I gasped, “I would never want you to feel bad. Well, I wanted to hit you for being a jerk that night, but I had no idea I lived next door to the man that wrote some of my favorite songs.”
“You like my stuff?”
I laughed. “I never knew who wrote what songs before, but my friend googled you when I realized you were Smith Carlisle the first time I saw you in the coffee shop.”
“Yeah, about that. Sorry to run away like that.”
“No, that wasn’t the first time. It was a couple of weeks earlier. You didn’t see us, but we saw you. I just thought you were a familiar looking handsome guy. Then they called your name and I put it together with seeing you on television once.”
He laughed. “I hated doing that show. I’d rather be behind the scenes and not in front of the camera. My girlfriend at the time thought it would be good for my career. I honestly couldn’t see how but we do stupid things for love sometimes.”
“Have you eaten dinner yet?” I asked. “I could make us some?”
I heard him take a deep breath, “I can’t…”
I cut him off, “I can’t think of a reason not to either. Come over when you’re ready. I’ll make something that would have been in your cart.”
I hung up before he could say no. I hoped he would come over.
***
I just finished the stir-fry when my bell rang. I smiled and checked myself in the mirror before opening the door for him.
“I’m glad you came.”
He smiled; it was the fake one again. I sighed.
“I wasn’t gonna, you know. There’s just something about you that draws me in.”
I laughed and said, “My dad calls it my superpower.”
He stepped in and asked, “What’s that?”
I took his leather coat and scarf, and said, “My ability to make men do whatever I want. Well, at least him.”
He laughed and said, “I’d love to see if that works when you have a son.”
He turned red and I laughed at his embarrassment. “Come on in, dinner’s ready.”
“What are we having?”
“Shrimp stir-fry.”
“Oh! I’m allergic to shellfish.”
I gasped. He nodded. I handed him his coat back.
“Okay, we’re going out then,” I laughed.
He smiled but then hesitated. “No, I can’t do that I’m…”
“Broke? Okay, I’ll pay. Don’t worry about it. I walked towards my garage and started getting into my car.
He opened the door and said, “I’m not broke.”
I laughed and said, “Get in, you can buy then.”
I started the car and watched as he tried to figure whether to run home or get in my car. I almost laughed when I saw him take a deep breath and walk down the steps.
***
“So,” he said after we ordered our meals, “you don’t give up on much, do you?”
I shook my head as I swallowed my wine. “Never have when I wanted something bad enough.”
“Why do you want me? Is it because…”
I got pissed and cut him off, “If you dare say it has anything to do with who you are, other than my jerk neighbor that plays his piano too loudly, that glass of wine will be in your face. I’m no gold-digger.”
“Sorry,” he said moving his wine farther out of my reach. I laughed.
“Smith, you’re a handsome guy. I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that, and I like you. The guy I like is the one that drinks cheap wine and steals shopping carts.”
He smiled, “There’s a story there too.”
“There’s a lot of stories with you, aren’t there?”
He nodded. “I’ll tell you that one.”
I sat up straight and made a show as I leaned forward to give him my rapt attention.
“When I first started out, I didn’t have any money. I liked wine so I bought cheap wine. That was the best cheap wine I ever found and well, I always drank when I wrote songs. I was drinking that as I wrote all of my hits and every other song that wasn’t a hit.”
I nodded, “So, it’s like your mojo or something?”
He laughed, “As you can hear, not anymore.”
“I never hear you playing other stuff though. Always that same thing.”
He frowned. “I have a quirk. A psychiatrist would probably call it something more than a quirk, but I’ve never been able to abandon a song once I start one. Believe me, I’ve written some pretty crappy stuff just to be able to move on and start a new one. Sometimes, I’ll pull good bits of those bad songs later and write something different, but once I start I have to finish.”
“So, write something shitty so you can stop playing that song,” I said as if it were obvious.
“You’ve heard what I’m playing. Do you think it’s good or bad?”
“I thought it was fantastic until the fiftieth time in a row.”
He nodded. “I just can’t bring myself to complete it with something bad. It’s so good of a start, I’ve almost ruined my career trying to finish it.”
“Maybe you do need a shrink,” I teased.
“Tried it. She put me on different kinds of pills, but nothing worked. She finally gave up and said I needed to find a way within myself to finish the song get a different job.”
I shook my head. “What caused it? It seems like you were on top of the world before this.”
“I guess I was, until I wasn’t.”
We were interrupted by our entrees being set down. We never picked that conversation back up.
“The salmon’s good,” he said changing the subject.
“It is. Sorry about the shrimp. I feel silly.”
“Why should you? You had no idea.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“So, Teagan. How come a beautiful woman like you is chasing a past his prime songsmith.”
“I’m not chasing you. I knew you liked me, otherwise you never would have talked to me at the store.”
I could tell that made him think. “I guess you’re right. I don’t usually talk to anyone. I did find you attractive, I remember I was shocked that I spoke to you. Maybe it was something subconscious that drew me to you.”
“Maybe it was my superpower.”
We laughed and he said, “You’re hard to ignore. I’ll tell you that.”
“So, this won’t be a first and last date then?” I put out there softly.
“This is a date then, is it?”
“Sure. Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy. Girl and boy go out to dinner. It’s the textbook definition of a date.”
He frowned, “I don’t know that you want to date me, Teagan. I’m not ready to…”
“Perfect. I’m not ready to stop seeing you either,” I said.
“Why do you do that? You cut me off before I can…”
“I cut you off before you can say no.”
“Right.”
“That’s why. I don’t like no. I especially don’t like it when I can tell you don’t really want to say no.”
He sighed, “Excuse me, I need to use the men’s room.”
I watched him walk away and grabbed my phone. I texted Abby, “V-day plans are off. I’m gonna have some of my own.”
“Bitch! Who?” she replied.
“My neighbor.”
She called and I answered, “Yes, Abby?”
“The old lady and her granddaughter don’t count.”
“No, my other neighbor.”
“The jerk? How…”
“I’ll tell you later. He’s coming back. Bye.”
“Everything okay?” he asked as I shoved my phone into my purse.
“Everything is perfect.”
“Would you care for dessert? Or a digestif?”
I giggled, “I’ve never had a digestif. What is it?”
“A drink to help digestion. Allow me to order for us?”
“Okay, I trust you.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t do that,” he joked. The waiter approached and he ordered, “Two of your best Tawny Port and we’ll share a piece of the chocolate chip cheesecake.”
***
I pulled into my garage and asked, “Would you like to come in for some coffee?”
“No. I’m gonna head home.”