“Wow. Pretty good, actually. You’re either really intuitive, or you’ve been stalking me. Tell me more.”
“Okay,” he said, warming up to the idea and leaning in a little closer while he dropped his voice. “You like me, but you’re afraid of your feelings. You’re wondering if I’m going to try and sleep with you tonight, and if it would be any good if you said yes.”
Aimee whispered back before she could think to stop herself, “Are you? Going to ask me?”
“That’s what I’m doing right now,” he whispered, lifting an eyebrow and making her nearly swoon with the sexiness of it.
Aimee pulled her hand away and sat back, fanning her face with her napkin. She cleared her throat. “Um … I have to use the ladies’ room.” She stood up suddenly and grabbed her purse, escaping to the safety of the bathroom without looking back.
She pulled her phone out of her bag as soon as she got inside and called Kiki. Kiki picked up after the third ring and Aimee wasted no time with pleasantries. “Kiki! Oh my god! I need some advice. He just asked me if I would sleep with him tonight, and I am freaking out. Freaking. Out! What should I say? What should I do?”
Kiki laughed. “Whoa, slow down there. What did you just say? He asked you to sleep with him? Where are you? At his place?”
“No, I’m in the bathroom at the restaurant.”
“He asked you in the ladies bathroom?”
“No, dummy, he asked me back at the table.”
“And you ran away to the bathroom to call me, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I admit it, I panicked.”
“Okay, this is easy. Do you want to sleep with him?”
“I’m not sure!”
“Do you stare at his hands and wonder what his dick looks like?”
“Maybe. Okay, yes.”
“Do you look at his eyes and lips and imagine them worshipping your body?”
“Oh, shit. Yes.”
“Do you look at him and wonder what he’d look like naked … and then get all hot and bothered about it?”
“Yes!”
“Then put the damn phone away and go back there and tell him you want to jump his bones. Goodbye.”
Aimee stared at the disconnected phone in her hand. “I guess I have my answer,” she said to the empty toilet stalls.
She took a few minutes to collect herself and check her makeup and hair. Everything seemed to be in order - no lipstick on the teeth, no stray hairs messing up her ‘do. She had no more reasons to stay in the bathroom, and if she continued to postpone the inevitable, she knew she risked destroying the mood that had come over them. And that would be a damn shame, she thought to herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited about the idea of sex. Being with Jack was about as exciting as Monday night football for her, which was about as arousing as watching paint dry.
Aimee sat down at the table and immediately noticed Joe’s smile. He wasn’t mad. Thank goodness for that.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Much.”
“Sorry I scared you. I’ll try to control myself from now on.”
“No! I mean … no, please. I’m fine. I liked what you said. It’s just … I’m not used to playing those games.”
“It’s not a game, Aimee. I was serious.” His smile left his face.
“No, I know that. I don’t mean games like you don’t mean it. I meant like … you know. Lover games.”
“Oh. I see.” He visibly relaxed and started to say something else, but their conversation was interrupted by the delivery of their meals.
They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, waiting while the waitress refilled their water glasses and offered them freshly-grated parmesan cheese. Aimee sat there the whole time hoping they could move beyond this awkward moment. It felt like some of her fears were coming true. She had dorked out and possibly scared him off. She tried not to be sad about it. It wasn’t like he was her boyfriend or anything, or that he had broken up with her. She’d been out of the dating game for a really long time, but she was still pretty sure you couldn’t break up with someone after only one date.
“What do you think?” Joe asked. He motioned toward her food.
“Oh! About the food! It’s good.” She chewed a little more and paid attention to what she was eating, instead of focusing on her worries about her love life. “I mean, it’s really good,” she amended. “Wow.”