Andy's Nightmare

6. Rejected Date

Here she was in a strange town, hours away from her mom and all her friends, and this strange man made her feel comfortable. Almost like her old self, but better. She hadn’t felt this way with anyone besides her mom and Charlie since the attack, yet here was a man she’d just met putting her at ease. Her mind started racing even as she sat there with him. He’s still a man. She sat there looking out the window and glancing across at him only to see him content to just sit there watching her in between doing some work on his laptop when he opened it.

Did she dare trust him? What did he want from her? Did he think she would be easy to get into bed since she was already pregnant by another man? What was it about him that made her feel so at ease? Is that why he wanted to take her to dinner?

She had never felt this way. The guys at school and at work would try to flirt with her before, but she wasn’t interested. Her mother always accused her of being too focused, but she knew what she wanted and enjoyed her work. She needed to remain professional, but then again she wasn’t interested in them. She’d never met anyone that sparked her interest, never wanted more than friends.

She had dated a few guys in school, but she was too critical or busy at times. Or they’d want more than what she was willing to give.

Andy had no interest in s*x or intimacy while in school. One time, Tom, her first boyfriend, tried to put his hand up her shirt and she broke up with him at that moment.

Because of that date, she ended up with a reputation for being frigid with the guys, so they never really tried to do anything on the rare chance that she agreed to a date. That reputation followed her to college. But she was so focused on her studies that she didn’t care.

She worked full time as an assistant manager at a local grocery store, plus took a full course load with a double major in management and journalism at school. She had never even put her journalism degree to use. In fact, she had been so busy at the store that she hadn’t even written much the past couple of years.

She was so driven to succeed, and now she had nothing and no one to keep her busy. Maybe now that she was no longer at the store, she could focus on the short stories that she had started in college and set them aside.

She sat there quietly thinking about what her mom had said about her needing to find a friend in the new town and wondered if she could be friends with this man, or would she end up freezing him out, just like she did almost everyone else in her life since the attack, even though they were people she already knew?

Could she give him a chance to be friends? The idea brought a smile to her face and she relaxed. He did seem to be able to make her feel comfortable, but there would always be questions and doubts. It had been 6 months, and she needed to get her life back as well. What about after the baby was born, and she went back home? Would he still want to be friends? She wasn't thinking anything more than friends.

Andy finished her coffee and sat there for a couple of minutes, wondering if she would ever see him again after this morning. “Do you come here often?” she found herself asking, then wished she hadn’t, knowing it sounded cheesy. She didn’t want to seem too forward. She didn’t want to give him hope, yet wanted to see him again.

“Too much,” he laughed, making her smile again. Then teasingly winked and asked “Do you want to make a date for coffee since you shot me down for dinner?”

She blushed again. Then a slight smile started forming as she thought for a minute before saying “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here. I may leave this weekend if dinner doesn’t go well. I may even go home tomorrow.”

She was going to meet the couple that wanted to adopt her baby tonight. Even though she didn’t want the baby, she still wanted to make sure that it would be cared for properly. She felt the baby deserved parents that could love him or her unconditionally, but still unsure if she would tell them the whole story. They had offered to put her in an apartment for the remainder of her pregnancy if this meeting goes well. She found herself hoping that they would be the right couple. She’d looked through so many profiles before deciding to meet Kim and Kyle. She had met a few of the couples, but they seemed superficial or fake. Some had other children already, and it seemed like they wanted to adopt her baby in an attempt to save their marriage. Some seemed like the baby would have been more of a status symbol. That was not what she wanted for him or her.

Kim and Kyle had legitimate reasons for wanting to adopt. They were high school sweethearts and got married soon after graduation and before college. They didn't like the idea of separate campus housing for singles.

They had tried to get pregnant because of their love for kids, but found out that she had a tumor in her uterus and needed a hysterectomy in her early 20s.

She also found herself hoping that she would see Linc again, as he said “We can play things by ear. If you’re here again, would you mind if I join you?” he winked at her playfully.

She smiled and stood to leave. "You don't have to ignore me if you see me here again," Andy started with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Linc."

Andy left the little coffee shop with a little spring in her step that she hadn't felt in months. She liked this feeling. She took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh as she headed back to the hotel.

She didn't realize it until she got back to the hotel, but she wasn't watching over her shoulder during her walk.

How could such a brief encounter with a stranger make her feel this way? She wanted to see him again to see if it was him or if she was just coming out of the fog that she'd been in for the past few months. No, she thought. It probably isn't her coming out of the fog because she was still there before meeting him. But what was it about him?

He didn't do anything except talk to her. And he didn't try to touch her. He didn't appear to judge her. And he even made her smile and laugh. Only Charlie and her mom had been able to do that since January.

While she was waiting for the elevator, she decided that she would go back to the coffee shop around this time tomorrow morning, in hopes of seeing him. She would have to talk to her therapist, mom and Charlie about him.

Her mom said she needed to make friends when she came here. And she may have made one on her first morning here. Or at least she met a man that doesn't make her bristle with fear just being close to him.

This trip has already started out on a positive note. Andy hoped that it would continue this way or would get better.