Running Towards Love

  “So, where are we eating?” she asked.

  “A little restaurant called Tony’s. It’s a small place, out of the way. They have some of the best food and music there. It’s owned by some old friends of mine, so they’ll be good about making sure no one tries to bother us.”

  Rebekah nodded her head, and they finished the rest of the ride in silence, enjoying one another’s company. Once they arrived at Tony’s, Jason helped her out of the car, paid the driver and escorted her into the restaurant. Immediately, two rather intimidating men greeted them.

  “Tony, Paulie, how are you?” Jason asked, shaking their hands.

  “Good, Mr. Taylor. Do you want your usual table?”

  “Please.” Again placing his hand on the small of her back, he guided her to follow Tony. He led them to a secluded table in the corner of the restaurant. Because of its location, it was blocked from the view of most of the other tables there. Just as earlier today, Jason pulled out her chair for her, and took a seat only once she was settled in.

  Looking around her, Rebekah couldn’t help but fall in love with the quaint little restaurant. Red and white checked tablecloths hung elegantly over each table and flames danced atop the wax-covered candles sitting on each table as well. Soft music was playing in the background, and tile mosaics graced the walls, each depicting country life in Italy. All this added to the atmosphere of being in some Italian villa.

  Nodding towards the two men they had met at the door, she glanced at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. “So, what?” she asked. “Do you have connections with the mob or something?”

  “Funny. You know, not every Italian male in New York belongs to the mob.” He laughed and she joined him, again surprised at how comfortable she felt with him. “I’ve known Tony and Paulie for a long time. They know I like to come here when I need some peace and quiet, so this is where they always seat me. Most people don’t even know when I come in here and I like that, especially when I just need to get away from it all. I’ve been here a lot in the past six months.”

  “Carrie,” she stated quietly. He nodded his head indicating she was correct. Nothing more was said as the waiter arrived and they placed their orders.

  A few minutes later they both sat quietly, sipping glasses of wine when Jason broke the silence. “I met Carrie in Newburgh years ago. She was an aspiring artist, and I was attracted to her. I had been injured on the set of the show, and she took care of me. I stayed with her for a while. It was better than going back to my family’s house. They are a bit insane, but that’s a different story.”

  She gave a small laugh as he paused to allow the returning waiter to place their food on the table. They began to eat. "Believe me, that, I definitely understand." She stopped to let him continue.

  “Anyway, the longer I stayed with her, the more attracted to her I became. She wasn’t perfect, and had some annoying habits, but I figured, who doesn’t. I went back to work not long after I moved in with her. We fought about that a lot. Carrie got very jealous of any actress I worked with. She hated it when I did any sort of love scene. I tried to explain to her that it was a soap, and that’s what I did, but she still couldn’t stand it. I had a feeling we weren’t going to last, but I stayed anyway. Over time, she resigned herself to the fact that I wasn’t going to quit, and she stopped arguing with me about it. Eventually, I realized I could love her, and I asked her to marry me. I know now that was my mistake. I loved her, but I was never in love with her. Does that make any sense?”

  Rebekah nodded her head, her eyes full of compassion. He could not believe he was saying some of this to her. No one knew about his early years with Carrie, not even his closest friends, or his sister; yet, here he was spilling his guts to a stranger, who was beginning to feel less and less like one with each passing minute.

  “I think she felt the same way. One night, a year ago, after a huge fight, she moved out. She went back to waitressing at a little diner in town called The Cafe, which is what she used to do before we got together. She moved into her studio where she painted. I started working on the movie, so I wasn’t around much. I always hated the idea of divorcing, so while I was gone, I thought about giving it another try. When I got back six months later, I realized part of our problem in the first place. She had been seeing some guy named Tim for the past year. When she found out I was home, she came to my old Penthouse that I had moved back into, not knowing I had found out about Tim. I asked her to leave that night and ordered the security guards in the lobby to never let her back in. I filed for a divorce the next day. It was finalized two days ago.”

  Rebekah reached her hand across the table and placed it on top of his. He turned his gaze up to meet hers, and could again see the compassion in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

  "Don't be," he replied simply. "I strongly believe that what's in the past is in the past. I've had six months to come to terms with this, and I have. I don't have any regrets about what happened, because that's what led me to where I am today." He paused and took a breath before he continued, looking into her eyes, "and believe me, I like where I am today." Gently he squeezed her fingers and she smiled at him. "You know what?" he continued. "Enough of that. Now you know all there is to know about my ex-wife. Let's think about something else." He stood up, his hand still holding onto hers. "Would you like to dance?"

  "I would love to," she replied as he gently pulled her to her feet. Never letting go of her hand, he led her to a small area near their table. It was big enough for one or maybe two couples to dance on it, but the nice part about the space was that it, like the table, was secluded. Pulling her toward him, he wrapped his right arm around her waist, and continued to hold her hand in his left as she encircled her other hand around his neck. Neither said anything as they began to sweetly dance to the music; both too caught up in the nearness of each other. He smiled as he realized how perfectly she fit in his arms, and was hoping she noticed it as well. Unbeknownst to him, she was thinking the same thing. Closing her eyes, she took a tentative step towards him, and as he felt her slight movement he tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head forward, resting his cheek against the side of her head, allowing himself to investigate her intoxicating scent.

  Unsure of anything around them, the couple was lost in the dance and lost in each other. For a man who prided himself on control, he knew he was quickly losing it. The woman in front of him was absolutely amazing, and she was stirring feelings in him that he long ago gave up. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and she was so close he could tell hers was beating the same way.

