by Katie Kyler
“You look pretty handsome yourself.” I blurted out.
He smiled, and his dark eyes twinkled. “That’s only because I’m with you.” He squeezed my hand gently as he pulled out my chair at the table and smiled at me again. “Let me guess, your dress, is it Hérve Léger? Carolina Herrera? I went out with a girl who was a model. All she wore was expensive, designer dresses, and she talked about them all the time.”
I twisted in my seat, as if I could find a tag to tell me who made the dress. “I honestly don’t know; I don’t usually pay attention.”
He looked impressed and smiled as he took his seat next to mine. “I like that. A girl who isn’t caught up in all of that sort of stuff, but knows how to look amazing.”
“Flatterer,” I joked. If he only knew I really had no clue about any of that.
“Maybe,” he smiled. “But you deserve it.”
I took a deep breath as I loosened up a little and sipped my water. My palms weren’t clammy anymore, and my heart had stopped racing. Joshua quickly ordered drinks for us and I looked over the menu as I pinched my leg under the table, wondering if this was a dream. I looked around the restaurant at the couples sitting near us. The women stole glances at Joshua when they could and sneered at me, probably wondering how I scored such a hot date. Something I was still wondering myself.
My nervousness returned the more I thought about it. No sooner had the waitress delivered our drinks than I took a long swig. Joshua smiled. “Thirsty?” He chuckled.
I loved his dry sense of humor at times. I meekly smiled at him as I apologized. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back, I need to run to the ladies room.”
Joshua quickly stood and helped with my chair as I hurried off toward the far corner of the restaurant. I needed to regroup. I felt his gaze on me as I walked away. Please don’t trip, Allison. Don’t trip.
I let out a huge breath as I stared at myself in the mirror. A tiny row of sweat beads had gathered on my forehead. I wiped them off with a paper towel, careful not to interfere with Jess’s make-up magic. I pulled out the tube of lipstick I’d tucked in my purse, and reapplied some where I had been biting my lip.
A note, folded just like I’d folded in high school, with the little edge sticking up to pull it open, fell from my purse as I attempted to slide the tube of lipstick back into my purse. I grinned and opened it.
Alls,
RELAX, girl. You’re probably in the bathroom freaking out a little. You look great. Just enjoy yourself. If he’s a douche, you never have to see him again. If he’s a great guy, then he’ll see how wonderful you are on the inside and the outside, and if he can’t see that, he isn’t a great guy anyway. CONFIDENCE, sister.
Oodles of love,
Jess
P.S. Just be happy I didn’t fill your purse with condoms. That’s for the third date.
I rolled my eyes at the pact we’d made our freshman year of college. Three dates before sex. Well, we’d cross that bridge if we came to it.
I took a moment imagining what that bridge would look like. Fingers, tongues, teeth, hands…oh those hands. I’d spent many a quiet moment in my cubicle thinking about them all over my body.
I gathered my composure and slowly walked back to the table, feeling more at ease. Jess was the best friend in the entire world. She was right. There was really nothing to be so worried about. Confidence, sister, I repeated it over and over like a mantra.
“Everything okay?” Joshua looked up from the menu.
Confidence, sister.
“Yes. Everything is great.”
I took a seat and looked around the restaurant again. It was quickly filling up and all of those gawking eyes seemed to be fixated on their own dates. I knew I had been imagining everyone staring at us, or at him.
“So here we are. I love this place.” Joshua craned his neck and looked out the window. “Great view of the city, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is. I like how the buildings light up on top when the sun is setting.”
“I never noticed that.” He reached across the table and touched my hand, briefly. “I like the way you see things.” He grabbed his glass and held it up as he looked at me. “Here’s to new beginnings.”
I raised my wine glass, clinking it against his. “To new beginnings.” My hand was still trembling a little, despite Jess’s infusion of confidence.
Joshua looked at me with a concerned expression as my glass of wine shook in my hand. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, just a little nervous.”
“I’d normally never admit this,” he said, “but I am, too. I’ve never been on a blind date before.”
I could see why he hadn’t been. He didn’t need to be set up on dates. Girls fell at his feet. I was surprised that he actually had a case of nerves. I never would’ve thought.
“So tell me about yourself,” Joshua said as he leaned on the table.
“You mean other than work, when I’m not working hard…” I joked a little as I watched his expression, hoping it would ease things more.
“Exactly, other than work. What do you like to do? How do you spend your free time?”
I loved that he didn’t want to talk about work. I loved that he was creating an evening separate from the office, insulating us from the corporate world. I played with the stem of my wine glass as I tried to come up with something in my life that seemed the least bit interesting. Playing with my cat or catching up on my favorite vampire series just didn’t seem to be interesting enough. “I read, hike…I’ve always wanted to go skydiving…” Skydiving? Really Allison?
Joshua’s eyes grew wider as he studied my face. “You’re kidding me, right?” He leaned back in his chair, waiting for my response.
“Maybe…?” I giggled, “I do take risks, heck, I’m here on a blind date. That’s risky. Isn’t it?”
