FRIDAY NIGHT
She walked into the bar and scanned the crowd, but didn't see him. She was seated by the hostess in a booth on the back side of the bar, so she was sure to let her know she was waiting for someone. She ordered a beer from the waiter as she waited for her "date".
Her cell phone rang. She picked it up from the table and checked the number that was calling – it was him.
"Hey there."
"Hi." he said
"So let me guess, you're running late?" she laughed.
"Who, me?" he said with a laugh, "yeah, I'm running a few minutes late. Sounds like you're already there."
"Please, I have a 98% on time ratio, you know." She said.
"Yes, I do know that – and it's a good thing. Someone has to "hold down the fort" first thing in the morning."
"Ok," she started, "so what is it you need to talk to me about tonight, I'm sure this isn't just because you want to say thanks for the tickets to the show."
"Like we've said before, you weren't hired just because you're cute." He said. "I'll talk with you about it when I get there, which should be in about 10 minutes. But, here's something for you to think about . . . I haven't been able to get that kiss out of my head."
She started to reply but the call ended.
"You think you can't get that kiss out of your head," she said to herself as she put her phone back on the table.
She thought of that kiss again, feeling the familiar warmth rise in her chest, the flip of her stomach. What is it about him that does that to her? The thought of his lips on hers excited her more than she could remember, especially about just a kiss. She let her mind wander to imagine his lips on her neck, her collarbone, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him, his hands on her back, moving up to her neck and into her hair . . . .
"Hello?" he said as he sat down at the table.
"Oh," she said as she came back to the moment, "sorry, I was just off somewhere else."
"Must've been a good trip; you look a little flushed from it all." He told her.
"Yeah," she stumbled, looking him straight in the eyes, "it was a very nice trip."
They ordered their food and began to talk.
"You know," he started, "that kiss was amazing."
"Yeah, you're right about that. I still think about it often." She said
"Really? Do tell."
"How honest do you want me to be? I mean, if this is going to be "the dinner" where we decide that it was a mistake and it's never going to happen again and no one will ever know and things will just go back to the way they were, then I'll have one version of my description." She began. "Or, if this is going to be an exploratory kind of thing, I'll have a different version."
She saw the puzzled look on his face and continued.
"They're not different versions in order to save face or anything, it's perspective."
"Somehow," he started, "that actually makes sense to me." They both laughed as their dinner was brought to the table.
"So, ok," he said, "don't tell me about it. Let me tell you what I think about it all. Ok?" as he took a bite of his burger.
"Ok." She said as she ate and listened.
"From the moment we met," he began, "there was a "feeling" I got from you. That you're smart, funny as hell and for some reason didn't want too much stress in your life. I mean, that had to be why you took this job instead of pursuing another position up the food chain. You make me laugh, even when I shouldn't. You seem to know when to ask questions and when to just let things go. I have found out over the past couple of years that you're much smarter than you let on to everyone and you seem to deal with stress fairly easily. Now it's even more of a mystery why you're in this job." He took another bite of burger and continued.
"Now, that was the professional side of things. Personally, early on I sensed something from you, a heat that puzzled me. I'm not accustomed to being around women who are self confident, incredibly smart and sexy in a quiet way. There were times when we would talk and all I could do was look at your eyes, or your mouth and wonder what it would be like to be close to you, to hold you, to kiss you. Of course, I had to put that out of my mind because of the whole sexual harassment and hostile working environment thing. But it also became clear, I believe, as time went on when remarks were made that were clearly "harassment", it didn't bother you. In fact, you usually had a come back for them. And that, to me, is sexy as hell."
He continued after another hit from his beer.
"When my life fell apart, you were there for me. You didn't pry and I knew that if I needed to talk about anything that was going on, I could and that it wouldn't go any further. Trust like that is hard to find and again, sexy as hell." He stopped for a few minutes to eat.
"You know more about me," he continued, "than anyone – including my oldest friends. So now, not only do you know all my financial information, you know me." He laughed as he finished.
"Ok, so if I understand what you're saying, you like me." She summed up.
"Well," he started, "that's putting it succinctly. And it kind of loses something in translation" he said as he smiled.
She smiled as well.
"So, tell me what you want. Is "this" going to be for sex, or are we going to explore a relationship?" she asked.
"No beating around the bush with you, is there?"
"Not really. Not about this."
"I want to be your fantasy." He stated. "I want to be the one who thinks you're "it"."
Her mouth dropped open and it was a good thing she'd finished that bite or it would have fallen onto her plate. He just quoted something she'd said in her writings – she wants to be "it" to someone.
"Why do you say that?" she asked, hoping she didn't seem too surprised.
"Remember long ago you sent me an e-mail invitation to come into your circle of friends on that Yahoo site? Well, I never signed up to be in the circle, but I read your blog every day; I followed the links you included. A lot of the writing surprised me but I have enjoyed it tremendously." He said. "I'm surprised you never figured out that I was eavesdropping on your life."
"No frigging clue." She laughed.
"For a while, I thought you had the guy, the one you needed in your life, but it didn't work. And just for the record, while your heart was breaking outside the office, you couldn't tell it from inside the office. You have an amazing amount of composure for going through a breakup."
"Well, it really wasn't much of a relationship, so it wasn't much of a break up but, oh my God. I'd thought you were just intuitive a few times with some of the things you said and did. I never stopped to think that you were reading about it all as it was unfolding. I mean, I know that's what a blog is all about. It lets your friends know what's going on in your life without having to keep in touch all the time. But,"
"I know. Sometimes I felt guilty for knowing what was going on and not doing anything about it. But I also knew that you needed to find your way to me in your own time. And, too, it helped me get through my break up and back on my feet as well. Your insight into love, as well as the spin on it, is interesting."
"I'm stunned." She said.
She took a big hit off of her beer, followed by another bite of her burger. The noises of the bar seemed to grow more intense as she felt her head begin to swim. A deep breath or two and she was back in the moment.
"So, if you become my fantasy, what of reality?" she asked.
"Ah, yes, the real world must creep in on this fantasy." He said. "What would you envision as reality?"
"I don't want to leave the firm; I enjoy it too much." She told him.
