At First Sight (Pt. 2)

Rising Suspicions

Now it was the waiting game. Who would message who first? Could she resist picking up her phone, even just to send a quick hey? It wasn’t a romantic notion to think that the guy should message first. After all there was that stupid rule of three days, right? Before she had even made it the two blocks back to her apartment, her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was definitely a pleasant surprise at the time. She wasn’t used to any sort of attention, let alone male attention.

Coming into work the next morning she had a renewed sense of self confidence. She must have done something right. He seems super interested in every aspect of her life. As she entered the building, she began to notice people staring. What, did she forget to put pants on? As she rounded the corner, her mouth fell wide.

She couldn’t see her desk for the mountain of flowers that covered its surface. Daffodils, there were hundreds of them, or so it seemed. Realistically it was more like ten dozen. Still it was a surprising sight to say the least. A card with her name rested in the middle. Very few people knew what her favorite flower was.

They were from him. She could not remember telling him about her favorite flower, nor where exactly she worked, but she must have right? It was a crazy thought to think anything else besides that. He couldn’t have been so enamored with her that he’d become that cliché psycho… right? She had always been taught to give people the benefit of the doubt unless proven otherwise. This was no exception.

She wasn’t sure how she’d be able to get her work done for the day with all the flowers in her way. She didn’t have much time to think of a solution, before she received a text from him asking if she liked her flowers. A small twinge of what she should have recognized as fear had planted its seed in her stomach. She’d come to realize that no matter how much she tried to bury it, eventually it would sprout into a full blown panic. She was just a bit distracted by the thought of how sweet it is to receive flowers for no reason. Nothing sinister about flowers right?

Throughout the day she received more texts from him than she had received in the past two months. That little twinge continued to grow stronger. She decide to get her mind off it, and go out with her friends. Nothing like a few too many drinks, and dancing to make all your cares go away. Only a few more hours, and she wouldn’t have a care in the world. By the time she made it to the bar to meet her friends she had missed two calls from him, and countless texts.

Walking into the bar she was greeted with a series of obnoxious cheers and loud awkward noises from her friends. A smile spread across her face as she placed her phone on silent. Tonight would not be about trying to keep any man entertained. It was exhausting trying to keep someone else happy. She wasn’t used to it. Was she really ready for this?

He answered that question for her. A tap on the shoulder and there he was. He said it was a coincidence that his friends had just so happened to ghost him. Girl’s night was over. With introductions he joined their small group. Her friends seemed to like him, so that was a plus. Maybe her twinge of fear was nothing more than nerves.

Shortly after one o’clock in the morning the group parted ways. As they walked to her car somehow her hand became intertwined with his. This was comfortable, she told herself. This was how it’s supposed to go. Before parting ways he reached in for a kiss. She wasn’t ready and pulled away. His grip on her hand tightened slightly. He looked her in the eyes brushing her hair out of her faced, he apologized.

She politely excused herself and left him standing there all alone. She woke up the next morning to several texts apologizing for misreading the situation. He wanted to make it up to her. She figured giving him another chance at a first kiss was the least she could do. After all he seemed rather apologetic. He picked her up later that night, and they set off on their second date.

After dinner and a movie they walked hand in hand along the edge of the lake. He said that there was something he wanted to show her. She let him guide her through a small patch of woods, and up a hill to a small clearing. The view was incredible. He had set up a blanket dimly lit with a small lantern. A little cooler held a chilled bottle of wine, and a couple of glasses.

A few glasses of wine in, and he made his move. Gently he laid her down and began to kiss her. It was nice until he hands decided not to ask permission to slide up her inner thigh. Everything in her body screamed this isn’t right. She pushed his hand away, and sat up abruptly. A moment of anger flashed across his face, making her feel guilty.

Almost reluctantly he packed up the impromptu scene and took her home. The ride back to her house was one of silence. It was in those moments of silence that she decided this was going to be nothing more than friends. She wasn’t sure how to let him down easy. So she went with brutal honesty. He seemed to take it well. This time they parted ways without any promises of getting together again.

Over the next few weeks she only heard from him a few times. That was until a pound woke her late one evening. It was him drunken on her doorstep looking as if he had just been in the fight of his life. The smell of alcohol wafted off of him almost knocking her off her feet. He was a blubbering mess mumbling out how he was an awful person, and she should give him another chance. He attempted to leave keys at the ready. Her conscience wouldn’t let him leave as drunk as he was. Inviting him in, she set him up with a trashcan on her couch. With things settled for the moment, she headed off to bed careful to lock the bedroom door behind her.