Incidental Fate Book 1

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Grant had canceled our dinner plans at the last minute, so I decided to open a new bottle of wine and waste my Saturday night watching some sappy romantic comedy.

I was only five minutes from his university; how hard was it for him to visit his mom every once in a while? We'd spent every day for the last eighteen years together, and now I was lucky if I saw him once every few weeks. He had become inconsiderate too. I could have gone out with the girls tonight or maybe agreed to go on a date with Kirk finally. I mean, the poor guy had been asking me out for months.

I held the now half-empty bottle of wine in my hand, tipping it against my glass just as the doorbell chimed, startling me, the wine swooshing. Of course, Grant would show up, hours late and nearly an entire bottle of wine later. "I'm coming!" I walked over, pulling the door open to both greet and chastise him at the same time. "Hey, Sweetie."

"Hello."

Dark eyes and a devilish grin greeted me- the same face that had been starring in my dreams every night. Was I that drunk? I stared a minute longer, letting my brain catch up with my eyes. "Gavin? What are you doing here?"

He pulled up a wooden planter from his side, handing it over to me. "I stopped by the last few days, but you weren't home."

He... he brought a planter. This was getting weird. I couldn't tell if this was a massive prank or if he was some asshole frat boy on a mission. "I was at the hospital. You could have just left that on the patio."

He pushed his way in, eyes narrowing on me. "Why were you at the hospital?" He demanded as if he was entitled to an explanation.

"I-" I stumbled back, hitting the table behind me. "I work there. I'm a nurse."

"A nurse?" He repeated as that stern glare morphed to a mischievous smile.

I started back for the couch, calling over my shoulder. "Thank you for the planter. You can set it on the table." I dropped back onto my cushions, taking another sip from my glass.

"What are you watching?"

He was still here. I looked over, watching as he closed the front door, starting for the couch too. "I don't know," I giggled inadvertently. "I'm mostly just drinking." I raised my glass in salute, meeting his heavy stare. "But you should probably go."

"Really?" He said it almost to himself. "No one's ever told me to leave."

"I'm not surprised." With those eyes, that hair, that smile- that body. I'm sure no was a foreign word to him. "Go, you don't want to miss your curfew."

His eyes flared, body going rigid, standing in front of the couch, facing me directly. "I'm twenty-two- I don't have a f*****g curfew."

Twenty-two. That man was only twenty-two. "Well, I'm sure you have better things to do with your evening."

"Actually," he sighed, continuing to the cushions, sitting at the opposite end. "My night's free."

"So is mine," I was laughing again, the wine making it hard to stay mad. "Grant flaked on me."

"He's an i***t, sorry," he threw his palm up in apology.

"How do you not have plans on a Saturday night? No frat parties? Hot dates?" What the hell was he doing here?

He laughed under his breath, tossing his arm up over the back of the couch. "I'm not in a frat, and I'm working on a hot date," he teased, mocking me.

"Oh yeah? Who's the lucky girl?" I sipped the last of my glass, shaking the empty bottle before setting it aside.

"You think she'd be lucky?" He smiled to himself. "Just one of the sexiest f*****g women I've ever seen."

"Then why aren't you with her tonight?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as those eyes focused on mine. "Who says I'm not?"

Who says… I looked around… me? A laugh burst out, then another. Sexy? I was thirty-six."Very funny. I'm old enough to be your mom."

"My mother's sixty-two."

Okay, so she was the same age as my mom, but still. "I definitely wouldn't be considered sexy." Oh my god… why was I talking to him like this!

"Why not?" He was serious, that smoldering stare fixated on me. "I haven't been able to get my mind off of you since the moment I saw you shaking your a*s in the dirt the other day."

I choked on nothing, coughing to clear my throat, my brain slowly repeating his words. "You can't say stuff like that to me!"

"Like what?" His smile turned mischievous, playful. "That you're sexy? I'm sure you hear that s**t a lot, and I'm guessing you get hit on all the time too."

Sometimes. "Not all the time," I giggled again, feeling the warmth of the wine relaxing me. "I was asked out yesterday."

"By who?" He was serious again, brows drawn tight, black eyes studying my face.

"This guy at work." Poor Kirk had been hinting and trying to get me out for months. "Asks me out every time I see him."

"Does he?" He nodded to himself before rolling his face down, stretching his neck side to side. "Did you say yes?"

"No, I haven't been on a date in a very long time." Too long. "My personal life has been on hold for a very, very long time." Crap. Why was I still talking? He did not need to know how pathetic I was.

"Maybe now it's time to start saying yes."

"I guess," I shrugged back. "I'll see him tomorrow."

"I'm not talking about him," he scoffed, flashing his eyes to mine. He was getting angry, he was different.

"Are you from around here Gavin? Because you don't really seem like you fit in with Grant's other friends."

"I'm from New York," he said it with an automatic smile, and I probably could have guessed that from his slightly rough accent. "Why do you ask? What are you thinking?"

I thought for a moment, the words spilling right out. "That you're into older women and think I'll be an easy score, maybe some trophy. Except that's not me, so you should go find a girl your age."

He started laughing, a genuine smiling curling cheek to cheek. "I'm into you Sadie, and I'm hoping for a chase." He arched his brow, matching the wicked grin he was sporting.

And I felt that spark between my thighs, the stirring… s**t… "I think you should leave Gavin. I'm a bottle deep, half asleep, and I really don't want to regret anything when I wake up."

"You think you'd regret me?" He mumbled, voice almost a whisper. Then his eyes flashed to the T.V. "The movie's almost over, I'll leave then."

I forgot there was a movie playing, and I tried to focus on the screen, only my eyelids were so heavy and the picture was starting to blur.

I felt the sun against my cheeks, the dreams fading while the room came into focus. I was somehow in bed, tucked in, still wearing my clothes from yesterday. s**t! I rolled over to the other side of the bed- empty. Thank god! An immediate wave of relief crashed over me, sending my back slamming back into the sheets. What the hell had I been thinking letting him come in like that? I must be losing my damn mind.

I d**g myself out of bed, padding to the kitchen, passing the planter propped against the wall. Maybe I should ask him to come back and help me with this. No! What was wrong with me? I needed to get out. I'd do Taco Tuesday with Kirk! It was about time I relented and agreed to a date.

I raced to get to work, arms up still tying my hair back as I passed Debbie and her annoyed smirk.

"I'm ready to go home Sadie, get in here."

But then I saw Kirk exiting the O.R, so I shrugged sorry before rushing over to him.

"Sadie!" He greeted with a hopeful smile.

"Good morning Kirk. I was thinking of going to Taco Tuesday at Calor Comida near the campus if you're free." It felt weird asking him out like this considering I didn't really find him attractive.

"Sure," he squealed. "I'm not on the schedule Tuesday. I can pick you up at eight?"

No, I definitely didn't need the awkwardness of riding in his car alone or him dropping me off. "How about I meet you there! It's right down the street from my place."

"Will it be packed with college kids? I know a few places that might be a little quieter."

"No, it should be fine. Nothing to worry about."