A Taste of You

10: Not the Best Way to Start

It's Sunday morning. Mateo is coming by sometime after noon for our date. I get myself up, exercised and showered by ten and pick out my outfit for the day. I still don't know what we're doing, but we agreed nothing fancy.

I'm playing on my phone when my door buzzer sounds. Odd. I wasn't expecting Mateo until after noon. He is really not a morning person, but maybe he's excited. I buzz him up, posing myself in the doorway all sultry like.

"Is this how you greet all your drop-in guests because I just may need to come by more often."

"Ethan!" I startle when I hear his voice. He is dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt that hugs his muscles in all the right places.

"Good morning, Alise." He greets me with a smirk that beckons something lusty inside me.

"What are you doing here?Unannounced?" I choke out.

"You were obviously expecting someone else. Am I interrupting?" He asks in amusement.

"No, he's not due for a couple more hours. Uh, come in." I offer.

"Actually I was wondering if I could take you out to brunch? I think we could make it back in time for your other plans." He says with a charming smile.

I am pretty hungry and not just for food. He is looking mighty fine and I'm curious to know how he is doing since the break-up.

"Let me just grab my purse." I agree. I send a quick text to Mateo.

Text from me: Stepping out for brunch with a friend. I'll be back by noon. Looking forward to seeing you.

"I have a place in mind. Have you been to Nue?" He asks.

I shake my head. "I have not."

"Right. Not a morning person. Well, it's pretty awesome. I can drive. It's not far." He opens the door to the Jetta for me and I smirk as I recall getting his drunken ass in the car the other night.

As we drive, I figure it might be safe to ask how he's doing. "So you didn't respond to my text. How are you doing?"

"Oh sorry about that. Yesterday was busy. I moved out. Thankfully one of the players who recently was traded is subletting his place. He gave me the friends and family discount otherwise I'd never be able to afford the place." He explains.

"Oh, wow. So no hopes of rekindling things?" I ask cautiously.

We're at a stoplight so he can safely afford the long stare that he gives me. "We were at the same restaurant Friday night, correct? You do remember pouring me into my own car and me melting down on your couch, right?"

I grimace. "Okay, I get it. You didn't really go into details about her betrayal so I didn't know how damaging it was."

"Cheating is cheating. But this was bad. Four months, although she tried to minimize it by telling me she only just slept with him." He relays the gory details.

"Have you seen her since Friday?" I ask, wondering if that might make a difference.

"Oh yeah. She sat there casually while I moved eveything out yesterday. Had the nerve to suggest we could still be friends." He grumbles.

I can commiserate. "Isn't that annoying? My ex cheated on me too and had the nerve to ask me to unblock him on Facebook so he could keep in touch."

"Ah, so we belong to the same club. How long were you together?" He inquires.

"Five fucking years." I reply.

"Oh holy hell. Really? I was only with Vera for a year. I'm sorry you had to experience that." He replies empathetically.