“I asked, would you like to go to lunch? My treat. There is a great sushi spot around the corner. It stays packed but I know a guy who can get me a reservation. Actually, it’s not that close. We’d have to drive. The body shop just brought my car to the garage. I’m sure you’re hungry by now.” Porter paused. Instantly, his face turned red. Dude, it’s okay. People think I’m always hungry. This time, I actually was starving.
“Sure. That’ll be great.” I smiled, assuring him he hadn’t committed a social faux pas. His eyes twinkled with so much delight that I didn’t have the heart to tell him I couldn’t stand sushi. I liked my fish fried with hot sauce.
“Okay, I’ll meet you in the lobby. Give me like five minutes.”
I got up and walked toward the door. I looked both ways down the hall in confusion.
I looked back and Porter smiled as he pointed a finger left. “The lobby’s that way, Ari.”
Maybe the day was looking up.
Chapter Four
Porter
Ari sat across from me in a half booth at Tomo. She shifted uncomfortably, which made me second-guess sitting here. She tapped her fingers on the table, the same way she did in the office.
“Nervous habit?” I asked as I opened my chopsticks to pick up some edamame. I was picking up on all her quirks.
“I guess you can say that.” She looked around the restaurant. It was crazy busy even though we’d arrived during the beginning of lunch. Ari looked down at the menu, her nose scrunched up, blinking a few times. She would be a terrible poker player. Her tells were obvious.
“Do you want to change tables? We can get an open table,” I said, concerned about her comfort.
“Oh no. I’m good. There is room,” she said with a slight smile.
“Do you like sushi?” Great, now it probably seemed like I was second-guessing the entire lunch. But I just wanted her to be happy, this woman I just met four hours ago.
“Oh no. This is fine. I love sushi.” She bit the corner of her lip. I laughed. She was cute even when caught in a lie.
I put my hand on my chin, smiling. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a terrible poker face?”
“So, sushi isn’t my favorite, but luckily, they have other stuff on the menu,” Ari confessed with a smile. “I didn’t want to offend you on my first day.”
“You wouldn’t have offended me by suggesting another spot. Remember, I’m treating you to lunch. But I’ll say, the udon noodles are amazing. That’s a safe bet.”
“Thanks for the suggestion.” She smiled widely at me, then with a chuckle asked, “How’d you know I was terrible at poker?”
I smirked. “Call it a hunch.” More like me noticing every movement, cataloging every detail, because I can’t get enough of looking at you.
The waitress walked over with a bowl of edamame, hips twisting with fury. She wore a long, jet-Black weave, a tight black minidress and fishnets with combat boots. She flashed a seductive smile at me, standing so close to me she obscured my view of Ari.
“I’m Tara. And what can I get you, sir?” she crooned.
Upon further inspection, her weave wasn’t that great. Not that I was a weave expert, but I had paid for my fair share of hair extensions for girlfriends over the years. “I’ll take the rainbow roll.”
Cheap Weave then turned toward Ari, not directly looking at her, and said, “And what will your...guest be having?”
Ari frowned, cocking her head to the side. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was picking up a very weird vibe.
I intervened. “My date will have the udon noodles with...” Fuck. I said “date.” I mean, technically, she was my date. My lunch date. This wasn’t a “date” date.
“Tempura shrimp,” Ari interjected, the smile slightly returning to her face.
“Yes. With the shrimp. Thanks. That’ll be all.”
The waitress then said, “Let me know if you need...anything.” The way she said “anything” was as though a side of sex was also on the menu.
“I think we’ll be fine,” I said with enough conviction in my voice that I hoped she got the hint that I wasn’t interested.
The waitress walked off, and I turned my attention back to Ari. She had gone quiet. Her head was slightly down as she scrolled on her phone. I reached out and touched her free hand across the table. Why can’t I stop touching her? Good grief. It was like I had an addiction.
“You good?” I asked, pulling my hand back swiftly.
Ari quickly looked up from her phone. “Yeah, of course!” She quickly turned her phone over. “I’m sure you get that a lot.”
“Get what a lot?” Now I was the one playing dumb.
“Servers throwing themselves at you,” Ari laughed, her lips curling into a tight smirk. “Hilarious. I think she thought we were on a date.”
“Right.”
Internally, I winced. I’d had the same thought, but hearing Ari say it out loud was like a stepping on a LEGO brick.
“It’s not cool. This chick is mad rude. And for the record, I don’t get servers throwing themselves at me on the regular.” I watched as Ari delicately put the napkin on her lap and opened her chopsticks, that smirk still across her face. She didn’t believe me. The goal was to get to know Ari, not talk about women and dates. That was making me uncomfortable.
“So...baseball, huh? Got any favorite current players?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t know a damn thing about baseball beyond home runs and grand slams. I’d grown up playing basketball with my brother.
Ari sat up a bit, the smirk turning into a warm smile. “I dig Mike Trout. Hell of an outfielder. Pretty speedy too for his position.”
“Wait? So, baseball players don’t like to run? Isn’t the point to run the bases?”
“I hate to sound biased but...”
We both laughed. Ari laughed so hard that her eyes were glistening, deep amber pools of light, reminding me of the changing leaves of fall. In that moment, I didn’t think she could be any more beautiful.
“You know, my love of baseball got me into architecture,” Ari said as she slid her chopsticks around the bowl of edamame.
“How so?”
“My dad. He loved baseball. The summer before I began college, my parents bought me a new car. My dad and I went on a tour of all of the major league baseball stadiums. We would have little adventures all the time. Just the two of us. That was the last solo trip that I took with him. He said it was my last trip as daddy’s little girl because I was officially an adult. I think I’ve seen every stadium in the league, well, at least before many of the old ones were demolished. I studied the construction. What made each one special. We had a blast.”
“Are you a daddy’s girl?” I asked, sheepishly. I didn’t have sisters and only a few female cousins. But I knew girls and their fathers usually had a special relationship.
“I was...”
Her voice trailed off, but the twinkle in her eye remained. I knew that look. I wasn’t a daddy’s boy, but I certainly had my fair share of memories with my dad.
Finally, she smiled, a faint, sweet smile. “He’s gone now but I’m still a daddy’s girl.” She brushed her hands away in a feeble attempt not to cry. I could see the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes before she quickly dotted them away with her napkin. I knew that pain all too well.
“I get it. I lost my dad too. Years ago, but I get it.”
“Oh, yeah?”