“Looks like my date should be taken home before she gets herself in
trouble,” Jeremy sighed.
“Sand,” I exclaimed, and we both laughed as we dusted the sand off each other.
Mid swipe, Jeremy caught my hand. “I really enjoyed talking to you, Caitlyn.
I would like to see you again.”
A lump formed in my throat. He seems nice, but wasn’t Christopher at first?
You suck at picking men.
Sensing my hesitation, he handed me a card. “We can just have coffee, tea…
anything, as long as there is no sand involved.
I smiled and accepted his card. “I’ll text you.”
“Don’t be coy and wait a few days to message me,” he laughed.
I pulled out my phone and entered his contact information.
Caitlyn: Coffee sounds great.
Jeremy: Tomorrow at 11 AM.
I looked up from my phone, and our eyes met. “Eleven is perfect.” I smiled.
Twelve
Ididn’t expect our coffee date to be as comfortable as the beach, but it was
like we knew each other all of our lives. Coffee dates turned to lunch.
Lunch turned into dinner.
When he finally kissed me, it was tender and sweet. I kept waiting for him to
attempt to sleep with me, but he never tried. Nothing in the way he behaved gave
any indication that he planned to seduce me. Instead, we held hands, hugged, and snuggled on the couch. Innocent romance only. Jeremy was respectful of my
commitments to finishing school, my job, and even the odd shift to help out my
mother.
I finally met a nice man. With that, our whirlwind romance was cemented. I
thought of myself as Jeremy’s girlfriend, even though it was never officially said. It didn’t matter. I had never been happier.
Being with Jeremy changed everything. I found myself consumed with the
new world he showed me. Even though he despised the ballet and the theatre, he
thought it would be useful to impress future clients.
Jeremy made a point to be well-rounded in his experiences. In his profession,
it was important for him to be able to recommend the newest and hottest dance
clubs or recommend a vineyard for a weekend getaway. His ability to know what
a client wanted even before they did charmed everyone he met.
I wondered, sometimes, why he was with me. Anytime I mentioned my
concern to Thomas, he reminded me that Jeremy was not my father. The
remarkable thing about the fast-moving life I now lived was that before I could
drown in my self-doubt or fears, Jeremy would whisk me away on another adventure.
Four months after we met, a package arrived by courier service. Inside the silver box, I found a snowsuit and ski sunglasses. Inside the note read:
Colorado and the slopes are calling us.
