter holds up his glass and I toast with him. “To many more meals, I hope,” he says. My legs become gooier than the cheese used in our recipe and a love song goes off in my head.

I don’t say anything, but I give Carter a smile that I hope conveys volumes.

We tell each other goodnight out in the parking lot.

“See you in two days,” Carter says.

Ahhh. Two days was way too long. “Okay,” I say.

Carter shakes his head. “Or maybe we can do something tomorrow.”

I smile. “Sure.”

“Goodnight, then.” He leans in and kisses me at a point between my lips and cheek. I want to tilt my neck enough for him to land directly on my lips, right where I want his lips to be.

Carter eases back. “I’ll watch you off before I go.”

“Okay.” I smile at him, then walk to my car, put on my seatbelt, start the engine, and wave bye to him before I drive off. While I’m driving, I shake my head a little in disbelief at how comfortable yet somewhat nervous I am around Carter. The butterflies in my stomach constantly flutter whenever I see him, and truthfully, I don’t want them to go away.

He calls me after I reach home.

“Just want to hear your voice and check that you’ve reached home safely.”

“Yep, I’m here.”

“Well, I’d like to take you out tomorrow, if that’s alright with you.”

“Of course. I’m off tomorrow.”

Carter tells me he’ll call me.

I go to bed, anxious for the sun to come up. It’s such a different feeling than when I was with Todd. Heck, I can’t remember the last time I anticipated doing
anything
with Todd.

I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing I’ve made the right decision by ending that relationship.

Leigh Baker's finally gotten rid of her mooching, long-term boyfriend. But one is turning out to be a lonely number.

A new hobby, her good friends, a sexy man...that's what Leigh needs. When Leigh meets Carter Malone, the attraction’s immediate. But as quickly as the romance heats up, it cools off. The thing is, Leigh can't figure out why.

When Carter pops back into Leigh's life, it turns out he's the new English professor. According to Carter, getting involved with her would bring risks he doesn't need. But something keeps drawing them together.

And when love comes knocking twice, sometimes all you can do is open the door.

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