Ch. 25

I awoke the next day in my bed, alone. I had never been in a relationship before, so it was nothing out of the ordinary. This morning, though, it was different. When I rolled over, I went to reach for something that wasn't there. I had never done that before. It felt like something, or someone, was missing, but I wasn't sure what or who. It was a strange feeling. I was yearning for someone to be there, and I couldn't figure out why. I decided to get up, and get the day started. I had to work today.

When I got to the kitchen, Emily was already seated at the table, and Mom was fixing breakfast. See, we still lived at home because we both had just gotten jobs, and couldn't afford to live on our own yet. It was fine with us, but at the same time, I was ready to get out on my own. I loved my mother and sister to death, but I was ready to live my own life. I was sick of being compared to Emily. I was sick of living in her shadow. I wanted to be known as just Alyssa.

"Well, Alyssa. It's about time you woke up. I was about to call an ambulance I was starting to get worried about you. I'm fixing Emily's favorite. Pancakes and bacon."

Emily's favorite. Of course. It figures. Everything was always about Emily.

"Sorry, mom. It won't happen again."

She turned around and smiled. She was a single parent. Our father had died when we were both very young, and mom was working and taking care of us. She owned the local book store, and growing up, we both had a summer job there. She named the book store "Leslie's." I loved the name, considering our father had decided to name it after her, but Emily hated it. She used to always try to get mom to change the name, but after we had gotten older, and our own careers, she stopped. She knew mom was never going to budge, and I was glad she never did change it.

Mom had started piling up pancakes and bacon on our plates. She always overcooked for the three of us, but whatever was left, she took to the local homeless shelter. She always made sure to fix enough to have extra. I admired her for that.

"Eat up you guys. You don't want to go to your first day at work on empty stomachs. And, if you don't eat everything I put on your plate you know what will happen."

We both just rolled our eyes at her as we started to eat. She never really lived up to her threats, but it got annoying after a while. I wasn't exactly excited about my first day of work, but I was more than ready to get out of this house if it meant avoiding any more of this routine.

She ignored our eye rolling, and started piling the extra food in dishes for us to take to the shelter. Since it was closer to where I worked, I was the one that was going to have to drop it off every morning. It wasn't a big deal. I actually liked going to the shelter. There were a lot of nice people there that were in crappy situations.

By the time we were both done eating, mom had a large bag, filled with food, ready for me to take to work. I grabbed the bag, and before I could walk out the door, my mom stopped me.

"Ok, dear, do you have everything you need? Do you have your briefcase, the food, and an umbrella? It looks like it's going to rain."

"Yes, mom."

"Ok, honey. Have a good day, and remember, everything happens for a reason."

She gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and a wink before letting me go.

"Okay, see you later."

I walked out the door, and stopped outside for a minute. What was all that about? She never said things like that to me before. I just shrugged my shoulders, and set off for work. Today was going to be a good day.

I was sitting at my desk at work typing up an invoice. It wasn't very exciting, and it was only my first day. I mean, after all, you didn't have to be some kind of genius to do this kind of work. It was a job, nonetheless, and it was going to get me the money I needed to find my own place to live. I was trapped in my own thoughts while typing, that's when I heard the bell on the door ding. Someone was here, thank God. I looked up and saw a delivery boy with a dozen roses heading towards me. I was confused. I was the only woman who worked in this office. Who would be sending me flowers? He stopped at my desk.

"Ma'am?"

I looked right up at him. My heart pounding in my chest.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for an Alyssa Banks. These are for her."

"I'm Alyssa. Thank you so much."

I took the flowers from him, and smiled up at him. He nodded and left.

Who could be sending me flowers? Nobody but my mom, Emily, and everyone who worked in the office knew where I worked at. This was odd. I scanned the bouquet. They were gorgeous. I smelled them once before I found a card attached. I set the flowers down, picked up the card and read it.

"Alyssa,

I know this may be off-putting, and a little creepy, and I'll completely understand if you decline my offer. I found out where you work through a mutual friend, and I couldn't stop thinking about the cute girl I met on the street last night. Okay, enough rambling. I was wondering if you would meet me for coffee at noon? Let's say, at the Boiling Pot? If you don't show up, I understand. I hope you do, and enjoy the flowers.

Danny Walker"

Danny Walker? The amazingly handsome military guy from the street that I almost knocked on his ass. How could I have possibly made that good of an impression on someone that all I knew about him was his name and he was in the military? I couldn't help but to smile. Someone that had gone through so much trouble of buying a complete stranger roses, and finding out where they worked must be intriguing. He was right, though. It was a little creepy. Like, stalkerish creepy. I had to know more about this mysterious man that wanted to meet for coffee. The worst that could happen would be that he would kill me, but he did say we had a mutual friend. I wondered who.

At 11:30 I gathered my things to get ready to meet Danny. I was excited, but at the same time I was highly nervous. This meeting could go so many different ways it wasn't even funny. I had to see him again, though. Something about this guy was just attracting me to him, and it wasn't his good looks. I had a feeling I had seen him before last night. It had been bugging me all night.

