Soulmates

I had never been one to buy into the idea of soulmates. I'd had friends who'd found their perfect match, and frankly, I'd always felt bad for them. The idea of settling for one person for the rest of your life seemed miserable to me. Boring.

Then I met David. I should have known something was off; guys who look like him don't usually hang out in dive bars. But when he walked up and started talking to me, my heart melted. It was as if he'd known exactly what to say, exactly how to say it. His eyes were a deep, dark brown. I'd never seen anything like it. They were beautiful. The yellow in the right one was flecked with gold, and when he looked into my eyes, I had the strangest feeling that I could see straight inside him, as if through his soul, to the place inside me that made me me.

He'd been sitting at the bar on his own for a while, and I'd been watching him. It wasn't like I was trying to make him hop up and come talk to me, but he kept coming over to me, and I kept staying put, pretending to text on my phone. Finally, finally, after fifteen minutes of him looking at me and me looking at him, he got up and ordered a beer. I had only the two, but I'd had them earlier in the evening, so I was feeling very relaxed.

"Okay," I said, setting down my phone. I tried to look cool, but in reality, I was giddy. "So, you want to tell me what you want?"

I could see him sizing me up. I knew I was good-looking, thanks to my mom, and I knew I was smart, thanks to my father. I don't know if it was my leg—I'd been in a car accident when I was twenty, and it was my bad leg that had been broken—but I could tell he was trying to figure out if I was available.

"Hey," David said, "What are you doing tonight?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You just met me."

He grinned. "I trust my gut."

I laughed. "That must be nice. My gut's been telling me I'm going to land in hot water if I don't get home soon." I sighed. "My dad's going to audition for the part of King Lear."

"Really?" David leaned back in his stool. "I saw that play in high school."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. You're gorgeous, rich, and successful. I bet you were the star of your high school. It's not likely that you went to see the poor, retired, homeless, and gimpified King Lear."

David smiled. "You're just jealous that you can't act."

I snorted. "That's the kindest thing you've ever said to me."

He laughed. "I guess I should ask about your family?"

"Oh, they're all here. They stay a little too busy to ever notice when I'm gone, but they're not bad."

"And your fiancé?"

"I'm not engaged. I, uh, broke up with him a few months ago, so no, he's not here at all."

David nodded. "Okay. So, if I fucked this hot, smart, funny as hell woman I'd just met over here right now, would you let me or would you report me?"

I blinked. "You're cute," I said. "And you really make me feel good. But I think you should still buy me another beer. So, I'll have one."

David laughed. "Okay, fair enough."

I waited for him to get it, and when he sat down, he asked me where I was from.

"I'm from rural South Carolina. My family's been farming the Land of Flowers beside the Savannah River almost as long as I can remember. My great-great-great grandson—well, his great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson, actually—will inherit the land."

He lifted his chin. "That's a long time."

I laughed. "It is, but I've been taught not to throw away anything. It's good to have something lined up."

He looked over my left shoulder at the stage that held the band. "You're not all work and no play?"

My brows raised. "Usually, I play."

"That's a shame. You know, I would have played just for you tonight. I know you're from the south, but your accent is much stronger than any of the others in town. Is it just around your family that you speak like that?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. Dad hates it, but we can remember the way things used to be, the way they said it back then."

He grinned. "I like it. I bet I could rock your world with that."

I laughed. "I think you're the kind of guy who can rock any woman's world. I mean, the attraction was instant—and I don't believe in that shit—but you're good-looking, successful, and charming. You've obviously won the game of getting what you want."

David just nodded, his smile still in place. I'd never spoken to someone like him before, but he seemed relaxed and used to talking to a lot of people.

"So, what's the first thing you want?"

He shrugged, a slow smile breaking out on his full lips. "You're not pinching yourself?"

I puzzled for a moment and then shook my head. "Nope. I guess I was hoping for a little more in the way of conversation."

David tilted his head. "You might be surprised. You're actually a talker. You just have an anarchist streak in you, that's all. You interrogate everyone, but you have this passionate thing going."

"I don't interrogate people," I said, watching him suspiciously. "I just find out what makes people tick, and it's given me a pretty good idea of what I'll be doing for a living."

David shrugged. "It doesn't matter what you say. I'm sitting and talking to you right now. Let's start with an easy one: What's your favorite color?"

