Dream Date

by Ivan Kendrick

  Marissa picked up the call after the first few rings.

  “Hi, Nathan. How are you?”

  Nathan hesitated for a bit before speaking.

  “Uh—great. I’m great. How are you?”

  “Spectacular. I’ve come up with a new idea for a dress that I’m totally in love with. I can’t wait to bring it from concept to finished design.”

  “If you love it, I can picture how Claire will react. She’ll be head over heels.”

  Marissa laughed.

  “I know. She’s my biggest fan, isn’t she?”

  “Don’t doubt it for a moment, or she’ll eat you.”

  “I don’t think so. That sweet girl doesn’t bite.”

  “You never know. They say big things come in small packages,” Nathan said, laughing along with Marissa.

  “I’m going to tell her you said that.”

  “Come on. It’s not like she hasn’t heard that before.”

  Marissa exhaled softly. She then changed the subject.

  “You want to ask me something, right? I can tell.”

  “Yeah. I wanted to ask you what you know about Amanda Tilley.”

  There was a pause. Nathan could picture Marissa with her mouth open wide.

  Marissa mulled that over for a few seconds.

  “I’m highly knowledgeable about the fashion world, so I caught wind of Amanda soon after she started her modeling career. It didn’t take long for people to fall in love with her.”

  “Yeah, I wonder why.”

  “I can tell you fell under her spell, too.”

  “Maybe. Amanda is drop-dead gorgeous. We talked, and she told me she traveled around Europe the year after graduating from high school.”

  There was a loud gasp on the other end.

  “What? You’ve spoken to her!?”

  “Yep. I guess I haven’t told you. Amanda lives here and attends Cornell University.”

  Marissa whistled.

  “Well, well, it’s a small world. I had no idea. She keeps her whereabouts secret.”

  “She does? That’s odd.”

  “Not much. I understand, as she’s a public figure. According to the Internet, she lives in New York. Obviously she lives in Ithaca, as you tell me.”

  “Maybe she’s only here for school. She’s a freshman.”

  “That’s most likely why.”

  Nathan paused, thinking of what to say next.

  “By the way, why are you so interested?”

  “I…I was just curious.”

  “Come on. You like her, don’t you?”

  Nathan took a moment to answer that.

  “Perhaps.”

  “Don’t be coy about it, Nathan. Amanda’s a lovely, beautiful woman. Hell, even I’m not immune to her charms, and I’m straight.”

  Nathan chuckled, surprised by that admission.

  “Why don’t you ask her on a date?”

  Nathan could almost picture Marissa narrowing her eyes at his question.

  “Why don’t you ask her out, smartass?” she said in an amused voice.

  “Marissa, I’ve just met her. And I have a girlfriend.”

  “Then why do you want to know about Amanda?”

  “I don’t know. I just…I want to resist her. But I can’t. And I fear that I will hurt Kayla.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “I don’t want to think that I don’t. Kayla loves me so much. And I could really see my future with her in it.”

  “You could? Or you can?”

  “I can.”

  Nathan sighed, wishing he could solve his dilemma.

  “What should I do?”

  “Is it possible for you to keep Amanda as a friend? And nothing more?”

  Nathan thought about it. He felt that resisting Amanda was like fuel resisting being set on fire when touched by flames.

  “As long as she’s around, I’ll never stop desiring her.”

  “Then maybe you should wait it out. Graduation is almost here. You can move elsewhere with Kayla and forget Amanda definitely.”

  “I’m not sure I’d want to erase Amanda from my mind if I could.”

  Marissa didn’t reply to that remark. She latched on to something else she was wondering about.

  “How long have you known Amanda, Nathan? You sound too…enraptured by her to have known her for only a few weeks.”

  Nathan wondered whether he should tell Marissa. If things with Amanda went nowhere—which they most likely would—then Marissa didn’t need to know about his past with Amanda.

  “Just a while. How is it possible to love two women at once?”

  “Nathan, you can love two or more women at once. But you can’t be in love with more than one woman.”

