My White Ex Soldier

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” he said. She smiled at him. That was a corny line but somehow, he made it work.

“Why thank you,” she said dramatically. “Anyway Taylor, what do you do?” she asked with a smile.

“I have a graphic design company. Nothing big, just the usual,” he said. “And you? What keeps you busy during the day?” he asked.

“Food,” she said smiling. Taylor looked at her, confused. “Oh I don’t eat it…most of the time. I do catering. Got a small catering business right here in town,” she said. There was a hint of pride in her voice.

“Cool. Maybe you could show me a few tricks in the kitchen sometime and I could show you a few…well a lot of things depending on what you are interested in,” he said. “There is really a lot to be learned about design because it keeps on changing.” She loved how he seemed to be tripping over himself as he tried to find the right words. There was just something irresistibly cute about him.

“I don’t know what it is about you, Ericson, that makes me feel like I want to see you more,” Desiree suddenly said with a smile. The words surprised even her. Taylor smiled.

“I am right now inclined to high five an imaginary version of a less successful me ten years ago but I think that will ruin my chances. So I’ll just smile at you. Hopefully I am not being creepy,” he said.

Desiree looked at him and laughed. She reached into her purse and pulled out her card. She smiled as she handed it to him. This was the first person she had met that night that she felt should have her number. She did not mind hearing from him. She was not sure what it was about him, but there was definitely something striking about him. They were soon talking on various topics when the bell rang.

“You have my number, Ericson. Don’t be a stranger,” she said as he stood up. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said before walking away.

For the rest of the night, Desiree was barely hanging on. By the time the event came to a close, she had come to one conclusion: There were too many weirdos living in her hometown. As she made her way out, she bumped into Mark. She looked at him and smiled.

“I saw you put my card in your purse. Hope I will get a call,” he said looking at her. She smiled and leaned against the door.

“Just to be fair, I think you should also have my number,” she said as she pulled out a business card from her purse. For some reason, she found herself second guessing whether or not she should let him have her card. She had not had this feeling when talking to Taylor earlier. She brushed the feeling off and gave Mark her card before walking out. On her way back home, she wondered if she had done the right thing. She had just given her card to two very different and very interesting guys.  In a way, she almost felt as if Rochelle’s promiscuity was rubbing off on her. She was still thinking of the events that had transpired that night when her cell phone rang. She looked at the phone and frowned. It was a strange number and she did not feel like she had the strength to entertain yet another stranger that night. Despite the feeling, she still picked up with a tired hello.

“Desiree, hey. It’s Taylor.” She smiled and suddenly felt better just by hearing Ericson’s voice.

“Missed me already?” she asked.

“Actually, yeah,” he said.

As they talked, the guilt of giving her number to two guys slowly drifted away and for the next few days, she found herself looking forward to her long phone calls with Taylor more and more. She never once mentioned Taylor or Mark to the two most important people in her life.