Colors Of Love: Gen. 1.16

Life was finally starting to feel normal. Well a new normal. One that included Syrah. He’d become a constant fixture in mine and the girls’ lives and I was grateful for his friendship. 

He came over almost daily, and both girls lit up whenever he arrived.

As much as I enjoyed his presence, I could feel a change happening with us. His compliments increased. The way he looked at me seemed more intense. 

Longing. Reminiscent of how Tyrian used to look at me. And it wasn’t just him, I found myself getting small flutters in my stomach when he gave me those looks. My cheeks would heat with each compliment that tumbled from his lips. And I found myself looking forward to the quiet time we had at night after we put the girls down for bed.

When I walked out of the girls’ room I found Syrah pacing. Something was wrong. He was always so sure of himself. The unease he radiated seeped into me instantly.

“Um…are you okay?”

He turned and gave me a sweet smile. “Yeah…no, well maybe.” He reached for my hands and took a breath. “Dove, we didn’t meet under the best of circumstances…”

I pressed my lips together recalling the memory from six months ago. Losing my grandmother, the loss of her still managed to hit me at unexpected times.

“True, but you’ve been a bright spot in a dark time,” I croaked out.

He reached up to caress my cheek. “I’m happy to hear that. My feelings for you have changed and I hope I’m not way off base in thinking maybe the same is happening to you.”

A new set of butterflies took flight. “Um, maybe. I think so. I know I have the girls, but really I don’t have a lot of experience in this area.”

My girls, and their father, even after all these months, was still a topic I didn’t like talking about. Same with my parents, and Syrah never pushed.

He gave me a heart stopping grin. “We can take things as slow as you need… but I would like to, if you’re willing, to move things to the next level. Be more than friends.”

Dating. Or even the possibility of dating was not on my radar. Single mom of twins, not like I had a lot of free time to even consider such things.

The smile on his face faltered. “Or not. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to push or over step. I should probably go.” He started to turn away.

“No.” I reached for his arm. “It’s not that I’m not interested, I just never thought about dating. I don’t even know how I could. Other than you, the only people I really know here are Rosa’s friends and…”

“My sister could babysit. She has kids of her own and is willing. There’s a festival coming up this weekend that I’d love to take you to.”

Leaving the girls with someone they didn’t know made me a little nervous, but it was Syrah’s sister. “I’d love to go.”

***

Saturday arrived and nervous didn’t even begin to describe how I felt. Syrah showed up looking handsome as ever and was full of compliments. The girls were excited. To make me feel better, we’d gone to meet his sister the day before and I had a hard time getting the girls to leave. She had a dog and they were in love.

The Love Is In The Air festival was beautiful. So much going on. Food stands with ‘romantic’ foods from around the globe. Live music, and people, couples enjoying themselves.

“This is beautiful, Syrah. Thank you for inviting me.”

He handed me another cup of Cupid’s Arrow. A fizzy punch sold at one of the vendors that tasted delightful.

“No, thank you for joining me.”

The rest of the evening ran smoothly. Syrah and I enjoyed each other’s company. I shocked myself at getting very flirty with him. 

I felt good, like I was floating. Free and happy. And when he kissed me…it was amazing. Strong and passionate.

By the time we were ready to leave, Syrah’s sister had sent a message that the girls were knocked out and she’d keep them for us. Back at home, our flirting continued.

Update 17