Coffee in Common

by Dee Mann

  "Wow. I wonder what Jillian will think about that."

  "If Paul pulls this whole date off the way he planned tonight, I'm not sure she'll care."

  Lisa laughed. "She'll care. Trust me. Then again, that much romance in one night certainly could turn a girl's head."

  Rob agreed. "I sure hope she knows how to dance."

  "Why?"

  "Paul's a pretty good dancer. When he was a freshman in high school, he tried out for every sports team. His brother Steve was a year ahead of him and a helluva jock. Paul really wanted to follow in his footsteps. Trouble was, he had lots of heart and determination, but two left feet. He kept stumbling over himself. So the coach told him to take dance lessons to improve his coordination and try again next year.

  "He wasn't too keen on it, but he did it. Took a lot of crap for it, too, especially over the summer when he'd have to take off for his lesson. But he stuck with it and in the fall, made the Junior Varsity football team. So he kept up the lessons and started taking karate and stuff, too. And in his junior and senior years, he made varsity in football, basketball and baseball."

  "Geez, that is determination. But he doesn't seem like a jock."

  "He was, but he's not anymore. He played one year of football in college, then realized there was no future for him in sports so he gave them up and concentrated on studying."

  "No kidding. Say, how is it that after five months together, I know so little about your best friend?"

  Rob flipped onto his side and pushed himself up until his arm was resting on the arm of the sofa and his face was right in front of Lisa's. "What are you talking about? You know everything about my best friend."

  "No I don't. I…" She caught the look in his eyes. Her own eyes softened with understanding and love and she tenderly whispered, "Oh."

  Once would not be enough tonight.

  10:45 PM

  There had been no more talking after they settled in, just the occasional murmur of pleasure. With eyes closed, their thoughts were of each other and dinner, of ogres and possibilities. They even wandered into flights of fantasy. So comfortable were they, it took several minutes, and the driver clearing his throat, before they realized the carriage had stopped.

  Paul groaned softly, not wanting the moment to end. When her eyes opened, and she saw they were stopped in front of the Franklin Hotel, she broke their embrace and sat back, her eyes full of questions.

  What's this? Did he reserve a room here? Did he just assume I'd just go up and sleep with him? Has this whole evening just been a big seduction campaign?

  Paul noticed the change in her and realized what she must be thinking. "I thought you might like to go dancing."

  "Dancing? At a hotel?" Now she was confused.

  "At the Candlelight Lounge inside." His voice assumed a conspiratorial tone. "It's the best kept secret in Boston. Thursday through Sunday nights they have a great band that plays all kinds of cover tunes. Lots of soft rock…"

  Damn! Again I've misjudged him.

  "…some jazz, new stuff, old stuff. Things you can dance to without getting all sweaty."

  "But what if I want to get all sweaty?"

  Did I really just say that out loud?

  She tried to grin in a way that would let him know she wasn't serious, but his face lit up with mischief.

  "Well…that would depend on whether you wanted to get sweaty vertically, or horizontally."

  They both burst out laughing as she wagged a finger at him. "I guess I deserved that."

  I can't believe I said that. And without thinking! How? I never joke that way with guys. Not even with…oh…oh my!

  She recognized a change in herself, in her attitude and her expectations for herself and for this…this thing, this budding relationship. She sensed a familiarity, a nascent intimacy that wasn't really sexual, although she couldn't deny the heated attraction she'd felt for him in the carriage.

  Paul stood, took out his folding money, and generously tipped the driver. Then he stepped down from the carriage and extended his hand.

  Once on the sidewalk, Jillian noticed their limousine parked right behind them. "Has Gary been following us around all this time?"

  "No. He knew where we were going and about when we'd get here. He was probably waiting somewhere close by."

  Jillian smiled and waved to Gary, who returned both.

  The Candlelight Lounge was aptly named. Except for a few dimmed spotlights that illuminated the dance floor and stage for the band, and the minimum of electric candles necessary for the bar to function, all the light in the room came from the small votive-style candles on each of the round tables.

