by Marchman, AC
“Just how it’s been forever since I’ve been on a date. I’m actually pretty nervous, to be honest.
But…it’s weird, but I feel so comfortable with you. I guess it’s a mix of emotions, really.”
An unpleasant thought crosses my mind and before I can stop myself, I ask,” Did you bring Claire here?”
Donovan’s brilliant smile turns into a hard line. “Yes, but only once. She brought me here actually, a really long time ago. I’m really not trying to think about her. She’s history to me.”
I look down at my shoes. Me and my big mouth. I don’t want to ruin this evening. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, but you do know I will have questions at some point in time about her.” I don’t want to lie to him and say I will never mention her name again, because there are questions that I want answered, maybe not tonight, but someday.
The door to the elevator opens, and we are the only ones in when the doors close. Donovan presses the 73rd button. The elevator is made of glass, and as we ascend, we can see the skyline of Atlanta start to appear. It’s awe inspiring. The skyscrapers are lit up against the twilight sky as the sun begins to make it’s journey down. I hear Donovan sigh, and we turn to look at each other at the same time. He has a tortured look on his handsome face. My heart twists, knowing I am responsible for it.
“I know you will have questions, and I will eventually answer them, but right now, I am concentrating on you and you alone. Allie, you consume my mind. You are the only thing I have thought about all day long, and I don’t want memories of Claire to taint our evening.”
I give Donovan a tight lipped smile. I know he’s right. We’ve only begun seeing each other, and I want him to tell me his past when he is ready. Right now, however, isn’t the time. The evening is about us, not Claire. My worry is that I am so damn stubborn sometimes, I have to question everything. I don’t want to pry into his business, but will I be able to stop myself? Everything that Matt did, I questioned, but he gave me good reason. Weird numbers on his phone, texts from girls, and staying out all night were some of the ways he made me feel insecure Then after we had sex, I found out that he was still fucking Holly. I inwardly sigh. Donovan must feel my tension because he stands behind me and starts to rub my bare shoulders with his skilled fingers. We stand there silently, watching the skyline of Georgia’s biggest city. He places a kiss on my neck under my ear. “Let’s let tonight just be about us, okay?” he whispers into my ear.
“Okay. I’m good with that,” I murmur to him. Yes, tonight is about us and our budding relationship. I grab one of his hands with my own and run my fingers along his knuckles. Before I know it, the door opens, and another couple gets on the elevator. We nod to each other but stay quiet the rest of the way to the 73rd floor. The doors open to the swankiest restaurant I have ever seen. There are three levels to this heavenly place known as the Sun Dial. The lower level has beautifully laid out tables with fresh white linen and empty wine glasses. The entire wall is made of glass, giving the patrons a magnificent view of the skyline. It also occurs to me that the restaurant is slowly rotating. The bar is on the second level, and it’s stocked with many fine liquors and wines. The top level is an observatory where you can look through telescopes.
I hear a smooth jazz melody throughout the restaurant. The entire place is a brilliant piece of artwork with golds and blues and reds.
Donovan takes me by the waist and leads me to the hostess stand. The young girl behind the stand raises her eyebrows at Donovan and gawks at him. Her blonde hair being pulled back in a ponytail gives a full view of the redness in her cheeks. Donovan seems unimpressed.
“Reservations for Callahan,” he says curtly.
“Uh, of course, Dr. Callahan. Welcome to the Sun Dial. Let me show you to your table.” She steps from behind the stand with two menus and walks us to a private table for two. Donovan holds my chair out for me, and I sit. Donovan sits, scoots his chair close to me, and waves the hostess off. “If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. My name is Heather.” The hostess stalks back to the stand, obviously hurt that the man of her dreams has a girl on his arm. I smirk at the thought.
Our server is prompt and is also male. Thank goodness! I don’t have to worry about another woman falling all over herself trying to get Donovan to notice her. The waiter’s black hair is slicked back, and he is a bit on the short side, but his face looks friendly. “Good evening, My name is Maxwell. I’ll be serving you tonight. Shall I start you with a bottle of our favorite local wines, Callahan’s Pinot Noir?”
