chirps, waving her hand over her shoulder as she quickly retreats to the bank of elevators. Mischievous little tart. I don’t know whether to thank her or throttle her. The jury is still out on that.
My eyes fall onto our joined hands again until Andrew’s voice draws my attention upward.
“It appears that it’s just you and me then. Shall we?” he asks, releasing my hand and offering his elbow instead. My arm slips easily into the crook of his as my head nods in agreement.
We glide across the marble floor toward the in-house restaurant, where we’re ushered immediately to a quiet table in the corner, giving us some privacy from the rest of the crowd. It doesn’t escape my attention that every female’s eyes follow Andrew as we walk through the restaurant, allowing myself to receive a few glares at the same time. Not that I blame them. I’d be staring at him too if I weren’t the one currently attached to his arm.
Being the perfect gentleman that he is, he holds out my chair for me. I give him my silent appreciation, still unable to find my voice as I watch him lower himself into the chair next to me. Odd that he doesn’t want to sit across from me, but I quickly understand the reason why as his leg brushes up against mine. My stomach flutters again at the contact.
“So Tessa, tell me a little more about yourself,” he says as he picks up his menu.
I watch as his eyes scan over the choices and I feel myself relax a little.
“Well, there’s not much to tell really. I’m twenty-six, I live alone in a small one bedroom apartment close to downtown Minneapolis, and I go to work then come home and read. I’m really quite boring, believe me.”
His quiet chuckle pulls a smile from me as I scan the menu in an attempt to avoid eye contact.
“I find that hard to believe. Have you lived in Minneapolis your entire life?” The genuine curiosity in his voice pulls my head toward him. My bottom lip disappears between my teeth.
“No. I grew up in northern Minnesota until I graduated from community college with my AA degree and my certification as an Administrative Office Assistant. It’s not much, but it was all I could afford at the time. Some people would look down upon my job title, but I truly enjoy it. There are so many people out there that have their jobs simply because of the money and are miserable doing them. It may not be the highest paying job ever, but it covers my bills and I’m doing something that I love, which makes getting up every day worth it.”
Typically I go on the defensive about my job because most people do look down upon it. They feel that being a lowly secretary is just some position for people who have no talent or purpose in life. But as Andrew looks at me, I don’t see the pity or disappointment in my life choices I see with some others. There’s a sparkle in his eye as he just sits and listens to me describe my somewhat pathetic life.
“It’s not often you find a person who enjoys what they do in life. You are most definitely a rare one Tessa, in more ways than one.” He places his hand over mine and the familiar tingling travels through my veins.
The waiter arrives at our table, jotting down our order quickly as if sensing we wanted to be alone. It isn’t lost on me Andrew has yet to remove his hand from the top of mine, making my soul sigh as it chips away another brick in the wall I’ve constructed around me.
The awkwardness I usually feel leaves me as we sit in a moment of comfortable silence. He obviously must be comfortable as well because he doesn’t make a move to fill it. My eyes fall upon our joined hands and I notice he does the same. He lightly squeezes it, causing another spark to travel through my body.
“I hope you don’t mind this Tessa, me holding your hand. It’s just that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we first met. There’s this overwhelming need to touch you as if to make sure that you’re real,” he says
My eyes fall onto our joined hands again until Andrew’s voice draws my attention upward.
“It appears that it’s just you and me then. Shall we?” he asks, releasing my hand and offering his elbow instead. My arm slips easily into the crook of his as my head nods in agreement.
We glide across the marble floor toward the in-house restaurant, where we’re ushered immediately to a quiet table in the corner, giving us some privacy from the rest of the crowd. It doesn’t escape my attention that every female’s eyes follow Andrew as we walk through the restaurant, allowing myself to receive a few glares at the same time. Not that I blame them. I’d be staring at him too if I weren’t the one currently attached to his arm.
Being the perfect gentleman that he is, he holds out my chair for me. I give him my silent appreciation, still unable to find my voice as I watch him lower himself into the chair next to me. Odd that he doesn’t want to sit across from me, but I quickly understand the reason why as his leg brushes up against mine. My stomach flutters again at the contact.
“So Tessa, tell me a little more about yourself,” he says as he picks up his menu.
I watch as his eyes scan over the choices and I feel myself relax a little.
“Well, there’s not much to tell really. I’m twenty-six, I live alone in a small one bedroom apartment close to downtown Minneapolis, and I go to work then come home and read. I’m really quite boring, believe me.”
His quiet chuckle pulls a smile from me as I scan the menu in an attempt to avoid eye contact.
“I find that hard to believe. Have you lived in Minneapolis your entire life?” The genuine curiosity in his voice pulls my head toward him. My bottom lip disappears between my teeth.
“No. I grew up in northern Minnesota until I graduated from community college with my AA degree and my certification as an Administrative Office Assistant. It’s not much, but it was all I could afford at the time. Some people would look down upon my job title, but I truly enjoy it. There are so many people out there that have their jobs simply because of the money and are miserable doing them. It may not be the highest paying job ever, but it covers my bills and I’m doing something that I love, which makes getting up every day worth it.”
Typically I go on the defensive about my job because most people do look down upon it. They feel that being a lowly secretary is just some position for people who have no talent or purpose in life. But as Andrew looks at me, I don’t see the pity or disappointment in my life choices I see with some others. There’s a sparkle in his eye as he just sits and listens to me describe my somewhat pathetic life.
“It’s not often you find a person who enjoys what they do in life. You are most definitely a rare one Tessa, in more ways than one.” He places his hand over mine and the familiar tingling travels through my veins.
The waiter arrives at our table, jotting down our order quickly as if sensing we wanted to be alone. It isn’t lost on me Andrew has yet to remove his hand from the top of mine, making my soul sigh as it chips away another brick in the wall I’ve constructed around me.
The awkwardness I usually feel leaves me as we sit in a moment of comfortable silence. He obviously must be comfortable as well because he doesn’t make a move to fill it. My eyes fall upon our joined hands and I notice he does the same. He lightly squeezes it, causing another spark to travel through my body.
“I hope you don’t mind this Tessa, me holding your hand. It’s just that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we first met. There’s this overwhelming need to touch you as if to make sure that you’re real,” he says
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