by Avery James
“I still don’t see how that led you to become part of that whole thing,” she said.
“At first, I hated them. I got arrested for punching a photographer in Nice. I destroyed a few cameras, too, and it all just made people want more. So, I decided if everyone else was going to make a buck off of me, I might as well do so too. I had a few friends from uni who were good with computers, and I had them slap together a site. Then I started paying a few of the paparazzi to help me out. I got my friends in on the game, and soon I was a cottage industry. Whenever stories were slow, I created my own drama. Did you read the thing about me and the duchess’s sister?”
“I might have come across it.”
“Complete rubbish,” he said. “Every word of it. Well, almost every word of it. I slept with her a few times, but everything else was theater. She used the whole thing almost as well as I did.”
“So the drinking and the bar fights?”
“I guess the whole press thing was an excuse, really,” he said. He pointed to a barely noticeable scar above his right eyebrow. “I caught a bottle in a fight in Dublin. An inch lower and I’d have lost the eye. I didn’t even think much of it at the time. That’s just how I was. I was still mad and still looking for some kind of purpose in everything. I just happened to be good looking, so people liked it.”
“I bet your parents were thrilled,” Abby said.
Nolan slipped an arm around her shoulder as they continued on their way. “Behind the scenes, we were building an ad platform. By the time my parents cut me off, we were already profitable. They never really bought into the whole media company thing.”
“They must be proud of you now,” Abby said.
“You’ve not from money, are you?” he said.
Abby considered a pithy response before simply saying “no.”
“They’re almost embarrassed by money, jobs, really they’re embarrassed by everything. They think I’m still wasting my time.”
“You should tell them that you’re spending your time wisely these days,” Abby said.
“On that we agree,” he said. “We’re almost there. Only a few more blocks. They were downtown now, only a few blocks from Chinatown, and only a few blocks from where they’d been the night before. Abby couldn’t believe how far they’d walked in what felt like no time at all. Then she realized where they were headed.
“You’re kidding,” she said when they reached the building. One look told her exactly where she was: the National Gallery, the art museum he’d mistakenly gone to the night before.
“You wanted inexpensive,” he said. “I figure what’s better than free? Plus, showing you that I’m cultured, that’s a bonus, right?”
Abby just laughed and followed his lead inside. It was easy to forget sometimes that in addition to hosting the inner workings of the federal government, the city was bursting with museums. It was just as easy to forget to pause for a moment and appreciate the city for what it was instead of running a million miles an hour from one crisis to the next.
They walked from room to room, quietly looking at the paintings and pretending like they weren’t both paying just as much attention to each other’s body language. At one point, Nolan stopped in front of a large painting of a conquistador, and said, “This one reminds me of you.”
Abby tilted her head towards a painting of a young girl in a blue dress. “I think this one captures your essence.”
A room later, Nolan stopped in front of another painting and stared at it for several minutes in silence. “You have to admit,” he finally said, “this one bears a remarkable resemblance to you.”
Abby looked up at the painting. “You’re just saying that because she’s naked.”
“I meant her face,” he said. “It has that timeless look.”
Abby crossed her arms and looked closer at the painting. She half saw what he was saying, but she couldn’t pin down exactly what the similarity was. She wasn’t sure if the woman, naked and reclining on what seemed to be a half-shell, was meant to be Venus or some other goddess or what the intent was behind the painting, but there was something wry in her expression, a half smile half frown, lips almost pursed, and eyes that seemed to follow the viewer across the room. If the painting had been one of those renaissance paintings, she would have shrugged it off, but it was photorealistic, save for the fact that it was black and white and looked more like a drawing than oil on canvas. There was something about the expression, something about the trick of her eyes that drew all attention away from her nakedness, something that made Abby want to know more. “So what are you trying to say?” Abby asked.
“I’m saying I want to know more,” he said. “I think there’s a whole side of you you’re not letting me see.”
Abby shrugged it off. “You mean this one?” she said as she turned and headed into the next room of the gallery.
She looked back to catch Nolan checking her out. He gave a nod.
“I found you,” she said, “right here.”
Nolan raised a brow as he stood next to her. “That’s a painting of Napoleon.”
“It’s his expression,” she teased.
“As long as it’s not because of your desire to exile me to a small island thousands of miles away,” he said.
She thought about making a joke about Scotland but decided not to, instead taking his hand. His grip was firm and comforting, and her hand just seemed to fit inside his. Despite her worries about his wildness and his potential of getting bored in a relationship, only one word came to mind when she felt his touch: safe. “You know, I think I like you right here,” she said as she followed his lead into the next room.
She would have spent all night with him there in the gallery if he’d wanted, but before long, they found their way to a little restaurant a block and a half away. It was more of a bar than a restaurant, but it was packed. They got a seat in the back, at a little table near the kitchen. The place was loud, and Abby had to lean in to hear what Nolan was saying to her. She didn’t mind being a little closer. As he spoke, she took his hand again. “Sorry, TGI Fridays was all booked,” he said.