Donovan and I look at each other and grin. “Yes, that sounds fantastic, Maxwell. Please bring us a bottle.” Maxwell nods and walks swiftly to the bar to fetch our wine.
Donovan takes my hands. “I have plans for after dinner, if you are free.”
My heart skips its normal beat, and I smile shyly at this dashing man. “The only plans I have are with you, so whatever you have in mind, I’m up for it.”
Donovan leans to kiss me, but Maxwell interrupts us by turning our wine glasses over. He removes the cork and begins to pour the red alcohol into our glasses. Our server puts the bottle on the table and asks if we are ready to order. Donovan tells him that we need a few minutes.
Maxwell leaves, off to serve his next table.
“I do believe our waiter was checking you out,” Donovan narrows his eyes in the direction of Maxwell.
“Oh, whatever,” I blush at the thought. I think to myself, he was probably checking out my date and not me.
Donovan shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Now, where were we?” Donovan gives me a sly smile and leans back towards me. “Oh, yes, right here.” His lips are on mine, filled with passion and underlying lust. I’m shocked he would kiss me this way in such a posh place, but after two seconds, I don’t care where we are. I reach up to touch his face and hold his lips to mine.
This time I pull away first, breathless and embarrassed, hoping no one saw us. The restaurant is dimly lit, so no one seems to notice us. I shake my head to compose myself, and I notice that Donovan looks cool and collected. Damn him for being so beautiful. He cuts his eyes to me and playfully sticks his tongue out at me. I giggle, unable to stay mad at him for anything.
I pick up my menu and grab my wine glass, tipping the wine to my lips. The Pinot Noir from Donovan’s family is delicious. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but this is exquisite. I see now why Donovan’s family makes so much money; I would buy a case of this myself.
Donovan takes his glass of wine and hold it out in front of him. “To tonight, and to us.”
I give him my best mega watt smile and say, “To us.” We clink our glasses together and take a sip. “We should probably figure out what we want to eat.” We pick up our menus, and my eyes widen as I look at the prices of the food. I glance over to Donovan, and he looks calm. Livey was right; it would take an entire paycheck to pay for this meal! Donovan must see the anxiety written on my face because he sets his menu down and takes my hand. “Don’t worry about the price. I’m not.” He gives me a sincere smile. I look back at my menu and try not to look at the prices.
By the time Maxwell returns, we are ready to place our order. Donovan, always the gentleman, lets me go first. I order the seared sea scallops. Donovan grins and orders the vincotta glazed salmon. Maxwell seems pleased and walks away to give our order to the chefs in the kitchen.
Donovan sets his elbows on the table and places his chin in his hands. He stares at me with those soul burning blue eyes, I squirm under his gaze and feel the burn in my cheeks. Thank goodness the restaurant is so dark. “What are you looking at, Dr. Callahan?” I flirt with him, licking my top lip.
“I’m just admiring this creature of beauty in front of me,” Donovan says with a low, sexy voice that give me goose bumps over my entire body. His hooded eyes say he wants me just as badly as I want him.
“So, you like then?” I tease, batting my eyelashes at him.
“Baby, I more than like.
I’m completely in awe,” Donovan’s flirty side disappears, and his face becomes suddenly serious. “Look, Allie, I want to be honest with you. If this scares you, don’t worry, it scares me, too.” I swallow, terrified of what’s going on in his head. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Never. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me because of how new this is to me. Everything about you is…amazing. I know we don’t know each other that well, but I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life for you. I just had to have you, and I needed to know if there was something between us. And now that I know that…” Donovan takes a deep breath and exhales loudly. “Maybe it was fate or God or whatever that made that chance meeting between us happen. I’ve told you before, it’s only ever been casual sex and Claire. That’s it, but with you, my feelings are entirely different. I want to protect you, to be with you every spare minute I have, to be your all. I can be myself around you, not the spoiled little rich boy I’ve had to be my whole life. You make me feel…free.”
