If I didn’t expire from stress before then.
Marion had recently given me a new assignment. It was a concert series coming up in May. She seemed impressed with how I had taken charge of the Kimble event. She didn’t hesitate to pay me the compliments I needed to hear. She was a good boss. Efficient but not overbearing. And I liked being able to do well and prove she hadn’t made a mistake in hiring me.
If I were honest with myself, part of me would be slightly relieved once the gala was over. I loved that Theo and I had become friends but I was also aware of how precariously we were tiptoeing along the edge of dating. And I also knew that my less than subtle avoidance wouldn’t hold him off forever.
He had been considerate in not pushing me. But from the tone of his voice, I knew that he was through waiting.
“Okay,” I said, clicking my pen in an anxious gesture.
“I know you wanted to wait until the gala was over, but considering it’s only a little over a week away, I don’t think we would be doing anything wrong by having dinner together. There’s this great French place that just opened in Granton. It’s getting amazing reviews. I’d really like to take you there tonight if you’ll agree.” Theo’s offer was given with a mixture of barely concealed impatience and eagerness.
I sat up a little straighter in my seat, running through excuses in my head. Saying I have to wash my hair seemed like too much of a burn and I have a doctor’s appointment was totally ridiculous.
Did I want to go out with him?
This was the question of the moment and one I flip-flopped on several times a day. Without being able to stop myself, Cole’s face as I had seen it last night danced across my mind.
This was all his fault, the bastard.
So in a moment of defiance towards Cole and his unnatural hold over me, I clenched my fists and gave Theo the answer he wanted.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
“Really? Am I hearing things?” Theo joked.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. I really had put this poor guy through the ringer. It was time to reward him for his persistence. Being pursued by such an amazing guy was flattering. And who knows, this may be exactly what I needed to move on once and for all.
“No need for a hearing aid, I want to go,” I assured him.
“Thank god! I was beginning to think I would be entering senility before you agreed to a date with me,” Theo admonished good-naturedly.
I forcefully banished all thoughts of Cole from my mind. I couldn’t let him have anything to do with my decisions. He could have no bearing on my love life anymore. Not that he ever should have to begin with.
“Well, what time should I be ready?” I asked brightly.
“Text me your address and I’ll be by around seven thirty?”
“Sounds great,” I said, feeling determined.
I would enjoy myself, or die trying.
That evening I dressed in my nicest red dress. Nothing low cut or overly revealing. I styled my hair into soft curls down my back and my makeup was understated yet flattering.
I did a little twirl in front of my mirror and gave myself a low whistle. I looked hot. Damn hot. I knew Theo would approve.
So why was I thinking of Cole’s reaction while I got ready?
Gracie was out to dinner with Jordan and Maysie. She was still in a funk when I had gotten home. She wouldn’t say how her interview had gone so I hadn’t pushed it. Truthfully I needed to be in the right frame of mind for my evening ahead and Gracie’s depressive personality wouldn’t help.
My doorbell chimed as I slid my strappy black heels on my feet. I spritzed my wrists and cleavage with some vanilla perfume and grabbed my tiny clutch.
I opened the door to find Theo holding the most obscenely large bouquet of flowers I had ever seen. His shy smile lit up his face as he took me in.
“Oh my god, you’re gorgeous,” he said, his mouth gaping slightly as he started with my feet and made his way up my body.
I preened at the compliment and took the bunch of flowers from his hands.
“Thank you, come inside while I put these in some water,” I said, waving him into the apartment. I pressed my face into the blossoms and breathed in their smell.
And then sneezed.
And not a delicate, dainty sneeze. This was a nose-full-of-snot-sprayed-five-feet-away sneeze.
And I couldn’t stop. I kept freaking sneezing.
I dropped the flowers onto the counter and rushed around, trying to find a tissue. I attempted to pinch the bridge of my nose in an effort to stave off the flow of mucus that had already started to drip disgustingly.
“Crap, are you okay?” Theo asked, following behind me.
“Achoo!” I sneezed violently and held my hand up for him to leave me be.
I wiped my nose, once I had located the tissues and eyed the flowers warily. “Are those Gerbera daisies?” I asked.
Theo looked confused and picked up the bunch of flowers that had set off my sneezing attack.
“I really don’t know. I just picked these up because I thought you would like them.”
My nose started to tickle again and I pressed the tissue to my nose again.
“I’m horribly allergic to daisies. I’m sorry.” I was now stuffed up and my eyes were watering like crazy. I was in danger of going into a full-blown allergic reaction if he didn’t get the flowers out of my apartment.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry! I swear I didn’t know!” Theo looked stricken and I felt horrible. What a crappy start to our date. I hated the niggling feeling that this didn’t bode well for any sort of dating experience between the two of us.
“You had no idea, Theo. It’s fine. But you’re going to have to take them out of here. It’s the pollen. It causes my hay fever to go nuts.”
Theo opened the front door and tossed the offending bouquet out onto the sidewalk.