  The room seemed to glow with islands of soft light shining through the darkness. Jillian understood why Paul had brought her here. It was beautiful, warm, and very romantic.

  The hostess showed them to a table in the far corner of the room. Paul again held the chair for her then moved another around so he could sit next to her, both of them facing the large dance floor. Almost immediately, a waitress appeared with a bowl of pretzels, ready to take their drink orders.

  Jillian thought it wise to stick with wine, having previously experienced some unpleasant aftereffects from mixing alcoholic beverages. Paul ordered a Captain n' Coke.

  The dance floor was about half full as the band, three guys playing lead guitar, keyboards and drums, and a girl playing bass guitar, performed the old Commodores standard Three Times a Lady.

  Jillian loved to dance. She had taken dance for eleven years, starting when she was five. Ballet, modern, ballroom, swing, western, Latin, everything. She'd never met a dance she didn't enjoy.

  Dinner, a carriage ride, and now dancing. It's like he knows all my favorite things. He only missed one and given the time, there's no way we'll be going there tonight.

  Paul held her hand, fingers entwined, as they sat, listening to the music and watching the dancers.

  The waitress returned with their drinks and told them she'd run a tab for them. As they lifted and touched glasses, the song ended to appreciative applause.

  After a quick sip, Paul asked, "Would you like to dance or did you want to sit for a while?"

  In answer, Jillian tabled her glass and all but jumped to her feet.

  As they navigated between tables to the dance floor, the bass player moved to the center microphone and the band began to play Could I Have This Dance. When they stepped onto the oak parquet, Paul surprised her by twirling her around once then moving smoothly into the one-two-three steps of a waltz. Jillian beamed at him.

  I can't believe it. I thought he'd just hold me and sway, but he actually knows how to dance!

  They moved effortlessly across the floor, Jillian following his lead as if they'd danced together for years.

  When the song ended, he led her into a Cajun Two-Step as the spotlight switched to the keyboard player, who began to play and sing Jambalaya. Then the band slowed things down with I Only Have Eyes For You. Jillian only had eyes for Paul and couldn't have told you if the dance floor was packed or empty at the moment she was bumped hard twice, from behind and then from the left. The bumps threw her off her rhythm and she stopped. Hearing giggling behind her, she turned and saw them.

  "Jenna! Liz! Look at you two! What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?"

  When they saw the confusion on her face, the girls doubled over with laughter. Jenna was wearing a scandalously short fire engine red dress that was cut so low Jillian wasn't sure how her boobs kept from falling out. Fishnet stockings and matching red, knee-high boots made her look more like an expensive hooker than a brilliant chemist. But it was Liz's outfit that most startled her. Dressed in a gray pinstripe suit, blue shirt, paisley tie, and with her hair slicked back under a fedora, Liz looked like a very masculine woman or a very feminine man.

  Effecting a deep voice and gangster accent, Liz said, "Ayyy, can't a guy take his best goil dancing?"

  That started them laughing again. When they recovered, Jenna e
xplained and told her Holly and Jamal and Gloria and Chuck had similar reactions when they first saw them in costume. Then she shifted her gaze to stare at Paul, who had been standing there, amused, listening to them talk.

  Jillian realized she'd left him hanging. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Paul. I was so shocked at seeing them here and dressed that way that…"

  "No apology necessary. However, to atone for you forgetting I was here, you have to allow me one dance with each of them tonight. I don't think I'll ever again have the opportunity to dance with a gangster and his moll." That started the two giggling again. He turned to them, hand out. "Hi, I'm Paul DiLorenzo. You must be Bugsy Segal and you must be the lovely Virginia Hill."

  After more proper introductions, he said, "Jillian's mentioned you both and I'm happy to be able to put faces to the names now. Where are you sitting?"

  "Over there." Liz pointed to a table on the opposite side of the floor from where Paul and Jillian were seated. Then, with a mischievous grin, she asked, "You guys want to join us?"