  That was the key thing, Nathan thought to himself.

  “What do I say to Kayla, then? She will feel hurt if she thinks she’s got competition.”

  “Be honest with her. We hate when guys keep secrets like that from us. If you’re in love with Amanda, you should let Kayla know. Find a proper way to do it.”

  Nathan sighed again.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Nathan looked at the time on his phone.

  “I’ve got to go, Marissa, all right? My shift’s about to start again.”

  “Okay. Take care, Nathan. And I hope you can find the answer that you want.”

  “Yeah. I hope so. Bye.”

  “Bye,” Marissa said, and ended the call.

  Amanda was working out with her fitness trainer and great friend, Jonathan. He was a coveted trainer who specialized in training celebrities. Jonathan was costly to hire despite being less than thirty, and for good reason. He was an expert in fitness, body well-being, and self-defense. It didn’t hurt that he was also handsome.

  Jonathan had been working with Amanda for six months now. Upon her return to the U.S., she had wanted to get fitter and better-looking before resuming her modeling career. Amanda was now in the best shape of her life. Part of it was because she already exercised regularly before hiring Jonathan. Although Amanda was only lightly toned (she wanted to remain looking feminine) guys were often awed when they saw her abs. They were subtle, though.

  “Let’s move on to resisted pushups,” Jonathan told Amanda, and she put down her dumbbells. “Take your resistance band and follow along with me as usual.”

  Amanda liked having a fitness trainer of her own. She could go to a gym and spend much less money, but the results just wouldn’t be the same. Jonathan knew what Amanda needed to do to be the way she wanted to be.

  As they worked out, Amanda noticed Jonathan’s well-muscled arms. She had seen them hundreds of times, and they still had her stealing glances. A girl could admire.

  Even though their relationship was platonic, Amanda didn’t mind Jonathan checking her out. He was too professional to do so, but he was still a man. Amanda had caught him taking a short peek at her chest one day. She’d worn a bikini top under the pretense that her small supply of sports bras were at the laundry. Jonathan didn’t know she’d noticed.

  A quarter of an hour later, the workout ended. Amanda grabbed her towel and wiped her arms and her forehead.

  “That’s it for today’s session,” Jonathan said, handing Amanda a bottle of water. She thanked him. “We’ll meet again next Tuesday.”

  “All right,” Amanda said, walking forward to shake hands with him.

  “See you next week. Oh, and you can tell Judith and Emmy that they are still free to work out with us,” he said as he grabbed his stuff and put it into his pack. He then put the strap on his shoulder.

  “Thank you. I’ll tell them,” Amanda said, walking Jonathan to the door. “Have a good day.”

  “You, too. Don’t forget to drink your shake,” he added as he left, closing the door behind him. Amanda wiped her forehead with her towel again. She then reached behind her and undid her ponytail.

  After drinking her post-workout shake, Amanda spent five minutes taking a shower. When she was d
one, she stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a towel. Amanda walked to her room to find fresh clothes.

  As Amanda browsed through her closet, her phone rang. She walked all the way to the living room to pick it up and answer it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, beautiful. It’s Hilbert.”

  Amanda pursed her lips. She didn’t like Hilbert very much, but he managed her career.

  “Hi. Do you have any news?”

  “Yes, I have good news. I’ve got calls from Ralph Lauren and L’Oreal Paris. They both want to do photo shoots with you.”

  Ralph Lauren? L’Oreal? Amanda thought, feeling ecstatic. Those gigs could pave her way to better ones. One of her dreams was to be on Sports Illustrated.

  “That’s…um, that’s fantastic news.”

  “If you accept Ralph Lauren’s offer, your shoot would take place within the next two months.”

  “What do I have to do?”

  “Meet me at my office. There, I’ll give you more information that you need.”

  “Okay,” Amanda said, feeling ecstatic. “What about the offer from L’Oreal?”

  “You can do that one as soon as you can, if you accept. We can discuss it in my office.”

