Kayla Perrin - Heart to Heart

“And you don’t want to cross the friendship line?” Eric said, point blank.

“I…this is all out of left field,” Deanna admitted.

“For you, maybe. I was always interested in getting to know you better, but you only had eyes for my brother.”

“What?” Deanna gave him a questioning look. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Eric said softly. “But you were my brother’s girl. And even if you weren’t, I was nearly four years older than you, which is ancient when you’re nineteen. I knew that you never looked at me that way. Why am I even telling you this?”

Deanna shifted in her seat. This was getting somewhat uncomfortable. She liked Eric, and he seemed to be the same decent guy he always was. Not to mention that he was easy on the eyes. But…

“I haven’t seen you in almost nine years,” Deanna said.

“And I never forgot you in all that time. I guess what I’m saying is that I hope that now—without Marvin or anyone else between us—maybe you and I can get to know each other on a different level.”

He was serious. Deanna had to take a moment to digest everything Eric had just confessed to her.

“This guy’s good,” Eric commented, indicating Trey Martinez at his piano.

“Yeah,” Deanna agreed. “Really talented.”

“You going to have dessert?” Eric asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she told him.

“The peach crumble is great. Maybe we can share it.”

“Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. Let’s get one each.”

Eric raised a hand to flag down Vivian, and she came over to the table. “Two peach crumbles,” he told her.

“How was the catfish?” Vivian asked.

“Fantastic,” Deanna told her.

“Great.” Vivian collected their plates. “Any coffee?”

“I’ll have one,” Eric said.

“Me, too,” Deanna chimed in.

And as Vivian sauntered away, Deanna couldn’t help thinking about Eric’s bombshell. Was it true? Had he always been interested in her?

And how did she feel about that?

Just the question caused her stomach to tingle. There was no doubt that she was feeling a definite attraction to him today. For the first time, she was seeing him for what he was—a man, and not just a sounding board. What wasn’t there to like? He was tall, handsome, well-spoken. It wasn’t like pulling teeth to get information from him. He was the kind of guy who knew how to talk to a woman. That was hugely appealing.

But he was also her friend. And Deanna was no good at relationships. She had proven that time and again.

She’d had girlfriends who’d dated their male buddies, only for it to end in disaster. And then not only was the relationship over, but the friendship was, as well. Deanna could easily explore more with Eric…but at what cost?

The desserts came, which they ate while enjoying Trey’s music. He finished a particularly poignant song about love and loss to huge applause, after which he bowed and thanked everyone for listening. “I’ve got CDs for sale,” he added. “Only ten dollars. If you’re interested, come on up.”

Lifting her clutch purse off of the table, Deanna stood. “Ten dollars is a steal. I’m going to get one.”

She noticed others were approaching Trey, also eager to buy his CD. As she waited, she pulled two twenties out of her wallet. And when it was her turn to step up to Trey, she said, “I’ll take two.”

He began to scrawl his signature on the first case with a silver Sharpie. “You enjoyed the show?”

“Oh, no doubt,” Deanna told him. “You were amazing.” As a musician, she knew how nice it was to receive feedback. “Definitely very talented.”

“Thanks,” he said, beaming. “That means a lot, coming from someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

He gave her a knowing look. “I know who you are,” he said. “And yeah, to hear that you enjoyed my music just made my night.”

He passed her the signed CDs, and she saw that on the top one he had written Ms. Hart, it’s a pleasure!! Which only confirmed that he knew exactly who she was.

“Thank you,” Deanna told him. Then she gave him the money.

“No problem,” Trey said, accepting the bills and heartily shaking her hand. Then he noticed that she’d given him two twenties and said, “You gave me too much.”

He offered her back a twenty, but Deanna waved a dismissive hand. “That’s a steal for the entertainment you provided.”

And she was suddenly struck with an idea. For the past few years, she thought that to continue her career meant releasing another album. But that wasn’t necessarily true. She could just as easily have a fulfilling career singing at small venues and clubs. Performing in a more intimate setting, like she had at the charity auction her sister had hosted last month.

“Hopefully I’ll see you here again,” she told Trey.

“Every Tuesday night, six-thirty.”

Deanna felt the hand creep around her waist then, and tingles of pleasure shot through her side. She looked to her right, into Eric’s handsome face. And her heart began to thud hard. Good Lord, Eric’s hand felt good on her body.

His fingers splayed over her hip, and a slow breath oozed out of Deanna. She missed a man touching her like this, she realized.

Eric offered his free hand to Trey. “Great show.”

Trey pumped his hand. “Thanks, man.”

“I’ve settled the bill,” Eric told her as he led her a few steps away.

“Oh, thank you.” She passed him one of Trey’s CDs. “And this is for you.”

Eric eyed the CD. “Great, thanks.”

His hand stayed on her waist as he led her to the restaurant’s exit. Deanna felt warring emotions inside of her. On one hand, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and tell Eric that she wanted to go back to his place with him. She was certain that he would be an excellent lover.

But on the other hand, she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this was Eric, Marvin’s older brother. A friend she had always been able to count on.

A friend she didn’t want to lose again.

They said goodbye to the hostess and then headed to the door. Eric released her as he pushed the door open and held it for Deanna to pass.

Deanna felt a little chill as she stepped outside and the night air enveloped her, and she rubbed her arms.

“Here.” Eric slipped off his blazer and put it around Deanna’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” she said.

“I bet you forgot how cool it can get here, living in sunny California.”

“California has its share of cold days,” Deanna told him. “I really enjoyed the dinner. It was nice to get out,” she added.

“No problem. Thank you for joining me.”

She began to shrug out of his jacket. “I’ll be fine getting to my car. It’s just around the corner.”

Eric placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from removing the jacket. “You can return it tomorrow.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Though there was no need for him to continue touching her, he didn’t remove his hand. Deanna stared up at him, feeling her internal temperature rise.

And then he did something she didn’t expect. He lowered his hand to her waist, then put his other hand on the other side of her waist.

Deanna didn’t need the jacket to keep warm. Not at all…

“I never forgot about you,” Eric said in a low, throaty voice.

Dusk had turned to dark since they’d arrived for dinner, and the streetlights provided the only illumination as they stood on the sidewalk. But Deanna wouldn’t have needed that to see the heat swirling in Eric’s eyes.

“I…” She didn’t know what to say. This moment was surreal. Certainly one she’d never expected to experience. Not after she had run from Cleveland and left everyone and everything here in the rearview mirror.