Dream Date

by Ivan Kendrick

  During the drive, Amanda texted Marissa to let her know that their meeting would no longer be at the latter’s place. It wasn’t far from Marissa’s. Then Amanda looked at Hughes in the rearview.

  “Change of plans. We’re visiting someone else first,” she said, giving Hughes the address. He nodded, and turned right on the following intersection.

  Fifteen minutes later, Amanda found herself outside the door of an expensive hotel suite. She knocked.

  “Coming!” a familiar voice sounded from within. A few seconds later, the door opened. Amanda found herself face to face with a man she rarely saw, even though they were constantly in touch.

  “Amanda! This is a most unexpected surprise.”

  “Save the drama, please. I won’t grace your place with my presence for long,” Amanda replied, walking forward as though she owned the place.

  “What’s wrong?” Hilbert asked in confusion. “Why are you angry at me?”

  “Don’t act as if you don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s thanks to you that I have bodyguards shadowing me around the clock.”

  “You’re safe, at least. But, what do you mean you have them because of me?”

  Amanda scoffed.

  “You’ve sent me some of your pawns to kidnap me twice already! If that’s the way you usually court women, don’t blame me for your dreadful results.”

  “First of all, I haven’t sent anyone after you.”

  “Then who sent those goons after me not a week ago? I have no enemies, Hilbert, and any stalkers I might have wouldn’t be that violent.”

  “I love you, Amanda. Since the moment I first met you, you’ve gotten deep into my skin. I would never send anyone to harm you.”

  “What you feel isn’t love. It’s obsession.”

  “Call it what you like. I still love you.”

  “Would you chase after me with such doggedness if I didn’t look like this? I highly doubt it.”

  Hilbert laughed contentedly.

  “I thought so,” Amanda said, shaking her head. She made to walk away. Hilbert grabbed her by the shoulders from behind and turned her around.

  “It’s not just your body. It’s you.”

  “Uh-huh. And I was born yesterday.”

  “Why can’t you just accept this? Accept me? I want to give you everything.”

  “I can’t think about romance right now. Take a break. Journey like I did. I’m not the only damn fish in the sea.”

  “I know that. You’re just the only damn fish in the sea that I want.”

  Amanda laughed.

  “If I wasn’t angry with you, I wouldn’t find that line so pathetic.”

  Hilbert looked like he was starting to get angry. Amanda stepped back.

  “Let’s keep our relationship purely professional. Am I clear? And stop sending your gorillas to kidnap me. If you’re trying to dazzle me, you’re doing a hell of a screwed-up job.”

  “It wasn’t me, Amanda. I promise. But I swear I’ll find out who did.”

  “Fine.”

  “Before you go,” Hilbert said, “everything’s ready for your Twitter live chat next week. You’ve been contacted by my secretary, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. We’ll keep you posted on that. Remember, Monday at eight in the evening.”

  “Got that,” said Amanda, turning and walking towards the door.

  Once she got back to the car, Amanda had Hughes take her to her apartment.

  “Marissa will be arriving in an hour,” she told him as she checked her other errands on her smartphone.

  Moments later, Hughes opened the door and stood aside to let Amanda in. She set her messenger bag on the floor and then took off her jacket. She put it on a hanger beside the entrance.

  “I’ll be in my bedroom. Call me when Marissa gets here,” Amanda said, walking to her room with her bag in hand. She sat down on her study desk, and then pulled out her MacBook from the bag. As the computer booted up, Amanda started thinking.

  Was being so cold to Nathan and pushing him away the right thing to do?

  Though Amanda felt displeased that Nathan had shown feelings for her, even though he already had a girlfriend, she was starting to feel something for him. Unfortunately, whether Nathan had a girlfriend or not, Amanda couldn’t date him. If Hilbert had sent goons after her, he most likely could make Nathan disappear. The bastard also used his father’s prominence to shield himself. Amanda couldn’t do much against a senator’s son.

