See You at Sunset by Margarete Cassalina

Author:Margarete Cassalina [Cassalina, Margarete]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781532027468
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2017-08-17T04:00:00+00:00

12 Kisses in the Keys

That Friday, the local Key West Citizen morning paper published that sunset would be 8:21p.m.

I left work at 3:00 p.m. and took myself off on-call status. Being the chief does have its perks. I even left my Motorola pager at home. Oz had left a note on the kitchen table that he’d be gone until Monday. He added in his note that he’d left my mail on the table and had thrown out everything rotten in the fridge—again.

I took a long, hot shower and changed into jeans and a white collared shirt. I stopped in to see Captain Tony and have my tequila and lime. He gave me an “atta-boy” slap on the shoulder as I walked out of his bar. I tossed a quarter toward the mouth of the fish but missed. I was in too good of a mood to let that bother me, and I walked down Duval toward Mallory Square. I bought a long-stemmed red rose from Paulo, the street vendor I knew well. I had patronized his floral services over the years for many unsuspecting ladies. I walked to the pier and looked around. She wasn’t there yet. I grabbed a stool at El Meson’s and waited.

It was 6:45 p.m. when I saw her. She had on a blue wrap dress, and her hair was pulled back by a leather woven headband, her skin deliciously tanned from the sun. I left a ten-dollar bill on the counter, grabbed the rose, and walked toward her.

She spotted me walking toward her and nervously waved.

My smile widened as I approached her.

I presented her with the long-stemmed rose I had hidden behind my back.

“What if I didn’t show?” she said, taking the rose I offered.

“Ah, but you did,” I said as I watched her cheeks blush.

“Have you eaten?” I asked.

“Alexander, this is not a date,” she said. “We are just here to watch the sunset.”

I just smiled and let her lie to herself.

“Then how about a little key lime pie and a margarita while we watch the celebration?” I countered. She smiled.

“You just sit here.” I motioned to the stone wall. “I’ll be right back.”

I grabbed two slices of pie from Caroline’s, two drinks from the vendor next door, and walked back to Vivian.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the pie from my hand.

“You are very welcome, Vivian,” I said, taking any excuse to say her name out loud.

“So what’s your story, Dr. Morgan?”

I was quiet for a moment. She had impulsively used one of my lines on me. Vivian had a knack for catching me off guard. I was accustomed to being the one leading the questions, the one in control. Anyone else prying into my personal life would have me quickly abandoning this evening’s romance, but talking to her seemed so natural, like there was nothing I wanted to hide.

“Cat got your tongue, Doctor?” she coyly asked.

“Doctor, is it?” I smiled, trying to buy some time on my answer.

“You’re stalling, Alexander.”

How does she do that?

“There’s no story really,” I answered.

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