“Is that better?” he asked.
I continued to cover my nose and nodded. “Just give me a minute to get myself together,” I said, my words muffled by the Kleenex. “Make yourself at home. I’ll only be a second.”
I hurried into the bathroom and cringed when I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy. My nose was as red as fucking Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s. I blew my nose and found some antihistamines in the medicine cabinet.
I tried to fix my makeup but there wasn’t a whole lot I could do. I thought briefly about calling the night a wash but I knew I had already given Theo enough of a runaround.
I came out of the bathroom, a smile plastered to my face. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Theo jumped up from the couch and like the gentleman he was, he didn’t make any comment about my red face and swollen eyes.
“Are you sure?” he asked, peering at me.
I nodded. “I’ve taken something so this,” I indicated my messed up face, “should be fine in no time.”
“If you’re okay, we should get going. I made us reservations for eight.”
I followed Theo out to his Hummer, making sure to hold my breath as we walked past the discarded flowers.
Theo and I had always enjoyed an easy banter. However, tonight was different. Maybe it was my psychotic sneezing fit or perhaps it had to do with the fact that this was an official date, but conversation was a lot more stilted than usual.
We ended up talking shop for most of the ride to the restaurant, which I found to be incredibly boring. The last thing I really wanted to talk about on a date was my job. But it was the only thing that truly connected us.
The restaurant Theo had picked was called Bistro Margot and it was packed. It was a good thing that Theo had made reservations. We were seated right away at a dimly lit booth near the back. It was private and intimate, with a candle that flickered madly. The atmosphere was very romantic if not a little try too hard.
I opened the menu and my eyes bulged as I took in the prices of the meals. Holy cow! $30 for an entrée?
“The food looks
fantastic,” Theo enthused, smiling at me. I wish I could share his excitement. Because nothing seemed remotely appetizing. My experience with French food was limited. Okay, it was non-existent. But I didn’t want to look like an ignoramus so I pretended to study the menu seriously. I could pretend that I knew what Porc a la Dijonnaise meant. But even the descriptions weren’t very helpful.
When the waitress came to take our order I pointed to the only word I recognized. Steak Tartar. Theo looked surprised by my selection.
“You like Steak Tartar?” he asked. I waved my hand indifferently.
“I love it,” I responded as though it was something I ate all the time.
“Wow, you’re hardcore, Viv,” he said and I wondered what the hell I had just ordered.
We sipped on our wine and smiled at each other with a strained stretching of lips.
“So, tell me about yourself,” Theo said.
“That’s a pretty general question, Theo,” I teased, drinking my wine a little faster.
Why was I feeling so lightheaded all of a sudden? I was by no means a cheap drunk. And I should definitely not be feeling the effects of wine after one glass.
But I stupidly decided to pour myself another glass.
“Well, how about your family? Tell me what growing up as Vivian Baily was like,” Theo prompted, eating some of the hors d’oeuvres he had ordered. Something called Assiette de Fruits et Fondue de Brie, which was only fruit and baked cheese with crackers. Sounded a lot fancier than it actually was.
“Not much to tell, really. I had a very stereotypical childhood. My parents are great. My mom is a veterinarian and my dad is a lawyer. I have an older sister, Sarah, who is physical therapist and an older brother who is a counselor. I get along really well with my siblings and my parents love me. Not much else to say,” I answered blandly. I was bored. Really, really bored. And my head was becoming cloudier by the minute.
Which made keeping my eyes open really difficult. Particularly with all of this riveting conversation.
I drank the rest of my glass of wine and began to pour myself another but my hand knocked over the bottle. Wine spilled all over the crisp, white table linens and dripped onto Theo’s lap.
He jumped to his feet and started to pat the wet spot on his crotch. I snickered and pointed at his pants.
“It looks like you pissed yourself,” I slurred.
Oh shit, what was wrong with me?
“Are you okay? How much have you had to drink?” Theo asked, frowning.
I held up two fingers. “Two glasshes,” I slurred, propping my head on my hand and poking at the Brie on my plate as our waitress came rushing over to mop up the spilled wine.
“That’s it?” Theo asked, as if he didn’t believe me.
I nodded, my head slumping.
“Did you take anything before you left the apartment?” Theo asked, shaking my arm to keep me awake.
I opened my mouth but no words came out. My tongue felt thick. Had I taken anything before I left the house?
Oh yeah. I had taken the antihistamine. And then I’d had wine. Probably not a good combination.
“I took an antihista. . .an antihistamer. . . .an antihissic. . .” I couldn’t get the word out correctly.
“An antihistamine?” Theo prompted and I tried to put a finger on my nose.
“That’s it! You get ten points!” I said loudly.
“Shit. You need to eat something and drink some water. And you definitely need to stop drinking this.” Theo swapped my wine for a glass of water.
“Hey! I wanted that!” I pouted.
