I'm relieved when I finally get in my car to head home for the day. After visiting with Beth for a little while, I'm ready to shower and make dinner. I pull into the drive and get a text message.
-Thanks for helping me today. I appreciate it. I look forward to seeing you Wednesday night.-
I sigh and respond.
-You're welcome. Will Wednesday require work casual attire or casual? I would hate to be under or over dressed for dinner.-
I'm walking up to the door when my phone goes off again.
-We will be going to Fearings, so business casual should be fine.-
I pause, Fearings? In Dallas? Well then...
-Sounds great. I'll be ready and meet you at the hospital at six then. Enjoy the rest of your evening.-
I get a response, stating to enjoy mine as well as I head into the kitchen to see about for dinner before I take a shower. I'm getting ready to hop in the shower when my phone starts ringing.
I don't bother looking at the caller ID and just answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey there, beautiful. How was your day?"
I smile and turn off the water to the shower, "Hey Lance, it was a Monday. How was your day?" I go and lay on my bed while we talk and banter about the mundane parts of the day. Before I know it, I notice that we've been on the phone for almost two hours.
"Oh wow, look at the time. I need to shower and still make dinner. I should let you go."
"I'm on my way to drop some files off at the office. I could stop somewhere and pick us up something to eat? What are you in the mood for?"
I fiddle with my thumb and think, "I don't know.... Tacos sound good."
"Tacos it is, is there a preference?" Lance asks.
"Carnitas, extra lime, no pico de gallo. Or chicken, no pico, with avocado and lime, if there's no carnitas."
Lance chuckles, "Your wish is my command. Carnitas, extra lime, or chicken with avocado and lime, no pico on either."
I smile warmly, "You got it. I'll see you shortly then. Bye."
We hang up and I hop in the shower, to head downstairs and watch TV, while I wait.
I see the lights roll up my driveway about thirty minutes later and go open the door.
"Good you're here! I'm starving." I exclaim, reaching my hands out for the bags of food.
"Here I thought you were actually happy to see me for a moment." Lance rolls his eyes and hands me the bag of tacos.
"Oh come on, you know me better than that." I scoff at him, knowing he's just teasing me, as I walk into the house to the table in the kitchen.
I hear him close the door and follow to join me. He begins to chuckle lightly as we unwrap our tacos.
"What's so funny?" I ask before taking a big bite of my carnitas taco.
Lance smiles as he puts salsa on his taco, " You are not waddling like a duck anymore." He takes a bite of his taco, as I flip him off with my mouth full.
He snorts and covers his mouth as he tries to suppress his laughter as he attempts to chew his food. Even I'm chuckling but more so at him then his comment. I sip on my water and do my best to not choke.
"You're such a dick sometimes." I laugh at him, now that I'm able to without being gross.
He coughs and clears his throat, still giving a light, restrained giggle as he waggles his brows at me. "Yes, sometimes I am."
The innuendo is not lost on me, so I just stick my tongue out at him before tucking into my food. Tacos make everything better!
He chortles and tucks in and soon we're both done eating.
"So," Lance starts after tossing our trash away, "how did your coffee date go?"
I sigh, "Not bad. Even though he knows I don't want a relationship he still asked me to dinner this Wednesday night."
Lances pulls his head back in disbelief, "Really? Huh... So are you going?"
I shrug, "I said yes, we're going to Fearing's in Dallas. It's just as friends though. He asked me to go because of his cousin trying to set him up with this woman."
Lance blinks in confusion at me, "So you're just a shield to block this other woman? That's a little messed up."
I'm startled by his statement, "How so? His cousin will not listen to him, so he's asking me to throw off his cousin and this other woman. He says he's told his cousin numerous times he's not interested in her but he just will not listen to him."
Lance huffs, "That's fine, but you're more than just a scapegoat, Lirael. He should want to take you out because he's genuinely interested in you."
Now, it's my turn to scoff, "I don't want a relationship though. I'm perfectly fine with getting to know him as a friend and help him out on this."
"What? Are you not good enough for him, is that what you're thinking? IS that why you're okay with being a scapegoat?" Lance spits out, raising his tone and throwing his hands out in frustration.
Lance is actually getting upset about this.
I stand up and put my hands on my hips and tell him calmly, "NO, I'm okay with it, because he's gay, Lance. His family do not accept him and keep trying to force women on him. I don't know why you're getting upset about this?!" I pant, taking my time to calm my breathing as he processes the information.
He takes a few deep breaths, opening his mouth a few times to say something but stops himself. He shakes his head in confusion, staring off into space before turning back to me.
"He's gay?"
I scoff, "Yes. The reason he wanted to know if I was single, was because he didn't want to possibly cause problems with my relationship."
Lance scratches the back of his neck, starting to look embarrassed looking away from me. "Oh... that makes sense..."
I start to tap my foot, crossing my arms as I narrow my gaze at him, "Now, why did you get your panties up your ass about it?"
Lance crosses his arms in front of him, his shoulders sagging as he looks down at the floor. "I thought... the thought crossed my mind that maybe his intentions were more malicious for a second. Which made me concerned about you when you said you were going to Dallas for dinner. When you said you were going to be a shield for this woman his cousin is trying to hook him up with, I got offended."
I snort as my hands go back to rest on my hips, "Why were you offended?"
Lance sighs, hesitant at first, "I ... It made me question why he was using you like that. Like you were not his type, or you didn't meet his standards for what he looked for in a woman. It pissed me off, because you should not help someone who wants your assistance but doesn't think you're good enough to actually date."
He takes a deep breath before looking up at my eyes, holding my gaze, "You deserve to be respected and put on a pedestal, because you are worth more than you give yourself credit for. I'm sorry for making assumptions and loosing my cool."
My hands drop from my hips and I take a step back from him, "Apology accepted." I say quietly, before adding, "Thanks for being concerned about me though."
Lance huffs, "Yeah, just looking out for you is all."
We sit there a moment in awkward silence, not sure of what to say next.
Lance is the one to finally break the silence, "So what are you going to wear to the dinner?"
"He said business casual should be fine for Fearing's. Why?" I ask curiously.
"Business casual will work for Fearing's, but not for dinner to throw another woman and his cousin off his back. Come on," He stands, extending a hand out to me, "let's go find something that will make the man doubt his sexuality and make the trouble makers go running for the hills." He says with a devilish smile.
I place my hand in his and he takes me upstairs to start going through my closet.