by Beth Michele
Fran sticks her head out from behind the shower curtain and eyes me curiously. “What was that about?”
I let out a long, contented sigh. A night with Brad will make me forget everything else, including my Mom’s visit. “I’m hanging out with Brad tonight.”
“Oh, you mean you have a date with Brad?” she coos, then goes back to washing her hair.
“NO! I say adamantly. I didn’t say that.”
Fran pokes her face out again, her sudsy hair dripping on the floor. “You didn’t have to, your eyes gave you away. Gabby’s got a date, Gabby’s got a date,” she sings playfully. “So, back to telling me about last night.”
A swoony sigh escapes. “The night ended up to be pretty spectacular.”
She makes a seductive voice. “You spent the night with Dane?”
A silly grin spreads over my face like melted butter. Picking up my lip gloss off the counter, I apply two coats then check my pucker in the mirror. “I actually spent the rest of the night with Brad.”
“What the?” Her head weaves its way around the shower curtain and I hear her mutter, “Shit!” and then, “grab me a towel, I’ve got soap in my eyes.”
I throw her a towel and pucker my lips a few more times. “Yup, the night was spectacular.”
“I’m waiting here, Gabby…”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Fran, I don’t mean I had sex with him!”
I can hear her disappointment. “Oh, my condolences then.”
I playfully punch her arm and push her back into the shower. “We danced together…right outside of Bloomingdale’s.”
“You did what?!”
“I just told you. We danced outside Bloomingdale’s. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, really.”
Fran makes a gagging sound. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but it sounds pretty romantic.”
“Fran, you have no idea.” My body starts swaying back and forth on the wet floor as I hear Jeff Buckley in my head and remember the feel of Brad’s arms around me.
“I love seeing that smile on your face,” she says.
It feels good to me, too.
My body is tingling with excitement and my brain is crackling with nervousness. I can hardly contain myself and realize I haven’t been this excited since...well, in a long time. Which reminds me that I need to call Dane. Instead of doing the grown up thing and calling him, I chicken out and send him a text instead, to let him know I won’t see him tonight, but will make a point of it tomorrow. He seemed less than thrilled, but honestly right now I only care about one thing. That one thing will be here in twenty five minutes, so I need to get my ass in gear.
I decide on my snug skinny jeans and a blue sleeveless silk blouse that Fran once said brings out my eyes. Yup, that’ll do. I curl my hair so it falls in soft waves down over my shoulders, and keep my makeup light, as always. A little shimmery blush, soft eyeliner, and another touch of gloss to my already ruby lips. I pull on a pair of strappy black sandals and I’m ready to go. Now all I need is my hot date. I mean my friend.
Only ten minutes to go and I can’t sit still. Fran’s been out with Kyle for hours, so I have nobody to talk to. My head is swimming with thoughts I can’t control, my heart is thumping loudly, and it feels like tiny fireflies are lighting up my heart. I can’t wait to see Brad. I don’t know what it is, but being around him always makes me smile. I’m starting to sweat just thinking about him, so I open a window, but quickly close it when a blast of muggy August air forces its way in. Not a good thing if I want to have perfect date hair. I organize the magazines on the coffee table, straighten the pictures on the wall, then sit down on the couch and wait.
The doorbell rings and startles me from my wandering mind. I open the door and the moment I see him I relax. A huge, bashful smile spreads across his face. He’s so damn handsome. His silky hair is still wet from a shower and he looks great in dark jeans and a cream long-sleeved shirt.
From the way he’s gazing at me, I can tell he likes the view. “You look beautiful,” he says with genuine appreciation, chocolate brown eyes smiling at me.
I fiddle with my belt loops. “You look pretty stunning yourself.”
He blushes and brings his hand down gently to lace his fingers through mine. “I couldn’t wait to see you tonight.”
My pale skin turns pink and I smile. “So where are we going?”