I sit, shell shocked. I look into Donovan’s eyes, which are so full of raw emotion and confessions. I don’t know what to say. My mouth hangs open. My heart is screaming from the rooftops, “Me too! Me too!” and my head says, “Whoa, slow down. Don’t get hurt again.” Deep down; however, I know I feel the exact same way. I just have to wait for my brain to catch up to what my heart is feeling. I want him so badly, it hurts. It also scares me to death because we have only just met, but I guess when you feel something so intensely, it’s hard to stop all of these emotions.
I gather my thoughts as Donovan looks expectantly, awaiting my response. “Donovan,” I start, my heart racing, “I want to know something first.” Donovan looks at me, his heart wide open and soul exposed to me. “I want to know why me? Why am I different from Claire or any other woman? Why am I so special?”
Donovan takes my hands with both of his. “I know you are a good person inside and out. That’s so easy to see. I see the way you talk about your family and your friend Livey. Obviously, you have brains, or you wouldn’t be going into the P.A. program. You have been honest with me so far, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re incredibly sexy.” Donovan winks at me. My heart smiles with jubilation. Then once again, my brain to mouth filter malfunctions and out comes, “Well, why Claire?”
Donovan’s brow furrows and makes a V in the middle of his forehead. He releases my hands and runs one of his through his soft brown hair, while his eyes stay locked on mine. “Claire was a bitch, but she was into me. I was into her too but not nearly as much. She was an older woman that showed me attention and got my hormones going. I liked the fame that came along with her. But, of course, the fame didn’t happen until after Frank was murdered. You see, Claire and I had an affair.”
My mind can’t process this. It’s completely overwhelming me. I stare blankly at Donovan as he looks at me, his beautiful features contorted by emotional pain. “I…I don’t remember ever hearing about that in the papers or anything,” is all I can manage to say.
Donovan runs his hand through his hair again, and I realize this is a nervous habit for him. “I didn’t want to talk about Claire, but you insisted on bringing her up.” His voice is tense and quiet. “ I know it wasn’t in the paper or even the trial. I was seventeen at the time, technically a minor, and I didn’t want to get her in trouble for that as well.” He exhales deeply. “She should be spending the rest of her life in jail for the murder of her husband. I also didn’t want my family humiliated by my actions. My dad would have killed me if he knew I was sleeping with a married woman.”
Okay, I can understand that, but can I handle this? Tears prick in my eyes as I look at Donovan.
I have a terrible feeling about something. “Did she kill Frank because of you?” I whisper as tears start to flow from my eyes.
Donovan breaks our eye contact and stares down. “Honestly, I don‘t know. She never came out and said it. I mean, she acted the part of the grieving widow in public, but with me, it was like she was a different woman. I didn’t know she had actually killed him until she was arrested. We had been screwing around for years, but I saw her with Frank, and there was never any malice towards him from her. Allie, I really don’t want to talk about this now, please,” his voice sounds quiet. anguished and on the borderline of rage. I see him shaking with anger, and I shudder. I excuse myself to go to the restroom and stand. Donovan stands as well. I don’t know if it’s from his Southern politeness or if he’s trying to stop me from taking off. “I’m fine, I just need to go to the bathroom,” I say as I turn away from him. I glance back towards Donovan and see he’s almost crying. God, that’s hard seeing him so tortured. I just need a few minutes to process this.
I don’t want to run, but this is a lot of baggage to take on. A famous woman may have killed her husband to be with Donovan, and he screwed her while she was married? I’m so confused. I find the restroom after a minute of roaming around the restaurant.
I step in, and the bathroom is just as stunning as the rest of the place. It’s clean, with giant vanities and smooth leather couches. I walk into one of the stalls and grab some toilet paper to dab my eyes. Should I let this deter me from Donovan? It’s not like he is the one that cheated; he just couldn’t resist the attention Claire Dubois gave him. But do I want to take on a man that has such a past? Can I tolerate knowing a man might have been murdered over Donovan? I know that Donovan is being honest with me when he tells me she is history, and I’m sure he feels a tremendous amount of guilt. But he is not responsible for Claire’s actions. She acted alone without Donovan’s help. He didn’t know she was going to do what she did.