  Amanda sighed, feeling the pangs of love she hadn’t felt in years.

  Nathan was in his dorm’s kitchen pouring himself a glass of milk to go with the waffles he was having for breakfast. The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and he turned around. Ashton appeared in the kitchen doorway. His clothes looked disheveled.

  “Had a wild night?” Nathan asked, shooting his friend a knowing smile.

  “You’ve got no idea,” said Ashton, walking to the fridge and looking inside.

  “So, did you and Judith…do it?”

  Ashton tapped his fingers on the door of the fridge, and then looked at Nathan.

  “No.”

  “What, you managed to resist? No way. You’re not exactly the King of Abstinence.”

  “Shut up, bro,” said Ashton with a laugh. “You won’t believe what happened.”

  “What?”

  “Grecia happened.”

  Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed.

  “Grecia? What did she do?”

  “She made a freakin’ scene in the parking lot.”

  “It’s not exactly a scene if there wasn’t anyone else around to see it.”

  “Whatever. She screwed up my date with Judith.”

  Nathan made a hissing sound.

  “And what did you do? Punish her?”

  “Hell no! We, um…I brought her here.”

  “You...wait a minute. Which of them arrived first?”

  “Grecia. I’m not sure she knew that Judith was coming, but when I told her that, she just wouldn’t go.”

  “And then Judith showed up.”

  “Yep. So what does Grecia do? She kisses me.”

  “Damn, bro. That girl’s determined to keep you.”

  “No shit. You should have seen Judith’s face. She’s not going to want to see me again after that stunt.”

  “I gotta say that’s a great story. I can’t remember the last time anyone blew one of your dates.”

  “It’s never happened!”

  Nathan laughed.

  “So, Judith left, and you brought Grecia here as a consolation prize.”

  “No, dude! At first, I was angry and tried to get Grecia to leave. Next thing I know, she’s taking her freakin’ top off!”

  “In the middle of the parking lot?”

  “Not exactly, but still. She was right about one thing, though.”

  “What?”

  Ashton thought for a moment.

  “That I’m still freakin’ attracted to her.”

  Nathan whistled and then cut a piece from one of his waffles. He ate it, pondering over the story Ashton had just regaled him with.

  “Are you and Grecia going to be back together?”

  Ashton turned his head, having had his train of thought interrupted.

  “What? Hmm, I wish.”

  “Just be with her and don’t ogle other girls. Everyone has seen the way you look at Grecia, especially Kayla. She reckons Grecia has fallen hard for you.”

  “I haven’t met a woman who makes me feel what she makes me feel. That’s what scares me.”

  Ashton opened the fridge again and helped himself to some milk. He then looked in the freezer and pulled out a sausage-and-egg croissant sandwich.

  After finishing his breakfast, Nathan drove to work. Although his mind was too occupied on the tasks he had to do, Nathan still found time to relive the great day he’d spent with Kayla. They had a lot of fun at the park.

  Only one thing worried Nathan. He was hoping tha
t Kayla wouldn’t take it the wrong way. If she so much as suspected that Nathan felt attracted to another woman, he’d surely lose her. And Nathan wanted her too much to bear the pain of not seeing her again.

  A quarter of an hour before his break, Nathan felt his smartphone vibrate in his pocket. He looked at the caller ID. Nathan excused himself to go to the restroom, where he answered the call.

  “Hello! Dad?”

  “Good morning, son. How are you doing?” Jeffrey asked. He was calling from Joliet.

  “I’m great, dad. How are you?”

  “Same as you. I didn’t interrupt you at work, did I?”

  “Things are slow at the moment. I have a half-hour break before I have to go back.”

  “I won’t take much of your time, then.”

  “Don’t worry, dad. It’s great to talk to you.”

  Jeffrey paused a moment before speaking.

  “How has your third year been so far?”

  “It’s been nice. The classes are getting harder, and more interesting. As I’ve got my core courses out of the way, I can study more about law.”

