It's our third date--one to which Travis probably hesitated to invite me. A wealthy friend of his is hosting a fundraising party for a local politician and has insisted he attend. Travis tells me he doesn't feel particularly strongly about the candidate, but owes this friend a favor and figures at a minimum there'll be good, free liquor to make the small talk tolerable. He is absolutely not suffering through it solo, so I get an invitation smothered in caveats. I accept even though it sounds like it's sure to be the exact opposite of my idea of a good time, only because I like him, and I'm curious to see what he looks like in a suit.
At 6pm, we're standing in front of the large glass and steel entry door of a private Westlake home. Inside, pods of well-dressed middle-agers are gathered, drinks and appetizers in hand. We both hesitate at the door. I can feel Travis regret this, which is kind of cute. I give him a side glance and a half-smile.
"Do we knock?" I kid. He smirks. As we fumble for the doorbell, we're spared the trouble as the host catches a glimpse of us through the glass. He faux-jogs over and as the door opens, a flood of social chatter pours out into the night, drowning out the cicadas.
"TRAVIS!" he yells.
"Hey, Will. Good to see you." I watch my date return a gritted smile as his friend pulls him in for a back-slapping hug, which he escapes by offering up the bottle of Macallan he brought along. Will hardly takes notice of his offering, keeping a heavy hand on Travis' shoulder as his eyes wander in my direction.
"And this is..."
Will has fallen into the deep V of my neckline and is struggling to find his way out.
I feel equal parts pity and disgust for this guy. It's clear he's used to getting away with unsavory behavior thanks to the size of his wallet.
Is this the kind of guy Travis hangs out with?
I wonder.
Travis is trying to wrestle Will's eyes away from me with his body language.
"A new friend--Erin."
Friend. Interesting choice of words
. I feel slightly disappointed, but then check myself.
Ok, psycho, what else would you be on a third date?
"Nice to meet you, Erin." Will extends his hand. I return the pleasantry, and go in for my best all-business handshake. He doesn't take the hint, and clumsily pulls me close to air kiss my cheek in a phony Euro way.
Once free, I catch Travis' gaze and give him big eyes and a smile that says "Holy shit, this is as bad as you said it would be. You're lucky I like you."
As Will leads us into the fray, my date makes a tongue-in-cheek "ladies first" gesture, extending his hand in Will's direction. I dutifully obey, and as Travis follows behind, he places his hand gentlemanly on the small of my back. I feel a little thrill and my heart picks up the pace.
Where's the wine?
We find ourselves at a makeshift buffet--a couple of dining tables pushed together, draped with white tablecloth. As we grab some apps I notice that Travis also seems to like my dress, or rather what's underneath it.
Too risquΓ©?
I wonder. I thought the slinky LBD with its narrow, plunging neckline was sexy in a tasteful way, but now I'm questioning my selection.
As if my insecurity were audible, he answers me. "You look beautiful. I meant to tell you earlier." I blush a little with flattery and also, relief.
"Thank you. You look great in a suit. Is that a prerequisite for law school?"
This elicits a chuckle. "How do you think I got in?"
I love that Travis can keep up with me. After way too many dates with vapid braggadocious tech bros and humorless sales guy types, it was an absolute relief to discover a man that can parry with me. It made our short first date, a simple weekday lunch, a bright spot in an otherwise pretty bleak week, and I couldn't wait to see him again. I'm still in partial disbelief that he's as sexy in person as he seemed on that stupid app--The app!
"Ugh." I groan in Travis' direction, with a wincing face. "I just realized, we are gonna have to come up with some kind of alternative story of how we met."
"Way ahead of you. We met while nude sunbathing at Hippie Hollow."
I laugh. "Yeah that's much better than meeting on a dating app for horny 20-somethings."
"We could always just say we were invited to the same orgy. That'll be sure to shut down the conversation."
"True..." I muse, and tap my lips as I feign consideration of the orgy story.
A knife clinks against a wine glass, quieting the social din. Guests are invited to take a seat in a large living room for a lecture by a guest speaker. As we make our way over, there's his hand again grazing the small of my back, a little lower this time, edging close to the gray area where gentlemanly bleeds into provocative. I'm glad I wore the lacy thong.
We take a seat in the back row. As the speaker drones on, my mind is elsewhere. My eyes are wandering around the room, people watching.
I hate politics. I wonder if that's a deal killer?
I start to think about the warmth of Travis' hand on my back. How his hands would feel elsewhere. Discreetly, I check him out a little. He really does look nice in a suit. I grant myself a sneaky glance at his thighs... his lap... hmm.
Shit--he's noticed me noticing him.
My head snaps back to the droning politician and I nod slightly as if I've been paying attention.
Travis leans close to me. "This guy is a doofus, and everyone is buying it," he chides sotto voce through the veil of my hair.
I'm glad he's as unimpressed as I am.
I guess I can stop nodding.
His arm is draped casually behind my chair, and as his breath finds my ear, his index finger grazes the curve of my bare shoulder, in a lazy up and down motion that's strangely as comforting as it is sexy.
God I want to kiss him.
"Want to bail?" I whisper back, my face close to his.
Please say yes please say yes
.
"Definitely," Travis says to my lips.
We endure the last few minutes of the talk, and offer some mandatory applause. Will takes the mic and encourages everyone to refill their glasses and check out the auction table.
"Now's the time to make our escape" Travis whispers with exaggerated urgency. He takes my hand, and leads me through the mingling huddle toward the door. Nobody notices when we slip out.
The door clicks shut and instantly we're in the quiet sanctuary of dark.
"Phew. Well it was nice knowing you," he jokes. He's still holding my hand, though, which I find sweet.
I laugh. "No, no, no. Your friend seems... nice."
"Nice and intoxicated."