Note: Despite faulty wiring and an interruption to their dinner, Cynthia and Alex had an enjoyable time. Someone was watching. Have you figured out who?
Lurking
in the shadows had become his habit. He ducked around the corner and
waited for the man she called Alex, to unlock his door and slip inside. He grew
tired hanging around outside her apartment, straining to hear their
conversation and hoping no one saw him. They'd had quite a time tonight, the
two of them. He'd heard enough to know that he'd have to make his move soon.
She was just too charming for her own good.
***
Cynthia
opened her eyes and thoughts of the previous night flooded her mind. Her mouth
curled into a smile thinking of Alex, and she hugged herself beneath the
covers. The faint aroma of his aftershave lingered on her hands, so she knew
the evening hadn’t been just a dream.
Rays
of sunlight filtered through a separation in the curtains. Cynthia pulled an
arm from beneath the blanket and swatted the dust motes dancing along the beam
of light. She couldn’t wile away time in bed all day with her thoughts
lingering on time spent with Alex, so she threw off the covers and stood. Her body‘s impression remained in the sagging
mattress, but for some reason, she found nothing to complain about. Instead,
she wanted to dance with glee. A little voice inside niggled her that maybe he
hadn’t shared the same feelings.
She
shook her head with vigor. “I’ll not feel any negativity today,” she
proclaimed, and grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed. She pulled on the
chenille garment and meandered into the kitchen. While filling the pot with
water and measuring out the grounds, she kept focus on the end table where the
telephone sat. Every minute that ticked by without hearing his voice was
torture. She rolled her eyes at feeling so invested in someone after such a
short time. Was she being an idiot?
While
waiting for her morning brew to finish, she washed, dried, and put away the
leftover dinner dishes. She poured herself a cup of coffee and moved into the
living area. Even the dingy furniture held more appeal this morning, and Alex's
seductive aftershave lingered more heavily around the dilapidated sofa. She sat
on the same cushion where she had sat last night and pretended he still sat
next to her. "Girl," she chided herself, feeling like a foolish
schoolgirl, "you are one sick puppy. Get a grip and drink your coffee!
Maybe the caffeine will shock you back to reality."
She
sipped from the hot liquid and slopped a little on her lap when the ringing phone
startled her. She ignored the burning
sensation in her hurry to answer.
“Hello."
Her heart race while she blotted the soggy spot on her robe and massaged the
sting on her thigh.
“Good
morning. This is Alex. Hope I didn't wake you." His sexy voice raised goose
bumps on her arms.
Cynthia's
heart skipped a beat. "Oh, Hi Alex! No, you didn't wake me." She
tried to suppress the excitement in her voice. "I've been up for a while.
I was just sitting here having my morning coffee." She stopped short of
adding she was thinking about him and praying he‘d call. Curling her legs up
beneath her robe, she waited through a lengthy pause.
"I
called to thank you again for last night. I had a great time."
"Me,
too. It was probably the best Saturday night I've spent in quite a while."
So ask me out already, she agonized internally. Please, Please, Please.
"And
to think our date all started with an exciting trip to the trash
dumpster." He laughed and she forced a chuckle to avoid being rude. Was he calling to ask her out or just talk
about garbage cans? She thrummed her
fingers on the coffee table while leaning her arms on her knees.
"Yeah!
Did I remember to thank you for the personalized tour?" Cynthia forced
herself to say something to end the silence.
"Not
a problem. Always happy to help."
Another
pause.
Funny,
they hadn't had a communication problem the previous evening, so why did they
both suddenly become tongue-tied? She struggled to think of something unrelated
to trash to keep the conversation going. She had to. If he called to ask her
out, she sure didn’t want him to lose his nerve?
"So,
what are you doing up so early on a Sunday morning?" She wasn't about to
let him hang up.
"Couldn't
sleep. I can't quit thinking about the case I'm working right now, trying to
piece it all together. Seems I always wake up early when I don't have to. Ticks
me off! During the week, I have to drag myself out of bed, and here it is the
weekend and I'm up with the sun."
Her
curiosity piqued. "Are you by chance working on the case involving the
missing women?"
"Yep,
that's the one that keeps me up late and wakes me up early. What gets you out
of bed?" Clearly, he wasn't going to discuss any details with her. Maybe
that was a good thing. She didn't really want to hear anything that was bound
to feed her fear.
"Oh,
I've always been an early riser. It's the afternoons I dread. I tend to run out
of steam around two-thirty. Gee, we make a great team. I can keep you awake in
the morning and you can keep me from dozing in the afternoon." She rolled
her eyes. He probably thought she was trying to hook him.
His
laughter danced across the phone lines, and she imagined the twinkle in his
eyes. "Are you offering to come over every morning and throw me in the
shower?"
A
image of his unclothed body flashed through her mind, and warmth climbed her
neck. She swallowed hard at such out-of-character thoughts. "Only
if..." She stammered, "you come by my office every afternoon and
bring me strong coffee."
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