Page 21 of Shadowman

I obsessed about it for days, I won’t lie. Debating whether I should ask her out at the restaurant, or accidentally bump into her somewhere else. Admittedly, asking girls out wasn’t my strong suit. I was much better at following people around and dating them in my mind. But that wasn’t good enough this time. I needed to suck it up if I wanted this girl toactuallybe in my life.For real.

One night, I just so happened to be dropping off a DoorDash order on her block when I saw her coming out of 14th Street station. She was walking right toward me.

My heart crawled up into my throat so fast, I coughed.This was it.

Tugging my helmet off of my head, I let out a breath, watching in my peripheral as she grew closer. And just as she approached me, I turned, and we made eye contact.

She slowed down. “Oh… hey!” She smiled, and I smiled back.

“Hi,” I said casually, narrowing my gaze, because I had to at leastpretendI didn’t instantly recognize her.

“Red Bird,” she chirped. “I’ve seen you in there before… picking up orders.”

“Ah, right.” I nodded, playing the part as I pushed my hair away from my forehead. “Small world.”

“That’s Manhattan for you.” She chuckled, then bit her lip. “I’m Rey, by the way.”

Of course I knew that from looking at her mail. “Nice to meet you, Rey.” I grinned, laying on the charm, though my palms were sweaty as fuck. “I’m Byron.”

“Very nice to meet you, Byron.” Her eyes did a satisfying glide up and down me, and the interest was blatant. Safe to say, the bike was working in my favor. “So… burning the midnight oil?”

I chuckled. Forced, but I didn’t mind. “Gotta make that money, right?”

“Unfortunately,” she sighed, clutching her coat.

“You live around here?” I asked, knowing exactly where she lived.

She nodded and bit her lip again. “Just up the block.”

“Well, that settles it then.” I hopped off my bike. “Looks like I’m walking you home.”

She giggled, a flirtatious sound I’d heard numerous times while listening to her on the phone. But still, this one was different. Because it was forme.

I walked her to her apartment, and we chatted back and forth. It was casual enough, but the whole time, all I could think was thatthis girlwas going to be my girlfriend. My firstrealgirlfriend. Not a high school experiment in losing my virginity,or a Tinder hookup, or a crush living exclusively in my fantasies. An honest to GodrelationshipI could bring home to my parents, to prove that I was capable of being someone they were proud of.

In hindsight, I was getting ahead of myself, but in that moment, I didn’t see it. I saw everything else… Handholding, and smiles. Double-dates and holidays. Moving boxes, and rings, and white dresses, and sonograms…

All theimportantthings that made up a conventional happily ever after. Whether I’d seenmyselfhaving them or not.

“This is me,” Rey said when we stopped in front of her building.

And I used the elaborate scenes in my head as motivation to choke out the words, “Can I see you again?”

Her head slanted curiously. “Are you… done seeing me now?”

My brow furrowed in confusion, because honestly, I hadn’t expected that. But before I could even process it enough to respond, she grabbed me by the hand and tugged me along, inside her apartment.

Now, let me start by saying that sex before even a first date was not part of my initial plan. Truthfully, I thought I’d have to work for it a lot harder than I did, being that we didn’t technically know each other at all. That said, I’m still a guy, and turning down sex with a beautiful woman is not a skillset many of us possess.

So while that wasn’t how I’d anticipated my first night with Rey going, it was still amazing, and I couldn’t find it in myself to be disappointed. Relationships begin with one-night stands all the time. It’s not common, but itdoeshappen. I wasn’t worried about it.

I definitely should’ve been. But again… hindsight is 20/20.

After we fucked—hard and dirty, thus solidifying my desire to lock this girl down—Rey and I exchanged numbers and agreed toget together for an actual date. I left her apartment walking on a damn cloud.

I wasecstatic. Not just because I’d gotten laid for the first time in a few months, but because I could feel the connection already. It was solid, something tangible I could reach out and grab.Finally, things were coming together.

Not that I wanted to put so much stock in a relationship as the thing to make me feel less like a zombie shuffling through my mundane existence… But I couldn’t help how good it felt to finallyhavesomething.Someone.