Blindfold

Copyright © 2014 Belmonte Publishing LLC

Published by Belmonte Publishing LLC.

Chapter 1

I really wasn't having the best of weeks. After a shitty Saturday night, the rest of my weekend had sucked almost as badly. Monday hadn't been any better...with one exception. When I'd gotten home from school, I'd run into – literally – a new neighbor in my building.

Fi

I spent the rest of Wednesday being nervous as hell. So nervous, in fact, that I actually dropped my chalk twice while lecturing on Heathcliff and Catherine. I finally had to finally tell my students to take the rest of the class to work on their homework. I saw the kids exchanging looks and knew they were all wondering why I was acting so weird. Hell, I was wondering it. I'd been the one to ask Fi

At least that's what I told myself when I left the school and headed for the café where we'd agreed to meet. My palms were sweating as I stood outside the building, trying to work up the nerve to go in. This was what I'd wanted, to be able to ask out men, to have men desire me. I wanted to be able to rely on myself when it came to romance, not to need my friends to set me up because I was so socially awkward and unsure of myself that I couldn't take matters into my own hands. So why, if this was what I'd wanted when I'd agreed to Cade's proposal to teach me, wasn't I jumping at the chance to prove myself?

Because it wasn't about not wanting to prove myself or being nervous that I couldn't do it, I was forced to admit. It was about the who. As perfect as Fi

“Forget about him,” I muttered under my breath. “You can do this.” I took a deep breath and walked across the street.

Fi

I didn't want to consider that, maybe, it wasn't my clothes that had truly been the problem but rather the way I'd worn them before. I could feel the difference in how I walked, how I carried myself. Even though I'd worn this outfit numerous times since I'd bought it, it wasn't until now that I felt comfortable in it. And that, I realized, was because I finally felt comfortable in my own skin.

“You look nice,” Fi

“Thank you.” I gave him a polite smile. I was proud of myself for not blushing or brushing off his compliment. Granted, it hadn't exactly given me the warm fuzzies like I would've gotten from one of Cade's compliments, but that was because he hadn't generally just said that I looked nice. Anyone would blush at some of the things he said. It had nothing to do with how the sound of his voice could turn me on, no matter what he was saying.

“I have to admit,” Fi

“Really?” I asked. “Why's that?”

“You backed off so quickly when I suggested you show me around. I figured you weren't interested.” He gave me a wry smile. “Unless I completely read this wrong and you're only trying to be neighborly.”

“And what would you do if I said that was the case?” I asked.

“I'd try to convince you otherwise.” Fi

They really were a pretty shade of gray...green. Fi

The waitress came by and took our order, giving me a couple minutes to get myself focused again. It wasn't fair to Fi

“So, Bree Gamble of three E, are you a transplant like me or a native to the windy city?” Fi

To his credit, he didn't even glance at her ass as she passed.

“Native,” I said. “Born and raised in the suburbs. Moved into the city when my parents decided they wanted to retire to Florida.”

“Your parents retired already?”

I nodded. “My mom always says that I wasn't an afterthought or late in life kid. I was the 'oh shit how did that happen' kid.” I laughed, remembering all the times my mom had said that to get a rise out of people. “My brother was the late in life kid and she was almost forty when she had him. She was forty-four when I was born. My dad was forty-eight.”

“Wow,” Fi

“The rest of you? How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

He gri

I stared at him. “Nine kids?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? Very devout Catholic upbringing.”

I really hoped he wasn't saying all this because he thought he was going to try to get into my pants and claim he couldn't use a condom for religious reasons. I'd been on the pill since Ronald and I had started sleeping together, but that had been because I knew the failure rate of condoms. Plus, there'd always been the off chance that we'd get caught up in the moment and forget. Neither one of us had wanted to risk an accidental pregnancy.

“Myself,” he continued. “I'm more of a C&E Catholic.”

“C and E?” I asked.

“Christmas and Easter.” He glanced over to where the waiter was bringing our drinks.

I blew on my coffee before testing it. Perfect.

“What about you?” Fi

“Pretty much just Christmas and Easter Baptist,” I said. “More spiritual than religious.”

Fi

“Ian. He and his wife live in Texas.”

“Do you have any other family in the city?” Fi

I laughed. As much as Cade's confidence had been attractive, I had to admit that it was a bit refreshing to see someone who wasn't the perfect conversationalist. “You said you were from Sacramento? Is your family still there?”