  Jillian glared at her for a few seconds before she turned to see what Paul thought of the idea.

  "It's up to you. But I wouldn't mind meeting some of your friends."

  They grabbed their drinks, told their waitress where they were moving to and joined the others. Thanks to Liz and Jenna filling them in the moment they arrived, Holly and Gloria already knew the truth about last night's misunderstanding and were enthusiastic in their greetings to Paul.

  The group sat for a bit, allowing Paul to get acquainted with everyone, but he and Jillian hadn't come to talk and after ten minutes, Jillian was fidgeting. When the band began to play Unchained Melody, she grabbed Paul's hand, stood up, and said, "Enough talking!"

  The rest of the table followed their lead onto the dance floor.

  Paul took Jillian in his arms and held her close as they moved to the music. They had talked all night and learned much about each other; about likes and dislikes, family and friends, even some hopes and dreams. Now, they only wanted to dance, to see how they fit together, how their bodies moved with and felt next to each other.

  Several times, during slow, romantic ballads, with their bodies pressed close, Jillian had been tempted to turn her head up to invite a kiss, but each time, as in the carriage, something held her back. The time still wasn't right yet for their first kiss, so they danced, and danced, and danced, and stopped only when the band announced a twenty minute break.

  No sooner had they returned to the table, than the women all decided a group visit to the ladies room was in order. Chuck also took off to the men's room.

  "I wonder if anyone's ever done a study on why it's impossible for a woman to go alone to the bathroom."

  Jamal laughed. "I'm not so sure we really want to know, but my theory is that their bladders are so weak they need to keep their mouths moving to distract them while they're waiting in line." It was Paul's turn to laugh as Jamal continued, "Of course, you know they're all in there talking about you."

  "Damn, Jilli, he really is cute," Holly gushed as they waited for the line to move.

  "And he can really dance!" Jenna added. "I was watching you two. Are you sure he isn't gay? Straight guys don't dance like that."

  That drew laughter from her four friends and a sweet smile from Jillian. "Oh, he's definitely not gay."

  "I don't know," Liz said. "Jenna's right. Straight guys usually just shuffle around."

  "Yah," said Gloria, joining in the teasing. "Look at Chuck and Jamal."

  "He is not gay." Jillian had started to blush.

  "How do you know?" demanded Holly.

  Her blush deepened. "Because I could feel that he's not when we're dancing close."

  "Oh yes!" Jenna cried loudly. "Jilli's gonna have a bruised thigh from bumping into wood all night!"

  Even the women in the stalls started whooping with laughter as Jillian, mortified, hid her face in her hands.

  A few minutes later, as she was pulling down her pantyhose, Jillian realized it had been a very long time since she'd felt this happy. Her friends liked Paul, he seemed kind and generous and funny and he was a good dancer. Not the best she'd ever met, but good. Good enough that with time they could be great together. She would teach him.

  But not tonight.

  Tonight, she just wanted to be with him, move with him, feel his arms and hands holding her, guiding her across the floor. A part of her wished they hadn't run into her friends, but another part was happy to be showing him off. She thought about what Jenna said and glanced down at her thigh, immediately feeling foolish for doing so.

  Then she closed her eyes and formed a mental picture of Paul. She could see him clearly, almost as if he were standing in front of her. In her mind, he smiled at her. A naughty thought came unbidden and she gave in to it. Her mental image removed his jacket and loosened, then pulled off his tie. Slowly, he released the buttons of his shirt and slipped it off. The image then kicked off his shoes, unbuckled his belt and reached for his zipper.

  Jillian could feel the heat rising in her face. Even alone, in a bathroom stall, a mere daydream could ruffle her.

  A loud knock on the stall door jarred her out of her reverie. "Come on, girl," Jenna said. "The band will be back any minute and I want my dance with coffee guy before you tire him out. Maybe I can get a bruised thigh, too."

  Half a minute later Jillian flung open the door to the stall, her eyes blazing.

