The F It List - Alexis Winter Page 0,10
up at the dark ceiling, reliving my evening. The smile on her face is burned into my memory.
In the morning at work, I go straight to the break room on her floor. I wonder how long it’ll take her to realize that this isn’t my break room and I only come here to see her. When I walk in, she’s already sitting at the table in the center of the room. She has a cup of coffee, some kind of pastry, and her notebook open in front of her with a pen in her hand.
She looks up at me with a smile.
“Good morning,” I say, stepping past her to pour a cup of coffee.
“Morning.”
I turn and lean against the counter. “So, did you cross something off your list last night?”
She smiles, picks up the notebook, and turns it around for me to see. My eyes quickly glance down the page and see that she’s written ride on a motorcycle and it’s slashed through. I also catch a quick glimpse of have an orgasm and see that it’s still there waiting. Thank God!
“Good. How’d it feel getting to mark something off?” I ask, moving to sit down at the table.
“Amazing. I don’t know why I didn’t do this before.”
“What? Ride a motorcycle or start a list?”
She giggles. “Both.”
I reach over and take away the notebook. “What’s on here that we can do tonight?” I ask, looking over the list.
Go out to dinner and be honest with my date about who I am and what I like.
“How about this one?” I ask, pointing at it.
She reads over the line. “You want to take me out to dinner?”
I nod. “Sure, I gotta eat, and if it helps you out, why not?” As I wait for her answer, I add on. “What do you usually do on these dates, anyway? Lie?”
She smiles. “Usually. I . . .” she rolls her eyes. “I guess I’ve always been so desperate for people to like me that I said I liked things I didn’t. Like Jimmy. He was into football—like, watching it seven days a week into it. Well, once I found that out, I loved football too. In reality, I hate football. I don’t have a clue what’s going on or why they’re constantly stopping the game. I tried to understand it and truly get into it, but I just couldn’t.”
I laugh. “Fair enough, I guess. So, tonight? Seven work for you?”
She giggles. “Sure.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.” I take my cup of coffee and head out to get to work.
I have a long, boring meeting that lasts the entirety of the morning. By the time we’re all dismissed, it’s lunchtime. I grab a sandwich from the cart and go back to her break room. I find it empty and decide to go to her office instead. I knock on the door and she calls out from the other side. I open it and step in. She looks surprised to see me, and her fingers, which were racing across the keyboard, stop.
“You weren’t in the break room,” I say, taking the empty chair across from her desk.
“I have some work to finish up,” she says, turning her chair to face me.
“It’s lunch. You need to eat. Here, I’ll split my sandwich with you.” I take half of the sandwich and hand it over.
“Thanks,” she says, accepting it.
“So, where do you want to go for dinner?”
She takes a bite and shrugs. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s not like it’s a real date.”
I frown. “Sure it is. I’m picking you up, taking you to a restaurant, and paying. It’s a date whether you like it or not.”
She rolls her big blue eyes. “Fine. There’s this new Mexican restaurant down the street from me. I’ve always wanted to try it, but Jimmy hated Mexican food.”
“Mexican it is . . . and you know what that means.” I smile.
“What’s that?” she asks, confused.
“Tequila!”
She fakes a gagging sound and we both laugh.
When I get off work, I waste no time in going home and getting ready for our date. Chuck is still in his sweatpants on the couch when I get in, and he looks up at me with sleepy eyes. “How was your day?” he asks, taking a bite of his cereal.
“Good. I gotta get ready for a date.”
“Blondie?” he asks.
“You know it,” I reply, walking past him to my bedroom to get cleaned up.
Three
Cora
Riding on the back of Grayson’s Harley is the most exhilarating and dangerous thing I’ve ever