Tanner: I’m meeting up with Bart at some ramen place downtown. Want to come?
Me: I’d better not. Last night was the latest I’ve been up on a weeknight in forever, and I really felt it today.
Tanner: Getting old, are you?
Me: Yep, but I’ve also always been an early bird, so I’ve been looking forward to being able to blame it on age. I mean, if someone asks me these days if I’ll meet them at eight, I can legitimately assume they’re talking about going for breakfast and not dinner. I don’t even need to feel bad about it anymore.
Tanner: I got an invite to a club opening last week. It started at eleven. Took me about an hour to figure out it wasn’t a daytime thing. I thought it was weird they’d do brunch for a club opening until Shawn told me they meant eleven at night. Big shock.
Me: Is that true? I took you for a late night kind of guy.
Tanner: Shows how much you know about me. That’s a joke, just in case it doesn’t read that way. I can do late nights, but these days, it takes me about a week to recover after one night out. It’s just not really worth it anymore.
Me: Amen to that. I’m going to get started on my eggs. Say hi to Bart for me. If the ramen is any good where you’re going, let me know. I’m a fan.
Tanner: Noted. Enjoy your eggs. If you burn them and decide to join us, I promise I won’t keep you up too late.
Me: Ha. I still think your idea of too late and mine are very different things. I’ll probably be fast asleep before you get your main course.
Tanner: Good night, old lady. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. X
He sent me a kiss?A few tiny butterflies stretched their wings and started fluttering around in my stomach as I stared at it. Why is it that the more I talk to him, the more I like him?
I hadn’t meant for the exchange to be so long or so friendly, but talking to him came so naturally that I hadn’t even thought about hitting the brakes. It’s official. I’m pathetic. I’m never going to be able to treat him like just another client. We’re already way too far past that.
Over the next few days, it turned out that the thought had been spot on. I’d never woken up to a message from just a client before to say good morning. Nor had I periodically received messages and jokes from one during the day just to check in or make me laugh.
The week flew past, with Tanner and I texting back and forth at least a few times every day. I kept working on the designs for his house, and by Friday, I finally had them done. Excitement coursed through my veins as I clicked through the mockups after saving the final changes I’d made. Even if I had to say so myself, it looked damn good.
Now that they were ready to be sent, I picked up my phone and fired off a quick message to him.
Me: Guess what? I’ve got your first set of designs ready. Do you want to see them? I can email them over to you or we can meet up and I’ll walk you through it.
Tanner: Awesome news, but I don’t want to see them. I want it to be a surprise. I contacted some of those companies to do the renovations that you sent me the details of. I’ve lined one up. I’ll give them the go-ahead to get started.
I frowned at the phone. He wants it to be a surprise? What the hell?
Frankly, I wasn’t super thrilled about how hands-off he was being with the project, but I supposed it was his funeral if he didn’t like it. Putting my phone back down, I opened my emails and composed a new one, attaching all the pictures and files of the design to it. Regardless of whether he wanted to see them or not, he still needed to send them on to the company that would be taking care of the renovations.
A few minutes after I’d sent it off, my phone rang with a call from him. As soon as I saw his name on my screen, panic took hold of my insides. What if he looked after all and he hates it? Why else would he be calling?
“Hi,” I said after pressing the phone to my ear. “What’s up? Did you hate them?”
“No.” He chuckled. “I told you I wanted it to be a surprise, so I haven’t even looked. I’ve forwarded the email to my contact person at Albert’s Renovations, though. I’m very excited to see the end result. In the meantime, are you free for dinner tomorrow night? It’s a Saturday, so I’m assuming you can go to bed a little bit later than usual.”
“Ha ha,” I replied dryly, but I couldn’t help the smile that appeared on my lips. “Will it be a business dinner?”
“No. I just want to treat you, and I thought we could celebrate the designs being done.”
Well, that’s another first from a client.Blowing out a quiet breath, I considered the offer before I nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Sure. That sounds good.”
Tanner wasn’t just another client. There was no getting around it and there was no point in trying to pretend that the situation was something it wasn’t. At the end of the day, I was working for him but there was also something else there. Something more than just the professional relationship I’d told myself I would be maintaining with him.
“Great. Send me your address, and I’ll pick you up at seven.” I heard the smile in his voice, and unless I was very much mistaken, he seemed ridiculously pleased that I’d agreed to go out with him.
On the one hand, I felt the same way. On the other, I knew I was playing with fire. If I got burned again, it was on me. And yet, in my mind’s eye, I saw myself stepping up to the flames, smiling even though I could practically feel the heat that was eventually going to burn me.