As we drove down the city streets, I realized this car was designed for the highway, or the racetrack. The engine purred, like it wanted to go faster, like it needed more as we drove through streets where the speed limit was 35.
We finally pulled up in front of a restaurant. I’d long since lost track of where in town we were, I hadn’t even had the chance to go anywhere except find the grocery store near my house, the Hibiscus offices and Elizabeth’s boutique.
As soon as we entered I felt out of place. This was the sort of place celebrities ate at. Soft lighting, tables set far apart, waiters darting silently like ghosts in between tables, this wasn’t the sort of place I normally ate at.
The waiter greeted Mark by name and led us to a table that I had a sneaking suspicion was Mark’s regular seat. As we were led past the other diners, I felt like everyone was staring at me, like they would immediately recognize me for being a fraud. I didn’t belong here. Sure, I was wearing an expensive dress, but surely everyone saw through it and saw the kid who grew up in a lower class family in Oklahoma.
When we sat down I leaned forward towards Mark. “I didn’t know we were going to go somewhere this fancy!”
“Of course! This is our second official date, I wanted to make it special for you.”
“I don’t belong here at all.”
“Nonsense. Of course you do. There’s no reason why you don’t belong here. You’re with me. Besides, you’re a human being, aren’t you? Relax. You look fine, no one thinks you look out of place.”
Mark’s words reassured me somewhat, and I decided my paranoia was probably more responsible for a lot of these thoughts than anything else. I relaxed a bit and looked at the menu.
There wasn’t a single item on the menu for under $50. But, it looked absolutely delicious. I spent ages going through the mouth-watering entrees, trying to decide on something. I settled on the coq au vin, which the waiter assured me was a wonderful choice.
“So, how were your first couple of days working for my company?” Mark asked. “Be honest, I’m using you as a spy to see how my other employees are really doing,” he joked.
“Honestly, it’s been good. I like Danielle, I like my work, it’s interesting. I haven’t gotten a chance to do a lot yet, but I like how it’s going. And I have to say, I like the fact that it’s October and I can still go outside without even wearing a jacket.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely one of the advantages of living here. I hope you didn’t pack all of your winter clothes, you probably aren’t going to need them.”
“If only it was cheaper to live here, it would be perfect.”
“That really is the downside of the city. Especially with the huge influx in tech companies that have come around lately, rent prices especially have become pretty bad.”
We continued dinner, chatting about ourselves. I noticed that, like me, Mark never spoke of his childhood or his family. It was almost as though we both realized neither one of us really wanted to talk about it.
When dinner was finished Mark and I went for a walk around the city for a little bit before he offered to take me home.
“Unless you’d like to come to my place...” he offered with a twinkle in his eye.
“You’re right, I don’t know what it looks like, and you’ve been to my place,” I replied, slipping my hand into his.
Ten minutes later Mark’s car slipped into his parking spot in the garage underneath his building. We took the elevator to the top floor, which opened up directly into his suite. Enormous, expensive and open plan, the place was hands down the most amazing apartment I’d ever been in.
“Jesus, you live here?” I asked as I walked around, looking at the expensive furniture, the granite counters in the kitchen, the enormous flat screen hanging up against a wall in the living room and everything else. I knew Mark was rich, of course, but it’s one thing to know a person has more money than you’re ever going to see in your lifetime, and another entirely to physically see it spent in front of you.
“I guess you like it then?” Mark asked sheepishly.
“I do! Yeah, sorry, I guess I kind of invited myself in to stare,” I blushed, realizing what I’d been doing could probably be considered rude.
“Don’t worry about it. Here, let me show you the bedroom.”
*
Although I hadn’t expected to, I ended up spending the night at Mark’s apartment, in his bed. I hadn’t slept in another man’s bed in a long time. This was different, this felt right.
I lay awake after we had sex. I could hear Mark’s gentle breathing, soft and rhythmic, his hard chest moving up and down as he slept. He had tied my wrists to the bedposts then gone down on me, his tongue doing things to me that drove me insane as I writhed under him.