Andy's Nightmare

16. Flowers

Andy drove back to the hotel with a peaceful feeling. She knew this was the right decision for everyone involved.

One thing that Andy did not take into consideration is, what if she became friends with the adoptive parents and wanted to continue that friendship after the birth? Would that be possible without causing a problem? She liked Kyle and Kim. Would she be able to just walk away after the baby was born? Or would their friendship last even after giving them the baby?

As she waited for the elevator, her thoughts strayed to last night and that brief kiss from Linc as he waited for the elevator with her last night, and she brought her hand up to her cheek where he kissed her goodnight.

Now that the decision had been made, she would be remaining in town until the baby’s born. She was excited and hoping that there would be more opportunities to see him. She was hoping that he felt the same.

She decided to take a short nap before she worked on her writing this evening. She also had to look for an apartment when she woke up. But for now, she was going to rest for an hour or two.

As she lay there, Andy’s thoughts went to how sweet Kim and Kyle were together. She wondered if she would ever have that kind of love. Then her thoughts drifted to Linc. She hoped that she would be able to see more of him since she was going to be staying in town. She hoped that last night’s kiss was not a goodbye.

She fell asleep thinking of him. He was such a gentleman, and she was not used to that treatment. But all the other guys she had dated were in high school or college. She hadn’t dated since she had graduated. She was too busy with work to have a personal life.

Andy was never into bars or drinking, so she never really met anyone outside of work. She refused to date a co-worker and, since she was management, that was frowned upon anyway. Management wasn't supposed to hang out with the rest of the workers outside of work, except for holiday work parties. She also didn’t take the time to get to know the customers outside of the store either, even though she had numerous guys that would flirt with her. She was friendly, but there was a line she wouldn't cross.

She awoke from a dream that seemed very real. She could almost feel Linc's lips on hers this time. She had never wanted any of the other boys or college guys to kiss her. She’d usually turned her face so they would kiss her cheek or she would only allow a quick peck on the lips, but nothing more intense. She never welcomed any of their advances or affection. But now she dreamed of a kiss from Linc, but woke before it was completed.

As she started her computer, she found herself daydreaming and wondering what his lips would feel like on hers. They felt soft on her cheek last night.

Andy decided that she should look for an apartment since she couldn't focus on her writing.

There were only a couple of apartment complexes in the city that offered furnished apartments. She preferred getting a furnished apartment so that she wouldn't have to spend any extra money on furnishings.

She wrote their addresses down and told herself that she would at least drive by to see them tomorrow. Even though they may not be open, where she would be able to see them inside, she could at least get a feel for the area.

She started writing and was already a couple of pages in when the hotel phone rang. She wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone so she jumped when it rang.

When she answered, it was the front desk telling her that she had a delivery downstairs. She told them that she would be down shortly.

She got downstairs and approached the desk, still quizzical as to what was being delivered to her. Not very many people knew she was here, so who would be sending her anything?

When she got to the desk, they pulled up a vase with a dozen roses of mixed colors, yellow, pink and red. Andy was puzzled because not many people knew that she was here. As she left the desk, she looked around the lobby to see if there was anyone watching her.

Andy waited until she got back up to her room to open the card, even though she was curious because she had never been sent flowers before and couldn't imagine who would have sent them now.

The flowers were from Linc. There was a brief hand-written note inside the card thanking her for a wonderful evening, and letting her know that he would like to see her again. He also said that he hoped her lunch went well and gave his phone number so that she could call or text him if she wanted.

She wanted to call him right away, but she also didn’t want to seem too anxious. Or easy. Instead of calling Linc, Andy called Charlie.

She explained what was going on to her friend. She told Charlie about the lunch with Kim and Kyle. And about how sweet they were together. She said that she felt at peace with her decision to let them adopt the baby.

Then Andy told her about her meeting Linc at the coffee shop, seeing him with his sister and niece when she went out for lunch. She told her about the dinner date and how Linc focused on getting to know her. And now the flowers.

“I am so happy that you’ve made a decision.” Charlie started. “Now tell me more about this guy.” Charlie sounded excited because Andy had never talked about any guy before.

“Linc sent me some flowers thanking me for going out to dinner with him last night. He was a perfect gentleman although he kept touching my hand or my back, when I was getting into the car and as we were leaving the restaurant. It was actually sweet.” Andy paused. "It seemed that all he wanted to do was talk about me though. He talked a little about the things going on in town for the upcoming Fourth Of July celebration But most of the night he was asking about things I like to do and things that I'm interested in. Speaking of the Fourth of July, I hope you and mom can come for a visit. I'd love to see both of you."

"There were a couple of times we started talking about things that I'd prefer not to talk about, and he would change the subject and not press for more information. It's like he could read my mood or my mind."

“Wow! Sounds like you may have found yourself a nice guy there. Better than all of those other guys that tried to flirt with you.”

“I’m not sure what is going on. I seem to think about him quite a bit. He kissed me on the cheek at the elevator to say goodnight." Andy paused and touched her cheek again. "He didn't try for anything else.” As she said this, Andy sighed slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by Charlie.

“I think you may need to take a chance, Andy. Sounds like you’ll be there for a while, so get to know him. I know you’ve always been indifferent to guys, but this one may have gotten past your defenses. Maybe you were just waiting for your prince and all these other guys that tried were just frogs." Charlie laughed when she said this because she had always teased Andy about waiting for her Prince Charming.

“You may be right, Charlie. I do seem to be preoccupied with him and I think about him quite a bit. I briefly mentioned him to Mom the other night, but didn't say too much to her because I'm still questioning everything. He is the first guy I’ve felt comfortable with and actually want to spend time with since…” Andy’s voice trailed off and Charlie knew what she meant.