Back to Life by Danielle Allen Read Free Book Online

were having a great time. I smiled. I don’t know why but s eeing everything come together made me happy for Ty. I respected hard work and from the way he talked about his business, he put a lot of hard work into Jimmy’s.  I got in the elevator with four other party goers.  The two girls looked a few years younger than me. Pretty girls who looked like complete opposites of one another, but their closeness apparent in the way they had their arms interlocked.  One was telling a story about her boyfriend and they laughed hard with tears in their eyes.  They looked like fun personified. They reminded me of me and Emily. Don’t even go there, I warned myself silently as my heart clenched.  The elevator dinged signifying we were on the 1 st floor.  The doors opened and I let everyone out before me.  Pulling my sweater out of my handbag, I slipped it on before walking through the doors. 
    Marie looked up and smiled brightly, “Sahara! Mr. Barker wanted me to let him know when you were preparing to leave. Do you have a second?”
    She didn’t wait for my answer as she picked up the phone.  Feeling as if it would be rude to just leave, I shifted my weight from one leg t o the other as I waited. A minute later, a door between the entryway to the restaurant and the stairwell to the lounge opened and Ty walked out. 
    “Hey! Let me walk you out,” Ty said as he closed the distance between us with a large smile.
    “Okay,” I said to him.  Turning to Marie, I said, “Have a goodnight.” And I made a beeline to the front door.
    “Goodnight!” Marie called back to me.
    Speeding up to reach the door before me, Ty grabbed the handle and opened it. “Thank you.” I said and stepped out into the cool spring air. 
    Ty stood beside me and we both looked out toward the other end of the city.  “This seems like a cool place to live,” he said.
    “There’s a good amount of stuff to get into,” I said while moving to the far right, away from the door, as a group of people made their way out of Jimmy’s. 
    “Did you enjoy yourself?” Ty said.  We were both still facing the street, looking at the buildings and the lights of downtown Richland.
    I stole a glance at him. His profile highlighted by the venue’s lighting display.  “Yes, I did. The people who ended up performing were amazing!” I said honestly as I looked back at the cityscape.
    “You looked like you were enjoying yourself but I wanted to be sure,” Ty commented, making my face heat up.
    “Wait, I didn’t see you after dinner. You were in the lounge?” I asked with apprehension , not wanting to look at him because I felt a little exposed.
    “Yeah. I was all over the place tonight.  But I wanted to check on you to make sure you were good. And when I saw you, you looked like you were in the zone. I didn’t want to disturb you. Your face looked…I don’t know…content or something,” I heard him as he turned to face me.  I felt his eyes on me but I continued to look up the block, taking in the colors, the sounds, the feel of the city.  The silence stretched between us; however, it didn’t feel awkward.  It felt almost comfortable.  I looked up at him and his eyes were still on me, studying me.
    “Are you trying to figure me o ut?” I joked to break the tension.
    Ty laughed, “Yes I am.” His laughter made me smile. “You’re interesting and you’re kind of mysterious.  I’m interested in knowing more about you. So yes, I am trying to figure you out,” he concluded with an inviting smile.
    Flabbergasted , I just smiled back, saying nothing. Stop smiling! I demanded to myself, but there was something about him that just made me feel…good. 
    “If you could have dinner with any well-known person in the world, who would it be?” Ty said suddenly. 
    “What?” I said reeling from the randomness of the question.
    “If you could have dinner with any well-known person in the world, who would it be? It could be a celebrity,