A Love Unexpected

“Remember that guy that you set me up with?” I say to my best friend, Aida, through gritted teeth. I do my best to look happy as I keep the fake smile plastered on my face, looking as if I’m auditioning for a toothpaste commercial. The gentle ambiance that floats in the background serves as my entertainment for the moment, considering my blind date isn’t here yet.

“Don’t shoot the matchmaker, okay. I never said Zander was prompt. I said he was hot.” I sigh and let my head fall forward in pure annoyance. Keeping the cellphone pressed to my ear, my eyes hopeful as they search out my supposed dinner date for the evening.

“You should think about getting off the phone, Soph. When he finally shows up, he’ll think you’re not interested.” Aida’s lucky she’s not here because she’d be close to getting her whole head dunked into the lobster tank adjacent to my table.

“He better be here soon, or I’m going to going to replace your shampoo with Nair,” I say with a teasing tone. Hearing Aida’s soft chuckle from the receiver, knowing she’s taking it all in stride. My frustrated gaze melts into a soft smile as I begin to relax, just as a tall and very handsome man comes into view. My fingers curl around the hot pink phone case as my heart begins to pick up speed.

“I think he’s here, Aida. What do I do?”

“Get off the phone, dummy. Go to him! Go! Go!” Ripping the phone away from my ear and stabbing the screen thirty - five times, I shove it into my purse, rising to a standing position.

“I think he’s here, Aida. What do I do?”

“Get off the phone, dummy. Go to him! Go! Go!” Ripping the phone away from my ear and stabbing the screen thirty - five times, I shove it into my purse, rising to a standing position.

Wow! Thank God for best friends because Aida did a bang-up job on picking this guy. His hulking height of six-foot-three, broad shoulders and dreamy blue eyes are enough to send me on a pleasure cruise of my very own. I run a hand through my brown curls, giving them a little encouragement just as my dreamboat walks by.

My mouth hangs open, in both shock and in an attempt to introduce myself. So now I just look like an idiot, all dressed up and nowhere to go.

The rain has been pelting the black vinyl awning I’ve been standing under for the last hour, like bullets. The soft tinkle of wine glasses, murmuring voices, and gentle laughs leaking from underneath the entrance, making me feel all the more lonley. I can’t go back in there.

That man who passed me clearly was not Zander. Whoever he was, was already spoken for by some woman in a black fitted cocktail dress. Besides, the waiter was only going to keep giving me so many baskets of bread for free.

Wishing I didn’t listen to Aida when she said, “don’t bring any money, Sophia. It’s a date, and the man will pay.” Ugh. What century is she from, anyway? I could have bought myself dinner back there. Still, this place is as fancy as they come and romantic too. Now I’m just feeling sorry for myself.

I look down at my cellphone and see it’s already 9:30 Pm. My rideshare should have been here at 8:30 pm. Tonight was supposed to be special and an escape from the thoughts of my long workday tomorrow morning. 6:00 am will come early, Sophia. Just go straight home.

What is it with men and time commitments? My date never showed up tonight, and now my Uber isn’t either. I hate men.

“Excuse me, miss. You forgot this inside,” the low male voice says from behind me, and a chill dashes up my spine. I take a look over my shoulder and see a well-built man in his early twenties. His brown sugar eyes framed with thick dark lashes, and his jaw peppered with a few days of growth. I swear my heart skips a beat until he gives me a lazy, one-sided smile with those full lips. Now I’m sure it has stopped altogether.

I reach my hand out, feeling the air thicken around us, slowing down and catching up to the speed of my racing pulse. Seeing he’s holding my silver-plated compact in his long fingers, I swallow hard.

“You were at table seven, yeah?” I nod, not able to look away from his gorgeous eyes. With his free hand, the handsome stranger takes my own, turning it over, and places the tiny circular mirror in my palm.

“I’m the busser, here for Aqua. I came to clean the table, and I saw you left this behind.” My cheeks blaze into wild dancing flames, and my skin is the wick. He saw me sitting alone like a moron. He’s standing in the entranceway of the restaurant, more clinking, laughing, and hushed voices assault me as I stand under the awning. Still, now. I don’t feel so alone.

“This sounds forward. Okay, so it’s very forward. I don’t even know you, and, well. You don’t know me.” I smile.

“However, I get off in fifteen, and there’s a bottle of Merlot chilling in a bucket of ice in the kitchen. We could order dinner, maybe? On me, of course. Besides, we can’t let that dress go to waste.” He shakes his head before casting a wishful gaze in my direction.

“I’m Logan, by the way.” His voice is a soft, reverberating chuckle from somewhere deep in his chest. I offer him a slow-burning grin, capable enough to etch my curves and cheeky demeanor into his mind for a lifetime.

“Sophia,” I reply, leveling his gaze. Now, I don’t care if my Uber or my blind date never shows up because now, I’m in the company of someone I’m supposed to be with.