Author: Lisa De Jong

“Sorry, Gwen, I thought you were someone else.”

Gwen completely ignored Jade, walking past her to give me a big hug. “I missed you, Alexandra. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“Doesn’t absence make the heart grow fonder or some weird crap like that?” Jade piped in from across the room.

I gave her a warning look before turning back to Gwen. She was a little shorter than me, but had the same shade of blonde hair that she kept shoulder length and pin straight. She wore black dress pants with a crisp, light blue button down. In some ways, she looked older than she was; more mature, actually. “I missed you, too. Are you ready to head to dinner? Dane is going to meet us there.”

“God, yes. I have been waiting for this all week,” Gwen said enthusiastically.

Jade stared at us from across the room and an awkward silence fell over all of us. Tyler couldn’t get here soon enough. I could deal with Jade and I could deal with Gwen, but the two of them together was almost too much for me.

Jade grabbed her long black coat and glanced at her phone. “Tyler should be here any minute. I’m going to go wait downstairs so he doesn’t have to come all the way up here to get me. Gwen, it was nice to see you again. You girls have a good night and don’t wait up for me.” She winked before disappearing through the door.

Gwen stood there with a confused look on her face. “Won’t she be cold in that dress? It’s freezing outside.”

I rolled my eyes. “Believe it or not that type of outfit’s pretty standard, even this time of year.”

“Hmmm” was all she said in reply before we left to head to restaurant. It was a cold night and snow had just begun to fall. I was happy I was able to dress in a sweater and jeans with a warm beanie covering the top of my head and my favorite white mittens. Something about this weather combined with the lightness in my heart put an extra bounce in my step. Gwen looked at me and laughed; she may be a little prudish at times, but she had this other side that only I saw. She needed someone to bring it out of her.

“So how are you and Dane?” she asked, tucking her hands into the pockets of her tan pea coat.

“Really good. I can’t wait for you to meet him.” Just talking about him made me smile.

“Oh my God, you’re in love.” Her eyes were huge as she waited for my response.

“No, I’m not,” I said, blushing.

She hugged me. “Oh, Alexandra, you are. I can see it in your eyes.”

“Being in love scares me. I don’t know if I can handle it,” I said honestly. I thought about all the ways I had changed recently and how my heart changed pace when I talked to, or looked at, Dane. Just thinking about him made my pulse pick up. But I wasn’t ready to admit to the “L” word, much less say it.

When I saw Dane standing on the street in front of the café we had agreed to meet at for dinner, I jumped into his arms and wasted no time finding his lips with mine. Any hour spent away from him was too much and I hadn’t seen him since this morning.

After we finished our greeting, he started to run his fingers over a loose strand of hair that had fallen across my forehead. “Did someone miss me?”

I tapped his nose with my index finger. “Just a little. Come on, I want you to meet Gwen.”

I had left Gwen standing a few feet away when I ran to greet Dane. She looked a little uncomfortable seeing this affectionate side of me. She offered a small wave as we approached her. “Hi, I’m Gwen.”

Dane extended his hand to her. “I’m Dane. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She accepted his hand. “All good I hope.”

He laughed. “Of course.”

“Why don’t we go inside? It’s freezing out here,” I said as the cold wind blew in my face. It was particularly unpleasant today.

“Good call,” Dane said, throwing an arm around my shoulder.

As we took our seats and ordered, I stole glances at both Gwen and Dane. Gwen was quite literally staring at Dane and he was oblivious because his eyes were glued on me. He removed his leather jacket, revealing his long-sleeve grey t-shirt, with sleeves rolled up to his elbows showcasing his tattoos. I didn’t even notice them, but Gwen couldn’t seem to stop staring.

I cleared my throat, hoping to gain her attention. She lifted her eyes to mine and then looked over at Dane. “So, Dane, did you grow up in the city?”

“Yep, I have lived here all my life and I don’t ever see myself moving away.” He glanced at me and the side of his mouth turned up. We had talked about our mutual love for the city and our desire to stay here forever a few times since we had been together.

“That’s cool. What are you going to school for?”

“Art. I do sculptures and sell them at local shows,” he replied.

“Do you make a lot of money doing that?” I glared at her in an attempt to send a warning signal; she caught my eye and quickly worked to fix her mistake. “I mean, it must be expensive to live in the city.”

