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Chemelyn delivered the women’s orders and talked with them for a moment, in her friendly demeanor. She noticed then, that the man by the front window had been looking at her, though he had turned away when she pivoted her eyes upon him. Thinking that he was perhaps, impatiently awaiting her to take his order, she moved directly to him.
“Hi there!” she smiled. “How are you today?”
Howie felt as though he would never be able to find his voice. He could hardly believe that she stood before him. “Just fine, thanks.”
“Great, what can I get for you today?” she asked, poised and ready to write down his answer.
“You,” Howie thought. “Maybe you could recommend something. I’m afraid I’m not much of a coffee drinker.” he said aloud.
“Hmm....” she pondered, genuinely thinking about his request. “If you enjoy a slightly sweet taste, the Irish cream latte is good. If you’re hungry, I recommend the chicken salad croissant.”
“That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
“Sure! No problem! Back in a few with your order.” she said, before hurrying off. Howie was mentally chastising himself for not saying something brilliant.....or at least introducing himself. What blue eyes she had..........
*@*
Chemelyn felt her knees go weak at the stranger’s smile. He had, perhaps the most beautiful smile that she had ever seen. His lips were so.....Chemelyn shook her head to clear it. What was she thinking about, anyway?
It was a senseless question; the answer was simple. The handsome stranger.
*@*
Malone sat back on the bar stool positioned behind the counter, mentally patting himself on the back. It had worked, he knew it had. The tell tale flush that covered Chemelyn’s cheeks, and the way the stranger starred after her were proof enough.
Malone continued to watch the exchange between the two when Chemelyn delivered his order. The stranger gazed up at her, and Chem worked hard to avoid eye contact. Now, that was really something. For as long as he had known Chemelyn, she had always made eye contact with everyone she met. In fact, people who didn’t were her pet peeve. Today, she avoided it at all costs.
Chemelyn strode towards him, and as she passed hissed, “Kitchen!” He rose and followed her, once again pulling Charity into his place.
“What?”
“I’m such a fool! I couldn’t even look at him, Malone!” she groaned, hiding her head in her hands. “I practically fell all over myself, and now he must think that I’m a complete incompetant!”
“I’m sure that’s not so.”
“Oh, what do you know!? You’ve been with Derik for a year and a half! You haven’t had to struggle on the dating scene! Oh God, he’s so good looking! Did you see his eyes? Oh my.....” she trailed off. Malone moved to stand in front of her, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Chem, dear. Look at me.” he commanded, raising her chin to force her to look in his eyes. “You are a very attractive, desirable, well put together woman. I’m sure that if you went right back over to his table and asked him to join you for dinner, HE would be the one falling all over himself.”
“So there. Right?” she finished with a smile. Malone laughed.
“Yes. So there.”
“Alright....I’ll do it.” she jumped from her perch, and led the way out the door, her eyes ready to set themselves on the figure she expected to be positioned by the window. Malone slammed into Chemelyn as she stopped in her tracks.
“What the-” he muttered.
“He’s gone, Malone.”
“What?”
“He’s gone.”
*****
Howie hailed a cab, and sat in the back brooding. Why hadn’t he stayed? Maybe is she had come back again, he would have been able to tell her who he was. God, she was so breathtaking. Just thinking about her made his heart constrict. Howie tapped his fingers nervously on the window sill of the cab, silently urging the cabby to make it back to his hotel swiftly. It was time he paid a call to AJ.
*****
“-That’s a perfectly normal response to such a stunning woman that you’ve conversed so intimately with. Listen, being tounge tied is not the issue here. The issue, is your fear of rejection.”
“What?!”
“Face it D. You may have millions of little girls, teenagers, and women throwing themselves at you by day, but by night you’re just a regular guy who’s afraid to ask a pretty girl out.”
“She’s more than pretty, she’s gorgeous.” Howie corrected absently.
“Whatever. My point is, you know that she likes you for who you are in your letters, so why not just walk right up to her and introduce yourself? Get over your fear, here and-”
“It’s not that easy, AJ! With no prelude, you want me to go up to here and say ‘Hi! I’m Howie, that guy you’ve been revealing your inner feelings to via the Pony Express. Wanna grab a hotdog?”
“Sure, why not?”
“AJ!” Howie exclaimed.
“Okay, okay! Listen,” AJ sighed. “Who says she has to know right away who you are? You could just go back to the cafe tomarrow, and ask her out to dinner. Just be....Dwaine Dorough. Chemelyn doesn’t know your last name, am I right?”
“Yeah....” Howie confirmed slowly.
“Alright, so you could just be Dwaine and not tell her the Howie part until you’re sure she likes you and you like her and all that.”
“Then what?”
“Well, then you’d tell her. Be honest. If things DON’T go well, then you’ll at least have the letters. Who knows, maybe she’ll even write to you about yourself!” AJ laughed.
“Basically, though...I only get one chance at this, right?”
“Yeah, so don’t blow it.”
“Way to relieve the pressure.”
“No problem.”
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