“This apartment belongs to our family. My parents used to come up to the Bay Area all the time when Jane was at school and hoped that Nick would come to school up here as well. I thought we would rest a little before our dinner and show.”
“Dinner? Show? How can you eat again after nine courses?” I asked. “There’s no way I can eat again today. I am so full. Besides, I have nothing to wear to attend any shows up here. What are we going to watch?”
“You’ll see,” he answered with a funny grin. “Don’t worry. I’ve taken care of everything. Let’s hang out for a couple of hours. I, too, am stuffed.”
Jake grabbed my hands and led me to a large white sofa situated right in front of an even larger plasma TV. He sat down and pulled me right next to him. Every inch of our bodies touched, but that didn’t seem to be enough for him. Jake curved his arms around my waist and pulled me even closer to him. Somewhere between the nine courses of food and wine, the comfort of the sofa, and the heat of our bodies, I fell asleep.
What seemed like minutes later, I woke up lying on top of Jake’s body. Jake had comfortably sprawled out on the sofa with his head on the armrest and his legs stretched out. My body, wedged between the back of the sofa and Jake’s warm body, also stretched out comfortably.
“Oh my gosh. How long have I been asleep?”
“A couple of hours, I think,” Jake answered with his left hand stroking my long hair and his right working the remote.
“I’m so sorry, Jake. I can’t believe I fell asleep on you. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep on a date before.”
“It was nice. I rather liked it. You appeared quite cozy.” He smiled and kissed the top of my head.
“Um…I didn’t drool on you, did I? I asked while wiping his shirt just in case.
“Do you normally?” He was now chuckling.
“I don’t think so, but of course the one time I fall asleep with a man, I would make a fool of myself.”
Jake pondered over this statement while I pushed myself up.
“Stay,” he whispered. He pulled me up, eye to eye, and before I knew it, our lips joined uncontrollably. Both arms tightened around my body, and his lips made several longing trips down my neck and then back to my lips. His kisses felt like a staccato piano piece. They were short, detached, and all over. He never stayed in one place too long. This made me want him even more.
To our chagrin, a knock on the door stopped our long-overdue embrace. Jake grumbled as he got up to answer it. I also got up and fixed myself for whatever company we were expecting. It was a doorman with a rolling rack full of clothes, shoes, and accessories.
“What’s all this?” I questioned.
“Remember I told you I would take care of everything for the show?”
And taken care of everything he had. In the apartment sat half a dozen dresses and pairs of shoes for me to try on. There were even the proper undergarments to match the dresses.
“How did this all get here?”
“Actually, Jane is in San Francisco right now and she helped me. I thought about asking the concierge, but she offered to go out and get all this for you. I hope you don’t mind. Jane is the only girl in the family and she’s always wanted a sister. She’s more than excited to meet you and become your friend. Is that OK?” he asked with more hesitation than necessary.
“Jane, your sister? Oh, I can’t wait to meet her!” Being an only child, I craved company constantly. My heart jumped for joy at the thought of having a new friend.
“Jane is quite an opera buff, and I remembered you talking about Carmen. So, Jane helped out again and got us a box at the opera house, and that’s the final half of our date. We are meeting her for dinner so you have to eat.”
“Jake, this has been one of the most amazing dates. Lunch was a gastronomic feast. Meeting the chef owner was almost as phenomenal as lunch, and I’m really touched you figured out how much I like opera. I guess you do listen during our dates even though they’re always cut short. You are an amazing man.”
Jake had this exceptional ability to read between the lines. He picked up my nuances and facial expressions and could easily decode answers I didn’t realize I was giving. After half a date at a Mexican restaurant, was my food obsession that obvious? He correctly guessed that his brother Nick and I would be great foodie friends. It was also a wonder as to how he knew about my fascination with Carmen. Maybe it was the way I listened to Carmen in his car, or maybe it was from the brief conversation we had about the video I watched in high school. None of this information came directly from me.