Date in the Dark (12 page)

As I take the last step off the stairs that
lead to my apartment complex, Parker’s hand finds mine. He weaves
our fingers and leads me around the corner.

“So…where are we going?” I ask, not doing
anything to hide the grin on my face.

“To a small café down the street here,” he
points ahead of us. “Harper’s Café and Bakery, have you heard of
it?”

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorites.” I fall back
into step with him. They have the best hot chocolate and homemade
pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. I could eat a dozen
or more in one sitting, but Parker doesn’t need to know that.

“Oh, good. I thought we could grab lunch
there then go across the street for ice skating?” he says, and it
sounds more like he’s asking for my approval then telling me.

“That’s sounds fun. I haven’t done that in
years.”

“Me neither, so let’s hope we both leave with
all our bones still intact,” he jokes.

Parker and I have no problem creating
conversation on the rest of the way to the café. The conversation
never stops through lunch. After we eat, we walk across the street
to the outdoor rink. We rent our skates, mine are white and his are
black, and put our shoes and other personal items in a locker.
We’re now ready to skate our hearts out. There’s only problem. I
can’t skate unless I step onto the ice.

Parker

Allie looks completely adorable holding onto
the wall with her death grip. Her eyes are closed and her chest
moves slowly as she takes a couple of deep breaths. She removes one
hand and turns toward the rink, only to chicken out and grip the
wall again.

“We can do something else if you want. I
don’t want to terrify you on our first date.” After the past few
nights, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.

“No, no. I can do this. I want to. I’m just a
little nervous,” she says, opening her eyes and looking at me. I
can visibly see her entire body relax, which in return sends a
shiver through my body at the thought that I’m the one to make her
feel this way.

“I can hold your hand,” I offer, holding my
hand out to her. She doesn’t say anything, but her arm extends
quickly and she places her hand in mine. This isn’t the first time
Allie has held my hand, but it still gives me a tingling feeling
inside.

“That’s a perfect idea.” She beams at me.

When I join my hand with hers, she holds it
tight and then lets go of the wall. We skate slowly, but stay
within her arms’ reach of the wall. Her feet move in small motions
so it’s basically me who skates us along but I don’t mind. I like
knowing she needs me. She exhales a deep breath and then
smiles.

“Okay, it’s coming back to me. I think I can
try it on my own,” she announces sounding confident. I nod and
loosen the grip my hand has on hers.

She peels her hand slowly from mine and a
part of me hopes she’ll get nervous, want to hold my hand again,
and then keeps it there until were done with our date. Her pace
picks up as she gets farther from me and I’m both happy and
disappointed as I watch. I’ll have to find another reason to hold
her hand or be near her.

My legs move quickly to catch up with her,
but she stops before my brain has time to process that I too need
to stop. She turns around to face me just as my body collides with
hers. I grip on to her and pull her as hard as I can so she can
fall on top of me and not the other way around. She lets out a
small scream before we hit the ice.

I land more on my side then on my back, lucky
my head didn’t hit the ice, and Allie lands on her stomach, hanging
over my side. She grunts as she rolls off me then erupts into
laughter.

“That was bound to happen. Maybe I wasn’t
ready to skate on my own after all.”

“I think that was my fault entirely. I was
going too fast and couldn’t stop,” I say, laughing with her.

We both maneuver ourselves to our knees,
carefully trying to get onto our feet without slipping. I stand
first and then reach down to help Allie, hoping I don’t slip and
fall all over again. She grabs hold of my hand, and I pull her up.
Being lighter than I expected, her body comes up fast, landing
flush against mine. We wobble for a moment before we catch our
balance.

Still holding on to me, Allie glances up,
gives me a shy smile, and presses her lips to mine. Everything in
life until this moment was just my body making movements to pass
the time. Up till this now, I never knew what my purpose in life
was going to be. Now I know. Allie is my purpose, and spending the
rest of my life with her is the best thing that’s ever going to
happen to me.

Epilogue

Allie

The last year has been the most incredible
year of my life. Being promoted to head librarian was a huge bonus,
but moving in with Parker and creating a life with him was the most
amazing part. He’s the kindest and most caring man I’ve ever met,
and I still get goose bumps when I think about how we ended up
together.
I was a crazy girl to ever doubt him.

Kelly and Miles have had quite the year as
well. I know Parker and I had a spark from just those three nights,
but those two, they didn’t waste any time. It’s crazy to think that
their first daughter, Elle, was born just a few weeks ago and that
they’re getting married in a few months. I’m so unbelievably happy
for them. The only way I could happier is if all that were
happening to me.

It’s New Year’s Eve all over again, but this
year there isn’t any worry about finding a kiss at midnight or
going along with some crazy dating idea. This year it’s going to be
just me and Parker. Kisses are included all year round these days.
I have no problem with that, and neither does he.

I zip up the little black dress I picked out.
If I turn at just the right angle, my dress shimmers in the light.
Tonight, my hair is pulled up into a curly up do, and Kelly helped
me with my eye makeup. I never was very good with a smoky look, but
with Kelly’s help my eyes have never stood out so beautifully.

We’re going dancing, and I want to look my
best. Not only is it New Years Eve but it’s our anniversary, and I
want Parker to know how special he is to me.

“Parker isn’t going to know what to do with
himself.” Kelly glances over my finished look. Slipping on my last
heel and standing tall, I catch the glare of a tear in her
eyes.