“Well, I guess it could be,” Joshua chuckled as he took a sip of his drink and gently touched my hand.
Flames of lust licked through my abdomen as I froze in my seat, taking in the feeling of his touch. I’d never been so turned on just from just a touch before. By the time our food arrived, we had talked about almost everything I could think of. Conversation flowed between us so naturally, I wondered why I had ever struggled to even say hello to him in the hallway at work. There, I always seemed to fumble like a fool.
As we continued to lose ourselves in conversation, a trio of girls walked by our table. Each was more beautiful than the next. Their long, flowing blonde hair swished over their tanned shoulders. Their dresses were short enough to reveal almost everything. The middle girl turned and smiled at Joshua as she quickly stepped towards our table. “Hey Joshy…” she giggled in her high pitched voice. “We haven’t seen you at the club in a while…I hope you’re planning to stop by soon.” She didn’t acknowledge that Joshy was on a date.
His face grew red as he politely smiled back. “I’ve been busy,” he said through pursed lips as he took another sip of his bourbon. “It was nice to see you again.” He quickly turned his attention back to me as the girl stood with a disappointed look on her face. She turned in a huff and rejoined her waiting friends.
So he wasn’t always concerned with appearances.
“I’m sorry, that was an old friend…How’s your dinner?” he asked as the redness subsided from his face.
“Please, you don’t need to explain…and dinner is perfect.” I snickered to myself at the thought of the girl calling him Joshy. She seemed exactly like the type of girl I had heard him brag to his friend about, attractive but clueless. Apparently that wasn’t really his type.
“If you like the food here you really need to try Le Grotto downtown. Maybe next time?” he smiled.
Next time? Could he really be interested in a second date? Joshua reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as he smiled at me. “You know, I’ve never dated anyone who wasn’t blonde.” Joshua lowered his voice and spooned out a couple of ice cubes from his whiskey sour. “This is a new
experience for me.”
“Well I guess that makes me kind of special,” I sneered back at him. In one moment he was caring and attentive and the next moment he seemed so superficial and shallow. “I thought about going blonde–”
“You’re gorgeous, though,” he quickly quipped back.
“In spite of not being blonde?” I asked.
“No, not at all. I meant I couldn’t imagine you any other way.” He still looked composed, but his eyes had widened slightly. “I just meant you aren’t the type of girl I would normally go out with.”
I clenched my teeth as Joshua dug himself deeper in the hole he had created. “Type meaning blonde? What exactly is your type?”
He nodded, twirling the ice around in his glass. “I mean, I guess I usually don’t meet women like you.”
The dinner had been going so well, but I had to know who Joshua Tolbert really was—narcissistic playboy, or a man of substance who could handle challenging conversations. I’d seen him in meetings when things weren’t going his way. He’d carefully set down his folder or pen, whatever he was holding, and freeze the other person out in the most polite, completely offhanded way. It was frightening to see it happen.
“Women like me?” Flashes of Joshua walking past me in the office danced through my mind. He saw me as that girl. I wanted to get up and leave. I wanted to cry, but instead I sat there and stared at him.
He tilted his head, as he listened to my words. I took a deep breath and waited for him to speak as he reached across the table and grabbed my hand. I wanted to pull away, but he pulled me into his spell as he began to speak. “I guess I just always seemed to have a preference. But maybe I’ve been cheating myself all of this time. I got so used to dating the same kind of woman that I probably shut myself off from a lot of great people out there. You seem…perfect.”
I nodded and tried not to smile. I knew I had just pushed the limit with him and somehow, he had said all of the wrong things, but still made everything right. Deep down he was just as sincere as I had dreamed.
We had made it through dinner. The awkwardness, nervousness, tension and frustration had subsided and after two glasses of wine, I finally felt relaxed with him.
“Would you be interested in going for a walk?”
“I’d love to.” Joshua stood, his tall frame towered over me as he extended his hand and helped me up. I could feel the wine coursing through my veins as I stood up, feeling slightly light headed. I quickly clutched his strong arm as he escorted me from the restaurant. I felt better than great.
Chapter 2
Joshua
“I thought maybe a walk near the water would be nice this evening, plus it would give us some privacy. Sometimes I feel like everyone is listening to our every word when I’m in a restaurant.” I pulled her in close as we made our way outside of the restaurant and across the street towards the water.
“That would be nice. Maybe we won’t run into anyone else that you know.” She squeezed my arm and placed her head on my shoulder as she let out a little laugh.
On this one date I had had a better and longer conversation than with anyone else I had ever been out with before. There was something about her that was familiar, yet so different.
As the breeze gently blew through her hair, the smell of her soft perfume filled my nose. I took it in and closed my eyes. It wasn’t a scent I had ever smelled before. It wasn’t expensive or flashy, it was just enough to be completely unforgettable, like our evening together.
I wanted to stop and kiss her but I resisted the urge, as tough as it was. I smiled to myself at the fact we weren’t even on a first name basis but I knew more about her than I had known about anyone I had dated before. I didn’t want the night to end.
