48 First Dates (Seeking Romance #1)

The Prince of Living in the Moment

26

My mood was gloomy.

He seized the moment. I lost

it in an instant.

T hankfully, there was only one margarita left in the pitcher. Or the night would have ended with blackout number three. As it was, when the alcohol ran out, I made sure the bill got paid as I left to go home.

Then, I spent the rest of the night crying into my pillow. I was upset about Eric walking out. About fighting with Brenn. About my dad. And so many other things that seemed to have gone wrong in the past year. I had the sensation of existing beneath the dark cloud of a curse. Maleficent’s cursed spindle was simply lurking around the corner, and I was being led to it.

For the next few weeks, a shadow of gloom enveloped me.

The liquid in the bottles under my bed disappeared slowly as my charm bracelet accused me from the top of my dresser. I added a ballerina for Hunter and a BMW symbol for Eric. But the bracelet hadn’t been on my wrist for weeks. It just felt too heavy with memories.

On top of that, the weather was terrible. We hadn’t seen blue skies for long stretches of days. And my professors assigned work like we were freshmen instead of graduating seniors.

I was in a dark place. One where even food didn’t taste as good as it once had.

I was still on Royal Swype, but my kingdom had become slim pickings. Out of the mist, a notification popped up. A spiky—dark-haired guy had asked to join my kingdom. His profile said he “lived every moment like it was his last,” and I figured I needed that. I swiped up.

The next week, I met him at Tom’s Burgers for lunch. I spotted him immediately because he looked similar to his profile picture.

After we exchanged greetings, the aroma of freshly cooked burgers drew us to the stainless steel counter. We ordered, and they gave us a number. We crossed the orange and blue checked tile floor to find a table.

“So, Evan, you don’t have a dad on Royal Swype?” I said as we sat down, figuring it was better to get that out in the open right away.

“What? No! That’s not even possible.” Evan barked out a laugh.

“Why not?” I asked.

“My father died at thirty. My grandfather died at thirty. All my life, my mom has reminded me that my time was limited. I figure I have nine more years to make my life count. I’m a bit like Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent has cursed my life, but I don’t have a Merryweather to alter the curse into a deep sleep.”

“Ah, so that’s what your profile meant.”

“Yeah, anyway, it’s not so bad. I’m hyper-aware of making every day count. Of always doing things I love—that’s why I took a simple job at the record store. I get to be around music and musicians all day long, and it gives me the freedom to do lots of other things in my spare time.”

“So you embrace the darkness to find the light?”

Evan’s eyes twinkled as he raised his eyebrows. “Something like that.”

“I’m kind of on a quest like that right now. My dad died, and my boyfriend, who I thought… Let’s just say that all my fairytale dreams imploded in the space of a week. So I seized the day and changed the way I go about things.” The fragrance of the salty fries wafted past me as the waitress laid down our plates and took the number off our table.

“How’s that going?” Evan picked up his burger to take a bite.

“Great!” I responded automatically, picking several of the sesame seeds off my burger bun. I glanced around the room. They hadn’t changed the orange walls, but they had added a few pictures since the last time I was here.

Evan started sharing about his recent sky-diving trip. I half-listened as my mind floated back to his question.

How was it going?

To be honest, things weren’t going well. The year anniversary of my dad’s death was coming up in a month. And the sad reality was it still hurt now the same way it had in the weeks after he died.

I looked up and realized that Evan was staring at me, waiting for me to respond. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“I asked if you ever wanted to go sky-diving?” A bemused smile danced on his lips.

“NOOO! I definitely prefer the safety of the ground. I’m an adventure wimp. I grew up around some of the best diving in the world, but I refuse to learn to SCUBA. Only snorkeling for me. No sky-diving. No rock-climbing outside of the gym, and don’t even get me started on mountain biking.” The memory of my date with Andrew flashed in my mind’s eye, and I shuddered. “You should have seen the last time I tried that out!”

Evan pinched his lips together and bent his head down, staring intensely at his burger.

I lined my fries up in a row, searching for something else to say. “You work at a record store. What’s that like?” I picked up my burger and took a bite.

“Amazing! I get to hang out with local musicians. We have a jam session room in the back. And I get to hear all the new music before it hits the shelves. I tried playing in a band once, but it turns out I’m more of a promoter than a player.” His face flushed as he grinned.

I smiled. “Hey, are you familiar with the Fearsome Fairies?”

