by J. J. Bella
I stepped into the pair of warm, white slippers near the bedroom door and wrapped my body in a robe. Heading out into the kitchen, the smells of breakfast only grew stronger. Soon, I was in the main room of the apartment, where I could see Liam in the kitchen preparing something at the stove.
"She's up!" said Olivia, who was sitting at the kitchen bar, silverware in her hands in anticipation of her meal.
Liam looked at me over his shoulder as I walked to the bar.
"There you are," he said. "You were out last night."
"I guess the week had drained me more than I thought," I said, taking a seat on the stool next to Olivia.
"I put you in bed last night," said Liam, the food on the stove sounding a loud sizzle. "Hope you don't mind, I just figured you'd rather sleep in bed than on the couch."
"No, no problem," I said.
Liam flashed me another smile, which sent my heart racing and swept away any last traces of fatigue.
First thing in the morning and I'm already getting distracted by his looks, I thought.
"Daddy!" said Olivia. "When's pancakes?"
"Right…now," he said, turning around, a plate stacked tall with pancakes held with both hands.
He set it down in front of us and Olivia eagerly speared a stack of three with her fork.
"Hope pancakes are fine. Little carb-heavy for first thing in the morning, but what's the weekend for if not getting wild?" he asked with a smirk.
"Pancakes are great," I said.
I moved a couple onto my plate and, after applying a healthy pour of syrup, dug in.
"How was the meeting last night?" I asked.
"Just as boring as you'd imagine," he said. "I hear you two had a fun night last night. Right, Minnie?"
"Yeah!" said Olivia, her mouth full of food.
Liam gave me a knowing look, one that seemed to say, "see? And you were worried?"
I felt any remaining tension I had inside of me ease at this. Liam just had a way of making me feel good; I loved being around him more and more with each passing day. In spite of myself, I knew that old attraction was slowly taking hold of me once again.
"So, here's the situation for tonight," said Liam, a plate of his own pancakes in his hand as he stood leaning against the kitchen counter. "I've got a little work to do this afternoon."
"Same here," I said, remembering the notes that I still had to transcribe.
"I'm thinking I'll finish up and take Minnie here out to lunch. She's got a sleepover night tonight, so I wanted to get some good daddy-daughter time in before then."
Olivia gave a thumbs-up with one hand while shoving down a forkful of pancakes with the other.
"Then, I was thinking that you and I could grab some dinner out on the town. You know, as a little ‘thank-you' for all the hard work you've been doing so far."
It sounded great, but I didn't want Liam to go out of his way to reward me. After all, I was just doing my job. But a dinner out, especially with Liam, did sound really nice.
"That'd be great," I said.
"Awesome," said Liam.
The rest of the breakfast passed with Olivia telling us what she and her friend Katie, a girl in one of the nearby apartment buildings, had planned for the night. After we finished and cleaned up, I poured myself a tall cup of coffee and set to work on the remaining things I needed to get done. About halfway through, Liam popped into the spare office where I'd been doing my work to let me know that he and Olivia were heading out. Once they were gone, I found that my work pace slowed dramatically, what should've been an easy hours worth of work just dragged, and it was because of Liam.
Not anything he was doing himself, of course- I just couldn't stop thinking about him. That smile kept appearing in my mind, and whenever it did, my train of thought was inevitably set flying off the tracks. And even worse, I'd find myself thinking about just how strange this all was, that I'd see him again after so long, and not only this, but that he was living such a different life. Someone could've told me that he was a different man who just happened to look like Liam and I might've believed them. Well, until that personality of his came out. And, of course, that smile.
Before I knew it the afternoon had arrived. I'd gotten about as much work as I was going to be able to, and just when I closed the computer I heard the front door open, followed by the pitter-patter of Oliva's feet as she ran into the apartment. I decided that I needed a little socialization, so I headed into the living room.
"How was the date?" I asked, taking a seat on the extremely expensive-looking and extremely comfortable couch that I'd fallen asleep on last night.
"Awesome!" said Olivia. "We got pizza!"
Liam shrugged. "What can I say? Girl knows what she likes."
Heading down to his bedroom, Liam looked back at me over his shoulder.
"Dinner reservation is at seven. Put on something nice, but not ‘ball-gown nice.' And be ready at six- I have something I want to show you."
My eyebrows raised. What could this mean? After killing a little time watching TV, I realized I was too excited for the evening ahead and decided to pick out what I wanted to wear. I went through the clothes that I bought on my shopping trip with Olivia, noting that I'd purchased plenty of clothing that I hadn't had the chance to wear. There was a lovely gown, which I'd been dying to have an excuse to put on, but I remembered that Liam specifically said not to wear anything too fancy.
Maybe one day, I thought, sadly putting the thing back. I'd bought plenty of fancy underwear, too, and though I knew I'd be the only one seeing it, I figured that a dinner out was as good of a time as any. Searching through the big bag of underthings, I pulled out a matching set of lacy black underwear. I stripped out of my clothes and put them on, admiring myself in the flattering light of the three-paneled mirror. I couldn't help but notice that my figure was a little trimmer than it had been; I guessed that I'd been so busy with work that I'd been forgetting to eat. That pig-out with Olivia last night was probably the biggest meal that I'd had since I started this whole weird little arrangement with Liam.