Abby laughed. “The worst date of my life included a TGI Fridays,” she said. “The guy insisted on ordering for me and sent his meal back when it arrived. I fled.”
“There goes my plan to impress you,” he said. “I guess I could always try just being an interesting person instead.”
Abby smiled and shook her head. “Careful, you might just succeed. Can I tell you the truth?”
“I hope so.”
“I was afraid you were going to bring me somewhere where the food is plated one ounce at a time and doesn’t so much look like food as like abstract art.”
When the waiter came over, Nolan ordered a beer. “No single malt Scotch?” Abby asked.
“You know what they say… when in America.” He took a long sip of his beer, tilting the bottle upas he drank. The dim light of the restaurant accentuated the line of his jaw. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Nolan would pass for a normal guy. Sure, he was too handsome to be actually normal, and his confidence gave him a glow regardless of attire, but he seemed relaxed and happy, and she was starting to wonder why in the world she hadn’t wanted to go on a date with him. He looked down at the menu. “Besides, I think all they have here are burgers and beer.”
“Cheap, cold, and plentiful,” she said before taking a sip of her drink. A burger and beer. There was something deliciously simple about it.
“Sounds like my cousins,” Nolan quipped.
Abby laughed.
Sure enough, a closer look at the menu confirmed she’d be getting a burger. There were about a hundred different types of burger, though. Guys liked women who liked bacon cheeseburgers, right? Well, it didn’t really matter, because that was what she was getting.
After they ordered their meals, Nolan asked, “So, if all goes well, will you let me take you on a real date or two?” he said.
“This isn’t a real date?” A
bby asked. It had been everything she could ask for. She didn’t need to be whisked off her feet. She just wanted something that could last once the date was over.
“A real date requires a passport,” he said.
She knew he was joking, but it planted a seed of doubt in her mind. Well, that wasn’t right, the seed had been there from the start. It was what had made her wary of anything serious with Nolan. There was a chance that he wouldn’t find her as wonderful or charming as she found him, and then, poof, as soon as she’d allowed herself to fall for him, he’d be gone, off to find a “real date” with someone else.
Why are you doing this to yourself? she wondered. She was on an incredible date with an Adonis of a man who just said he wanted to bring her on more dates.
“That was a joke,” he said. “I just worry that you’re using me for my art criticism when you could be using me for my body and my exceptionally low moral standards.” His eyes lit up as he looked at her. Every time he let his eyes linger on her body, she felt a thrill she could barely describe, like something long dormant was coming alive inside, awakening. Nolan reached a hand under the table and placed it on her knee. Abby’s pulse quickened, and she looked around. She felt almost short of breath. One little touch was all it took to make her want him completely.
“I don’t know.” She pulled her hand back and sighed. This was the moment where she was either going to jump in with both feet or find an excuse to let things fizzle out. Don’t set yourself up for failure, she said. Keep things simple. “I just want to make sure we’re not writing checks we can’t cash.”
“I’m good for it,” he said.
“You know that’s not what I mean. We’re both busy. We live in different cities, lead different lives. At some point, you’re going to go back to New York or Scotland or wherever the next destination is, and I’ll be here, wondering how I let myself fall for a guy who was never going to stay. Or maybe it’s my work that gets in the way and it’s you who gets hurt. I don’t want that.”
“So we’re just supposed to give up?” he asked. “That’s a bit shit, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” she said, “but it’s reality.”
“Forget reality.”
“Easy for the billionaire to say.” That came out wrong. It sounded petty when she meant to be playful. “Can I make a confession?” she asked.
“Think I’ll say no?”
“The night I saw you, I decided to make you my last fling before finding someone I could be serious with.”
“Is that supposed to flatter or hurt?” he asked.
“I guess it depends on how you see yourself.”
“Apparently you saw me as a hot guy you could use for sex,” he said.
“Exactly.”
“You read the situation perfectly.”
“I thought so,” she said with a laugh. She wondered what he was thinking. He was giving her every indication that he wanted something much more than a fling.
“Maybe you’ll be my last fling, too,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said. “A few more dates. A lot more sex, and then you break my heart. A win-win.”
Abby laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a win-win.”
“Well, it does include sleeping with you again.”
“You really know how to romance a girl.”
“Burgers and beer. What every woman wants.” He laughed. There was something so wonderful about his laugh. She could listen to it all night.
“Well, it is what this woman wants. And I guess if you’re there, that works, too.”
“A fling,” she said. “Nothing too serious, and either of us can walk away if we want. It’s just you live in New York, and I live here, and you make a living off of scandals, and I make a living preventing them. Plus I’m terrible at relationships. I think this is close to the most dates I’ve been on with someone in years. It’s easy to see how this one goes.”
“Do you like me?” he said.
“Of course.”
“And I like you. It can be that simple.”
If only, Abby thought.
