Did I want to go out with him?
This was the question of the moment and one I flip-flopped on several times a day. Without being able to stop myself, Cole’s face as I had seen it last night danced across my mind.
This was all his fault, the bastard.
So in a moment of defiance towards Cole and his unnatural hold over me, I clenched my fists and gave Theo the answer he wanted.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
“Really? Am I hearing things?” Theo joked.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. I really had put this poor guy through the ringer. It was time to reward him for his persistence. Being pursued by such an amazing guy was flattering. And who knows, this may be exactly what I needed to move on once and for all.
“No need for a hearing aid, I want to go,” I assured him.
“Thank god! I was beginning to think I would be entering senility before you agreed to a date with me,” Theo admonished good-naturedly.
I forcefully banished all thoughts of Cole from my mind. I couldn’t let him have anything to do with my decisions. He could have no bearing on my love life anymore. Not that he ever should have to begin with.
“Well, what time should I be ready?” I asked brightly.
“Text me your address and I’ll be by around seven thirty?”
“Sounds great,” I said, feeling determined.
I would enjoy myself, or die trying.
That evening I dressed in my nicest red dress. Nothing low cut or overly revealing. I styled my hair into soft curls down my back and my makeup was understated yet flattering.
I did a little twirl in front of my mirror and gave myself a low whistle. I looked hot. Damn hot. I knew Theo would approve.
So why was I thinking of Cole’s reaction while I got ready?
Gracie was out to dinner with Jordan and Maysie. She was still in a funk when I had gotten home. She wouldn’t say how her interview had gone so I hadn’t pushed it. Truthfully I needed to be in the right frame of mind for my evening ahead and Gracie’s depressive personality wouldn’t help.
My doorbell chimed as I slid my strappy black heels on my feet. I spritzed my wrists and cle**age with some vanilla perfume and grabbed my tiny clutch.
I opened the door to find Theo holding the most obscenely large bouquet of flowers I had ever seen. His shy smile lit up his face as he took me in.
“Oh my god, you’re gorgeous,” he said, his mouth gaping slightly as he started with my feet and made his way up my body.
I preened at the compliment and took the bunch of flowers from his hands.
“Thank you, come inside while I put these in some water,” I said, waving him into the apartment. I pressed my face into the blossoms and breathed in their smell.
And then sneezed.
And not a delicate, dainty sneeze. This was a nose-full-of-snot-sprayed-five-feet-away sneeze.
And I couldn’t stop. I kept freaking sneezing.
I dropped the flowers onto the counter and rushed around, trying to find a tissue. I attempted to pinch the bridge of my nose in an effort to stave off the flow of mucus that had already started to drip disgustingly.
“Crap, are you okay?” Theo asked, following behind me.
“Achoo!” I sneezed violently and held my hand up for him to leave me be.
I wiped my nose, once I had located the tissues and eyed the flowers warily. “Are those Gerbera daisies?” I asked.
Theo looked confused and picked up the bunch of flowers that had set off my sneezing attack.
“I really don’t know. I just picked these up because I thought you would like them.”
My nose started to tickle again and I pressed the tissue to my nose again.
“I’m horribly allergic to daisies. I’m sorry.” I was now stuffed up and my eyes were watering like crazy. I was in danger of going into a full-blown allergic reaction if he didn’t get the flowers out of my apartment.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry! I swear I didn’t know!” Theo looked stricken and I felt horrible. What a crappy start to our date. I hated the niggling feeling that this didn’t bode well for any sort of dating experience between the two of us.
“You had no idea, Theo. It’s fine. But you’re going to have to take them out of here. It’s the pollen. It causes my hay fever to go nuts.”
Theo opened the front door and tossed the offending bouquet out onto the sidewalk.
“Is that better?” he asked.
I continued to cover my nose and nodded. “Just give me a minute to get myself together,” I said, my words muffled by the Kleenex. “Make yourself at home. I’ll only be a second.”
I hurried into the bathroom and cringed when I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy. My nose was as red as f**king Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s. I blew my nose and found some antihistamines in the medicine cabinet.
I tried to fix my makeup but there wasn’t a whole lot I could do. I thought briefly about calling the night a wash but I knew I had already given Theo enough of a runaround.
I came out of the bathroom, a smile plastered to my face. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Theo jumped up from the couch and like the gentleman he was, he didn’t make any comment about my red face and swollen eyes.
“Are you sure?” he asked, peering at me.
I nodded. “I’ve taken something so this,” I indicated my messed up face, “should be fine in no time.”
“If you’re okay, we should get going. I made us reservations for eight.”
I followed Theo out to his Hummer, making sure to hold my breath as we walked past the discarded flowers.
Theo and I had always enjoyed an easy banter. However, tonight was different. Maybe it was my psychotic sneezing fit or perhaps it had to do with the fact that this was an official date, but conversation was a lot more stilted than usual.
We ended up talking shop for most of the ride to the restaurant, which I found to be incredibly boring. The last thing I really wanted to talk about on a date was my job. But it was the only thing that truly connected us.
The restaurant Theo had picked was called Bistro Margot and it was packed. It was a good thing that Theo had made reservations. We were seated right away at a dimly lit booth near the back. It was private and intimate, with a candle that flickered madly. The atmosphere was very romantic if not a little try too hard.
I opened the menu and my eyes bulged as I took in the prices of the meals. Holy cow! $30 for an entrée?
“The food looks fantastic,” Theo enthused, smiling at me. I wish I could share his excitement. Because nothing seemed remotely appetizing. My experience with French food was limited. Okay, it was non-existent. But I didn’t want to look like an ignoramus so I pretended to study the menu seriously. I could pretend that I knew what Porc a la Dijonnaise meant. But even the descriptions weren’t very helpful.