Andy's Nightmare

12. Dinner Plans

As Andy finished eating her muffin, she opened her computer again and started writing the prologue. She felt like someone was watching her, and she looked around the small room only to see Linc looking at her. He had been standing at the counter waiting for his drink when she noticed him. She had been so engrossed in her writing that she hadn’t even heard the door to the small coffee shop open.

The couple was still talking but had already finished drinking their coffee. As Linc came over, they were standing up to leave. They saw him and greeted him, chatting briefly before they left, like they were old friends.

He sat down in one of the chairs that had just been vacated. Andy decided it was time to take a break anyway. She had finished her muffin a few minutes ago and her tea was already cold. She had opted to have a mint herbal tea today instead of coffee. She came here and was hoping that he would show up.

They talked for a bit, and he asked her "Can I entice you into going out to dinner with me tonight if you don't have any other plans?"

She thought to herself, he's nothing if not persistent, but she responded, "I'm still not sure if I'll be staying in town after this weekend. I don't want to get your hopes up for anything after that. But yes, I'd be willing to go out to dinner with you tonight."

He smiled the biggest smile she had yet to see on his face. He was beaming ear to ear since she finally said yes.

"I wasn't going to give up." Linc said. "Even Susan told me to keep trying. Each time has been a logical reason, but you not being in town long, is not a good enough reason for us to get to know each other better."

She made a face as she took a sip of the now cold tea and it tasted bitter. He noticed and asked if she was OK. "I've just been sitting here so long that my tea is cold." He laughed and offered to get her another one.

She responded, "I probably shouldn't. I really want to try and get some more writing before dinner. Since I have plans for tonight now."

After Andy put her computer away, Linc picked up the computer bag and walked her back to the hotel. They talked on the way to the hotel, and he said that he would be there to pick her up around 6 pm that evening.

When they got to the hotel, he handed her the computer bag and gently put his hand on her arm when saying goodbye. That simple touch sent a current through her that made her catch her breath and she quickly looked away.

When she got to her room, she restarted her computer and sat down at the desk to write.

She was still preoccupied with Linc’s brief contact outside the hotel. She found herself confused. She enjoyed the chat at the coffee shop and on the short walk back to the hotel.

They didn’t talk about anything important this morning after she agreed to the date. He had just asked her how she was liking the town and briefly mentioned the fourth of July festival and fireworks that was going to be held in the next few weeks. And her mind went to the fireworks that his brief touch had caused in her. She had never felt that before with any of the guys she briefly dated in college or high school. She always kept a wall up where they were concerned because she was too focused on her studies and then her job managing the store to really give in to a personal life.

She would sometimes put in 60 hours or more per week at the store in lieu of having a life outside of work. She loved the work. She was around people most of the time, and until the r**e she was very people-oriented.

After the r**e, she started closing down. And if a man tried to shake her hand or get too close she would almost have a panic attack. She couldn’t breathe, and would sometimes end up in the office or bathroom in tears or throwing up because of her nerves.

She worked there in high school, during summer vacations and came back after she graduated while looking for a writing job. Luckily, she had taken a double major in business management to go along with writing. She was promoted to management before she even graduated, and her writing got put on hold. She would sit down to write occasionally and had about 10 poems that she had written over the past couple of years, but she didn’t know if that was enough to put together a book yet.

Her thoughts were still on Linc. What was it about this man? This was a strange feeling. She had never felt this way before. She hadn’t trusted or felt comfortable with any man since the r**e. Even before that, she never had anyone that had this effect on her.

Sitting at her computer, she thought back to that brief, seemingly innocent touch on her arm. She could still feel the warmth of his hand. She wasn’t sure what to think. This feeling was completely foreign to her.

It was barely 1 o'clock and Andy told herself that she had to shake off this feeling and concentrate so that she could get some writing done and a short nap before their dinner date. She set her alarm for 4 so that she could lay down for a half hour or hour and then get up for a shower before their date at 6.

She finally got her mind focused on her new story. She had the prologue written and had started on the first couple of chapters by the time her alarm went off saying it was time for her nap.

She reset an alarm for 5 so she could get up and shower before Linc was going to pick her up. As Andy drifted off to sleep, her last thought was on Linc. She placed her hand unconsciously where he had touched her and smiled.

She woke up a few minutes before her alarm went off. She assumed it was in anticipation of her date. She couldn’t remember ever having this feeling before. She couldn’t wait to see him tonight.

She showered and chose a white sundress with purple and pink flowers with a white sweater since she wasn’t sure what the weather was going to be like. It seemed like the evenings were still cool even though the days were starting to warm up.

She went downstairs to wait for him in the lobby. Although she felt more comfortable with him than any other man in the past 6 months, she wasn’t ready for the kind of closeness a hotel room would have, despite the fact that she was in a suite that was almost the size of a small apartment.

She thought that might send the wrong message if he were to come to her room, and she didn’t want that impression. She wasn’t even sure that there would be a second date, if she left town. It would depend on lunch tomorrow with Kyle and Kim.

Finally, she found something else to think about besides Linc. She was watching the TV in the lobby and realizing that she would be meeting with them both for lunch tomorrow. If things worked out tomorrow, she would stay in town until the baby was born. If not, she would be leaving on Monday morning. But she had a good feeling, because she liked Kim.