As a rule, she tried to never kiss a guy on the first date. It was a new rule since she broke up with Mark, so she didn't have much experience with it yet. Plus, she didn't even know if it was actually a date. Neither of them had said one way or another, but they'd connected on a dating site, so Stephanie was confused.
Conversation with Kevin had been really good, and really easy. He was funny and smart, but he was also hiding something. If someone asked her, she would have thought he was hiding his interest in Com-Expo from her. She thought that was the poster he kept looking at, but she just didn't know how to bring it up, so the subject just hung awkwardly between them.
It was really too bad, because he was the attractive guy with the sandy brown hair from the train and the bar. She tried not to think about how Charlotte would feel, she had technically called dibs on him at the bar, but Stephanie thought the elevator adventure deserved first choice. Plus, his new hair cut looked really good. He still had saggy jeans, but he had left the black rain coat at home, and his shoulders filled out his shirt pretty well.
She just couldn't get over what possibly spooked him. Things were going so well, and then she could almost see him turn inwards when she came back from the bathroom. Talking about books was clearly a neutral ground, but opening up about himself seemed to scare him. Well, Stephanie could understand that.
She called Denise when she got to her car.
"So, remember the guy I was stuck in the elevator with?"
"Sure." Denise sounded distracted on the other end of the line.
"Well, his name is Kevin."
A pause as that sunk in. "Wait, how do you know?"
"I found him on that app. We just had coffee. He totally loves books as much as I do."
"Wow, your line actually works?"
"Well, no. First, I asked if he had ever been stuck in an elevator, just to make sure it was him, then I asked about the books."
"And you think I'm the weird one," Stephanie could hear Denise laughing away from the phone. "So, how was the date?"
"I'm not totally sure it was a date exactly, and it was good for the first while when we were talking about books, but then when I started asking questions about himself, he was much more reserved. Not sure if he was just nervous, or trying to hide something."
"He's not like, a creepy stalker dude, right?"
"I don't think so. He doesn't seem creepy at all. And I was stuck in an elevator with him, so I think I would have noticed his creepiness then. He's definitely less creepy than David."
"Yeah, well that's not hard to do. Has David sent any other messages or anything?"
"No, nothing this week, thank goodness." She tugged on a thread at the hem of her shirt. "I need to go get some groceries. Wanna meet up for a run tomorrow morning?"
Denise groaned in response. "No, but I will. 10:30 in the park?"
"See you then!"
She turned her car on and headed to the grocery store. She was going to bake and cook for the rest of the weekend. Good thing she'd be going for a run.
*
On Tuesday, she saw Kevin on the train again. He was completely absorbed in a book and didn't seem to notice her. She smiled to herself and sat down with her own book. He was too far away to try and talk to, but she would send him a message later. The first time she met him he hadn't even given her his name, the second time he didn't give her his number.
She didn't want to seem weird asking him for it since she still wasn't sure they'd been on a date, but she had enjoyed spending time with him, and would love to continue talking about books with him. Including finding out what he was currently reading. It looked big, so it was probably a pretty decent adventure.
By the end of the work day, she finally figured out what to say to him.
Stephanie: Hey, I don't want to seem like a stalker or anything, but I saw you on the train this morning and was wondering what book you were reading?
She didn't hear back from him the rest of the night though, and casually flicked through some other profiles. Not very many of interest, and when she stumbled upon David's profile, she shut down the app and called it quits for the night.
*
A couple days later, she slid into the seat beside Kevin on the train. The startled look he gave her when she tapped his shoulder was priceless. He hastily removed both ear buds and rearranged his face into a smile. She nodded at the book in his lap. "Good one, is it?" She noticed he was about half way through it.
"Yeah, so far. It's the first in a series my friend told me about."
"Are they all that long?"
"Yeah, I think so. He's a very wordy author, but a lot happens in the story to keep it interesting."
They continued talking about books until they were approaching her stop. She took a deep breath and looked directly at him.
"So, the first time we met, I didn't even know your name. Then, you left the coffee shop without giving me your number, and I'd really like to be able to talk about books, and other things, without using that stupid app."
He smiled. "Well, third times the charm, I guess. We seem to make a habit of bumping into each other." He typed his number into her phone, and she texted him right away. The message just read Books (and other things). He pulled out his phone immediately and chuckled at the screen. "You are quite possibly the most literal woman I have ever met."
Stephanie gave him her most flirtatious smile, and exited the train. She looked back through the window when she stepped off and saw him smiling to himself as he put his ear buds back in.
Later that day, Carly, a girl Stephanie regularly played board games with, sent a message asking if anyone wanted to go to a Spellmasters themed trivia night at a bar called "The Bomber" downtown. Stephanie was very interested, and in the end, Stephanie, Denise, Carly and her boyfriend Drew all decided to go together. Their team would be called the 'The Wizards', and figured they stood a good chance. Each one of them had read the whole series at least twice. Stephanie re-read it at least once every year.
They arrived at trivia right on time to get registered and order the food and drinks. The Wizards were doing very well in the first round. During the break, Stephanie headed to the rest room but caught sight of a familiar black raincoat and sandy brown hair style. She headed towards the table, but not wanting to come up from behind in case it wasn't Kevin, she detoured around so she would be able to see his face.