He grins mischievously. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
When we get down to street level, I see a car sitting at the curb. Who owns a freaking car in the city? Well, I guess Brad does. It’s a grey Audi S4, with the license plate “WE BREW” on the back. Cute. I figure whatever it is we’re doing, we’re most likely leaving the city to do it. I’m kind of excited, I haven’t left the city that much since we moved here.
An air of confidence proceeds him as he opens my door. “I can see the wheels spinning up there, Gabby, but trust me you won’t figure it out.”
“Don’t be so sure. I have special powers as well.”
“Really?” he says with raised eyebrows.
I wish it was x-ray vision. “Remember? I’m indecisive. I’m also pretty persistent. If I wanted, I could coax that secret right out of you.”
When we’re buckled in, Brad turns to me. “So what kind of music do you want to listen to?”
Keep surprising me. “I like all kinds of music. Alternative rock, jazz, blues, r&b. Oooh, do you have any Lifehouse?”
Brad grins, clicks the CD and I hear the croon of a guitar and then John Mayer’s voice. Another one of my favorites. Looking out the window, watching all the buildings go by in flecks of light, my face forms a hopeful smile. Brad reaches across the seat and places his hand in mine. His skin is warm and soft; it feels good. I notice he’s wearing the bracelet I gave him and it makes me smile. My bracelet’s also hugging my wrist, and I roll my fingers over the words celebrate courage. Maybe I need to find mine.
We sit quietly until Brad breaks the silence. “Do you want to play I Spy?”
Nearly breaking out into a fit of laughter, I shoot back, “I Spy? I haven’t played that since I was a kid.”
“You scared?” He tries to look intimidating, but it’s a lost cause. He’s too darn cute.
“Nope, I’m not afraid of anything. ” At least not right now.
Brad starts “I spy with my little eye something that is white and bright.”
“That’s easy,” I respond. “The moon.”
“You’re good at this,” he chuckles.
“My turn,” I call out excitedly. “I spy with my little eye something that is tall and pointed with bright lights.”
Deep in thought, he thrums his index finger against his mouth, and guesses, “The Toys ‘R’ Us store?”
I make a loud beeping noise. “Sorry, but thanks for playing.”
“I give up,” he says, sounding a bit defeated.
“You give up? You only guessed once!”
He lets out that loud throaty laugh. “What can I say? I have a low tolerance for games. Back to me!”
He’s staring straight ahead, but I feel his eyes on me. I like the way it feels.
“I spy with my little eye, something that is so beautiful, it leaves me breathless.”
Swallowing hard, I take a deep breath and answer, “Trump Towers?” When I turn my head to look at him, I see serious brown eyes staring back at me.
“Nope...you.”
His words melt my heart. Pulling my hand to his lips, he softly kisses the inside of my palm, and I feel those familiar goosebumps multiply. I don’t know what to do with myself, so I start biting the inside of my lip and fiddling with the door handle.
When I look around, it appears that we’re fairly close to Central Park. I still have absolutely no idea what we’re doing. Brad finds a parking space, grabs my hand, and leads me toward the park.
“Okay, so what are we doing?”
With a relaxed smile, he says, “patience, grasshopper.”
I can’t help but laugh and hold up two fingers. “I’ve got two words for you. Corn and ball.”
“That’s three.” His dimple comes out to say hello.
I playfully flick his arm with my finger, and he loops his pinky through mine. We make our way through a clearing in the park and a sign comes into view. The Loeb Boathouse. “What is this place?”
He chuckles. “The word ‘boathouse’ doesn’t give it away?”
I squeeze his arm and he yelps.
“Just come on,” he says, tugging on my arm, pings of excitement radiating off his fingers.
The early evening sun is bouncing off the water, sparkling brilliantly. Wow. As I scan our surroundings, I notice what appears to be a gondola in a far corner of the water. I look over at Brad and a squeal of excitement jumps from my mouth and lands on the ground.
Quietly, and with a look of pride clinging to his face, he says, “I know it’s not Venice, but it’s the next best thing.”
Without thinking, I throw my arms around his neck and hug him. Then I quickly retreat.
Brad’s eyes fill with…something. “We can come here every day, if you like.” He grins and I let out a happy giggle.
