8. Do You Trust Me?

8

DO YOU TRUST ME?

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, CHRIS LANE

Alex

“Alright, alright, no more. I draw the line at ten books,” I say to the group of kids pouting in front of me. I lift my hands and look up, trying to find support in Livie, but instead she's smiling knowingly at me.

“But Mr. Alex, how can you say no to sick children?” The little brunette darling with pigtails in front of me pleads.

I’m sure my face shows the horror and shock before she laughs and shakes her head. “I’m just kidding. You can breathe now. If I can’t make fun of this situation, who can?” she asks and I laugh. I’ve laughed more today than I have many years and it feels good.

“My little sugarplums, it’s time to go back to what you were doing, and I’m sure I’ll see you around in a bit.” Livie chimes. I don’t know how I managed to read so many stories without getting distracted every few minutes by her. She’s wearing scrubs with ice cream print all over them and her hair is in two loose braids that frame her beautiful face. She looks different than the other night. I think the main difference—other than the fact she isn’t annoyed—is that she doesn’t have makeup on. I like it a lot.

Livie walks out of the room, swaying her gorgeous hips with a slight bounce in her step. After she goes through the doors, with me following right behind her, she turns around and says, “You’re a natural, Alex. That was incredible! And my plan worked—look.” She shows me her phone, and I find she’s pulled up a post of me reading one of the Christmas books the teenager with the death stare picked. It has… holy shit , thousands of likes and comments. I grab the phone from her and read through the comments. They’re mostly people saying how amazing the picture is, some people asking how she get me to volunteer at the hospital, and some say, “Welcome back, Alex!”

When the whole press disaster happened, I decided to step away from socials because, in my case, no press was better than bad press, and I just never went back. I don’t pay attention to this type of thing. But when I started reaching out to different organizations to see if they would let me host events or shadow some of theirs, I got zero open doors and most of them were locked tight. I hope that by showing a different side of me—a softer side—maybe I will get opportunities to show others that I’m more than my mistakes. Isn’t that what this holiday season is about either way? Forgiveness and celebration of the gifts we bring?

“Thank you,” I say, handing her back her phone.

“Step one of Operation Make People Fall in Love with Alex done,” Livie exclaims, punching both fists in the air in victory .

“You’re a little genius, aren’t you?” I ask, brushing a fly-away from her braid back from her face.

“Sometimes I am. I have to get back to work, though. Thank you so much for coming. Text you later?” she asks with a soft smile.

“I thought you were going to let me take you to dinner tonight.”

“So, you’re still on for that? If so, can I text you when I get home?”

“Please do,” I reply. “Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere in Baker?” she suggests, smiling at me.

“You got it. I’ll see you tonight,” I promise, grabbing her hand and bringing it to my mouth to kiss it softly.

“Bye, Alex,” she whispers, waving softly.

“Bye, Shortie.”

I walk in silence to my truck. Getting in and turning on the ignition, I smile to myself because I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. Although there was some surprise PR involved, it felt good just to do it. It felt wonderful to do something nice without expecting anything in return.

I picked Livie up after work and we went to Saddlers, our local country bar. Some of my high school friends were there and we hung out with them. Livie and the girls of the group hit it right off, and nothing made me happier. I got home, took a shower and hopped into bed, ready for good sleep. This weekend was unexpected, but a good kind of unexpected.

Before I could close my eyes, I notice a glow from my nightstand. I don’t keep my ringer on, so the only way for me to see a message is when the notification lights up the room. I hate the ringer and the sounds. Always have, always will. I grab my phone and see a text from Livie. I’m smiling like a stupid high schooler obsessing over his first crush.

Livie: Officially went viral

Me: Nah, just a lot of attention

Livie: No, no. I’m talking 1 million views.

Me: It’ll be fine. People are just probably surprised there was a picture of me out and about. I’ve been hiding for a while.

Livie: With that pretty face? How?

Me: Liv, have you ever seen me before? And we live in the same town?

Livie: Touché, touché

Time passes by without another message from her. I find myself waiting with the phone in my hand to see if she’ll say something else. I want to know more about her. I want to talk more. Right when I think she’s done, I get another notification.

Livie: We have momentum going, I think we need to use it.

Me: We do. We do.

Livie: Do you trust me?

Even though I just met her, all I want to say is yes. Is it crazy? Maybe but I haven’t had a good time with someone in a while and something tells me she truly means well.

Me: As crazy as it sounds, I think I do.

Livie: Pick me up tomorrow at 7:00pm. Wear something comfy and warm.

Me: Done