I laughed. "I don't know."

"Okay. Why?"

"Because I don't particularly like talking about colors." I shook my head. "But if I had to choose one, I'd say purple. I guess I like being unique."

David nodded. "Good answer. And now what's your favorite food?"

"Are you fucking with me? I eat a lot, and I'm a vegetarian. I don't think I have a favorite food by any means."

"Then a follow-up question: What was your favorite food as a child?"

I shrugged. "I had a few, but I can't recall a single one as of late."

"I see." David leaned back in his stool. "What do you think of when you think about things that are good to have?"

I didn't have an answer ready. I was serious about my answer, but I didn't have any good, specific answers for David. "I can't think of a single thing."

He smiled. "Okay. Let's try another one. Do you think you would rather have a room full of bikinis or an army of bare-chested men around all the time?"

"I hope I'd be a bikinied woman. Sounds a little better."

"That's an easy one. You're totally thinking about women's bodies. You can answer honestly."

I shook my head. "I'm not sitting here thinking about any girl in particular. I'm thinking about them as a group. You know, everyone."

"Okay. Would these women be obedient or disobedient?"

I laughed. "Now that's an easy one. I'm thinking they would all be very obedient."

"You're only thinking about the beauty of their bodies. This isn't exactly a true answer."

"I'm sorry. I'm just not accustomed to making up fake answers to imaginary questions."

"It's the kind of thing you do when you're on a date with someone who wants to like you."

A light came on in my head. "Wait a second. Is this a date?" I could feel my heart beating faster. This was something I could get used to. It would make me feel special, get me a little closer to the guy. I could indulge just a little.

David looked over his right shoulder. "It's a date," he said gently. "I didn't bring you here just to be rude. Just go with the flow."

I nodded. "Okay. I'm just trying to, you know, safely process this in my head. This is an unusual situation, but I know I sound like I'm just a girl who is being very careful and using every excuse she can to be as disciplined as possible."

David stared at me for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine. I'm not forcing you. We can do a third one."

"Fine." I sat back, but I didn't like where the conversation was going. "You know, you're starting to make me nervous."

"Because you're scared I'm going to take things to the next level and make a move on you." David sat up and set his empty glass on the bar. "But you don't have to worry. I don't do that. It's been a long time since I dated anyone. I don't want to lead you on."

"So, you're just making conversation, right? Do you do that?"

"Yeah, pretty much." David turned and looked at me. "You're cute."

"You've got to go." It was a pity that he was being so nice, because I hadn't gotten those answers. I hadn't gotten a conversation, either. If I'd wanted to know what David was like, I could have just waited to see what he was like when he showed up at the wedding and told me I was a scabby, filthy animal who needed to be neutered and taken out back and shot all before my good friend smiled at me and ran off.

"You're right. It is getting late. I should go. You're in dire need."

I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. "I am?"

"I'm not telling you how, and I wouldn't remember if I could."

I was getting creeped out, and I didn't know if it was David or me. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"This isn't a good-bye. I'll be back."

"To tell me that I'm under your fucking skin." I laughed. "Don't worry about it. I won't hold it against you."

David just laughed. "You might not know it, but you are."

I laughed. "Yeah, but I can promise you that you won't be."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to pour my heart out to you. I know your kind. You're too good for that."

I smiled. "Yeah, well, you're going to have to put together the pieces of your heart that you buried in my ass."

"What?"

"What did you think I was trying to say?"

"I thought you were going to say a few other things."

I shrugged. "I don't think so."

He nodded. "And you're going to stay friends with my fiancée?"

"Hell no. I'm not going to do that to you." I laughed. "Or your fiancée."

"I see." He turned his face to the stage and winked. "But I'm willing to forgive you and take you back. If you come back."

I shook my head. "I know where you live. And I live across the river."

"With a few friends. I'm sure if you'd like to pick up friends, you could."

I smiled a little. "You know, I think you're a little hound. You just wanted to know if I'd like to move. You're not going to offer me a job. You are full of shit."

The other guy I picked up wasn't going to even ask me to have his baby. The guy I kissed said he wanted a baby, but he wasn't interested in me. David was hooked, and he couldn't seem to get me out of his head.

But he didn't have a chance. I wasn't going to give up on him just because he was playing hard to get.

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