Reaching the gondola, we’re greeted by a tall gentleman with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. “Welcome to the Loeb Boathouse. My name is Andre, and I’ll be your guide this evening.”
Andre helps me into the gondola, and Brad follows behind me. We take a seat next to one another; very close. Brad laces his fingers through mine and a tingle runs through me. I gaze at his lips, for no special reason other than I want to kiss them.
As the gondola begins to move through the water, a peace settles over me and I find myself opening up. “I’ve always loved the water, ever since I was a child. My family had a small cottage at the beach and we’d stay for weeks at a time throughout the summer. It was so much fun. We’d make giant sandcastles and walk the beach for hours collecting shells.” I can still feel the sting of the sunburn on my shoulders.
“I can just picture you, those bright blue eyes dancing with excitement, running through the waves at the beach. You must’ve been a real cutie.”
“Let me put it this way. When I was cast in The Wizard of Oz in fourth grade, I was chosen to play a munchkin. So that should give you some indication. Thankfully, I’m five foot seven now so I’d qualify for another role.”
Brad squeezes my hand. “Well, munchkins are quite cute.”
“Yeah, okay. You just keep telling yourself that,” I joke with a wide-eyed smile.
Brad looks out over the water and seems thoughtful. “My mom and dad had a boat. It was nothing to write home about, but it didn’t matter. The five of us used to go out on the water a lot. I remember spending all day on the ocean. My mom would bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with potato chips for us, and Matt, Clara and I would crush the potato chips on our sandwiches. My dad used to say how gross it was, but the three of us would just laugh and throw potato chips at him.” I see a tiny tear slide down Brad’s cheek and I reach up with my thumb and catch it. He turns around and smiles, and it’s like a hotline straight to my heart. The very thing I’m trying to protect, and at this moment, I feel weary.
After a gondola ride around the lake, we make our way inside the restaurant, hand in hand. We’re escorted to a table, and from every angle there’s an incredibly romantic view of the lake. While waiting for our food, I delve a bit more into Brad. He’s my favorite subject these days. “So, what was it like growing up in Westchester? Pleasantville, right?”
His expression shifts before he speaks. “Yeah. It was okay; hard at times because I didn’t have many friends and I got picked on a lot.”
“Why?”
“I was a gawky kid, a bit of an oddball actually, and unfortunately, that didn’t make me much of a friend magnet. Plus, once my mom passed away, everyone saw how angry and damaged I was, and they didn’t want anything to do with me.”
I lay my hand over his and give it an empathetic squeeze. “I know what it’s like to be damaged.”
Brad raises his eyes to mine. “I don’t know, Gabby. We’re all damaged, right? It’s what we make of the wreckage that matters. Anyway, once my dad mentally checked out, I was lucky that I had Clara and Matt; and my therapist, of course. Otherwise I probably would’ve ended up in juvie.” What about you? What was your childhood like?”
“Actually, it was great. I had a lot of friends and tons of fun. Although I always felt that I was a bit of an oddball too, in the sense of my family.” I pause and take a breath. “Or, now that I think about it, maybe they just made me feel like an oddball. Nothing I ever did was good enough, and if my mom and dad couldn’t understand something about me, they’d chalk it up to me being strange. I remember one time, I must have been about fourteen, and Fran and I had gone to the mall with Fran’s mom to buy some new clothes for school. Fran helped me pick out a new blouse that was bright and colorful with tiny butterflies. I loved it the minute I saw it. There’s something about butterflies, you know,” I say as I stare out at the lake, “they’re free. Anyway, the next morning when I came down for breakfast, my mother took one look at the shirt and told me I had to change. She said, ‘you’re fourteen years old, Gabby, and you’re wearing the shirt of a seven year old. Go and change. You don’t want people thinking you’re weird, do you?’ I sat on my bed and cried, then reluctantly put on another shirt and went to school.”
Brad’s eyes meet mine and I feel a hand reaching out to touch my heart. “Do you still have the shirt?”