“Of course! “ Little Red Riding Hood Goes for a Walk” —that song is pure genius. That band has the thing you need to make it as long as Kyle and Betty don’t mess things up. I used to date the lead guitarist, Betty, but we broke up a while back. Now she’s dating the lead singer, Kyle. They’re way better for each other. When Betty and I were together...”

So, I had been right about Kyle and Betty. Wait till Brenn hears about this one—he’s going to die when he finds out. I chuckled to myself.

The frown on Evan’s face told me that was not the right reaction. His eyebrows pulled together so tight there was barely any skin left between the hairy lines. “Sorry about that. I missed what you said. I was—”

Evan held up his hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. That’s the second time you zoned out. If there’s somewhere else you need to be, we can do this another time. Or not at all, if that’s what you would prefer.”

“No, I’d like to stay. I’m just… really sorry… it’s been an interesting year for me. I was just…” I searched for the words that would make this whole thing less awkward.

Evan salvaged the moment. “No worries, carpe diem , right?”

I nodded as I grabbed one fry off my line and dipped it into the ketchup.

“So, you grew up by the water. Where was that?” Evan asked.

“Pleasanton, Florida,” I responded and popped the fry into my mouth.

His head tipped back as he laughed. “I know that place! It’s awesome. Some of the best fishing in the world!” Evan pretended to cast out a line and reel it back in.

I nodded again, wiping my mouth just in case there was a trace of ketchup. I placed the napkin back in my lap and fingered the edges as he kept sharing about my hometown.

“When I was a teenager, my mom dated a guy in the Coast Guard who was stationed there. He took us out on a boat to Hermit Island. We saw...”

At the mention of Hermit Island, my fingers stilled. Memories of my dad filled my mind. I could almost detect the scent of the sunscreen he insisted we apply every thirty minutes. I could see his face scrunching up as we mentioned boiled peanuts. I could hear his laughter as he watched us play in the current. Tears stung my eyes as they formed. They threatened to spill over the dam of my eyelid.

“Excuse me, I have to...” I stood up too fast, almost toppling the metal chair.

Evan’s eyes flew wide as he stammered out, “Okay,” to my back as I ran to the bathroom.

I closed and locked the door, taking in several deep breaths.

I won’t cry. I won’t cry. I won’t cry.

A single tear tracked down my face in defiance.

I won’t…

And that’s when the dam broke. There was no stopping the tears. I had to let them flow.

After what seemed like five minutes but had actually been twenty, the tears dried up. I was splashing cold water on my face when my phone dinged.

Evan

Are you okay? Or did you leave?

I typed, “I’m fine. I just...”

I just what?

I just lost it?

I just needed to walk away?

There was no smart way to explain it. So, I went with the lame version.

Me

I’m fine. I just needed a few minutes.

Evan

Okay, take all the time you need. I’m going to head out.

Shoot!

I had messed up another date with a nice guy. And that’s when the waterworks started again. By the time I finally left the bathroom, our table had been cleared. There was no sign that Evan and I had been there.

I sighed and headed home. My plan was to work on school stuff, but I found my fingers closing around my charm bracelet instead of a pencil. I felt my way around the ring of links, touching each charm, remembering the moments they represented.

Should I give up on adding to this?

No, came the immediate answer.

I grabbed the keys to my car. No schoolwork was going to be done by me right now. I knew the perfect spot to go to get a charm in the shape of a record—one for the memory of this afternoon.

Later that evening, the cinco compadres gathered for our weekly dinner. I complained to Cynthia. “Cyn, that app, even with your picks, hasn’t been any better than me meeting people on the street.”

“What if you tried something closer to home? Someone you already know?” she said, her eyebrows raising in an unspoken suggestion.

I know exactly who she means. And that’s not a possibility.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brenn staring at us, almost stretching to hear my response.

I lowered my voice. “Interesting idea, but the only guys I really know and trust are at this table. Brenn and I have fun together, but let’s be real—we all know what a bad idea it is to date a best friend. Besides, he’s not that happy with me right now. I’m skating on thin ice after the Vino Tinto incident and the mess with Hunter and Eric.”

Involuntarily, my eyes drifted toward Brenn. Our eyes briefly met before he turned away. I thought I caught a flash of disappointment in his eyes.

Would it really be such a bad idea?

I pulled my thoughts back to Cynthia. “Plus, Stretch is Stretch—he’s the Gumby version of an older brother. There’s no way I could date him!”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Gumby is kind of cute and loveable in his own way.” Cynthia smiled with a dreamy look in her eyes.

I felt my eyebrows reach new heights as I stared open-mouthed at her. “Umm... not sure what you mean by that, but I’m giving the app one more month. Then bye-bye it goes!”