Nolan reached across the table again, holding his hand out like he was offering to pull her up from a cliff. As Abby thought about it, she felt like that was exactly what he was doing. “I get it,” he said. “You see every possible way things can go wrong. I’m not like that, Abby. I’m the kind of guy who sees the one way things can go right.” Abby felt her stubborn will weakening, and her reasons for saying no were vanishing before her. She knew he had a point. She’d set up their dates for failure, and instead they’d made her like him even more. There was nothing about him she didn’t like. She was just afraid of building him up into something he couldn’t be.
“Let me take you on a date,” he said. “One without any arbitrary rules. You said you wanted to see how you got along with the real me? Well, the real me wants to be more than some fling. And I want you to be part of my life. Is that an impulsive thing to do? Maybe. Do I know what it means yet? No, but I’m willing to find out. That’s all I’m asking.”
Abby noticed that the tables around them had grown quiet as Nolan gave his speech. She could feel half the eyes in the restaurant on her. It was like everyone was holding their breath, and she felt the tension building higher and higher. “Fine,” she said.
“I’m not going to let you get out of… wait, what did you say?” Nolan seemed like he’d been expecting much more of a fight.
“I said fine,” she said. “Let’s just not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
“So you don’t want to pick out baby names?” he asked with a smile.
“What makes you think I haven’t already?”
“Joke’s on you, my kids’ names were picked out before I was even born,” he said. Abby raised a brow. “Welcome to the aristocracy.”
“How about we take things one step at a time?”
“I could make you dinner,” he said. “Or if you’re afraid my cooking will give me an unfair advantage, you could have me over to your place.”
“This is where I confess that I can’t cook,” Abby said. “You need someone to make a mixed drink, brew coffee, or pull a Congressional campaign out of a tailspin? I’m your girl. You want anything more than a microwave dinner, you’re out of luck.”
“We can work on that,” he said.
Abby shot him a skeptical look.
“I used to be the exact same way. A few years back, I learned a few basics, and it made all the difference in the world. You should let me show you a thing or two.”
“Maybe I will,” Abby said as their burgers arrived. It was easy to talk to Nolan, to be herself. She could be brash and confident without worrying about overshadowing him. She could tell he got a kick out of it, out of her. She didn’t have to be someone she wasn’t, and since there was no expectation of this being a long-term thing, she didn’t have to worry. They ate. They drank. They made jokes and spent way too much time flirting. It was wonderful.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much. Their first night together had been different. She hadn’t been interested in getting to know him or letting him know her. She’d been focused on getting him in bed. The second night they spent together was the dairy ball, and that barely counted. He’d been sweet and of course, they’d had that moment outside, but it wasn’t a real date. That was kind of the point of the whole thing, but there was no denying that as she sat across from him, she was on a good old-fashioned date, and she was enjoying the hell out of it. Who knew all she’d been missing was a gorgeous, charming, and very flirtatious billionaire? But all good things come to an end, and she wasn’t exactly holding out hope for a proposal.
By the time their date was over, and he’d walked her back to her place, she didn’t want to say goodnight. Nolan paused at the front steps of her building, ostensibly out of some kind of sense of decorum. She wondered if he was waiting to be invited up. “I should call it a night,” he said. “You sai
d you just need to get me out of your system. Maybe I want to stay in just a little while longer.”
“Are you saying that you don’t want to have sex with me tonight in hopes of having sex with me in the future?”
"When you put it that way, I'm not so sure," he said. “But yes?”
"What if I told you that you could do both if you played your cards right?" she said.
Nolan leaned in and kissed her. She felt his stubble against her chin, but the kiss was soft and sweet, and it left her wanting more, but then he pulled away.
“What’s wrong? Have another date lined up with that reporter?” she teased.
“I told you. She’s not really my type.”
“And why’s that?”
He sighed and shook his head. “She has morals. It’s a real shame.”
“In that case, I’m your girl,” Abby said.
He placed his hands on her hips and leaned in again. “Come away with me,” he said. “And we can pick up right where we’re leaving off.”
“Where?”
“To be determined,” he said with a grin.
“Well, Mr. To-be-determined, I’ll be upstairs in my condo if you change your mind.”
“I mean it,” he said. "Pick one day next week, and just call in sick. I promise, the world won't stop turning. You have co-workers, right? Your friend Maggie could cover for you for one night."
"We're in the middle of training the new hires, remember, the ones you hit on the night we met? And I don’t have any time off until November. Also, I’m not allowed to be sick.”
“For the record, the only person I hit on was you," he said. "One day, it's all I'm asking. We can leave after work in the afternoon, and I'll have you back the next night."
"Well, if you change your mind about tonight," she said. "I'm apartment 304."
Nolan placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight, Abby," he said. "I had a wonderful night."
Abby couldn’t help but smile as she walked up the stairs. Nolan seemed to always have a way of surprising her. She’d been looking forward to ending the night in his arms, but there was something sweet about the way he’d said goodnight. She walked over to admire the flowers Nolan had given her before their date. They were beautiful. She stepped into the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove. This wasn't quite the ending she'd had in mind for the night, but that was ok.
