Push by Sadie Rose

 

 

Ilooked down at my phone one last time and scrolled through my messages. There were no new messages. The last message I had was earlier in the morning from my mother. I smiled at the thought of her back home in Sacramento, nervous and excited for me. I checked my call log—no missed calls, no voicemails and with that, I dropped it back into my bag. Damn him. Why do I let him do this to me? He told me he missed me, so I had come here this morning hoping to surprise him and talk it out. We hadn’t seen each other for over two weeks but he had been relentlessly sending text messages. When I walked away from him, I told myself it would be the last time I let him step on my heart. Yet here I was sitting in his favorite morning coffee spot. I even got up early to surprise him. I shouldn’t have made the effort. I don’t even drink coffee. I picked up the remnants of my pomegranate iced tea and headed for the door. I wasn’t going to waste any more of my time on that asshole.

That’s when he walked through the door. He was gorgeous, his dirty blonde hair falling slightly on his forehead. His sun-kissed skin glowed like he had just come back from a weekend of surfing. He was wearing a navy blue suit that I remember helping him pick out one afternoon while we were shopping in the Embarcadero district. His crisp white dress shirt caught the sun sending more light to his face. His eyes were on fire, the blue of his eyes showed the tiny flecks of green that I loved to stare into for hours. His strong hand held the door, as a woman coming in behind walked through. I started to walk near him, but my steps slowed as I realized the woman behind him knew him. I watched as he took her hand in his and quickly brushed her knuckles up to his mouth, brushing his lips up against them. She smiled and giggled. Actually giggled. What the hell!?!

My feet felt trapped mid-step. I tightened my hold on my purse strap and my tea and quickly turned around. I didn’t want him to see me. Didn’t want them to see me. Why? Oh, why did I come here? I knew I shouldn’t have believed anything he said. Now I was in this mess and had to get out of this coffee shop as fast as possible without being seen. I only needed to make it about ten feet to get out the door. I turned around and started walking as fast as I could without bringing attention to myself. I reached out for the door but it swung in and collided with my cup; Pomegranate tea splashing onto my shirt as my cup fell to the ground. I put my foot out to take a step as I started to slip, I suddenly felt two strong hands hold me up, grasping my shoulders to hold me steady.

“I’m terribly sorry. Are you alright?” A deep voice asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” I left out the fact that I was embarrassed, keeping my eyes on the ground looking at the spilled tea. The shop was small and I could feel everyone staring. I knew instantly that I wasn’t getting out of there unnoticed.

His hands slowly fell from my shoulders. “I think I’ve ruined your blouse.”

I looked down at my cream-colored blouse that was now covered in red stains. I also noticed how it clung to my breasts now that it was wet. I felt the heat in my cheeks, my face beginning to match my now red-stained shirt. “Oh no, I have a meeting at nine a m. and I don’t have time to change.” I wished I had brought a sweater with me. Offices tended to make me cold and I was usually prepared, but I ran out of my apartment without thinking. I was only thinking of getting here to pull off my surprise. What a surprise that turned out to be.

“Here”, he put down his briefcase and pulled out a Louis Vuitton money clip. He quickly pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and extended it to me. I let my eyes wander to his face. It looked like he had stepped out of a magazine. He looked incredible. He was ruggedly handsome and sophisticated, his dark hair wet and looked like he had just run his hands through it. His jawbone was sharp and there was a dimple in his left cheek. He was tall, taller than my 5’8” with eyes as dark as his hair that were staring directly into mine. My heart slammed into my chest.

“No, you don’t need to do that. I can’t take your money.” I laughed uneasily. “I’ll figure it out but thank you.” I moved to the side to let him pass me. He was blocking the door and I needed to get out of there. He was so handsome and I was even more awkward than usual.

His lips parted like he was going to say something, but then they closed. I smiled gratefully at him but my cheeks still felt flushed. I just needed to get past him and out the door. But any remaining luck I had run out at that moment.

“Ollie, is that you?” I heard from behind me. OhmyGod, OhmyGod.

Why, Why did I come here? Can the ground open and swallow me whole right now. I never broke eye contact with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome as I said, “Hi, Jeff. I didn’t see you over there.” Must stop talking. The heat in my face was making my blood pound in my ears. I needed to get out of there now. Sensing my embarrassment, Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome shoved his money back into his pocket and slowly turned his gaze to Jeff as he approached us.

“Ollie, it is you! What are you doing here this morning?” Jeff exclaimed as he came over to us. I started to open my mouth and stammered, “Well… I.. umm…” Before I knew it, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome cut off my words.

“Sweetheart, there you are, I was sure I had missed you,” he cooed. I didn’t even know what to think. Was this a joke? Was I in some alternate universe? Did he understand the situation that he just unwillingly walked into? I was frozen in place, my mouth hung open and slack making a perfect O shape. He stuck his hand out to Jeff. “I’m Roman, we haven’t had the pleasure.”

Jeff’s face had a flash of annoyance before it shifted, his mask firmly back in place. Then the woman linked her arm into his. Jeff ignored her and continued to silently stare at Roman. I saw his eyes turn down toward my shirt, shrugging the woman off his arm to remove his jacket and extend it to me. Roman placed a hand out to halt his actions. “No need, we were just leaving.”

If I could bottle the look on Jeff’s face, I would have drunk it up for a month. Roman was definitely aware of what was happening. I looked up and his eyes sparkled with mischief. He extended his strong hand out to me again and I didn’t even hesitate to take it as he turned to walk us out of the coffee shop.

We walked down the sidewalk until the coffee shop was out of view and he politely let go of my hand. I turned to him and shyly looked up into his eyes. “Thank you for that back there. I was so embarrassed”.

He smirked, “You don’t have to thank me. It was the least I could do since I caused it.”

He must have assumed my appearance was the cause of my embarrassment. It didn’t matter what he thought of the situation; he was kind enough to get me out of it. I felt the heat returning to my cheeks and lowered my eyes back to the sidewalk. “Thank you for everything you don’t understand how much you helped me,” I said and started to quickly walk away.

I heard him call out, “I’m the one who should be apologizing, I’m the one who ruined your shirt!”

I knew I must look ridiculous.