Autumn and Summer Read Free Page B

waiter the check and cash.
    “Thank you sir. You two have a wonderful night.” The waiter scurried off toward the back of the restaurant.
    My eyes never left Robert’s.  He fiddled with the stem of his wine glass before finishing off the red wine sangria. “I understand and I appreciate your honesty. We should get going. I have an early morning.”
    He stood quickly and helped me out of my chair. With his hand just grazing the small of my back, he led me out of the restaurant in silence. I didn’t know what to say so I looked at my feet as I fiddled with my clutch. The chill in the air made me shiver once we were completely out of the restaurant. 
    Gathering the nerve to see the hurt in his eyes, I turned to look at him. Did I rush to judgment about him? Yes, he is boring. The conversation is almost nonexistent unless we are talking about our jobs. But he is also polite, well-mannered, good looking, and sweet. And those qualities are definitely qualities I look for in a man, I contemplated.
    Letting my eyes move over him, I sighed. But I also need someone who is going to communicate with me and be adventurous and have fun and is interesting and… yes, I did the right thing. Holding his gaze, I felt the confirmation I needed. He was undeniably handsome and kind but he wasn’t the one . He was just a nice guy who I didn’t feel a spark with and didn’t have romantic feelings for.
    I don’t want to waste time on guys that don’t matter. I want to f all in love.  I want butterfly-inducing, heart racing, true love. I want to not be able to sleep because he’s on my mind. I want to dream about him when I finally do fall asleep. I want it all. And I’ll know it when I when I feel it. And unfortunately, I knew we didn’t have a future after the first date… but I kept dating him. That’s not fair. It’s not fair to him and it’s not fair to me, I thought as we stared at each other in silence.
    “Robert…” I started and then trailed off when he shook his head.
    “It’s okay, Autumn,” he interrupted nonchalantly as he hailed a taxi. Once he was sure he’d secured the ride, he looked at me and smiled. The warm smile didn’t meet his sad eyes.
    “I hope we can be friends,” I sai d truthfully before shifting my gaze to the yellow taxi pulling up to the curb.
    Robert opened the back door and gestured for me to get in. I slid in, holding my skirt down as I made room for him to climb in next to me. When I looked back over at him, he was still standing in the opened door.
    I gave him a questioning look before I asked, “ Are you coming?”
                  “I’m just going to walk. I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. I’ll see you around, Autumn. Take care.”
                  Before I could say anything in response, Robert shut the door and walked away. What was that? I thought as I gave the driver my address. I’d never had a breakup go that smoothly before.
                  I paid the driver and then stepped out in front of my home.  Every time I pulled up, I marveled at it. The row house was given to me by my favorite aunt, Denise, when she passed away three years ago. It took six months before I decided I wasn’t going to sell it… and six more months to decide to move in it.
    The structure wasn’t opulent; however, it was in Wellington, Maryland, a nice neighborhood right on the border of Washington DC and Maryland. All of the row houses were either dark blue or brown. But my aunt’s home—now my home—was a rich brick red that stood out between the blue and brown that surrounded it.
                  Taking the steps two at a time, I quickly entered the house. Although the neighborhood was a safe area, coming home to an empty house on a quiet Sunday night seemed like the beginning scene of a horror movie. When the door was shut and locked behind me, I dropped my keys in the bowl on the table by the door.
                  Per