I can do this.
When they were within earshot, he smiled broadly and held his hand out.
“Hi, I’m Kyle.”
“Hi. I’m Jessica.”
She appeared quite flustered to see him. And also surprised. She probably didn’t expect him to match his photo profile. What was the point of lying about these things, right? You’d only be exposed on the first minute of your first date.
Her hand was quite cool when she took his. Still, he felt a little electric tingle from her touch and a very strong sexual charge which she probably was not aware she was giving off. He was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t expect this type of reaction from his own body.
He found that he could not take his eyes off her. Nor she him. In the periphery of his vision, he saw the hostess walk away in a polite huff.
Her eyes. They were swimming with swirls of color and emotion. He thought he could read hesitancy and hope and angst and delight all simmering within. Or maybe it was because he had underestimated his reaction to her. But they were lovely eyes. Beyond lovely, in fact. They were the type of eyes he could drown in forever.
With a conscious tug of his own heartstrings, he reined himself in.
But gawd, she was more than pretty! She was tangible, real and glowing in the flesh. There was a radiance within her that practically shone through her skin and put sparkles on her eyes and lips and entire exterior. He found himself wanting to get closer to her – to bask in that radiance.
It was to his amazement that he realized he had not felt this way towards anyone before.
He had had girlfriends, of course. Plenty of them in high school, college and beyond. And now that he had just graduated magna cum laude with an architectural degree, they were lining up, knocking on the virtual door of his apartment. And why not? His family was rich beyond their wildest dreams. But he couldn’t promise any of them a long-term relationship because of his commitments to his family.
The commitment of being the future Alpha of his clan.
He realized he was being impolite by not allowing his eyes to leave hers. But it was just that their instant connection was so sizzling, so unbridled, so amazing that he didn’t want to tear away just yet.
What’s happening to me? he marveled. Was it possible to have so strong a reaction to someone he just met? He chalked it down to stress and lack of sleep.
“Please, have a seat.”
He pulled out the chair for her and she sat down, clearly dazzled. He reckoned no one had ever rolled out the red carpet treatment for her before. He seated himself across her. There was a high color in her cheeks.
“Are you all right?” he said.
“Yes.” Her voice came out in a breathy rush. “It’s just that . . . that I didn’t expect you to . . . oh!” She blushed further, realizing her probable faux pas.
“You didn’t expect me to actually live down to my photo?”
She didn’t say anything but her deeper blush told him he had hit the truth.
“Let me guess . . . you were expecting Brad Pitt.”
She laughed. “Close, but younger.”
“Justin Bieber?”
This time, her laugh was hearty and real. He was glad he put her at ease. And he was charmed. Extremely so.
“Well,” he said, “what would you like to eat?”
She had forgotten about the menu in front of her.
“Oh, yes,” she exclaimed. She opened the menu and stared wonderingly at its contents. “Oh wow, it all looks so good.”
He sensed that she was also looking at the prices. Spago’s was a pricey joint – one she had probably never been to on her student’s allowance. He leaned back as she perused it. He knew she was loathe to suggest anything because everything was beyond her level of affordability.
He said gently, “I come here quite often, and if you would permit me to make some suggestions?”
“Oh, yes, please,” she said, relieved.
He ordered two different starters and entrees for them so she could try new things – a crispy salad with duck comfit and a prawn avocado mélange, a chicken tikka fusion with fire roasted baby potatoes and greens and a medium-rare Wagyu rib-eye. He also ordered two different kinds of wine – a white for the starters and a Bordeaux for the main courses.
As they waited for their orders to come, they fenced and skirted, getting to know each other.
“My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college,” she said shyly, “and so I tried for a scholarship. I had to write this one thousand-word essay about what it’s like to be broke. They made me write it because that’s what I put down on the application form when I asked for a scholarship – the fact that my parents were broke.”
“Are your parents broke?” Kyle’s parents never had been broke his entire life and so he couldn’t imagine the situation.