  Before they realized it though, the music ended. Reluctantly, she pulled back slightly but remained in his embrace. Slowly, she pulled her left hand from around his neck, trailing her fingers down his arm until her hand was joined with his. For a moment they were both too afraid to speak; both had felt way too much in that embrace and neither quite knew what to do about it. Rebekah's eyes twinkled as she finally spoke. "You are an excellent dancer, Mr. Taylor," she whispered, not wanting to break the mood.

  "Thank you," he replied just as quietly, his thumbs caressing her fingers. "Perks of the job." Their faces were inches apart, foreheads almost touching, hearts beating rapidly. Hesitantly, he leaned closer towards her as her eyes began to close.

  "Excuse me, Mr. Taylor!" the waiter, exclaimed as he walked around the corner to where they were, causing both of them to jump apart. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Taylor."

  “No, that’s okay,” Jason replied, glancing at Rebekah with a look of disappointment in his eyes. “What did you need?”

  “I just came in here to bring you dessert.”

  “Thank you, you can set it down.” Knowing the moment was lost he turned back to Rebekah. “Will chocolate do?” he asked with a smile.

  “How did you know that was my favorite?” she answered, smiling back, walking towards the table. As he pulled out the chair for her to have a seat, he let his hand linger on h
er back for a second longer than he should have, and shooting chills down her spine.

  He sat back down across from her, and they resumed their small talk from earlier. Neither mentioned what almost happened after their dance but the interest was still evident in each of their eyes. She intrigued Jason. He wanted to know more, and he still wanted to know about that ring on her finger. Something told him she could not be some ‘easy woman’ who would cheat on her husband; there had to be something else there. However, something also told him not to push and that she would tell him when she was ready.

  Thirty minutes later, they were finished with dessert and ready to leave. Jason was not ready to take her back to the hotel yet, but he did not want to push; he had already talked her into going to dinner with him. Luckily, as he was getting ready to hail a taxi, Rebekah stopped him. “Do you want to take a walk before we go back?” she asked, almost shyly.

  “Sure,” he answered, trying not to appear too enthusiastic. He quickly forgot the taxi as they turned to walk down the street, stopping occasionally to look at the different shops.

  “I was married for four years,” Rebekah stated, so quietly, Jason almost could not hear her. She glanced up to see if he was listening. He met her gaze and nodded his head, silently telling her to go on with her story. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a breath before continuing. “I know that’s a long time for someone as young as me. We were high school sweethearts, and I got married young. As soon as we were married, Steve and I began trying to have a baby. We never succeeded, and we continued trying for a couple of years. Nothing worked, so we finally went to see a specialist. I had countless numbers of tests run, and still the doctors were not able to find anything. They decided to do a simple blood test on both of us to check the Rh factors of our blood; apparently there can be some problem. We waited a week for those results, expecting the doctors to say, once again, they could not find anything. Finally, they called.” Rebekah paused and Jason could tell how difficult it was for her to continue, but he watched her take a deep breath to steady herself, and then continue on with her story. “This time, it was with news we weren’t expecting. Steve was diagnosed with cancer. We fought it, but within a year, he was gone.” She stopped walking. “That was a year ago.”

  Nothing was said for a few minutes until Jason finally spoke. “Rebekah, I am so sorry,” he said, truly wanting to take all her pain away. She looked up at him and could see the sincerity of his comment. He did not need to say anything else.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. They continued walking in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. She could not believe she had made it through telling that without crying. It was the first time in a year she had done that. “So, now you know I’m not some cheap woman trying to pick up some famous guy,” she said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a little.

  “Cause of course, that was the impression you gave me from the beginning,” he laughingly played along, knowing what she was trying to do. After a moment, he continued. “Seriously though, if you’d rather go back, I can get a tax…” but she cut him off.

  “No!” It was her turn to try and not appear too enthusiastic. “This is probably one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time, and I am not quite ready for it to end yet. Unless you are,” she finished, looking at him.

  “Neither am I,” he responded. Smiling at him, she closed her eyes as his fingers brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. It was a simple gesture, one that was meant to put her at ease. However, all it did was quicken both of their heartbeats, leaving each of them secretly longing for more. Pulling apart, they continued on their shopping journey, investigating just about every shop on the street before turning onto a new one, both walking slow in an effort to make the night last longer. They discovered more about each other as they walked, laughing from time to time, enjoying the silence in other moments. Somewhere along the way, Rebekah timidly reached her hand out and entwined her fingers with Jason’s. He didn’t say anything, just gave her hand a soft squeeze, indicating he was comfortable with this too; although for a reason he couldn’t understand, he had this crazy desire to hold more than her hand.

  Before long, they realized how late it was. Regretfully, he called a taxi to take her back to the hotel. He knew she had an early day of meetings the next morning, and he didn’t want her to be too tired. Once they arrived at the hotel, he helped her out of the cab and walked her into the lobby. He followed her to her room, and they stood outside her door. Again, she took his hand and held onto it, neither of them sure of what to say.

  Finally, Rebekah broke the silence. “Now it’s my turn to say thank you.”

  “For what?” he asked, playing with her fingers.

  “I had a wonderful time tonight, and I owe it all to you.”

  He smiled. “I had a great time too.” Jason paused for a moment, almost too nervous to continue. “Do you…I mean…would you like to have dinner again tomorrow? We could go for another walk. It’s Sunday, so things are a little slower in the city.”

  “I would like that, Jason. A lot.” Taking a step towards him, she placed her lips on his cheek and gave him a soft kiss. “Good night, Jason,” she whispered, backing away and opening her door. She turned and looked at him one last time before she shut the door, leaning on it from the inside.

  He brought his hand to his cheek, and then to his lips. Sighing, he then touched the door, feeling her presence there. “Good night, Rebekah,” he whispered back, turning to walk to his own room, anticipating what tomorrow would hold.

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