"I'm nice too. Stop trying to scare her away." He was joking but his words caused Tory's heartbeat to quicken. "Tory, this is my sister, Macey. And Macey, this is Victoria; Tory.""Sister?" Her mouth was hanging opened. If Macey noticed that she was acting oddly, she hid it well, asking if she wanted lemonade to which she just nodded silently. Macey hurried away with a slight bounce to her rounded posterior.When they were alone again Lee stared at her intently. "I have four sisters. Two of them own this restaurant and the other's work for them. I eat here almost every day." He smiled. "I grew up on this cooking, so I guess I'm addicted to it, I'm not sure if that's an endorsement or not." Sister. She wanted to kick herself. Lee's sister returned with fresh lemonade for her and an iced tea for him. "Do you know what you want?" She asked Tory who was trying to understand the question, her mind still addled at her huge mistake."Oh!" She hadn't even looked at the menu."Shall I
Maybe she would kick herself for this later, but the answer to that one simple question was the most important thing in the world to Tory right now. "What made you even notice me? I'm sorry if I'm putting you on the spot-""It's not that." He turned to face her again. "It's just that I'm not usually this forward. I mean, I don't know anything about you yet...and the answer to that question might offend you."Offend her? She didn't know if she should prompt him to continue, or not. But she remained silent. His hands clasped in his lap and he sighed deeply. "I noticed you because you run for the bus every day.""What?" She looked at him in confusion.He sighed. "You run for the bus every day and when you get on you sound like you've just made love...and have been thoroughly satisfied." Tory's heart jumped in her chest, her cheeks flamed. He continued. "The first time I heard that...I could barely stand up to get off the bus. I look forward to that sound every day, Tory. And then,
Tory chuckled. Lee had a sense of humor and he didn't seem to view his blindness as an untouchable topic. They came to the curb marking the end of the block and Tory abruptly stopped walking. "Okay, in about three steps from here we're going to come to the curb."Lee's lip curled in amusement."Thank you, Tory. Just take the step first and I'll follow." She did and smoothly he followed. She gave him an impressed look."What?" He asked, turning to her. She was speechless. Sometimes like this, it was like he could really see her. "How did you know that I was looking at you?"Once she had guided him back to the next curb and stepped onto the walk, he stopped and turned to her. "Close your eyes." She did, after a slight hesitation. "Are they closed?""Yes." He didn't speak. She concentrated on the darkness. Then she felt something move past her face and her head flinched back a fraction of an inch."Did you feel that?"Tory opened her eyes, "Yeah. What did you do?""What did it f
The next day, Tory intentionally missed her normal bus. She wore a dress that complimented her curves and slipped on comfortable heels. Even though her feet protested due to all of the walking she'd done this week, she figured it would okay since her bus stop wasn't far from any of her destinations. Besides, bigger girls looked great in heels; especially if they knew how to do a model walk, and she'd practiced perfecting that long ago.When she saw the bus rounding the corner, she stood up from her seat on the bench, her heart pitter-pattering in anticipation of seeing Lee again. Her cheeks grew warm as she remembered the fantasies that she'd had about him the night before. He was sitting in his regular seat and Tory hurried to grip the pole since she'd figured out the bus driver's game."Hi, Lee." She said shyly."Good morning." He smiled. "Let me put your money in and you can sit down here by me." His hand was held out and she dropped the coins into his waiting palm. His movement
"Yes. I paid online." Lee responded. He gave his name and she slid two tickets to them. Tory retrieved them and then led them down a short flight of stairs. The music was already loud before they had even entered the room and the beat was thumping! She liked it already. The club was popular, that was evident. Even at barely six thirty there were a lot of people on the dance floor. It was a mix of all kinds of people; black, Latin, whites and there was no specific age. She saw younger college age men and woman just as she saw more mature couples. The one constant is that they loved moving their bodies wildly to the Reggaeton beat. She led him to a small round table that wouldn't be large enough to hold her elbow.He sat down and briefly placed his hands on both sides of the round table before leaning towards her and speaking over the loud music. "Do you want a drink?"She didn't drink much since she didn't do much socializing and drinking alone was no fun. "A wine cooler would be
"May I have this dance?"She sputtered, expecting this but still not prepared to shake her 'stuff' on the dance floor with people watching. "Guys usually say that when there is something slow playing..." The current song had a funky, hiphop beat and the band members were chanting something in a foreign language. The crowd had picked up the chorus and was chanting along. She placed her hand in his and came to her feet."What are they saying?" She asked as she led them to the dance floor."I...uh...better not say.""Oh my goodness." She stopped when she found a place where she hoped they wouldn't get trampled. "Watch me." He brought his arms up, clapped his hands repeatedly and began gyrating to the beat...just like everyone else. His hips moved seductively, yet to the tempo of the music. Then he slowed his movements down a bit and reached out for her. She placed her hand in his and he put his other hand on her hips."Do what I do!" He yelled above the music.She watched the way hi
"My parents moved us to the States so that they could make money. But once we were here, me and my brothers and sisters integrated into the American culture while my parents later returned to the island to retire. We have a saying in the Azores. Vou morrer pra minha terra; I will die in my homeland. My parents live by that saying."She gave him a steady look. "You miss it don't you?"He nodded. "Being blind on an island is great. I can run, sprint even. And the only thing to run into is...the end of the Island." He had a wistful look on his face. "In my village everyone knew me and I knew them. People would yell out, 'watch out for that! Don't knock that over! You're going to step on that!' Even though there are a lot of tourists and Island living is very modern now, there is still a very quaint quality about it." She found herself wishing that she could see this beautiful paradise."Lee, what caused your blindness?" She had been curious about this since she had discovered his blin
"I don't live that far from here; about three blocks, but if you want I can call us a cab-""I think that I can manage three blocks.""You can, but how are your feet?""If you were serious about that foot massage then I think there's incentive." He grinned and stood, slipping on his jacket before taking her hand.Once they got out to the night air, he placed his hand around her waist and she did the same. She sighed in contentment as they walked arm in arm."How old are you?" She asked, seemingly out of the blue. He gave her a surprised look."I'm sorry, I'm thirty three. I should have mentioned that. Second to the youngest in my family." They walked at a comfortable pace. Her feet were screaming at her but she didn't limp much. With his arms around her, it seemed that her feet barely touched the ground!They reached a crosswalk with a red light and Lee's hand very slowly moved to cup her rear as they waited for the light to change. She'd never done anything like this before, bu