Beautiful Fall Day

The first Monday in October and the US Supreme Court starts a new session today.  Just a bit of useless knowledge that whirls around in my brain.  It was a lovely weekend here in Texas, cool morning and evenings and warm afternoons. 

It was the first fall like day of the season, and Amber decided to go for a bicycle ride along the river trail.  The sunlight filtering through the thinning tree leaves gave a lace-like look to the route and Amber was admiring the patterns as she rode.  Turning the bend,  the trees no longer protected her from the full effect of the glaring sun, and she wasn’t prepared.  As she tried to maintain her balance she could hear epithets being spewed her way.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?  You damn near hit me,” came an authoritative voice.

While she managed to get her bike under control before she ended up splayed out on the pavement, she was already giving her regrets.

“Well sorry wouldn’t have cut it if you had knocked me down.”

“Look, I said I was sorry.  What else do you expect.”

“I expect you would be a little more careful of pedestrians.  After all, pedestrians do have the right of way.”

“This isn’t a roadway, and I wasn’t prepared for the bright sunlight as I turned the bend.”

“Well you should be, it happens every day.”

Amber thought to herself this had to be the rudest man she had encountered in a very long while.  He was a real looker, though.  As she straddled her bike, she couldn’t help but notice his athletic build,  black hair that curled over his sweat-soaked forehead. Sunglasses hid his eyes, and his skin had the look of someone who spent a good deal of time outdoors.  All in all, she thought she might be able to overlook his rudeness.

“As I said, I’m sorry.  I was enjoying this glorious day and not paying enough attention. It’s been a while, and the sun isn’t as high in the sky as I expected, and it blinded me.   Can I buy you a coffee to make amends?”

“Is that all you have to offer?”

“Look, buddy, I’ve said I’m sorry, I offered to buy you a coffee, I’m not about to get down and grovel .”

“A woman with spunk, I like that.  It makes me want to tame that spunk.  I’ll meet you at the River Café as soon as I finish my run.  Should be about fifteen minutes, or so. By the way, my name is Blake Carstairs.”

“See you then Blake Carstairs.”

Amber got back on her bike and rode away.  The further she rode, the more she thought about that smug SOB and decided to stand him up. She’d buy a gift card for a coffee and leave it for him along with a note, and the hell with him.  ‘What did he expect. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.Give me a break.  Well good for him. I won’t.'

Amber knew the barista on duty at the café and explained the situation, leaving the card and the note and left for the rest of her bike ride.  She rode until about noon and stopped back at the café for a snack before heading home.  There was a note waiting for her from Blake saying thank you and he was sorry she hadn’t waited for him.  The barista said he asked questions about her, but she had given him no answers.

‘So he asked about her.  Fascinating’  She thought to herself. 

The following week it was raining on Saturday, and so she didn’t ride.  It wasn’t until two weeks later that she had the opportunity to take another bike ride.  As she neared the bend in the curve where last they met,  she noticed someone standing by the side of the trail.  As she got closer, she realized it was Blake Carstairs.  He waved at her, and she slowed the bike.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“It is a public park, isn’t it?  This time, I was hoping I’d run into you,” he said with a smirk.

“Technically, I didn’t run into you.  It was a near miss.  Did you get your coffee?”

“You know I did.  However,  I wasn’t able to convince the barista to give me any info on you, so I’ve been coming here each week hoping to meet you again.”

“Why?”

“That’s it  exactly.  Because I like your spunk and style.I’d like to get to know you better and take you to lunch or dinner.  At the very least, I’d like to know your name.”

‘I’ll meet you for lunch at the River Café – say 12:30 today.  My name is Amber Wells.”

She waved goodbye as she took off down the bike path.  He shook his head and called after her “Are you going to stand me up again?”

“We’ll see, won’t we?” He smiled to himself.  It was just the kind of reply he should have expected.  This girl was so different from so many others.  He knew he was a good looking guy; it wasn’t conceit, only fact.  Many women fell all over themselves trying to get his attention.  He wanted a woman with substance, and he had a feeling Amber Wells was just that woman.

Blake Carstairs was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.  His family owned and operated a worldwide real estate development company, and he was educated and schooled in the family business since his early twenties.  Now, at 35, he wanted more than just business in his life.  His mother kept reminding him that work wasn’t what made life worth living and sometime within the last couple of years he began to understand what she meant. At family get togethers he envied his sisters who had husbands and families while he remained alone.  Knowing and finding what you wanted were two different things, though.  He had yet to find someone that intrigued him enough to contemplate even a long-term relationship.  Amber Wells might just be that someone, he’d have to wait and see.

Amber knew she would meet Blake for lunch.  Any man who went through that much to get her attention at least deserved some consideration.  Lunch in an open air venue was just the ticket.  She could leave at any time. After her bike ride, her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she googled him.  Finding out all about Mr. Carstairs, she began to look forward to this luncheon.

 It never occurred to her he wouldn’t show, so she was surprised when she arrived and didn’t see him.  When she gave her name to the hostess, she was told her that Mr. Carstairs was delayed and would be there shortly.  Seated as she waited, she wondered about Blake Carstairs and why he was interested in her.  From what she learned on Google, he had any number of women available to him, why her?

Fifteen minutes passed, and Amber was about to get up and leave when she saw him walking toward her.  He had changed from his running attire into well-tailored gray slacks, a light blue open-necked shirt and a camel colored leather jacket he’d thrown over one shoulder. He still wore his running shoes. She laughed to herself thinking he probably had forgotten to change them and was reminded of a scene in the movie, “The Aviator” where Leonardo diCaprio playing Howard Hughes always wore sneakers.  She noted that the heads of many of the female patrons followed him.  He took no notice, ‘one point for him,’  she thought,   as his eyes focused only on her.

He was apologizing before he even sat down.  “I’m so very sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I was beginning to think I was being stood up.”

“I don’t play those kinds of games.”  He told her, and his eyes conveyed his earnestness.  Amber couldn’t help but flinch under the scrutiny remembering that’s just what she had done to him.

“I usually don’t either.”

“Good to know because if it happened again, I would have to teach you a lesson in manners.”

“And I always thought Ms. Manners was a woman,” she replied snarkily.

He gave her a stern look.  “Let’s start again shall we,  this is not going well so far.”

‘Okay, fresh start.  It’s a beautiful day today, isn’t it.”  He sat back, relaxed and smiled at her.  She noted his beautiful white teeth and that his smile reached his eyes that seemed to twinkle with mischief. 

“Agreed.”  They began looking at the menus, and when they made their selection, put down the menus; he asked her to tell him about herself.

Amber Wells had grown up in the midwest with her parents and an older brother.  She told him she lived an ordinary life, went to college and moved to the city for a job as a buyer for Belton’s.  She said she loved her work and the excitement of living in a city of more than 5,000 people.

He laughed at her remark and said he had never lived anywhere that only had 5,000 people and always wondered what it would be like.  He told her about his childhood and adulthood to this point and never once would she have guessed his ancestry if she hadn’t read about him on the internet.  Although he was very low-key, his bearing and mannerisms spoke volumes of  his backgroud.

She was going to enjoy this luncheon and hoped he felt the same.

Obviously, there will be a second part to this story next Monday.  By then, I hope to have come up with a brilliant finish..  Any suggestions would be welcome.  lol

See you later for more Aimless Ramblings.