Loving the Ice Queen

Chapter 3

Ryan

I had been ready to put an end to the date as soon as I arrived at the restaurant. I did not often engage in murderous thoughts, but I'd been ready to wring my mother's neck when she descended the news on me. A blind date. What the heck had she been thinking?

The last person I expected to see upon entering the private dining room was Barbara Owens. She looked more beautiful than I remembered a few nights ago. Her eyes were the brightest blue I'd ever seen. Especially since her gaze was direct and unflinching. She never looked away first.

The evening went better than expected, so I was in a good mood when Jordan met me in front of his home. I'd left Jeremy in their place instead of my mother's because I didn't want to see her so soon after what she pulled on me. And Jeremy liked Lia, Jordan's daughter.

I rolled the window of the car down as Jordan reached me.

"I guess the date went well?" Jordan said, leaning on the open window.

"You would never guess who the girl was."

"Who?"

"Owens." I grinned. "The Ice Queen."

Jeremy's eyes bulged. "No shit? Wait, why are you in a good mood?"

"That's rude, man." I chuckled. Right then, Jeremy came pounding down the front porch steps, followed by a skipping Lia. I got out and rounded the car.

When I looked through my childhood photographs, I saw Jeremy staring back at me. We were carbon copies of each other. Jeremy liked to keep his hair long, though. The black strands fell down to his shoulders. And his brown eyes were a shade lighter than mine.

I gave the kids a hug. Jeremy didn't have his bag, so I knew the question was coming.

"Dad, may I spend the night?" Jeremy asked.

I sighed. "You spent the night the other day. We can't keep imposing on them."

"But he's not imposing if I invite him," Lia said, putting her tiny hands on her hips.

I bit back a smile. "I see."

Jordan laughed. "Let him spend the night. They're pretty tame, and Jenny loves having him over for practice."

"Practice?" I asked.

"For having two kids around."

I laughed. Jordan's wife, Jenny, was four months along in her pregnancy. "Alright, you can spend the night."

Jeremy and Lia high-fived each other and high tailed it up the stairs and through the door. I shook my head, calling after my son, "goodnight to you too."

The door closing was my response. I didn't want to go back to an empty house. I looked at Jordan. "Wanna grab a drink?"

"Let me get my wallet."

***

"I didn't think she was the type to go for blind dates," Jordan said as we sat down at the counter.

The place was a small, old coffee shop we used to frequent when we were still in college. It was quite busy at this time of the night. The clientele comprised mainly of college students, since a campus was close by.

I flagged the barista and ordered two cups of coffee.

"She's not," I said. "She did it as a favor to a friend. So it all worked out in the end. She made it clear she expected nothing from the date, and so did I."

"You got lucky this time," Jordan said.

Two girls occupied the chairs nearby. I caught one's eyes. She smiled and winked. I nodded my head and looked back to Jordan, uncomfortable. Goodness, the girl was barely twenty. I heard her whisper my name to her friend.