Page 125 of Champagne Nights

I let out a sigh of relief that he started the conversation. “It was nice. It felt good to hit the waves again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. I haven’t done much surfing since—” I looked down.

“If I surfed, I probably wouldn’t have either.”

I looked up at him and smiled because he got it; he understood.

“My brother, Keaton, the guy I was with, didn’t give me a choice. He just kind of showed up at my house and dragged me out.”

“Yep. I have one of those brothers, too, except his name is Finn.”

“Isn’t it just annoying that family thinks they know what’s best for you?”

“Totally annoying. My parents and my brother are constantly trying to get me to go out. What they don’t realize is that I don’t want to, and if I did, I would.”

“Yes! Exactly.” I smiled.

We reached Starbucks, and Ben held open the door for me. “What would you like? It’s on me,” he said.

“No. I can pay for my own.”

“I know you can, but I’m a guy. How would I look up at the counter if I let you pay for your own coffee, considering we came in together? I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Is that so?” I laughed.

“It is.”

“Fine. Then the next coffee is on me.”

“There’s going to be a next coffee?” He smiled.

I shook my head, and it was our turn to order. As Ben took his wallet from his pocket, I noticed he was still wearing his wedding band, just like I was. We took our coffees and sat at a table by the window. I didn’t know what I was feeling at that moment. I was nervous, scared, excited, happy, all of the above.

“What do you do for a living, Ben?” I boldly asked.

“I’m a firefighter. I work for the LAFD.”

That explained the buff body.

“What do you do?” he asked with a smile.

“I write for a column at the L.A. Times.”

He cocked his head. “What kind of column?”

“Relationships and love. Don’t judge.”

“Wow. That’s great. Do you have a name you go by for your column?”

“You’re not going to look me up, are you?” I asked.

“No. Should I?”

“No. I laughed. “I write under Dear Paisley.”

“Nice.” He smiled as he sipped his coffee.

---