“Yup. I put my butterfly shirt in a big keepsake box I kept hidden in my closet. No one was going to take my butterflies away from me.”
Throughout dinner, Brad never lets go of my hand. When we finish, I look over at him and his eyes are alight with excitement. It’s most certainly contagious. There’s no way I’m ready for this date to end. He helps me from the table and we make our way through the restaurant until we’re outside again.
Looking over at him with a broad smile, I quietly ask, “so, what now?”
Brads face beams. “We’re going to Top of the Rock.”
“Top of the Rock? What’s that?”
His brown eyes grow large. “You live in New York City and you don’t know what Top of the Rock is?” He pulls me along. “It’s an Art Deco skyscraper forming the center of Rockefeller Center, and it’s very cool. I think it’s like 800 feet above street level. The view is amazing.”
Apparently, it’s about two miles from the park, but instead of driving, we take a gypsy cab, where you can negotiate a price and it’s a steal at four dollars. When we get there, we step onto the elevator and the first thing I notice is a transparent ceiling leading to the wide open sky. As we rise, different colored lights are popping all around us. Once we finally reach the platform, I realize that Brad’s description couldn’t have been more accurate. I’m rendered utterly speechless. Colored lights twinkle from various buildings and there’s a clear view of stars that sprinkle the night sky. There’s the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, Central Park, and the Hudson and East Rivers. You can see it all. I look over at Brad, who’s waiting on my reaction. “Wow. It’s just exquisite.”
Brad takes a deep breath. “It is, isn’t it?”
I lean against him, my back to his chest, and he rests his chin on my head. I feel a strange sense of calm. He laces his fingers through mine and we walk around the platform a bit, enjoying the view, until something catches his eye. When I look over to see what it is, I notice there’s a plaque attached to a long piece of rock that reads This is a good kiss spot.
Catching me by surprise, Brad grabs me and pulls me close. He threads his arms around the curve of my shoulders, causing my heart to pitter-patter wildly and my breath to come in giant gusts. His breath is blowing on my lips like a soft breeze as he whispers, “I’ve been wondering something all night.” My eyes go wide. “Have you ever been kissed by a superhero before?” My mouth won’t move
, so I simply shake my head back and forth. His eyes are burning up my lips as he breathes, “because you’ve never been truly kissed until you’ve been kissed by a superhero.”
With a small gasp and a hoarse voice, I strangle out a reply. “Will it be life-changing?”
He dangles his lips over mine. “Oh yes, life as you know it will never be the same.”
My heart slams against my chest as his mouth claims mine. His lips are warm and soft, his tongue gliding across my bottom lip, caressing and teasing before sliding inside. The taste of him awakens my senses. I feel his breath whisper to me as he continues to explore my mouth, the wetness of our tongues soaking each other and twirling about like vines dancing in the wind. I reach up and slide my hands behind his neck, the strands of his soft, silky hair tickling the space between my fingers as his arms encircle my waist to deepen the kiss. When we finally pull apart, breathless, he leans his forehead against mine.
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for your kiss.”
My pulse skyrockets at his words and I’m not sure what possesses me, but I pull his mouth to mine again. Sucking his bottom lip softly, my tongue traces the outline of his lips before realizing we’re in public and pulling away. With Brad’s hand in mine, we make our way over to view the lights of the Empire State Building. He stands behind me again and wraps his arms around my waist; I lean my head back against his shoulder and he dips down to place a soft kiss to my temple. I could get used to this.
It’s getting late. The stars in the night sky and the darkness tell us that it’s time to head home, though I can smell the hesitancy in the air. After what seems like hours of enjoying the view, the silence, and the feeling of his arms around me, Brad puts his arm around my shoulder and leads us down.
We’re both quiet as we make our way back to the car. I’m so happy I feel like tiny bright stars are surrounding my heart. But it’s not the stars, it’s Brad. My mind is soaking him in. He’s incredibly endearing and I feel so lucky when I think about the hoards of women that flow in and out of his shop every day that would kneel at his feet. For some reason, he chose me. The thought makes me smile.
