Chapter 4

A hater of telemarketers, Eliza normally didn’t answer her cell phone if the number that was displayed was one that she didn’t recognize, but for reasons she couldn’t explain, she answered it this time.

“What happened to you last night?” asked a seductive male voice.

Reba had painted a hot and sexy picture of the man Eliza had danced with the night before.  When she heard the voice over the phone that sounded as if it could easily pair with such a man, the excitement and anticipation that this just might be him caused her voice to go an octave or two higher than normal as she asked, “Who is this?”

“Oliver.  The guy from last night,” he said. “You gave me your phone number, remember?”

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and humbly replied, “I’m sorry.  I don’t.”

“What?” he said with surprise.

“I don’t remember you,” she admitted with dismay.  “I think I was drugged.”

“Seriously?” he disparagingly asked.

“I wish differently,” she replied. “I vaguely remember dancing and then going outside because I was overheated.  That’s it.”

“Yes, you said you were getting hot, so I went to the bar to get you a drink,” he offered. “You were drinking coke.  When I returned with it, you were gone.”

“Coke?” she repeated with surprise. “If I was drinking coke, how could I not remember things?”

His voice was soft as he said, “That is a bid odd.  Unless you’re right and the bartender drugged you.  I hope that’s not the case.”  Then, after a long and uncomfortable silence on both their parts, he asked, “Can we give it another try?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I really like you,” he explained.  “I’d like to see you again.  It doesn’t have to be at the dance club.  It can be over a cup of coffee for all I care.”

“I love a good cup of coffee,” she said with hesitation as she battled her humiliation over the night before.

She could hear the smile on his face as he said, “How about the coffee shop on the corner of Hallstead and Lincoln?”

“I’m not sure where that is,” she informed him, “Is it near downtown?”

“Actually, it’s on the south edge of the city,” he replied.  “Or, we can meet somewhere else.  I’m fairly new in town and that’s the only coffee shop I know about, but I’ll go anywhere.”

“You’re new in town?” she repeated. “Where are you from?”

“The hills of Kentucky,” he said with a slight emphasis on a Kentuckian accent as he jovially informed her.

Giggling, she continued with, “When did you get to the big city?”

“This is a big city?” he asked with mock surprise.

“Well, it’s not New York or Los Angeles, but it’s still a city,” she replied.

“True,” he said.

“What brought you here?” she pressed.

Still full of humor in his voice, he replied with, “You’re full of questions that I’ll be happy to answer over coffee. No coffee, no answers.  You need to know, though, that if I’m going to be grilled about who I am and what I’m all about, I’ll expect to be able to do the same with you.”

“You don’t know anything about me?” she said with surprise. 

She couldn’t believe she’d danced so long with a man and not conversed with him.  Frustration over not remembering things returned full force.

“Other than the fact that you’re beautiful?” he said with a sultry Kentucky drawl, “No, but I want to.  I really want to.”

His voice and his humor when added to Reba’s detailed description made her feel giddy.  Placing her hand on her flushed cheek, she nodded.  Then, realizing that he couldn’t see her nod, she said, “Coffee it is.”

Since she knew the city better than he did, she suggested a coffee shop that wasn’t far from her old apartment.  It was a place that she’d frequented each morning on her way to work.  Because of this, the barista knew her well.  Even though she’d already danced the night away with this guy, he was a stranger to her.  Going to a place where she was known gave her a sense of safety.  Hot guy or not, she needed to be smart about this.