  “Sure, I’ll be there. Thanks, Mr. Melendez.”

  “I’m here to serve you, sweetheart. Take care.”

  I wish he would stop treating me like his girlfriend, Amanda thought to herself.

  “You, too,” she replied, and hung up.

  Kayla knocked on Nathan’s and Ashton’s dorm door. A few seconds later, the former answered.

  “Hi, baby,” Nathan said after seeing who had knocked. “Come in.”

  Kayla stepped inside. Without having to look around, she could tell that Ashton wasn’t there.

  “Would you like something to drink? Or eat?”

  “No, thanks,” Kayla replied, leaving her purse on the couch. “I have great news to share.”

  “What is it?” Nathan asked, walking forward until he was close to her. He caressed the side of her face.

  “Would you like to move into an apartment with me?”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows. Kayla waited, letting that sink in.

  What? Share an apartment?

  Nathan felt torn. If Kayla was willing to take such a significant step in their relationship, that meant she felt they had a long future.

  Isn’t this what I wanted? Living with Kayla will make it much easier to love her the way she deserves.

  “What? Is it too soon?” she asked, after noticing that Nathan was taking his time thinking about it.

  “No. It’s just…this isn’t a step to take lightly, Kayla. Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes. I love you and I want to be with you.”

  Nathan wished those words made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world instead of making him feel even more confused.

  “Baby, we’ve only been together for three months. I’m not sure it’s the right time for us to move together.”

  Kayla frowned, stirring some fear in Nathan.

  “Don’t you love me, or what? Are you having doubts about us?”

  “No, no, no. It’s not that.”

  “Then?”

  Nathan scrambled for a proper excuse. He wanted to diffuse whatever fears Kayla might be having.

  To his surprise, Kayla was taking care of those fears—if any—by herself.

  “Don’t deny that I tempt you,” Kayla told him, walking up against him and raising her chest. Nathan looked down at her cleavage, which she was using to try to dazzle him. “You’d have access to me all day, darling.”

  Nathan swallowed, thinking about the possibilities.

  “Have you already searched for apartments?”

  “A bit. I would like to get your input. We can search for a good place together. There aren’t that many places to look through here, though. This town is small.”

  Nathan wasn’t sure what to think.

  Choose Kayla, dude. You and Amanda don’t have a future together.

  “Yeah,” he said, smiling. “Yeah, we’ll find a great apartment for the two of us.”

  Kayla jumped in glee. Nathan couldn’t help but walk forward and kiss her again. He pushed her softly to make her lay on her back against the couch. Then he kissed her on the neck, remembering how much he liked her.

  “I can tell you’re excited about us having our own place,” Kayla said, laughing. She removed her jacket.

  “Ha ha,” Nathan said, completely taken over by lust. He caressed her from her shoulders to her arms, and then sought her lips again.

  “I want you.”

  Nathan grabbed the bottom of Kayla’s shirt and lifted it off her. Kayla raised her arms to help him remove it, and Nathan tossed it aside. He started kissing down her chest and towards her abdomen.

  A contented sigh escaped Kayla’s lips. She closed her eyes, letting herself feel.

  You’re so beautiful, Nathan thought. What more could I want?

  Nathan kissed one of Kayla’s shoulders, and then he moved towards the hollow of her neck. Afterward, he grabbed the top of Kayla’s skirt and pulled it down. He slid it down her legs as she removed her sandals. The skirt then fell to the floor. He caressed her legs and then kissed one of her thighs.

  Kayla watched as Nathan moved back and kissed her lips. He then touched her bra straps.

  “I love you,” Kayla said, feeling like she was in heaven. Nathan looked down at her. She had such breathtaking green eyes.

  Wait—green?

  Nathan blinked, and then focused on her face. He’d imagined Amanda.

  No, he thought, growling in his mind. She can’t be mine. I can’t break Kayla’s heart.

  Nathan kissed down her chest again. Kayla didn’t even notice he’d started becoming tense.

