AJ looked at her, more confused then he had ever been
in his life.
“W-what do you mean? If you’re Cassidy, then who was that??” He motioned
over to the empty seat.
Cassidy chuckled at his puzzled expression, she felt bad for deceiving him, but she had
to, she had to know for sure.
“I’ll explain everything. Do you mind if I sit down?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. I think,” he answered as he stood up.
He pulled out the chair for her and returned to his seat. He watched the woman in front of
him and couldn’t help but stare. She was beautiful, not to mention she smelled
absolutely wonderful. He recognized her perfume as the one he had come to know so well,
the scent on the letter. This was definitely the real Cassidy.
“I’m really sorry for all of that. I just wanted to know exactly what you wanted
from me.”
“What do you mean? I don’t want anything from you. I just wanted to meet you, I
wanted to thank you...” his voice trailed off.
“Thank me? For what?” she asked surprised.
He sat and looked into her eyes, he couldn’t explain the way she made him feel. The
fact that she was so pretty had nothing to do with it, it was something else, something he
couldn’t explain. He was almost afraid to try. He cleared his throat.
“Before we get into that, can you finish explaining what went on here and who that
was?” He was still confused.
Cassidy took a deep breath, she hoped he wasn’t mad at her for what she did.
“Well, I’ve been wondering all this time why you went through so much trouble to
get in touch with me. I figured you wanted something more than just to say hi. I was
afraid you were going to try to take advantage of me. I came up with this plan of finding
someone to feel you out a little bit, to find out what you were after. I sat over there
watching you and studied how you interacted with her. Everything hinged on your reactions
to her, Alex. That told me what you were looking for with his meeting”.
“So that’s why you were sitting there watching me the whole time”.
“Yeah. After she came over and told me that when she tried to leave you stopped her
and told her that you wanted to talk to her some more, I pretty much knew that you really
did want to get to know me, you weren’t looking for just a good time. I didn’t
want to be anyone’s conquest. I’m sorry, please don’t be mad, I just had to
know for sure,” her eyes pleaded with him.
“Wow, I guess my reputation overshadows me,” he chuckled shyly.
They sat and looked at each other for a moment, then AJ spoke.
“I’m not mad at all, I was just surprised. No wonder every time I brought up
something that you and I had talked about, she changed the subject. She didn’t know
what the hell I was talking about!” He laughed.
“I tried to fill her in on the basics. I really didn’t think you two would have
a chance to get too much into detail, but every time she tried to excuse herself, you
would start talking again!”
They both laughed.
“So, did I pass?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah, you did,” she said looking him in the eye.
His eyes made her melt, they always had. They showed so much emotion, so much honesty, but
yet, so much pain.
He stood up from his chair, she didn’t know why, she hoped he wasn’t leaving, He
held out his hand to her.
“Come here,” he said in a soft voice. “I want to do this right”.
She looked at him puzzled and placed her hand in his as she arose from her seat. He pulled
her into his arms and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Thank you so much for meeting me”, he whispered in her ear, “I’m so
glad to finally meet you.”
He hugged her tightly for a minute, not wanting to let go, it felt so right, so natural.
Her perfume surrounded him and he breathed it in. He felt so comfortable with her, he
didn’t want it to end. Suddenly, the waitress appeared behind them.
“Um, excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt. I can come back if you want.”
They pulled away from each other, their eyes still locked.
“No, that’s okay, I know what I want,” AJ said, not letting his eyes leave
hers.
“Ma’am, are you ready to order?” the waitress asked Cassidy.
“Huh? What?” she said, finally breaking AJ’s gaze. “Oh, I’m
sorry. Yes, I’m ready.” She smiled at AJ, then they both took their seats.
They ordered their food then sat and talked for awhile.
“So, you never did explain exactly why you wanted to meet me so bad,” she said.
AJ looked at her and sighed. He didn’t know where to begin. He cleared his throat and
started to speak.
“Well, when I read your letter, it was like you knew me. You could see right through
me. It scared me at first because no one else has ever been able to do that. I’m not
sure if they just never tried or what”.
“The funny thing is, I don’t TRY, Alex. I just see so many things in you, so
many wonderful things. I just wanted to tell you”.
They sat looking at each other for a minute. Neither one of them able to get over how
comfortable they felt with the other. It was like they had known each other for years.
Next thing they knew, the waitress appeared with their food. Throughout the meal, they
talked about everything. AJ wanted to know everything he possibly could about Cassidy.
Her job fascinated him. It was the first time in a long time he had a conversation with
someone where the conversation didn’t revolve around his job or his fame. They were
having such a good time talking and laughing, neither of them noticed the time. Finally,
Cassidy glanced down at her watch.
“Oh my god! Do you see what time it is?”
“Do you have somewhere you need to be?” AJ inquired.
She knew she should lie and tell him she did, but she just couldn’t. She didn’t
want to leave him.
“Well, no, do you?”
“Nope, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than here,” he replied with a
smile.
She blushed and looked away.
“Do you have plans for this evening?” he asked.
“Hmm, let me check my agenda,” she joked.
“Ugh, PLEASE don’t call me that. I have issues with being called
’Sir’”.
“Alright then, Skippy..” she teased.
“Skippy? Hmm, I’m not sure if I like that one, either, he laughed. "Anyway,
um, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk or something, the beach is right
there...” his voice trailed off.
She noticed that he was nervously playing with the hem of his shirt.
“I’d love to,” she answered before she even let herself think about it or
realized what she was doing.
He looked up at her and smiled. She smiled right back.
“Well, let me go take care of the check, get Marcus, who’s probably sleeping
over there, then we’ll get out of here. Okay?”
“Let me get the check,” she said getting up from her seat.
He paused then smiled, then turned back to face her.
"No, I have it. Sit down.”
“At least let me pay my half,” she said, trying to hand him some money.
“Nope”, he turned and walked away to the register while she watched after him.
She looked for some way to get him the money. She didn’t want him paying for her. She
spotted his pack of cigarettes sitting on the table. She picked them up and put the money
inside the box behind the cigarettes. She was careful not to let him see her.
He came back to the table and picked up his cigarettes, putting them in his pants pocket.
“What about the tip? I can at least leave that,” she said, opening her purse.
“Nope, it’s taken care of, now close that thing and let’s go,” he said
smiling.
She got up from her seat and he stepped aside so she could walk ahead of him. He placed
his hand on the small of her back sending a thunderbolt of electricity shooting through
her body. She turned and smiled at him as they headed for the door. She wasn’t sure
if she should pinch herself to see if she was dreaming or run because she knew that she
wasn’t.