He shrugged, “I do alright. I wish I didn’t have to work tonight so I could hang out with you ladies longer,” he said sticking out his lower lip. I loved his attempt at a subject change.

“Where do you work?” Gwen asked. So I guess we weren’t done with the personal stuff.

“Loft 10. I’m a bartender.” Her eyes shot to me and I knew what she was thinking; our parents were going to hate this guy. I couldn’t wait for the one hundred questions that would come my way once we left this place.

The rest of lunch went pretty much the same way. Gwen’s inquiring mind kept working and I kept trying to change the subject. I didn’t mind her curiosity, but at times I felt like she was judging Dane and, in turn, judging me. At one point she got up to use the restroom and Dane leaned into me, kissing me below the ear. “I think I’m under investigation,” he whispered.

I turned to face him, planting a quick kiss on his lips. “She is just watching out for me.”

“Does she do this with all your boyfriends?” he asked.

“No. You’re the first boyfriend I’ve had that she didn’t know for years before we started dating.” I saw her coming out of the bathroom and placed one more kiss on his lips before returning my attention to my food.

When we were done, Dane insisted that he pay for our lunch. Gwen’s face registered surprise before she thanked him over and over.

Dane had to leave for work so Gwen and I headed back toward my dorm. “So what did you think?” I asked, taking in the city lights as we walked through the hustle and bustle of downtown.

“He’s really cute and nice,” she said, but I could tell she was holding something back.

“But?” I inquired.

“Our parents would hate him,” she finally blurted out.

I let out the air I had been holding in my lungs. “I know, but I’m doing this for me. It may not last forever, but I want to experience this. I need this.”

“Are you bringing him to my wedding next month?”

“No. I mean, I don’t think so.” I hadn’t given it much thought, but my gut reaction was that it would not be a good idea. Just the thought of asking my mom for permission to bring him made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I actually brought him. “I mean, you know Mom. It’s not a good idea, right?”

“I agree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to see him.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Oh, Honey, I hope this works out for you. You guys are really cute together.”

“I hope so, too.”

After Gwen left, I settled into my pajamas and grabbed my kindle to read my latest contemporary romance find. I missed Dane and wished he didn’t have to work every weekend night. I would love to be cuddled in bed with him, watching a movie or just talking. I couldn’t help myself when I picked up my phone to text him.

Alex: I miss you

It didn’t take more than one minute to get a reply.

Dane: I miss you too. I can’t wait for tomorrow night.

My skin tingled when I thought about watching his lips as he said those words to me. I missed his lips.

Alex: What time tomorrow?

Dane: How about 6?

Alex: Sounds great.

I fell asleep that night thinking and dreaming about Dane.

When I woke up Sunday, I threw on some comfortable sweats and walked down to the coffee shop to grab my morning latte. Sunday was the one-day I didn’t expect to see Dane because he slept until at least noon. I didn’t blame him; I would be tired, too, if I worked until the early morning hours two days in a row.

When I returned to my dorm, I laid in my bed with my iPod for some much needed thinking time. Today’s playlist consisted of Pink and the Kings of Leon. I let the words work into my head as I thought about how well the weekend went and how much I was looking forward to seeing Dane. I was about to drift to sleep when my phone buzzed.

Dane: Dinner’s at Mom’s tonight. Want to go?

Was he asking me if I wanted to meet his mother?

Alex: You’re not cooking?

Dane: I can, but I forgot it’s Sunday dinner.

It was only one night and as much as it scared me, I wanted to meet his family to help me understand him better.

Alex: Dinner with your mom sounds great.

Dane: Can’t wait to see you.

I decided I had better get moving and make myself look nice if I was meeting his mom. My stomach was in knots as I went through my closet, picking out a cashmere winter white turtleneck and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. I wanted to look good, but not too overdone. I carefully curled my hair, making sure that every piece was perfectly in place, and pulled on my brown knee high riding boots. I eyed myself in the mirror before throwing on a coat and heading out the door.

Chapter Thirteen

I was nervous as I drove to Dane’s apartment to pick him up for dinner. It was just another thing that was going to take me out of my comfort zone. I spent so much of my life only knowing one way to live and now I was becoming accustomed to learning new things. Change used to scare the hell out of me, but now I welcomed it because the more things that changed, the better I felt about myself.