Iwas so excited when Crystal agreed to go out for lunch. Our date had gone quite well, and I found myself wanting to invite her back to my place for dinner. When she had replied to my text so quickly, I smiled to myself. She was as eager to see me as I was to see her.
The doorbell rang right as I was portioning out our dessert that I had fixed a head of time. I knew that Crystal was super healthy and rarely ate desserts, but it was often tiramisu when she did.
I opened the door and could immediately tell that something was bothering her. “Is everything okay, Crystal? You look stressed out. What’s on your mind?”
She shrugged, but I knew something was up. Crystal had always been a carefree person, so when she was upset, it showed.
After kissing me on the cheek, I closed the door behind her. “Thank you for inviting me over this evening.”
“Sure, are you ready to help me cook?”
She nodded, and we walked hand in hand back to my kitchen, where I had left the two plates of tiramisu. “This was supposed to be my after dinner surprise.”
Crystal’s reaction surprised me, when she only glanced briefly at the dessert I knew was her favorite and said, “Would you mind if we sat in the garden? It’s such a beautiful night out, and I could use some fresh air.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
I wanted to ask her what she was referring too in her text, but I decided to let her bring it up.
As we sat out in the garden, underneath the stars, it reminded me of the first time we made love out here. Since that night, we had several repeat performances when both of us had nowhere to be the following morning. We’d sleep in together, and then I’d bring her breakfast on a tray. I loved the way she looked first thing in the morning, too. Her gorgeous red hair was always messy in an adorable way, and when she smiled, her eyes lit up.
I was falling in love with her.
Crystal looked around the garden. “We’ve made a lot of memories out here, haven’t we Gavin?”
“Yep, and I plan on us making even more?”
“Me too. Hey…” she turned around and glanced over her shoulder toward the kitchen. “Would you mind if we eat dessert before the main meal? I’m starving.”
I ran back inside and returned with our two plates.
Crystal moaned seductively when she took the first bite. “It’s delicious. I can’t believe you remembered that it was my favorite dessert!”
“I have an impeccable memory.”
She flirtatiously licked her spoon. “What else do you remember about me?”
“Let’s see. You only drink Italian roast coffee with a touch of cream, your favorite color is pink, and you want to have a holistic medical practice one day.”
“I’m impressed, although I’ve been known to settle for breakfast blend on occasion.”
Since she still seemed a bit distant, I decided to change the topic. “Remember how I was telling you about work earlier? Well, on my way home, Mr. Truman texted me. He wants me to take on three more projects this month, which is only two more weeks. I’d do anything for that family, and the money is great, but I cannot wait to take a vacation.”
“That’s a lot of business deals to close in only a few weeks. Do you think you can do it?”
I wanted to tell her no, that Mr. Truman was starting to push me a little too hard, but I was afraid it would get back to him. I didn’t want to disappoint. Actually, in the past, I would have relished the opportunity. But now that Crystal and I were dating, I was becoming less focused on my work.
“It means longer workdays, but he said it wouldn’t be as heavy of a workload in the upcoming months. Some prime properties came up for sale, and they’re practically giving them away, so he wants me to talk them down even lower.”
Discussing business deals seemed to always bother Crystal. “That seems a bit cheap to me. If they’re so low, why bother pushing the sellers even farther?”
I agreed with her, but again, I didn’t want it to get back to Mr. Truman. “That’s business. Make as much money as possible while spending as little as possible.”
“I guess so. That’s just the hippie in me coming out. My mom hated to see some people suffer while others had everything handed to them on a silver plate. Not that I think that’s your case, Gavin. I see how hard you work. The Truman’s, however, have plenty of money.”
“Anyway, I’ll be working upwards of sixteen hours a day, which I’m not looking forward to.”
“You do work hard, Gavin. Maybe you should look into taking some time off. My mother always told me about the importance of good mental health.”
