Earlier that day, before I fell in bed with Jacob, I walked out of Tazi's Cafe in downtown Atlanta, with a piping hot cup of coffee in my hand. Jacob approached the store walking in a measured stride, and my eyes zoned in on his soft, green gaze. But that wasn't all that had my attention. It was the gush of fresh air that came flowing along beside him that captivated me.
"Here. Let me get that for you," he said, handing me my briefcase that had, unbeknownst to me, fallen from my hand. His gesture of kindness snapped me out of the stupor I had fallen into.
"Oh, thank you. I can be so clumsy at times," I told him, scrambling to retrieve my belongings from his outstretched hand. I noticed the handsome smile that spread across his broad face, as my hand touched his. "I'm on my lunch break and I was rushing to get back. I'm so sorry," I added, embarrassed.
"No need to apologize. The pleasure is all mine," he said as his tongue slowly slid across his lips. His gaze was piercing as he ran his eyes over my body, inch by inch.
"Do you work downtown? I haven't seen you here before," I asked, making small talk.
"No, I'm just in town for a few days," he said. "I live in Florida. However, my grandmother has a retirement home here. She told me to check out Tazi's," he said, humping his shoulders. "So here I am. Is it all that? And what do you suggest?" he asked, pointing to the store.
I wanted to suggest that the sexy creature have me for lunch, but I didn't say that. My mind wandered, thinking about lying down on the counter and letting him feast upon me. My thoughts were running away until I remembered my mantra - saved and single. Ever since I divorced Montie Brown, I'd been walking the straight and narrow. I took another deep breath of his fresh air, silently meditating for strength.
He ran his hand through his brown hair, and with a raised eyebrow, asked "so what do you recommend?"
A throaty voice, which sounded a tad more provocative than I wanted, belted from my lips, "Oh, I guess, the three-layer chocolate mousse cake is a winner." Trying to clean up my tone with a firm clearing of my throat, I put a little more of my business tenor into my next words and asked, "So are you originally from here?"
"Nah. I'm from Miami."
"Oh, well enjoy your first visit at Tazi's. You're going to love it," I said, taking one last look at the sexy man. I stepped around him and began to walk to my car.