Honeysuckle and Jasmine: Sample 1

During the drive to the restaurant, we hardly spoke, each in our own thoughts. I could feel him occasionally throwing furtive glances at me, but I was too nervous to look back at him on the off chance our eyes would lock. My stomach was already tied in knots; no need pulling them tighter.

The multicoloured city lights outside the car window melted into each other and blurred.

“Nervous?” Roman’s words sneaked into my thoughts and made me jolt. He gave me a sideways glance while still keeping his attention on the road.

A nervous giggle forced its way through my lips. “No...Are you?”

“Actually, Senia, I am a little.” He gave a small chuckle.

He was? Just what I’d suspected—hoped, perhaps. This was no harmless dinner between colleagues.

I sighed with relief when Roman pulled up near the front of a traditional German restaurant, Mahlzeit, tucked at the corner of a quiet street. It stood next to an ice cream shop, which was all glass with a hard plastic cone perched next to the entrance, and topped with a glowing scoop of pink plastic ice cream. My mouth watered just watching it.

Roman took my arm as we entered the restaurant and were led to the table he had reserved under his name. Around uswere just a few round tables draped with maroon tablecloths. A single candle stood in the middle of each, its light flickering and reflecting off glasses and cutlery. The perfect place for a quiet dinner—nothing extravagant, just warm and welcoming. Tense energy melted from my shoulders.

“Do you like it?” Roman asked when the waiter left with our orders—Goulash with mashed potatoes for me and a Schweinebraten and dumplings for him.

I nodded. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner.”

He leaned forward, the palms of his hands face down on the table, fingers splayed. “Want to know why I’m nervous?”

“Want to tell me?” I refused the urge to also lean toward him, even if I craved to be closer, to feel his breath on my face.

“I haven’t been on a date in two years. It’s a little nerve-wracking.”

“I thought this isn’t a date.”

He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his lustrous hair. “That’s what I thought at first. Now, I’m not sure. I really enjoyed being around you last week. Deep down, I guess I wanted to spend a little more time with you.”

I longed to tell him I felt the same way, that I dreamed of him almost every night since the day we met, that my body caught fire every time he neared me, that I tried not to fall in love with him but had no idea how to stop it. Of course I couldn’t tell him any of those things. As much as I felt for him, it had never occurred to me to date him—or any other man, for that matter, with no experience whatsoever. I smiled and tried to control my breathing. “Yes, it was nice working together.”

“And of course we were not done with our conversation. You hadn’t said much about yourself.”

My muscles tensed up, and I smoothed the tablecloth, gave myself time to respond. How much could I tell him? If he had read my CV, he’d know I’d worked at the orphanage, but not that I’d also been one of the orphans. Did I want him to know? Why not? “I grew up in an orphanage, where I later worked as well, for two years. I never met my biological parents.” Why not just leave out the whole adoption part? It would only call for more questions and complicate things.

To my surprise, Roman squeezed my hand, just for a second, but the warmth from his grip remained with me. “I’m sorry to hear that. That explains it. I used to wonder why you had this sad look in your eyes all the time.”

I glanced away. “I do?” I whispered.

“Senia,” Roman drew his chair closer to the table, “please look at me. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I can’t even begin to imagine how it would be, growing up without my parents, even if they drive me crazy sometimes.”

I allowed my glance to meet his again. “Well, having never met mine has made it easier to live without them.”

The waiter placed our food in front of us, halting our conversation. The aroma of Roman’s roasted pork in gravy and that of my beef and pork mingled in the air between us before teasing my nostrils. So easy for the aromas to do—nothing in the air to stop them from embracing. Unlike Roman and I. Between us stood many possible complications that could send a potential relationship toppling before it even started.

HONEYSUCKLE AND JASMINE is available for purchase on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1fm9W13