  Jenna saw the fury on her face and backed away. "Hey, I'm sorry. I was only kidding. You know me, Jilli. Sometimes my mouth…" She stopped when she realized her friend was struggling to keep a straight face.

  Jillian quickly lost the battle and burst out laughing as did Liz, who had observed the whole thing.

  Still chuckling, she told Jenna, "That was for embarrassing me before." She looked around. "Where's Holly and Gloria?"

  "Back at the table."

  "Shoot. Well, come here." She moved to the corner of the room. "I have to tell you what happened.

  "Remember Patrick, the guy I was dating?"

  "The control freak?" Liz asked.

  Jillian nodded. "Well he called me today for a date and I told him I was going out with you guys and then after dinner Paul and I are on this carriage ride and…"

  "He took you on a carriage ride?" Jenna asked, a mixture of admiration and jealously on her face.

  Again she nodded. "Listen! Anyway, we're on the ride and all of a sudden Patrick sees us."

  She gave her friends a blow-by-blow description of the whole incident.

  "No way!" Liz exclaimed. "That asshole could've really hurt you. And Paul really defended you like that?"

  "I'm telling you, one second Patrick's paw is crushing my arm and the next thing I know Paul has his other arm behind his back, Patrick is wincing in pain, and he lets me go. I was so scared but so excited, too, to have this guy fighting for me like that." Her eyes widened and brightened and her voice softened. "He was, I don't know, so manly I guess, I was getting…you know…watching him."

  "Hell, I'd be getting hot, too, if some guy did that for me," Jenna gushed. Liz agreed.

  "There's something about him," Jillian said wistfully. "Something special. He keeps surprising me."

  "There sure is," Liz said. "He drops piles of dough on you, does all this romantic stuff, and then kicks a bully's ass to boot! I wish someone would surprise me like that!"

  Jillian and Jenna laughed, but then Jenna's expression turned serious. "You really do like this guy, don't you? I mean, you know, like like?"

  "I do," Jillian whispered, and the realization startled her. She really did. The feeling she'd been having all night that something inside her had changed suddenly coalesced into a word. She shook her head.

  It couldn't be, not after one date, a date that isn't even over yet.

  She shook her head again and banished it all from her mind. It was time to get back out there.

  The band was taking the stage as the girls paraded across the dance floor to t
heir table. Had they really been in there that long?

  As he led her onto the dance floor, Paul asked, "Is everything okay? I was about to ask Holly and Gloria to check on you guys."

  "I'm sorry, I'm fine. I just, well…"

  What could she say? That they'd been talking about him? That she'd told her friends how hot he made her feel? That she'd been sitting on the toilet undressing him in her mind? Then again…

  "I was sort of caught up in this fantasy I was having in there, mentally undressing you and…"

  He laughed. "Okay, I get it. Girl stuff I don't need to know about. You could have just said that."

  She laughed, too.

  Daddy was right. It's always best to tell the truth. Or some version of it.

  The band started the set with The Girl From Ipanema and seconds later, Paul was leading her effortlessly through the slow-quick-quick steps of the bossa-nova. As she floated in his arms, she caught bits of him singing the words softly, under his breath, and it made her feel special to think she inspired him so.

  When the song ended and the band began the intro to Chris De Burgh's Lady in Red, Jillian felt a tap on her shoulder. "I do believe I was promised a dance, and what song could be more appropriate than this one, so I'm cutting in."

  Jillian gave Jenna a look that said don't get too carried away as she stepped away from Paul.

  She walked back to the table while behind her, Jenna moved into Paul's arms. She joked a bit with him at first, but then moved close and rested her head on his chest. Paul wasn't sure what to make of it. He kept his own head upright and hoped Jillian wouldn't think he'd initiated the closeness.

  He needn't have worried. Jillian had taken a seat facing away from the dance floor. She knew her friend would not be Miss Prim and Proper as she danced with Paul and if Jillian didn't see it she could pretend it didn't happen.

  When the song ended, Liz replaced Jenna, who returned to the table and sat next to Jillian. She leaned close and said, "I am so frickin' jealous."