Chapter Four

Addie

After another margarita and two baskets of chips and salsa, Beck and I finally manage to spend the last hour and half that the bar is open to drink water and sober up enough to make it back to my place.

"It sucks that nice suit guy left so long ago. I might have had the courage to talk to him if I would kept drinking those disgustingly strong drinks."

"No, you wouldn't have and you shouldn't lie to yourself like that. When was the last time you got laid anyway? A year? Two?"

Three. I thought but didn't say. Beck can ruin one's self esteem in literally two sentences.

I had a brief fling with a guy in town that I went to high school with a few months after I moved back. He was in a band and friendly and was willing to see me even when I was broken and a shell of myself because he was down on his luck as well and liked the ego pandering of my attention. So we just fell into a mutual sharing of damage and depression and when it was over, we just sort of stopped talking. It helped me get over Ryan, so I saw it as a necessary evil.

Beck dropped me off and told me she will pray for my lonely vagina before she goes to bed. I hate her.

After washing the shame of the night out of my hair and brushing the taste of fermented limes out of my mouth, I start a pot of chamomile tea and settle into trying to get my mind calm enough to actually sleep for a few hours. Just as I take the first steaming drink, a loud knock on my door makes me nearly jump out of my skin.

I look at my phone. 1230 am. Who could be knocking? I cautiously creep to the door and look through the peephole. Holy shit.

"Can I help you?" I shout through the dead-bolted door.

"Yes, um, I apologize for knocking this late and I wouldn't if I wasn't in need of some help. I'm lost." The accent. The eyes. The ache in my vagina.

Nice suit guy.

Even though he is literally the hottest man I have ever seen, he could still be a murderer.

I open the main door but keep the chain lock set.

"Lost?" I ask. And I see that he recognizes me from the bar, too.

"Yes. Hello again. I am looking for Meadowfield Lane? There aren't any street signs out here and the gps isn't working. It's what I get for wanting a real country retreat and waiting until this late to find it."

"Meadowfield? Oh, you mean Meadowfield Manor? The seasonal rental about a mile away. Actually, if you turn right out of my driveway, there's a dirt path that takes you around a curve and right into the drive for the place. It's directly behind my property here. The woods separates us but you can see the house from here now that the leaves have fallen." Shit. That sounded stalkerish of me. Why did I add that last part?

"Ah, okay. So I am not too far off. Thank you for the directions. You saved me." He says it with an odd tone. A tone that sounds like there is much, much more to those words. "Is that coffee?"

"What? Sorry?" God am I always this in my head?

"Coffee. Is that coffee in your hand?"

I look down. "Oh! No. Tea."

"Tea." He says.

A moment of silence passes. "Too bad it's not coffee. I could sure use a cup after traveling today."

Shit again. "How thoughtless of me. Would you like to come in? I can make a cup for you if you don't like tea." I just invited in the most beautiful potential killer ever. It's a good way to go, I guess.

He smiles and shows his perfectly white and straight teeth. I open the door and lead him into the kitchen, my hands visibly shaking. I'm not sure if it's from the chill outside, my fear of being skinned alive or the way his smile made my panties almost explode. I put a single serving cup in the coffee maker and look at him. He's younger than I am, that's for sure. Maybe more than five years. Maybe more than ten. But his eyes make him seem so much older, an old soul. Like he's lived more than one lifetime.

"Mind if I take this off?" He asks, untying his scarf.

"Not at all," I say wistfully. "I mean, I know it's warm in here, the wood burning stove really heats up the place." I clear my throat as the coffee maker beeps. He takes off his jacket and rolls up the sleeves of the white button up underneath it. Both of his arms are sleeved with tattoos and his chest, or what I can see of it with the top two buttons undone, is tattooed completely too. And his neck has a tattoo of snake with a sword or something and some initials on it. I realize I'm staring and I look away as I grab the cup and ask how he takes his coffee.

"Sugar and cream." He smiles. I am surprised. He notices.

"What? I'm not a monster. I don't know how anyone can drink it black," he laughs as he sits on my barstool.

"What if I take mine black?" I ask.

"Well then, I'm running like hell out of here, you sociopath." I laugh at his joke. He's funny. And hot. And sexy and…

"Ahhhh perfect. Thank you for this. I know there's probably a coffee maker at the rental but nothing beats a cup that's made for you."

I nod and smile. "You're welcome."

A moment of silence passes. It's awkward but not awkward. He seems relaxed and that ease actually makes me more tense.

"So, are you from around here?" He is making small talk. Okay.

"Yes. I grew up here. And I would spend summers at my grandfathers farm an hour northwest of here. I lived away for about a decade and then came back." Why did I need to tell him all of that?

"So you are someone that could show me around?" He sips his coffee and looks over the cup at me with a smile.

"There isn't much to see around here. It's pretty dull." I say as I look down at my unpolished nails.

"From what I've seen so far, there is much beauty and interesting things to learn around here." He doesn't take his eyes off mine.

I gulp. "So, where are you from?" Anything to change the subject and wake me up from hallucinating that this man actually may be hitting on me.

"I am visiting from the city." His avoidance of the question is obvious.

"Which one?" I press a little more.

"Aren't they all the same? Hence the reason for a break, right? A country escape."

"Well, the place you're staying has a killer hot tub. So that's a win, I guess." He finishes his coffee and grabs his jacket and scarf, putting them on in two smooth movements.

"So, are you free this week at all? Maybe dinner Wednesday night?" Oh my god he is actually asking me out. Oh. My. God.

"No pressure." He senses my hesitation. Or my excitement. "I'm just sure you know the best place to eat since you're from here. Thought you could enlighten me. No worries if not."

Oh. So it's not a date.

"Sure. Yes. I am free. I work until around 4 and Wednesday is the night I don't volunteer at the library. So that will work for me."

He smiles. A light in his eyes reminds of something familiar. Like someone I've met before. I just can't quite place it.

"I will pick you up at 6. Thank you for the coffee." He walks to the door. "Oh, but the way, I'm Matteo."

"Oh wow, yes. Sorry I didn't introduce myself."

"You apologize a lot." He says as he holds out his hand.

"Yes. Sorry. Addie. Or Adeline. Addie is fine." He laughs and shakes my hand.

"Nice to see you, Addie." And he walks out the door and into the blustery night.

"See you." I repeat out loud to myself. Not meet you. See you.

Weird.