Sugar McKenzie and August Wakefield couldn't be more different - Sugar, a meticulous, caring, but lonely paramedic and August, a charming former reality star still chasing his dream. But they've both closed themselves off emotionally from others...t...
"What happens when people open their hearts? They get better."
- Haruki Murakami
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February 14, 2018
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I'm an awful friend, those thoughts were unwelcomed.
I picked at my hangnail on my thumb. My lips puckered, my back leaned into the dark caramel leather cushioned chair. "Love is in the air" hung from the rafters, La Bella had couples in their assigned tables and booths. Cabernet Sauvignon colored my thin glass funnel, I started to spin the wine, and a thick see-through material coated where the fruity liquid touched. It was the wine's fingers. The fingers clung to the glass like a cat stretching its claws on the couch's leg.
A friend would've gone home by now. A friend would've asked how her daughter was doing. A friend would've texted their friend to say, "Surprise, surprise. I have a no show."
The first hour wasn't bad. I'd ordered stuffed mushrooms as my appetizer and a small salad with green apples and honey glazed pecans. I lost count on how many glasses of the Cabernet Sauvignon I had downed. Heat flooded on my cheeks and forehead. To offset my wine, I started to eat one breadstick . . . and then another, and another. The waitress probably had guessed what was happening. She'd silently refill my water, adding more ice to each visit, brought another bread basket, and in snail pace, took my dishes off my table.
One red rose was positioned in the middle of the two seated table. Two inches of water kept the flower alive, which by the looks of it, the soft petals had wrinkles on the edges. When I reached out, my fingers brushed on the delicate petal, before my index could touch, it fell on the table. Slow and methodical. I once adored roses -- the scent made me think of spring, the anticipation for sunshine and nature to come alive again. But now, I think of Daniel. And I hated what he has done to me.
He's not going to ruin this day for me. He probably was with his new girlfriend, sipping cheap beer and staying home - Nope. No more thoughts on him. We're not going there.
A candle burned a couple of inches from the plant. I brushed the petal off the table cloth, the rose's petal made a new home on the carpet. Red lush table cloth with pink and white plastic hearts decorated near the whole centerpiece. Everywhere screamed Valentine's Day.
Maybe I did need a blind date, I thought, If only he would've shown up. Maybe he was already intimidated by me.
