I woke up and the last thing I remember was pulling up to my house. Great something must’ve happened. I got up and walked around my house checking every room every closet behind every shower curtain to make sure I was alone.
Even though I was alone, I was still feeling very uneasy. I decided to go back to the living room, and sit in my recliner that faced the TV. I wasn’t in the mood to watch television. I needed to start making some decisions. On the guy front, I decided the first guy I would see again would be Robert. I missed him more. I wasn’t sure why because he was the last guy I saw. Maybe it was because he was so quiet. I think I wanted an answer.
Paris had told me to pay attention on both dates I went on with these guys. She must’ve meant to compare and contrast. See what one does and what the other one does. I guess I was examining all of their human behavior. Cool, I was going to look like Jane Goodall to these guys as I tried to examine them and their surroundings.
I called Robert on Sunday night. The phone only rang once. I was shocked that he answered so quickly.
“Hello,” Robert said in a voice that ran about three octaves lower than his normal voice. Extremely deep. Extremely sexy.
“Hi, there. Good morning to you,” I said in a voice where I was trying not to sound like myself. But no matter how hard I tried, my normal voice came out.
That was extremely weird.
“Well, it could only be Sahara,” Robert said. “Because I’m not currently talking to any other female on a regular basis.”
“Who are these women you speak of?” I asked and then said, “Hello, by the way.”
“Hello,” he said again. “They are hangers-on of dates that went bad but I managed to get small friendships out of the deal. That kind of thing.”
“Hangers-on?”
“They are dates that didn’t go too badly but you’re both pretty sure there is nothing more than friendship coming out of this and usually, you just stop talking.”
“Gotcha,” I said. Robert was a lot more seasoned of a dater than he was letting on. He even had invented terms for women who he had no sexual chemistry with, but kept as casual friends. That was some serious dating insight.
“You’re a smart guy,” I said.
“About some things.” Robert laughed. I was really starting to like his laugh. “So, may I ask why I have the pleasure of hearing your voice at 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday?”
“I’m asking you out on a date,” I said in my cute voice.
“Wow. That’s real cool that you’re asking me out.”
“I’m like that,” I said. “I’m weird.”
“I think that is why I am so fond of you.”
“Because I am weird.”
“No, because you’re genuine and honest. The good, the bad, and the ugly—it’s all out there and I love all of it.”
“Ugly?”
“In your case, the good, the bad, and the gorgeous.” Robert made a sound over the phone as if he was relieved that was what came out of his mouth.
“What’s the bad?” I asked.
Robert coughed and then made a squeal similar to the one Donovan had made the other night.
Oh my god, Robert is under a spell, too. Are you kidding me? Both these guys were under truth and love spells. I didn’t know if anything either one of these guys had said to me had been genuine. When you thought you were in love, a truth spell would be positive things that would pour out of your mouth. This was what both men had been—amazing listeners and talkers.
I’m such a fool.
“Robert, you don’t have to answer that question because I don’t think I want to know.”
“Okay,” Robert said, relieved.
“Was there a specific reason why you called?” Robert asked.
“Robert, the reason why I called is, I would like to see you tomorrow night.”
“You would?
“Yes, I would.”
“Where is this date going to take place?” Robert asked. He was sounding more and more relieved as the conversation progressed. I think he might have thought this was going to be our last call. Maybe he thought I was breaking off whatever this was with him.
“To be honest, I hadn’t thought about a specific place. I just knew I wanted to see you tonight.”
Tonight? What the hell was I saying to him?
“I would, however, would like to pay because I’m asking you out,” I said.
I had no idea why I said that.
Words were coming out of my mouth with very little thought beforehand.
“I can’t let you do that,” Robert said quickly. “I’m thrilled you asked me out. It would be an honor for me to pay.”
“Chalk one up in the incredible guy category,” I said.
Okay, now I’m just being corny.
“What’s the bad category called?”
“I don’t know yet. You haven’t earned one of those chalk-ups yet.”
“Oh, good.” I could visualize Robert giving me a really sweet smile.
“Well, Robert if you’re buying, then you choose what we do. This way, I don’t have to make a choice. I put it all on you what we do on our date.”
“Okay.” Robert took a pause as if he replayed what I just said in his head and he didn’t like it the second time either. “I would like to go to a Mexican food restaurant, but I’m afraid it might give me gas,” Robert said. “What the heck did I just say?”
“Do you have one in mind?” I asked, holding in a laugh.
“Yes, it’s Roberto’s. You can say I like the name and it’s cheaper than most places.”
“Is money tight? I seriously can pay,” I said. I really meant it.
“No, Roberto’s is nice. It’s a quaint place and I think you’ll dig the vibe.”
“All right. Let’s say I pick you up around seven.”
“Sounds like a date.”
“Our fourth date,” I said. “You know you’re now in really rare company. You are three for three on great dates.”
“That’s good to know. Now, I have pressure to make this date awesome. I would want to make it awesome anyway.”
“Nice save,” I said.
“It’s the truth,” Robert said.
“I’ll see you around what time?” I asked.
“Let’s say six,” Robert said.
What was it with these two guys wanting to go out at six?
My dinner dates had always been seven or eight p.m. dates. It might mean that both men wanted to spend extra time with me. If that was the case, that was really cool.
We got off the phone and I decided I would do some primping errands for our date later on and for life in general. I could get my nails redone and maybe paint them not such a dark purple. Maybe even go with red—that would be different.
I’ll get my hair dyed a little and I’ll get a little trim.
I wanted to look pretty. I liked Robert. I liked him a lot.
Chapter Thirty-three