  “I’m proud of you, son. Before long, you’ll graduate and become a great lawyer.”

  “It’s gonna take some time, Dad. I still have to go to law school after leaving Cornell.”

  “Those years will fly. By the way, how are your friends? Are you still in touch with Ashton and Marissa?”

  “Of course, although Marissa transferred to Parsons last year, remember?”

  “I do. You don’t live too far from each other anyway. Where do you plan to go to law school?”

  “I’m not sure. Manhattan, perhaps.”

  “That’s a huge city, Nathan. It’ll overwhelm you.”

  “It won’t, dad. And I’ve got Marissa to help me just in case I get lost or something.”

  Jeffrey and Nathan laughed.

  “You’re still dating the girl you talked to me about in the summer, right? Kayla, if I remember?”

  “Yeah, we’re still together,” Nathan said, although he unconsciously thought of Amanda. Jeffrey knew all about her. He’d advised Nathan to go out and meet other women. It was on his suggestion that Nathan and his friends flew to Miami the spring break he meet Kayla. His parents used to go there often on vacations.

  “What’s wrong, son? You sound strange.”

  “I’m all right.”

  “You and Kayla haven’t fought, have you?”

  “No! We went out to the park yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We had ice cream.”

  Jeffrey didn’t speak for a few seconds.

  “How are things going with the business?” Nathan asked to break the silence. Jeffrey was a mechanic and owned his workshop, called Ferland Mechanics. Not the most original name, but the shop was one of the best of its kind in Joliet.

  “Like a charm. I’m even saving money now to sell the house and move somewhere else.”

  “What? You’re leaving Joliet?”

  “No. I have my roots here. At this point, I couldn’t move if I wanted to. I’m just buying a new house.”

  Jeffrey ran his workshop out of a converted building next to his house. It was built long ago where there had been nothing but a small lot.

  “You mean you’re moving Ferland Mechanics too?”

  “Yeah. There’s a buyer interested in purchasing that land to open a notary office.”

  “Good luck, then. You show me photos of the new house when you move.”

  “I sure will. Just don’t post them online.”

  “I won’t,” said Nathan, chuckling. His dad didn’t trust the Internet much—to him, the ‘Internet’ only consisted of the popular social networks, e-mail, and the Web site Jeffrey ordered written to promote his business.

  “Okay, I’ll let you return to work now, son. Say hello to Kayla for me.”

  “Sure.”

  “And bring her down here sometime. We still haven’t even met in person.”

  “I know, dad. We’ll see you as soon as we can.”

  “I look forward to meeting her. You take care, son. And make her happy.”

  “Yeah, I’ll do so. Bye.”

  Jeffrey hung up. Nathan wondered if he should have told his father about Amanda. Nathan could have used the advice, but he didn’t want to say anything when things were so uncertain.

  ***

  The sound of the doorbell alerted Amanda to Marissa’s arrival. She and Jonathan looked at each other. He’d arrived shortly after Amanda’s visit to Hilbert. She had felt too tense to concentrate on her work, and so she had phoned Jonathan to come. Luckily, he was already in the city training another client.

  “I guess we’ll have to wrap it up,” Amanda told him, getting up from the weight bench.

  “Doesn’t matter. We’ll catch up next time,” said Jonathan. At that moment, Hughes entered the room.

  “Ms. Tilley, Marissa Velásquez is here.”

  “Thank you, Hughes. Tell her I’ll be there in five.”

  Hughes nodded, and left.

  “I’ll take a shower,” Amanda said, wiping her chest and arms with a towel. “You can wait for me here if you need to use the bathroom. I won’t take long.”

  “Don’t worry, Amanda. I’ll leave now.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

  Jonathan nodded, and walked out of the room. As he passed through the living room, he saw Marissa. Upon seeing him, she froze.

  “Good morning, Ms. Velásquez,” he greeted, stopping a few feet from her. “Amanda will see you shortly. I’m her fitness trainer, Jonathan Clayton.”