  So beautiful. Why do I still want Amanda when I have this angel? Nathan thought. He kissed Kayla with an intensity that made them begin to pant. She placed her hands on his hair, pulling softly. As Nathan admired Kayla’s beauty, he thought any man would be lucky to have her.

  Kayla giggled as he gently squeezed her thigh.

  “Maybe we should take it to your bedroom now,” she suggested. “Or Ashton will catch us.”

  “I’ve caught him more times than I’d like,” Nathan replied with a laugh. “But I’d rather not repay him.”

  Nathan took Kayla in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. There, he put her on the bed. Nathan moved on top of her and continued where they left off. He made Kayla move to allow easier access to her back.

  When she turned her head to look back at him, Nathan once again found himself staring into Amanda’s green eyes. His gaze locked on her irresistible lips, and he kissed them. Once he pulled back to look at her face, it was Kayla’s steel-gray eyes that looked back at him. He let out a gasp.

  “What?” Kayla asked, frowning. Nathan shook his head, moving to sit at the front of the bed. Kayla followed him, placing her arms around him.

  “What’s wrong? You seemed so passionate until now. Did I do something?”

  “No, you didn’t. It’s just…”

  Kayla waited, and then spoke again.

  “What? Are you upset?”

  Nathan looked at Kayla and flashed a smile.

  “No, I’m okay. I thought I did something wrong.”

  “What? You were doing great.”

  “Not you. Homework. Um, forget all that, okay? Let’s continue,” he said, placing his lips against Kayla’s again as he pushed her on her back.

  Nathan woke up the next morning feeling as though he hadn’t slept much. He was a bit irritated: after the wonderful time he’d spent with Kayla, Nathan had to go and dream about Amanda in his sleep. He wished the earth would just swallow him.

  After a quick shower, Nathan got dressed and left the dorm without talking to Ashton. He’d been so sure that spending a passionate evening with Kayla would be enough to convince himself that she was the woman for him.

  The truth
was that Nathan still desired Amanda so much it should be illegal. Kayla was attractive and enchanting, but Amanda was something else.

  Nathan walked towards the nearest Starbucks. He needed the time to sort through his thoughts, and some good coffee to clear his head.

  His smartphone beeped once. Nathan pulled it out of his pocket and checked it.

  Yesterday was magic. Can’t wait to see apts. together. See u? x

  Nathan couldn’t help but smile at the message that Kayla had sent him. He typed his reply.

  @ Starbucks. Can’t wait either.

  After sending that, Nathan continued on his way to the café. When he got there, he ran into Claire and Oswald. They looked up when he entered.

  “Nathan!” said Claire, waving her hand at him. He waved back and stood in line to place his order. After that, he went to sit with them.

  “Hey, guys,” Nathan greeted.

  “Where’s Ashton?” Oswald asked.

  “I honestly don’t know. I woke up feeling like a zombie and headed straight here for my caffeine fix. I have a feeling Kayla will be here shortly for the same.”

  Oswald and Claire chuckled at that.

  “Kayla is on her way here. I saw her.”

  Nathan and his friends turned to where the voice had come from. They saw Ashton approaching, carrying his breakfast. He sat next to Oswald.

  “Morning, folks. How are you doing, Nathan?”

  “I’m all right.”

  “With that tone, I don’t doubt it.”

  Nathan laughed.

  “How are things with Kayla?”

  “Wonderful, as usual.”

  Nathan turned to look towards the customer line. He spotted Kayla there, and she smiled, waving twice. Before Amanda’s ill-timed return, Nathan had believed that the charming glance and kissable lips that Kayla had were all he needed.

  After buying her food, Kayla went to sit next to Nathan. He greeted her with a kiss.

  “You look joyful today,” Nathan told her.

  “I can’t wonder why,” she replied with a soft laugh. Then she turned to their friends. “How’s your morning?”

  “Fantastic. Thank you,” Claire said. Oswald agreed with a nod.

  “You ready for the test?” Kayla asked Nathan. His eyes widened.