Silent Love(5)

"Is it because of me?" he asked.

Her shocked expression answered that question. "No. Why...why would you think it's because of you?"

"My age compared to yours," he said. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight," she answered meekly.

Nearly eleven years difference. Considering he was getting closer to  qualifying for Medicare and she was considered to be hitting her prime,  there could potentially be a problem seeing eye to eye on certain  issues.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"I'll be thirty-nine in four months," he answered.

Her quick scan of him made him feel higher than a kite. "You don't look it."

"Thanks." He grinned. "Why can't you date me, Beth?"

"I'm deaf," she blurted.

"I know," he said.

She blinked. "You do?"

He nodded. "So tell me, why won't you go out with me?"

"I...I..." She looked away from him. Her eyes, again, filling with  tears. "It's too difficult." She refocused on him. "I've tried it twice  since I lost my hearing, and it doesn't work. You'll become frustrated  when I can't hear you, or you could be like many men and talk about me  behind my back, while I'm standing in front of you."

Holding up his hand, which seemed to be a gesture he was doing often to  her, he stopped her from going further with an absurd accusation.  "First, there's no way in hell I'd ever disrespect you by purposely  talking about you behind your back. Second, you can't push everyone away  because you think someone might become frustrated with you. That's on  them, not you. That's their problem. Not yours." He sat up on his  haunches and took her face into his hands. "Give me a chance to prove to  you that I'm not every other man you've come across."

Those blue eyes of hers scanned his, clearly debating his plea. Yes, he  was begging a woman he didn't know to go out with him. Why? Hell if he  knew, but for some reason he couldn't allow her to walk away.         

     



 

"Okay." Her voice cracked.

"Okay?"

She nodded.

"Tonight?" he asked.

"I thought you had to go out with your cousin tonight?" she reminded him.

"I'll cancel. She'll be pissed but I'll deal with it," he said.

"I don't want to upset your cousin."

He smiled broadly. "I can handle her." He leaned in and kissed her  softly on the lips. "Can I have your number? I can text you the time,  and you can text me your address to pick you up."

She nodded then quickly scribbled down her number. When she handed it to  him, he palmed it, stood then caressed her soft cheek. "I'll see you  later."

A tear escaped and dropped down her cheek. He swiped it away then turned  and went back to work. For the first time in years, he felt something  in his world begin to shift.





5



Beth watched the most handsome man who'd ever approached her walk away.  What just happened? Did she really accept a date? How had that occurred?  How was she going to get through this evening?

Sagging back in her chair, she ran a hand through her hair. She needed  to stop over thinking. Most of her life decisions she rattled around in  her brain overanalyzing. Sean was right. She needed to believe he was a  good guy and not one of those assholes who'd asked her out time and  again, only to attempt to use her, then ridicule and mock her because  she didn't put out. She knew what happened behind her back. Lewd  gestures. Derogatory comments. All because she was attractive and  couldn't hear. Whatever gave them the impression she slept around she  didn't know. Her last boyfriend was four years ago, and she'd been  engaged to him at the time. Before that, she'd only had two other  lovers, one who claimed her virginity. She supposed it was because she  came across as a snob, but it was hard for her to communicate with  people. Yes, she'd somewhat mastered lip reading, but at times still  struggled. Sign language was a slow process for her¸ assumably because  she was still in denial and fought her hearing loss. She took classes  but couldn't grasp the language. Not only that, how many people truly  knew how to sign? Certainly no one close to her.

Her phone buzzed with a text.

7pm your place. Dress casual. Need your addy.

That had to be Sean, but she needed to make sure. Not only that, how about a little fun?

She responded: who is this?

It took a few moments before his return text. R u serious?

She giggled. Yes.

Sean.

Ummm … maybe he didn't have a sense of humor.

I c u r gonna keep me on my toes. I like.

She beamed. Maybe for the first time in years, her life was looking up.







Beth had finished getting ready forty-five minutes ago and now anxiety  crept in. She'd rushed home from work, jumped in the shower, threw on a  fresh coat of makeup then changed into jeans and a nice blouse all in an  effort to be on time. She never realized how low maintenance she'd  become. Another trait vastly different from four years ago.

As she sat on her sofa and stared at the evening news, watching the  words scroll across the screen, she couldn't concentrate enough to  comprehend any of it. Her loneliness smacked her in the face. Normally  she trudged through life, trying to get from one moment to the next  without getting hurt, offending someone, or losing her mind. For four  years she did what was necessary to survive on her own without leaning  on those around her. She'd thought that was what she needed. Now she  realized, probably because of the good doctor, she wanted more.

Coming home to an empty house each night was depressing. She didn't even  own a pet. Though her parents begged her to get a guard dog. How would  she know it was barking its head off and disturbing the neighbors?

Maybe she was reading too much into Sean, but he was the first man in  years who was comfortable enough with himself to talk to her, despite  that fact she couldn't hear a word. He looked her in the eyes, not her  size-D chest. When he'd touched her, it was the caress of a gentle soul,  not that of a man looking to bang his next "love ‘em and leave ‘em."

Interrupting her wandering mind, the lights flickered in the house, and  the pop-up on the television said someone was at the front door.  Glancing a clock, he was fifteen minutes early. Excited, she jumped off  the sofa and rushed to the door. She looked out the peephole then  smiled. Throwing open the door, Sean stood on her step with a dozen red  roses in hand. He beamed. She thought he needed wear a smile constantly.

"For you," he said, handing her the flowers.

"Thank you," she said shyly. "Come in." She stood to the side and  motioned him inside her tiny home. If she ever got married, she'd never  be able to keep the quaint house, but for the time being it worked for  her. Only two small bedrooms and one full bath upstairs, along with a  tiny kitchen that held an eat-at island and connecting living room,  didn't leave much in the way for entertaining. But she kept it homey  with light décor and sparse furniture so not much room was taken up.         

     



 

Sean stepped into her home, and she closed the door behind him. She went  straight to the kitchen to pull down a crystal vase that was given to  her by her grandmother when she had graduated college. Making quick work  of placing the roses in water, she situated the vase in the center of  the coffee table. The entire time she felt Sean's gaze follow her every  movement. When finished, she turned to face him and found a small smile  playing at his sexy mouth.

"You're beautiful," he said.

Feeling her skin flush, she glanced down at the floor.

Suddenly he was before her, his hand under her chin, lifting her to look him in the eyes.

"Please, don't look away from me. I want you to know what I'm saying to  you," he said, his eyes soft and searching hers, which filled with  tears. "You are beautiful." Slowly he leaned down and gave her a small  kiss on the lips. Not chaste, but not long and passionate. Just enough  for her to feel how surprisingly soft his lips were, that his breath  smelled like mint, and his warm exhale from his nose tickled her skin.  Instinctually she wanted to recoil, but forcefully stopped the action.  How would she ever change her loneliness if she pulled back when a man  kissed her? She wouldn't. There was a time in her life when she breezily  kept the company of men, lovers, or friends. She despised that she  purposely distanced herself from the opposite sex. Time to give life a  try again.

He pulled away and brushed his soft thumb over her moist lips. Beth  easily became lost in him. Drawn towards him, she took an unintentional  step closer. Something she couldn't identify pulled at her.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

"Let's feed you."

She laughed and gladly followed him out the door when he took her hand into his.







With Beth's dainty hand wrapped around his elbow, Sean escorted her to  the chain restaurant. He didn't want to pressure her with too much pomp  and circumstance yet, so he determined the choice would be a good start.