But it wasn't the food I was looking forward to- excitement gripped me as I looked forward to the evening ahead. I knew that it wasn't a real date, but it was the closest thing I'd had to one since I moved to the city. When I decided to move here, I dreamed of fancy nights out in ritzy restaurants that looked over the city, a handsome man sitting across the table from me as the lights of Manhattan twinkled below. But instead, my usual dinner involved me being too tired to cook after a long work day, and flipping through GrubHub while trying to decide what to watch on Netflix. Even though the circumstances were a little strange, I was finally getting the evening out that I'd been secretly hoping for.
Fuck it, I thought, looking through my clothes where they hung. I might not be wearing a ball gown, but that doesn't mean I can't get a little fancy.
This little rebellious streak in mind, I pulled out a black cocktail dress. I'd worn enough jeans and slacks to last me a lifetime; I was ready to show off a little leg. After putting on the dress, I picked out a matching pair of heels before sitting down in front of the vanity and applying my makeup. I decided on a deep red lipstick and some sultry black eyeshadow. It wasn't my normal look, but I was feeling a little femme fatale for some reason this evening. Once I was done, I put my hair up and pinned it in place. Once I was done, I took another looked at myself in front of the three-panel mirror.
Damn, I thought, I look pretty damn hot, if I do say so myself.
And just about when I was ready, I heard a door open in the direction of Liam's bedroom. Next was the chatter of Olivia as the two of them went to the front door. Then, I heard another kid's voice, and another adult's. Then the front door shut, and it was just Liam. Olivia was off with her friend, and now it was time for our evening.
I left the room and walked into the living room, where Liam was sitting with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He was dressed in one of his exquisitely-tailored suits, this one a deep,
dark gray worn with a pair of coal-black double-monk shoes. I still had a hard time believing that it was him whenever I saw Liam dressed like that, but I loved it. It made him seem ten years older, but in an extremely attractive way.
As I entered, his eyes flicked up from the paper for a brief moment. Then, he did the double-take to end all double takes. His eyes went wide, and for a second it looked like he might just spit out his coffee.
"You OK?" I asked, standing at the threshold of the room.
"I'll recover he said," standing up.
He walked over to me and gave me a once-over, his eyes dragging over my figure in a way I couldn't help but love.
"You look…incredible," he said.
"Thanks," I replied, my face turning a deep red. "You, um, don't look so bad yourself."
"You ready to go?" he asked, getting up.
"Yeah, I think so. But what's this surprise you wanted to show me?"
"I can't just tell you- then it wouldn't be a surprise."
I couldn't help but smile.
"Fair enough," I said.
"Come down to the lobby with me."
With that, we headed out. We rode the elevator in silence, and soon we were standing in the spacious lobby of Liam's building. He led me over to the front doors, then held up his hand.
"Wait here," he said, a mischievous little grin on his face.
He left through the front doors and disappeared down the sidewalk. I craned my neck to see where he went off to, but couldn't spot him. He'd disappeared among the pedestrians outside. I stood patiently for several minutes, wondering just where he'd gone. But before I could wonder for too long, I heard the roaring of an engine down the road, a ripping sound that cut through the din of the sidewalk. I rushed outside to the sidewalk to see what was the source of the sound.
Sure enough, it was Liam tearing down the road on a motorcycle.
He drove up to the front of the building and came to a stop. Propping the bike on a kickstand, he hopped off the thing and killed the engine. It was a massive, chrome-colored bike with black trim- like the one he owned back when we first dated, only fancier. I wasn't normally a bike girl –I'd always thought they were dangerous- but even I could appreciate a ride like this.
Liam leaned against the bike, a pair of Wayfarers on his face, and his arms crossed over his chest. The contrast of the suit he was wearing and the bike was almost too much to resist.
"I knew there was some part of the old you still in there," I said, walking up to the bike and giving it a look over.
"What, you thought I was all business? Gotta have fun sometimes."
"I thought that was what all those little actress friends were for."
Liam smirked. "Well, there's ‘fun' and there's ‘fun'."
He slapped the back of the long, curved leather seat.
"Hop on," he said, climbing back onto the bike. "Nothing like riding in the city."
"I don't know," I said, hesitation in my voice. "You know how I feel about these things."
"Trust me," he said, taking a helmet from the side of the bike and handing it to me. "You're in good hands.
I took a deep breath, placing the helmet on my head and getting onto the bike.
"Hold on," he said, revving the engine, the vibrations running through my body.
Just at the moment I wrapped my arms around Liam, we took off. The bike peeled down the street, Liam weaving in and out of traffic. I felt my heart rate quicken, and part of me was certain that we were going to get into an accident at any moment. But I held on tight, pressing my body hard against Liam's rock-solid back. As we went on, I began to feel a little safer.
Soon, we were out of the village and onto FDR drive, the long road that goes up along the side of the city facing Brooklyn and Queens. The evening was beginning to come on, and the lights of the end of Long Island twinkled as we drove. After a time, my heart beat hard and fast not form fear, but from excitement. I held on tight to Liam, my head resting on his back as I watched the still, wine-dark length of the East River pass to our right. Brooklyn seemed to stretch on forever, and magic was in the air.