“Kelly, you can’t cry. It’ll mess up your
makeup.” I give her a hug. Ever since Elle was born, her emotions
have been tripled. Most of the time they’re happy tears, but it
never fails—if she cries, I cry. “These are more happy tears
right?”

She bobs her head quickly and takes a deep
breath before checking her reflection in the mirror and touching up
her eye shadow. “Happy tears run my life these days.” She laughs.
Her phone chirps and she rushes to grab it off the dresser. She
sighs and sits on the bed. “No worries, it’s not the sitter. Our
ride is here.” She grabs her clutch and stuffs her phone inside.
Giving herself one last look in the mirror, she smiles at my
reflection behind her. Kelly chose to wear a red dress tonight and
she looks stunning. You’d never guess that she’s a new mother.

“Is Parker here?” I ask, slipping on my white
pea coat and heading for the door.

“Actually no, the boys sent a limo to pick us
up.”

“A limo!” I stop to face her. “Seriously!
That’s so romantic.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling this night is going
to be one we’ll never forget.” She walks out the door. I follow
behind her, agreeing a hundred percent, and there, right outside as
she said, is a white limo with a gentleman in all black waiting
with an open door.

We ride for less than five minutes before the
driver stops and again opens the door for us to get out.

“You made it,” Miles says from behind us and
quickly makes his way toward Kelly. He wraps his arms around her
waist and twirls her around before placing her back on her feet and
kissing her. It’s short and sweet, and I’ve never seen Kelly this
happy. Finally, pulling their gazes away from each other, Miles
looks at me.

“Parker’s inside. Kelly, why don’t you go
with her? It’s cold out here and I need to talk to the driver.” He
kisses her once again against her temple and walks away.

“I still think they should have done another
date-in-the-dark event this year,” I say to Kelly as we walk
inside. Our evening of dancing is happening at the same place we
met. The only difference is, this year it won’t be in the dark with
a stranger. I wouldn’t mind another heated kiss, but I can arrange
that later.

“Yeah, Miles said they wanted to change it up
and are planning to do that event for Valentine’s Day next year.”
Kelly opens the door and warm air greets us. The lobby is empty,
but I can hear the music playing in the back room.

“Well, I hope at least one couple is as lucky
as we were.”

“Me too,” Kelly says. “I need to run to
ladies room. Why don’t you go in? I’m going to wait for Miles when
I’m done.” Her smile is ear to ear. I’m taking that as a hint she
wants alone time with him.

“Don’t be too long,” I joke with her, walking
toward the dance room.

I push the door open gently to find the
entire room filled with darkness. The exact same way it was one
year ago. Most normal people wouldn’t go inside but knowing one of
the best nights of my life happened in a room like this, I step
inside, and close the door behind me. Where is everyone?

“Allie.” The smoothness of Parker’s voice
comforts me.

I turn toward the sound of his voice, and a
hand slips into mine. He squeezes it tight and pulls me into him.
The smell of citrus and sandalwood fills the air, and I breathe him
in.

“What’s going on? Why are all the light off?”
I ask.

Moving slowly together, Parker takes us to
another spot in the room. I still can’t see anything, but tears
prick at my eyes when “Kiss Me” by Ed Sheeran begins to play around
us. With one hand of his on my hip and the other laced with mine,
we dance. I lay my head against his chest and close my eyes.
I
love this man.

“One year ago, I stumbled onto the chance to
work with an amazing woman. I didn’t know it then, but from the
moment I first saw her, I knew I’d found the most beautiful woman
on earth. She took my breath away.”

The warmth of his breath touches my ear, and
I melt into him.

“I thought I blew it when she turned me down
that first day, but her decision to say no brought us together in a
way I would never change. Fate knew I was meant to be with her and
was on my side.”

A tear slips down my check and wipe it away
with a shaking hand. My heart starts to beat faster as I take a
breath.

“The first time my lips touched her, I knew,
she’s the only woman for me. She’s perfect, kind, loving, and the
best person I’ve ever known. I hope that as long as she’s mine,
we’ll have a happy life together and she’ll always feel the same
way about me. Not a day goes by that I don’t love her more.”

I’m full-on crying now, silently, but crying.
No one has ever made me feel so loved. We stop dancing and stand
facing each other as he holds each of my hands. As quickly as they
did a year ago, the lights flash on. I watch as Parker drops to his
knee in front of me and gazes up to meet my eyes. I gasp and cover
my mouth when he opens the box in his hands.

“I love you with all my heart, Allie. I want
to hold you, love you, and be everything for you for the rest of my
life.” He takes the ring from its place inside the box and places
it at the tip of my finger. “Allison Rose Monroe, will you marry
me?”

“Yes,” I say without question and kiss him
like my life depends on it.

Anything can happen in the time leading up to
midnight on New Year’s Eve. It’s up to us to decide how we want to
handle it. For me, a date in the dark with a complete stranger was
the best thing I could have ever done.

THANK YOU for reading
Date in the Dark and taking a chance on my debut novella. I hope
you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

Visit me at
https://www.jami-wagner.com
for the upcoming release dates on my latest work, The Black Alcove
Series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Whether it’s
writing her own books or reading others, Jami Wagner has a passion
for everything books. Her passion also comes with an obsession for
anything romance. Jami lives in Wyoming with her boyfriend and
their dog while currently making their own love story. When she
isn’t reading or writing she enjoys spending time with family and
friends. She also loves to cook for anyone who enjoys burnt
food.

Contact Jami by email at [email protected]