Chapter 3
Allison
We walked until we reached Penn’s Landing. We stood to watch the docked boats and admire the shining stars that glittered against the sky. The peacefulness of the splashing water against the dock set the perfect romantic mood.
“So is one of these yours?” I asked.
“No, I never really wanted one, although I know a lot about them. We used to go out on our family boat when I was younger. How about you?”
Joshua ran his hand over the back of my neck. The warm sensation of his skin on mine left me momentarily speechless as I closed my eyes. I could feel myself swaying under his control. “I’ve never been out, boating or sailing or…whatever you call it.”
“Scared of the water?” he teased.
“Not at all. Just never had the opportunity. I’m not scared of much, remember, I want to skydive,” I joked as I looked up at him.
“Are you scared of anything?”
“Invisibility.” I slipped off my heels and held them in my hand. The cool pavement shocked my bare feet as I hopped up onto the large cement ledge that separated the water from the land. I balanced with my arms out at my side as Joshua walked next to me, ready to catch me if I fell.
“You,” he said, “could never be invisible.”
As I stood on the wall I looked down into his mysterious eyes. I wanted to kiss him so badly as he looked up at me.
“Catch me,” I giggled as I pretended to jump into his arms. He strong hands immediately caught me at my waist as he effortlessly lifted me off of the wall and placed my on the ground. I stood in front of him, looking up.
“Beautiful,” I sighed.
Joshua tilted his head as he looked at me. “Yes.”
I quickly realized that my thoughts had escaped my mouth as I stared in awe at how rugged and handsome he was. I fumbled to correct what I had said. “The moon, isn’t it beautiful?”
“Come here.” He tugged on my hand, pressing it against his chest. I could feel his heart pounding as his chest raised and lowered with each breath. He ran his hands along my body and slowly brought his mouth down to mine. Our lips touched, just like they had in my dream. A perfect melding that caused heat to build throughout my body.
It was sweeter than candy, tasting his lips and feeling the tentative pressure of our tongues dancing. He ran his hands further down my body, caressing my ass. The fire inside me rose until my body was set ablaze with intense desire. I ran my fingers along his jaw, feeling the rough stubble over his cheeks. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I pulled in closer for another kiss and quickly realized exactly what I was doing.
I pulled away from him and smiled as I wobbled back on my bare feet. “I’ve probably had a bit too much to drink.”
“You’re adorable.” He gazed at me in that special way, a way he’d never looked at me before in the office. “I’d love to walk you home.”
I hesitated as I thought about it. How can I possibly let him see where I live? I wasn’t embarrassed to be myself, but Joshua was a billionaire. What if he saw where I lived and decided I wasn’t good enough for him? Or worse, what if he felt bad for me? I couldn’t stomach the thought of pity coming from a man I admired.
“I’ll be fine walking home by myself. But thank you.” I smiled at him and hoped he wouldn’t press the issue.
“There’s no way I’d let you walk home alone.” It sounded more like an order than a request. I hesitated and declined a few times, but I really did want some extra time walking hand and hand with him. “I’m sure you could protect yourself, but I’d feel better if I walked you home.”
He leaned back on his heels and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Well, okay. But just to the building. I don’t want to wake my roommate up.” I slipped on my shoes and then grabbed his hand. The two of us walked in silence through the night, beneath the moon and the streetlights, toward my apartment.
“You know,” he said, “I don’t care where you live, or who you live with.”
I wondered if he was a mind reader. How did he know that I didn’t want him to come inside and see my dumpy little apartment?
Soon we were standing in front of the complex, at the sensible concrete blocks, the half-hearted attempts at landsc
aping that bordered the sidewalks and parking lot.
“Here we are.” I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to go in. Maybe I could lie and tell him that this was a joke, that my real apartment was actually a mile further down the road. At least then I could squeeze in a few more moments with him.
He nodded. “All too soon.”
“How did you know, earlier, that I didn’t want you to see where I lived?”
“You just seemed uncomfortable,” he said. “I’m paying attention to you, you know. I can’t look away from you, Phillygirl.”
A shy smile spread across my face as I twisted my hair around my finger.
“I wish we didn’t have to say goodbye so soon.” He looked at me with his dark, glimmering eyes that accentuated his boyish expression.
“I feel the same,” I sighed.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll get together again.”
“Thanks for tonight.” We walked to my apartment door, and I shifted from foot to foot. “Will you really want to see me again, EdensNomad?”
He stepped toward me and gazed up at the sky for a moment and then he moved closer. He slid a finger down the side of my cheek and then placed his lips on mine. He took away my breath in a deep, passionate kiss under the moon. I pulled away, slowly, and carefully backed toward my door.
“One more kiss?” he asked.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
He leaned into me, gently, as if making sure I would really accept him. I raised my arms to play along his shoulders. He pressed me into the door, and I could feel the hardness of his bulge through our clothes. He wanted me. He really wanted me. The realization sent a tingle of lust through my abdomen and between my legs. I was so weak-kneed that if he’d stepped away at that moment, I would have collapsed to the ground.
Instead we stood entangled in front of my apartment, him pinning me to the door, as our lips met again and again and again.