He was incredibly handsome and charming. The way that he talked to her, along with his intense eye contact, just made her want to melt. She had a hard time wiping the smile off her face. And she couldn't believe that he was actually interested in her!
She had been sitting in one of the large, comfortable chairs at the coffee shop, a large textbook in her hands and all of her accessories on the ready. The highlighter, the mechanical pencil, the little sticky tabs. Her extra large mug of mocha with whipped cream sat barely touched on the side table next to her. He had sat down in the adjacent chair, just the other side of the small table. He had a coffee but he wasn't reading anything or even on his phone, he just kept looking at her, making Clara blush.
"You are so consumed by what you are reading, it's really incredible to watch," he finally said. "You've hardly touched your coffee, it must be getting cold."
"It's an economics textbook," she smirked. It definitely wasn't anything super interesting, she just had to concentrate really hard to understand anything that she was reading. She picked up her mug though and sipped the lukewarm brew.
"Ah yes, I don't miss the whole period of time of textbooks and highlighting and exams. How much longer do you have to go?" That smile, those dimples, it was hard to actually look at his face and not feel all tingly everywhere.
"I just started my MBA, it's my first semester," she admitted.
"MBA, huh. That's impressive. Beauty and brains," he nodded, his eyes focused on hers. Clara didn't know what to say. She could feel her face blushing furiously as she hid behind the mug again, taking a long sip.
He carried the conversation, asking questions, volunteering some information about himself. Clara tried her best to keep up, her textbook long forgotten in her lap. Her eyes roamed over his chocolate brown hair that had a slight wave to it. It was longer on top, swooping over to one side, with an undercut. It looked very professional and modern. There was a couple of days worth of stubble on his face, which looked almost purposeful and put together. He wore a suit and tie. As much as Clara tried to find some sort of a clue as to how old he was, she couldn't put her finger on it. He seemed of an indeterminate age somewhere between mid-twenties to mid-thirties. His level of comfort with himself, unlike any other man she's ever talked to, made Clara consider the possibility that he might even be older than that, closer to forty.
The alarm on her phone went off, reminding her to go to class. She had it set so that she wouldn't lose track of time while reading, cause it had been known to happen. Clara grabbed her phone to silence it, feeling reluctant to end this conversation. His smile was dazzling when she looked back up at his face.
"You have somewhere to be?" He cocked his head to the side when he asked.
"I need to go to class," she sighed, starting to gather up her things.
"I would really love to see you again. It was awesome talking to you." His hand landed on her knee. "Do you think I could get your number?" Clara nodded her heart racing. He pulled out his phone and she dictated her number to him. "What's your name?"
"Clara," she told him, pressing her lips together.
"I'm Tyler," he offered his hand out to her and she shook it. His hands were large and his grip was firm. "I'm definitely going to give you a call."
****
He took her out to dinner at the Boucherie Union Square. She texted him beforehand, asking what she should wear. Jackpot. It was like a confirmation that he had made the right call with her. He'd even have input on how she'd dress. He tested the theory further when he offered to order for both of them. Clara seemed happy to give over the control on that. She closed her menu and admitted, blushing, that everything looked really interesting and she couldn't make up her mind. Tyler was glad to take the decision-making off her hands.
She looked quite stunning when he picked her up. He told her to wear a dress, something dressy casual. She had on a navy blue dress that was fitted through the chest and waist with a flared and flowing skirt that ended mid-thigh. There was a keyhole cut out over the chest before the straps looped around the neck. She wore a pair of silver heels with a strap around the ankle, her hair down around her shoulders, in perfect auburn spirals. The whole package was extremely sexy.
He laid on the charm, peppering in small touches here and there. He fed her a piece of steak from his fork. Clara hesitated, saying that she doesn't usually like rare steak.
"Give a try, please, I think you'll enjoy it," he told her, his fork out in front of her. She accepted it, nodding.
"That's very good," she agreed. He couldn't hide the pleasure he felt at her taking that small step out of her comfort zone. This was very promising.
"Do you like to try new things?" She hesitated a moment, considering the question with a small smile on her face.
"As far as food goes, yes," she decided. "Which is why I didn't mind you ordering for me. I grew up in the suburbs and most of the restaurants nearby were chains. And aside from those, it would be pizza or Chinese. You had to go a good half an hour to the nearest sushi place."
"That's a shame," he shook his head. "I think my favorite thing at a French restaurant is the Charcuterie. I could probably make a whole dinner out of just meat and cheese and maybe some pate and terrine."
He kept the conversation going, kept her chatting, touching her hand, and reaching out for face at opportune moments. He ordered dessert too, prolonging their time together in public. The intention being that if she felt comfortable enough with him in public, she would be more open to spending time with him in private, and that was the goal. Clara didn't strike him like the type of girl who slept with guys on the first date, but that was kind of the appeal. Part of the attraction was that good and innocent vibe she had and the other part was the challenge of converting her.
He suggested they take a walk. It was a warm September night and it wasn't really that late. It also gave him a chance to put an arm around her, to give her a gentle kiss on the head.
"Would you like to come up?" He asked her as they approached the building doors. She hesitated, biting her bottom lip, her glance switching between Tyler and the building. He didn't actually live there, but Clara didn't have to know that detail. He didn't usually bring women to his place. But, conveniently, as a realtor, he had access to other apartments that he felt were ethically acceptable to borrow for the night.
"Ok," her voice was quiet as she nodded. He gave her his brilliant, reassuring smile.