  “A…a…it’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Marissa, lost for words as she shook Jonathan’s hand.

  “You’re Marissa, right?” Jonathan asked, smiling. It took a couple more seconds for her to recompose.

  “Sorry. Yeah. I’m Marissa.”

  “I heard Mr. Hughes announcing you by name.”

  “Oh,” said Marissa, struggling to look normal. “So, you’re Amanda’s trainer?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I see. Uh…do you travel a lot?”

  “Only some. Most of my clients are from the city. I mostly just travel to other cities within this state.”

  “I can imagine it would be hectic to fly around the country all the time.”

  “Yeah. That’s why I focus on New York,” he said, fixing his hair. Without thinking about it, Marissa mirrored the action.

  “If you don’t mind, I have to go now. There’s one last client I have to work with for the day.”

  “Okay. It was great talking to you, Jonathan.”

  “Same here, Marissa. Have a good day,” he said, and then walked to the entrance. He looked at Marissa briefly before leaving, and then closed the door.

  A few minutes later, Amanda walked into the living room. Marissa stood up from the sofa.

  “Good morning, Marissa. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” Amanda said, walking up to Marissa and shaking her hand.

  “It’s okay. Jonathan kept me entertained.”

  Amanda raised her eyebrow.

  “Oh, so you’ve met him?”

  “Yeah. We exchanged a few words.”

  “What’s your impression of him?”

  “Jonathan’s so…hot. Like, wow.”

  Amanda laughed.

  “He’s a looker, right?”

  “Absolutely. I’m so tempted to hire him now.”

  “Feel free to do so if you wish. He’s not my exclusive trainer.”

  Marissa nodded, seriously considering it.

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “Coffee’s good.”

  “Okay. How do you prepare it?”

  “Just regular coffee, not too strong. I like it with a good amount of creamer and a teaspoon of sugar.”

  “Okay. Make yourself at home,” Amanda said as she left for the kitchen. Marissa admired the interior of the room. It was higher up than her apartment and had a great view towards the E
mpire State Building. Marissa felt a little envious about it, although there was no way she could afford such a suite.

  Amanda returned shortly after, carrying a cup of coffee in each hand. She handed one to Marissa.

  “Thank you,” said the latter.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “This place’s got a fantastic view.”

  “I know. My friend Brad owns it. He lets me stay here whenever I’m in the city.”

  “Shame. I was about to say that it would be nice to keep the room for yourself.”

  “You should see The Epic,” Amanda replied proudly. “It’s an apartment building nearby. I saw it online, and it caught my eye. When I move back into the city, I’m so going to live there.”

  “You plan to live in New York?”

  “Definitely. I love this city. It’s awesome.”

  “It is.”

  Amanda drank her coffee. Marissa watched her inconspicuously. Although she was still swooning over Jonathan, Amanda’s beauty did affect her. The latter noticed her scrutiny, and smiled.

  “What do you use for your skin?” Marissa asked the first thing that came to mind.

  “Moisturizing cream. And I always put on sunscreen even if there’s no sun,” Amanda replied, continuing with a few more tips.

  “Everyone says you’re so gorgeous, but seeing you in the flesh just doesn’t compare.”

  “I get that all the time, even from women.”

  “Just know that I go for guys.”

  “Okay,” said Amanda, laughing with Marissa. “I won’t judge you if you’re bi-curious.”

  “Ha!” Marissa laughed nervously.

  “Just joking. I can tell you fancied Jonathan.”

  Marissa nodded without thinking.

  “Let’s move on to what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  The two women sat down on the sofa. Marissa looked at Amanda, ready to listen.

  “I’ve been looking forward to see your dress designs. Clark mentioned you actually brought a few from concept to the real thing.”

  “I did. I gave one of them to a friend.”

  “That’s nice of you.”

  Marissa smiled.

  “Clark also told me that you might hold your own fashion show after graduation to let people see the talent you’ve got.”