Steaming Hot Guilt

Micaela Dawson was no stranger to the subtleties of the human mating call - if anything, she was an expert; after all she built a long and successful career on them.

This morning, she had agreed to see her godson with the intention of scolding him for breaking another heart with a firm reminder he wasn't getting any younger! However, as she approached the glass storefront of A Steamy Love Affair, she noticed the hunt of the wild happening right before her eyes.

There was a moment, just a mere moment of fascination in the young lady's eyes as she glanced up to see Chris looking at her from the opposite side of the table, and she noticed the hideous hungry, wolfish grin on her godson's face. Lord knows what attracted women to that look when it was clear as day that look said nothing more than, 'You! Me! Bed! Now! Grr!'

She shook her head and pursed her lips.

Her son had told her, Chris was on the prowl again, which she had honestly hoped wasn't true, however, this scene pretty much confirmed it.

Micaela waited a moment outside the shop's doors for fear of ruining a moment between the two potential love birds.

Once she noticed Chris was en route to the register, Micaela walked into the shop, going straight to the young woman that captured the attention of her commitment-phobe godson.

The fact that she didn't hesitate to share her table was a good sign. Mentioning that she was her favorite author once upon a time was good for the ego but hearing that she was not looking for a relationship, - well, Micaela had yet to decide if that was good or bad.

Now, her departure clearly put a kink in her godson's nefarious intentions toward her.

"Was it me?" Chris asked, staring toward the path Persephone took as she walked away.

Micaela studied his face thoroughly, acknowledging his curiosity in this new species of woman was definitely piqued. Micaela made a mental note and filed it away for later.

"What do you mean?" She asked, pretending not to pay too much attention to what just transpired.

As if remembering her presence, he turned to look at her, pointing to the door, his mouth began to open but Micaela cut him off abruptly.

"Tell me, darling, how have you been? what's been going on with you?"

Evidently, Persephone's pheromones had really affected him, since it took him a moment to come back to the present.

Slowly, he sat down across from his godmother, picking up the cup of coffee and holding it in front of his lips. "Everything is great. The business is expanding, I'm finally planning a vacation now that we're on solid ground," he took a swig of his drink. "We saw each other two weeks ago- nothing else has changed."

Micaela raised one brow, "Nothing?" she folded her hands before her. "I hear something has changed."

She noticed he pretended to be extremely interested in the coffee drop running across his white lid. His eyes met hers oh-so-very briefly, "Mmmm," he looked to his left, then to his right, clearing his throat. "No, nothing. No changes," he assured her.

He was a master at playing dumb, Micaela thought. Always had been since he turned five. She knew him from the day he came out of her sister, Maggie. She was practically a second mother to him! She already knew all of his tricks.

It was just fine with her. She had no qualms about having a little fun at his expense.

She took an intentionally long sip of coffee while focusing her eyes on him. Micaela knew that unnerved him. Even if he wasn't looking at her, she knew he could feel the weight of her stare. "And how is Roxanne doing?" She asked innocently. "Has that moved on to the next level?"

His lips began fidgeting. He grabbed the knot of his necktie, pulling it down a little, tugging on his collar.

"Umm," he shifted in the wooden chair.

Micaela stared at him, not even blinking. Her lips pursed, and slowly one of her eyebrows began to rise. She saw Chris notice the eyebrow. He was quite familiar with the eyebrow, and she knew just how much it irritated him.

He placed his hands on the table and looked down. He smiled widely for half a second and sobered right away. He probably didn't even realize he had done it.

Three beads of perspiration were forming on his forehead, - she was sure there'd be more on his upper lip if his short beard wasn't covering the area.

Micaela dabbed her lips with a napkin, "I'd like Roxanne's phone number, please."

Chris flinched. "No! Why?!? He blurted out.

Ever the picture of poise and grace, Micaela slowly placed the napkin on the table. "You know how I'm being honored by my former publishing house next Friday night?"

He nodded.

"Since you two seemed to be very much interested in each other's teeth at your uncle's birthday party, I figured she would be your plus one." She reached for her purse, looking for another business card. Once found, she handed him the same pen she had given to Persephone. "I figure it would mean more if I extended the invitation since I am the honoree, and it would make her feel accepted by your family."

Chris reached for the card and the pen. Framing the card between his fingers, he exhaled, very much looking like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I don't think that'll be appropriate," he mumbled.

"Oh?" Was all she said.

Chris handed her the makeshift writing kit back. "We broke up." He said softly, his eyes moved to his hands.

"Really Chris?" Micaela blurted incredulously. "I can't even count the number of women you have gone through this year, - and the year is barely halfway over!" Micaela threw the pen and the card into her purse, acknowledging she probably exerted more force than was needed. She huffed. "May I remind you, you're almost forty years old!"

"I'm eight years away!" He defended with an embarrassed chuckle.

She ignored him. "It's time to stop acting like a Casanova! Your looks will start fading away soon and instead of getting all these beautiful young women who actually are interested in you, you will end up with a gold digger only interested in your wealth, who will eventually have your kids and take you to the cleaners for child support and alimony!" She chided.

She continued, "Now's the time to find a good woman that you're compatible with, so you can grow old together, as opposed to you having a forty-year head start!"

Chris scrunched his nose.

"What?!" Micaela demanded. "Of the millions of women, you've gone out with, you can't tell me you didn't find a single one worth spending more than an evening with!"

Chris ran his hands through his light brown hair.

After an exasperated sigh, he confessed, "There was nothing special about them," he made eye contact with her. "I took them home, they told me their whole life story in one night, we had sex and I didn't feel a need to know more about them the next day."

She stared at him, feeling no pity toward him. She was angry that this selfish asshole her sister bore could not pay a second thought to how these women may have felt after sharing their bodies with him, only to have him pull a permanent disappearing trick.

Micaela sighed, feeling a deep sense of disappointment in him.

She stood, grabbing her coat and her purse.

Chris remained seated, his face downcast, very much looking like a little boy sent to his room with no supper.

"Will I still see you at the ceremony?" She asked in a very serious tone.

Without a word, without meeting her eyes, and with slow movements, he nodded.

Micaela turned, walking out of the coffee shop hastily.

She marched through the cool summer morning making her way to the parking lot a block away from the coffee shop.

As she stood at the corner of the street, waiting for the light to change, something caught her attention.

Across the street, a male pigeon was circling a female pigeon who kept moving away from his attention. Obviously, she was not interested in mating.

Or was she?

The light turned green; Micaela continued the trek toward her car. The pigeons scattered to higher ground as she walked past them.

Persephone suddenly came to mind.

Her pace slowed as she processed the situation before her.

On one hand, there was a beautiful young woman not interested in love... and on the other, a handsome young man who desired her but was not willing to settle down.

Ah, but there was chemistry, indeed there was! It was so palpable she could taste it.

If she read the earlier scene between the two correctly, and she knows for a fact she did, life was handing her a rare opportunity of creating a new love story, except this time, it would be with two real people!

Her days of writing romance novels may be over, but her days of playing matchmaker may have just begun, as it seems nature just leveled up her tools and her arena in a most dramatic fashion.