Miss You, Love You

Chapter 2

For two days I had waited by my cell until I remembered that I hadn't given him my number. I made myself some homemade hot chocolate and sat on the couch and stared at my phone. I had to call him. I couldn't really steal his necklace, could I? I went to my address book and typed in 'a'. His was the only name on the screen and it stared at me. I rolled my eyes and punched in talk. He answered the phone breathless and I could hear noise in the background.

"Hi. Adam?" I slipped my feet up on the coffee table. 

"Yeah?"

"It's Auralee. Is this a bad time?"

"No, I was just out for a run." 

"When would you want to get together?" I twirled a piece of my hair in my fingers as he contemplated. 

"I have something going on tomorrow but I think we could squeeze it in there." 

"Okay." There was an awkward silence and I mentally punched myself in the face.

"I'll text you the time and directions to the coffee shop later."

"Alright. Bye." 

"Yeah." He hung up first and I set the phone down. I immediately went to the office and started fretting over something to wear. I had no idea what Adam expected of a girl or if he was even available. I'm was pretty sure that he'd have no interest in me if I hadn't of gone out to help him that night. It seemed like such a long time ago even though it was only a few weeks from today. I fell asleep that night with a well-read copy of Oliver Twist in my hand, lamp still on. 

 I woke up in a flurry of fluff and my novel flying. Ernest sat on my lap proudly and I rubbed the spot behind his ears that made him purr. I quickly showered and put on one of the only outfits that felt I could wear in confidence. Later last night Adam had texted me the details, in which I hadn't replied to, to avoid a weird conversation that could turn into anything. Before I left I shook some cat food into a pottery dish for Ernest and put the necklace in an envelope which I tucked away in my purse.

  I caught a cab to the coffee shop and it turned out to be nothing of what I expected. It had a patio that was fenced with an iron wrought fence tucked in between a bridal boutique and an out of business record store. Maybe this was why Adam found it appealing. A small, out of the way place where he could enjoy coffee with his various/one lover/s. I blushed and closed my eyes. I let out a small laugh and opened the gate. I had aimed to be there earlier just in case. Adam was already waiting for me on the patio. He was seated at a table in a grey suit. I was now nervous and I hoped I wouldn't offend anyone by wearing a casual sundress, cardigan and leather boots. I lightly touched his shoulder. He jumped and turned around. He looked worried and he was frowning slightly. 

"I'm sorry did I get the wrong time?" I studied his face. He looked pale and flushed at the same time, making his faint freckles stand out even more. 

"No. I just came to tell you that I got called to do something last minute. I guess being stood up in person is better right?" He gave me a small grin but that didn't really help. 

"That's ok. I'm sure it's important." I returned the smile and sat down at his table. 

"I can sit for a few minutes. My car isn't here yet." He pulled out his wallet and gave me a twenty. "You can buy yourself something on me." I took the money and slipped it into my purse. He rubbed a hand over his face and quickly fixed his red tie.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you standing me up for?" I smiled so he could tell the last part was a joke. He pasted on a fake smile but I could tell that his face fell a bit. 

"How about you come to my place for dinner and I tell you about it." He stood up and glanced at the black car that had just pulled up. He leaned down and quickly kissed me on the cheek and tossed over his shoulder, "that was for luck." With that he hopped into the passenger seat and drove away. 

"I didn't know that he was your boyfriend Auralee." I heard a voice behind me and quickly turned to see who it was. Lyle smiled at me as he twisted around in his chair. It took me by surprise because I wasn't used to seeing him outside of the element of the bar. 

"Oh, Lyle. Hi." I stood there awkwardly. "He's not my boyfriend. He likes to joke around."

"You know him?" 

"Yeah. It's a long story." I sighed and laughed. 

"Then I guess you know that I had to kick him out of the bar for fighting." Lyle motioned for me to sit next to him. 

"He didn't tell me why though." Lyle put his elbows on the table and leaned closer to me. 

"I probably shouldn't tell you this but he was fighting about his daughter."

"He has a daughter?" I wasn't really surprised but then again a part a me felt jealous.

"It could be just a rumour but I heard that he was looking to get back with the mother." Lyle shrugged and leaned back. "All I know is that some guy dissed her and he started going crazy." 

"Oh." I nodded and remembered that I still had his necklace in my purse. Or 'her' necklace now. I suddenly hoped he wasn't married because that would throw a huge kink in all of my unspoken and mostly unthought plans. He said he was going to explain everything and I had every intention of making him. The only thing I could do was go to dinner with Adam and figure it out for myself.