I compose myself and go to wash my hands. I look at my reflection in the mirror and sigh. No, I’m not as beautiful as Claire, but I’m also not as crazy. If I want to be with Donovan, I will have to take on his past. Is he worth it? Yes, I know he is. I just have to get over Claire. She’s not going to mess with our lives. She’s in prison for God’s sake. I smile, knowing my decision is the right one, and I walk back to our table with my head held high.
Donovan jumps up as soon as he sees me come back. My eyes are downcast when I sit, and my hands are twisted in my lap. He scoots closer to me and slips his hands on mine. In response, I look up at him. His eyes are a bit red, and I think he has shed a few tears. It rips my heart out seeing him that upset. I give him a tight lipped smile and run my fingertips along his smooth face. My Adonis takes my hand and kisses my palm. I start to speak just as Maxwell comes back with our food. He sets our plates in front of us, refills our wine, and asks if we need anything else. Donovan politely says no, and our server is gone again.
I start again, “Donovan, I don’t want you to think I will run from you. I know you have some skeletons in your closet, but I will wait around and listen to them when you want to speak of them. I can’t condone an affair with a married woman, but I do know you were young and wild.
Who wasn’t? You have your head on straight now. We all make mistakes, God knows I have.
So, I can move past this. Just know that it may take some time for me to adjust to it.”
I take Donovan’s sculpted face into my hands and kiss him, just to let him know I’m in this for the long haul, regardless of either one of our pasts. I hear Donovan moan into my mouth, and all of a sudden, it’s just us again. No Claire, no trials, not anything. It’s just Donovan and me in our own bubble, where nothing else matters. I pull back and kiss just the corner of his mouth. “Now, we should probably eat if you still have plans for us after dinner.”
Donovan and I savor our meal. My scallops are delicious and melt-in-your-mouth good.
Donovan really seems to enjoy his salmon. We order some coffee and just talk. We talk about our families, our favorite books, movies that we like, and our careers. We are just two people on a date getting to know each other, and it’s so comfortable with him. Even with the drama we have endured in the last 48 hours, we enjoy each others’ company. We laugh, joke, and flirt. As Maxwell brings the
check, a woman walks over to us with a bouquet of white and pink roses.
She hands them to me with a smile and says nothing as she walks away. Donovan looks at me shyly, shrugs his shoulders and says, “I didn’t know what kind of flowers you like, so I hope these will do.”
“Donovan, they are so beautiful! Thank you so much!” Donovan leans in to kiss my cheek, and I turn so my lips are his target instead. With my free hand, I grab his hair and tug as our tongues ll roll his eyes as Donovan takes the check. He throws his credit card down, without so much as looking at the bill, and hands it back to our waiter.
“So, what are your plans for us after dinner?” I ask. I have been trying to think get reacquainted.
Maxwell clears his throat, as he is still standing there with the check. We stop, and I giggle. I think I see Maxwell roll his eyes. I try to think about what it could be, but I haven’t the slightest.
“You will find out soon enough, baby doll,” Donovan smiles slyly at me. I rub my legs together.
I wonder if I make him hot for me by just saying a sentence. I don’t understand it, but I like it.
Maxwell returns with our check and places it in front of Donovan. Donovan signs the credit card slip, and hands it to our waiter. Maxwell’s brown eyes get huge as he looks at it. By the looks of it, our waiter just got a huge tip. Wow, Donovan is over the top when it comes to tipping. I bet that just made Maxwell’s night. Our server tells us to have a wonderful night, and Donovan smirks at him and says, “I fully intend to.” I put my fingers over my mouth as I try to cover a smile. Donovan stands and pulls my chair back so I can get up. I grab my purse and flowers.
He rests his hand on my upper back, and we walk back to the elevators. As we are waiting, we hear someone call Donovan’s name. He turns as the camera flash goes off.