We turned off of FDR, ending up in Midtown, the towers of the city looming over us. Liam steered the bike though Times Square, and though I was normally nothing but annoyed by this touristy part of the city, Liam was right- on a bike it was something else. We made our way through Midtown, eventually turning up towards the Upper West Side. A few minutes later Central Park was to our right, and I watched the dark green curves of the park pass in a blur, the forms of horse-drawn handsome cabs and bicyclist rushing past.
Eventually, we arrived at the black façade of a restaurant. Liam slid into a parking spot, and we dismounted. As we walked towards the building it took me a few steps to reacclimatize myself to normal walking speed.
"You alright?" asked Liam with a smile.
"Um, I think so," I said, steadying myself. "That was just…quite a rush."
"Here," he said, moving directly to my side and offering his arm.
I grabbed onto it, and it worked a charm.
"You ride on the train for a while and you forget what it's like to actually ride somewhere," I said, staying close to his side.
"We'll need to do something about this low tolerance for thrills," he said, opening the door to the restaurant and allowing me to enter.
The interior of the place was…unique. A strange, all-black theme adorned the space, with black tables, black walls, and black art. Even the waiters and waitresses were head-to-toe in black. It reminded me of old, Gothic buildings, but somehow both hip and fashionable. The light was low, and once my eyes adjusted, I couldn't help but take in a sharp gasp- just about every patron there was some manner of Hollywood royalty.
I turned to Liam, who was busy checking in with the hostess.
"I'm kind of starstruck," I said to him, torn between wanting to look at all of the celebrities there and not wanting to look painfully like a small-town girl.
"You're gonna have to get used to it if you're gonna be hanging around with me," he said.
The hostess led us to our table, and we could hardly go a foot without one celebrity or another stopping Liam to shake his hand and say hello. When we finally made it to our table, I couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.
"You alright?" he asked, taking the menus from the waitress as she arrived.
"Just…um, a lot of famous people," I said, doing my best not to stare. "As in, ‘no one but famous people'."
I didn't add "except for me."
"That's how the trends work in this city," said Liam, scanning the wine menu. "A place gets all the buzz, the crowds flock in, and before you know it, the trend's done. This place is the current beneficiary of that particular process."
I picked up my menu and looked it over; I didn't really recognize anything on here.
"Don't worry about the food," said Liam. "It's already ordered. Just sit back and relax."
"That'll be easier once the wine's here," I said, try to look-but-not-look at a woman in the far end of the restaurant who I was almost positive was Emma Stone.
Soon, the waitress arrived and Liam ordered a bottle of something in French. The waitress left soon after, but not before flirting with Liam, of course.
"That was a little bold," Liam said as the waitress walked away. "For all she knows, we're on a date."
"Yeah…" I said, trailing off, hoping my face wasn't as red as I felt it was becoming.
I cleared my throat.
"So, what's the deal with this place anyway? It's like a fancy restaurant designed by a fan of The Cure."
Liam looked around at the black-dominated décor.
"To be honest, I've stopped trying to understand what makes anything ‘cool' in this city. For example, there's a bar in Brooklyn the size of a phone booth where you pay a hundred and fifty a head to stand packed in next to your date and the bartender and no one else."
"That…sounds like a nightmare."
"Right? Bu
t don't tell anyone here that- the place is booked solid through the end of the year."
My eyes went wide at this.
"You'd be surprised at what people with too much money choose to spend it on," said Liam.
"And you're above all that consumerist stuff?" I asked with a sly smirk.
"I do my best. When you don't come from money you tend to see the value of it a little more when you do finally get it."
Before I had a chance to respond, the waitress arrived and poured us two glasses. As the dark, red liquid poured, I considered how much this answer impressed me. Liam seemed to have plenty of money –that was for damn sure- but aside from the fancy apartment and the nice clothes, he was still the same down-to-earth guy that I'd always known. It made happy to know that the good-hearted person he was hadn't been changed by the money and power he'd gained since we last were in each other's lives.
The food arrived before too long, and it looked delicious. I didn't understand the name when Liam told them to me –something in German- but it looked to be some kind of dark meat, maybe duck, with a glaze that was absolutely delicious. I ate happily, and as he and I talked, we began to settle into the same easy rapport that we'd had when we were dating. I couldn't get over how between the city, the celebrities, and everything else, it was still just him and I, the same people we'd always been.
"Imagine telling us back when we dated that this is where we'd be today," said Liam, digging into the pistachio ice cream rolls that he ordered for dessert.
"It's crazy," I said. "And imagine telling us that it would be after years of not seeing one another."
Liam gave a warm half-smile before spooning the light green ice cream into his mouth.
Soon we were done, and when the check arrived, Liam slipped a black card to the waitress without missing a beat in the sentence he was in the middle of. I was sure the meal was ridiculously expensive and I felt a little bad just letting him lavish so much money on me. After all, just about every expense that I would normally be spending money on –rent, food, clothes- was being taken care of by Liam anyway. All my income was just going right into the bank.