He caught sight of her right away, and for the second time that day, he looked startled to see her. He stood up and came towards her, a coy smile playing on his lips.
"I thought you said you hadn't been to trivia in years."
"Well, I hadn't. But my friend texted today saying it was Spellmasters themed, and we just couldn't resist."
"Oh good, I was slightly worried you were turning into a stalker, following me on the train, asking for my number, finding me at trivia..." he grinned, and she knew he was teasing her again.
"You wish. And we are going to kick your butts!" She poked him in the chest with the last word, and he grabbed her finger. His touch sent a warm shiver down her spine.
"Yeah? We'll see about that. Round 2 is always much harder."
"Good, round 1 was easy-peasy. I expected more of a challenge," she mocked. He let go of her finger as the two-minute warning bell rang. She was shocked to realize she missed the contact immediately.
"Okay, we'll see who wins and continue this discussion later then," he taunted and returned to his table while Stephanie scurried off to the bathroom.
When she returned to her table, she looked around and saw Kevin had switched spots, so he could keep her table in view. He caught her eye and grinned, so she raised an eyebrow back at him. Game on.
Stephanie spent the second round splitting her attention between her table and Kevin's. By her tracking, they were tied in the second round, with only three questions left. She really wanted to beat his team. He's doing the same thing I am, and he looks nervous.
When the round ended, the scores were tallied up and winners announced. In third place by just one point, "This is NOT Jeopardy", which appeared to be Kevin's team, and she caught him smirking at her. The smirk quickly fell when they announced 'The Wizards' had come in second place, and her whole table cheered loudly. The winners, a team called "The Spell MASTERS" had gotten every single question right.
After the initial celebration with her team and receiving their $50 gift card prize, she looked back towards Kevin to gloat, and would've sworn she saw him pouting. The guy sitting beside him leaned over and said something in his ear to claim his attention, and he turned back to his own group.
An hour later, Carly and Drew were ready to leave, but Stephanie wanted the chance to rub her victory in Kevin's nose before she went home. She grabbed Denise and dragged her in the direction of Kevin's table, and he excused himself from his and walked over to meet them.
"I suppose congratulations are in order," he began, bowing his head slightly at them.
"Well, it was a close one, you really gave us a run for our money. In the end, the best team came out on top, as I knew we would," she teased back. He accepted this humbly. The introductions between Kevin and Denise were made, and Denise stuck out her hand instantly.
"So, you're the famous elevator guy, are you?" she inquired.
"I suppose so. Didn't know that made me famous though. At the time, I figured I was just unlucky more than anything."
They chatted for a few minutes before Denise excused herself to make a phone call. She returned a few minutes later and announced her pending departure.
"You have to go already?" Stephanie whined, "But I wasn't done gloating our win over Kevin yet." She noticed he blushed at this slightly.
"Ah, yes, see, my boss expects me to show up on time on Friday morning and leave early to start drinking, but frowns upon me doing the drinking part before the work day starts." Denise retorted, with a mischievous grin in Kevin's direction.
"Well, I was going to hang out and watch the end of the hockey game if you wanted to join me?" he offered, but sounded unsure.
"Really?" She was genuinely pleased with this invitation and turned to Denise, "you'll be alright getting home? Don't mind if I stay?"
"Of course not! As long as you can find your way back to your own house and aren't pounding on my door at 2AM, because I will not let you in."
"Oh, don't be silly Denise, you always let me in! Besides, I'm not that drunk. Your door will be safe from me tonight."
"Okay good. If I don't hear from you by 10:00 am tomorrow, I will start calling the morgues in search of your body!" She turned and headed up the stairs to the exit, looking back briefly over her shoulder to wink at Stephanie and Kevin on her way.
"She's kidding about the morgues thing. I think." Stephanie turned back to Kevin and noticed his ears were slightly pink. Well, Denise can make anyone blush. "So, hockey?"
"Sure, this way." He said, while leading her toward the actual bar.
"Aren't we going over there?" she pointed back at his table, where a petite woman with curly black hair was following them with her eyes.
"Nah, hard to see the game from that table. We'll go over here and then we can watch the game, just like I promised."
"Oh, staying true to your word, that's a good sign." She smiled at him as he pulled out a chair for her.
They watched the third period together, talking lightly on various topics, but mostly about the game itself. With about five minutes left in the game, one of the guys from his table came over and clapped Kevin on the back, saying they were heading out. He looked quizzically at Stephanie, but Kevin didn't introduce her, instead just saying that he would see him the next day.
When the game ended, they finished their beers and headed out to the subway together. It was standing room only on the train when they got on, so they stood near each other and chatted about their normal commute. Every time their shoulders brushed, Stephanie felt warm and wanted more.
When the train arrived at Union Station and the connections to the stadium, the train became packed and rowdy with hockey fans, and Stephanie and Kevin were jostled apart. By the time she finally fought her way off the train at her stop, she decided to send him a text.
Stephanie: Thanks for the fun night. I enjoyed kicking your butt at trivia!
He responded with a happy face.