West Side Honey by Claire Christian

Author:Claire Christian [Claire Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Published: 2023-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

32

I sit on the front steps in a new dress I don’t need to wear a bra with. I feel positively audacious about it, which seems ridiculous, but I’m choosing to lean into audacity over ridicule. I thumb the tiny purple blooms on the lavender bush next to the front steps and take a second to breathe. Archer will be here any second to pick me up for our date and I am a little nervous, but mostly excited. We’ve been texting and talking and I find him deeply intriguing. The way he talks about politics, his family, his culture, his values, it’s all interesting to me. He’s interesting. He tells great stories and is confident in who he is and what he believes, but not in an obnoxious way. He seems infallible.

When I got home from the the shop opening the other night he messaged, Can I just call you instead of typing all this? I said yes, and we ended up speaking for hours until I fell asleep, and the same last night too. So now I am genuinely looking forward to his company. Even if there is no physical chemistry, I know I’ll enjoy myself, and that is helping me to lower the stakes and be present, to control the controllable and let tonight be whatever it will be.

When Archer’s ute turns the corner the flipping of my stomach propels my body to a standing position before my brain has really even clocked on. He gets out and walks around to greet me. ‘Well…’ he smiles, staring.

‘What?’ I’m nervous, suddenly self-conscious, glancing down at my front to ensure everything’s still where it’s supposed to be.

‘You. You’re divine,’ he says, without taking his eyes off me.

I feel a series of giddy waves roll down my body starting in my heart and crashing into my pelvis. ‘I like your—’ I start, but the words stick in my mouth as I really take him in. The first time I’ve seen him not wearing high-vis, and he really is a startlingly beautiful man. Thick brown hair swept back; piercing brown eyes accentuated by the orangey-red shirt he’s wearing, unbuttoned over a white singlet so the tattoo on his chest just peeks out. He wraps me in a hug, and it lingers, like we’re both clinging to possibility.

As we unravel, I look closely at the engraved silver filigree collar tips on his shirt. ‘I love these.’ I look up at him.

‘They were my grandads. I only wear them on special occasions.’ His arm wraps my waist, and he ushers me to the passenger side of the car.

‘And this is a worthy—’

‘Yep.’ He cuts me off. ‘You better believe you are.’ He opens the door with an elaborate hand gesture.

When Archer starts the car, he looks over at me. ‘Okay, we’ve got to drive for about an hour—’ My eyes open wide, and he says, ‘No, it’ll be worth it, I promise.’ I think he blushes. ‘I mean, I hope it’ll be worth it.

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