I got outside, and true to my mother's word, I needed my umbrella. I walked nervously to the Boiling Pot. I was hoping I looked alright, but it was torrential down pouring, and I knew I was getting wet even with my umbrella. I just hoped this didn't scare him away.

When I got to the Boiling Pot, I had spotted Danny in a far corner of the shop. I was soaking wet. He had spotted me as well. I smiled nervously as I walked over to him, and I was shivering. Before I got to the table, he stood up immediately. He was smiling shyly at me, and pulled my chair out for me.

"Hi. I'm glad the flowers got to you ok. I'm also glad you showed up."

He sat down as I got situated. He was wearing khaki pants, and a light blue long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had his pilots jacket on the back of his chair. He looked just as handsome as he did in his military uniform.

He must have noticed my shivering. Because no sooner did he sit down, he grabbed his jacket, stood back up and draped it around my shoulders. I couldn't help but to smile, but I was also a little apprehensive.

"Sorry if I'm late, I had to walk here from work."

I couldn't help but laugh. I must have looked like a mess.

"It's ok. Had I known, I would have just picked you up myself."

I smiled sweetly at him. It was a nice thought. Before we could speak another word, the waiter came up and took our order. I ordered a donut with a regular cup of coffee. Danny just got coffee.

"So, you must be wondering who I know to find out where you work."

He was right. That was weird. I wanted to know so bad who our mutual friend was. I smiled nervously, and took a sip of my coffee. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do tell."

He smiled at me. His eyes were gleaming. I could have melted right then and there. He was sexy.

"I used to go into your mom's store a lot when I was a kid. I remembered she had a couple daughters, and your last name sounded very familiar. I knew your mom had to be Ms. Leslie. I went to see her at the book store, and told her I ran into you last night. She lit up at the idea, and let me know where you work."

How could I not have known? Maybe that's why he looked so familiar. Maybe I had seen him at the book store when I was younger. It didn't seem to fit, though. I never went to the book store when I was a child. My parents wanted us to have normal child hoods. I laughed a little. Leave it to my mom to be a match maker.

"Well, that would make sense of who our mutual friend is then. Now, I don't feel so creeped out."

I winked at him. I felt more comfortable with him than I have with anyone in a long time. Even my own family. There was just something about him that seemed familiar. It was a good familiar, though.

It looked like he had visibly relaxed. I didn't realize how nervous he was until I had seen him relax. It made me feel a lot better about everything.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way. Tell me more about yourself. I didn't ask you here for nothing."

We both laughed, and I started talking.

I told him the answer to every question he asked, down to my favorite color. After we got the awkwardness out of the way, I was an open book. I couldn't figure out why I was so comfortable with him. He was just different. We had 30 minutes to talk, and in that 30 minutes, it felt like he knew my life story. Although, there wasn't much to tell.

I learned a lot about him as well. He just came off duty from the Army. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, and he said he had seen more than his fair share. I didn't press him on the matter, because I knew it must have been hard on him. I found out he was a pilot, and he'd been flying ever since he was younger. He said he had his best friend and his father to thank for that. He said flying was his passion, and that he had already applied for a job at the small air strip in the next town over. I also learned that his mother died when he was very young, and his father passed shortly after he joined the Army. I felt bad for him, but I knew what it was like to lose a parent at a young age. That was at least one thing we had in common.

I had to get back to work, but I didn't want to leave. I was having too much fun with him, but it had to come to an end.

"Danny, I've had a wonderful time, but I really need to get going. I don't want to be late from my lunch break on my first day of work."

I made to get up, and I could see his face fall a little. He also looked nervous about something. He was starting to clam up. He noticed I was starting to get ready to leave, and started helping me gather my things.

"Alyssa, I had a great time, and I'm glad you showed up. Is there any way I can see you again?"

My heart was pounding in my chest. I had butterflies like crazy. Did he just ask me out? I had to have been standing there for a minute just in shock, because he started talking again.

"I thought maybe we could go out to dinner, see a movie. You know, get to know each other better. Maybe go for a walk if it's not still raining. Or, you could pick what we do. It's whatever. I would just like to see you again. I feel comfortable with you. I feel like I've known you my whole life just from this little talk we've had."

He was rambling. That was a good sign. He was nervous, too. At least I wasn't alone. I couldn't help but laugh some. I took hold of Danny's hand. My heart leapt in my chest at how he felt about me. I was ecstatic.

"Yes, Danny. I would love to go out with you."

I pulled out a pen and piece of paper from my briefcase and wrote down my address for him. I handed it to him and smiled.

"Pick me up at 6."

I had hurried and gathered my things. I was making my way out the door. I had to be back at work in ten minutes. I was a nervous mess. He walked me to the door, and had a big smile on his face.

"I'll see you then."

I left with a big smile on my face. I knew that there was something different about Daniel Walker. I couldn't wait to find out what this blossoming relationship had in store for me.