Theo scooped some fruit onto my plate. “Eat. You’ll feel better once you have something on your stomach,” he suggested.
And I did as I was told. “Mmm, this is so good,” I moaned, closing my eyes as I swallowed the melon and cheese.
Theo cleared his throat and moved around in his seat.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to go out with you,” I said, proving that antihistamines and alcohol took away all of my filter.
Theo cocked his head to the side and smiled, clearly amused by me. “Oh really?” he asked.
I licked some cheese from my fingers before grabbing some more. This shit was good!
“Yeah. Because there’s this guy I’ve been fucking for a while. The sex is unbelievable. And he’s gorgeous too. The things he does with his tongue, oh god. And his cock,” I held up my hands, indicating the size of Cole’s well-endowed penis.
“He’s hung like a horse. I’m not even kidding,” I informed my date, who seemed less and less amused by my dinner talk.
I took a drink of water to wash down the crackers. “And I think I love him. Like a lot. But he’s an asshole. And he’s with other girls way too much. And I just couldn’t put up with that anymore. But you’re nothing like him. You’re sweet. And even though I haven’t seen your Mr. Winky, I’m sure it’s nice enough.”
I gave him a sloppy grin and I barely registered the fact that Theo was most definitely not smiling anymore.
Our waitress showed up and put our dinners in front of us. I stared down at the pink blob of meat on my plate and started to feel faintly nauseous.
“You really should try to eat something,” Theo said shortly, digging into his own dinner and purposefully not looking at me.
I poked the meat with my fork. “What is it?” I asked, sort of scared by the pile of gross in front of me.
Theo raised his eyebrows. “It’s Steak Tartar. It’s what you ordered. I thought you had eaten it before.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea what this shit is.”
“Well, you’re in for a surprise then. Because it’s essentially raw hamburger,” he informed me as he turned back to his more appetizing meal.
“Raw hamburger?” I squeaked.
Theo’s face softened. “Just try it. Some people really like it,” he suggested.
I picked up my fork and jabbed it into the mess on my plate. I put a small piece in my mouth and my throat instantly seized in revolt. My body did not want me ingesting this vile thing served as food.
Oh no, I was going to be sick.
“I have to go to the bathroom!” I jumped to my feet and hurried as fast as I could to the women’s room, where I lost the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
I sagged to my knees and laid my forehead on the toilet bowl. Now that everything was out of my belly, including the alcohol, the fuzz in my head receded slightly. I was still shaky, but I wasn’t feeling so out of it.
I flushed the toilet and went to the sink to rinse my mouth. This was officially the worst date in the history of worst dates.
Christ! Had I really told Theo about the size of Cole’s penis?
What was wrong with me? Was I trying to make him hate me?
There was a knock on the door and Theo’s voice was heard on the other side.
“Are you all right, Vivian?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m okay,” I called back, feeling like the most horrible person ever.
“I had the waitress take the Steak Tartar back. She’s bringing you a grilled chicken dish instead.” He was so damn considerate. And I had developed an allergic reaction to his gorgeous flowers, gotten high off antihistamines, and told him all about my former fuck buddy’s package all before running to the bathroom to yak.
And on top of it all I looked like death warmed over.
My god, just shoot me now and put me out of my misery.
I rinsed my mouth again, trying to rid myself of the taste of puke and bile. I opened the door and found Theo waiting for me.
“I’m so sorry, Theo,” I said, bowing my head in embarrassment.
Theo put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “I get the feeling that nothing with you is ever boring,” he stated.
“No, I guess not,” I agreed.
If he only knew.
The grilled chicken was much more palatable and once I had solid food in my stomach, the last of the antihistamine-ind
uced fog disappeared and I once again had control over my mouth. And more specifically what came out of it.
“So, what I said about my ex,” I started to say as we were leaving the restaurant.
Theo raised his hands. “I really don’t need to hear any more about it, if it’s all the same to you,” he joked, even though I saw a hint of seriousness in his eyes.
“Fair enough,” I commented as we waited to cross the street to the car park. I felt horrible for how badly the night had turned out and I was at a loss at how to salvage it.
And then I heard music. Loud, raw, and pretty damn awesome.
Down the road was a small bar I had been to several times. Generation Rejects had played there before and it was a really cool place to hang out. It sounded like a band was playing now.
I nodded toward the bar. “You want to grab a drink and listen to some music?” I asked.
Theo looked a little uncertain. “Isn’t that a biker bar?” he asked and I wanted to laugh.
“No, Theo. It is not a biker bar. Come on. Let me buy you a drink to make up for being such a crap date,” I pleaded.
I could have asked him to my apartment and made him a drink there. Given the look of irrational terror on his face at the prospect of heading over to Benny’s, I should have nixed the whole idea.
But I felt uncomfortable with the idea of hanging out with him, alone, in my apartment. Expectations would be made and I wasn’t sure I could deliver. I needed to keep things as public as possible.
“I’ll take care of you,” I teased and finally Theo relaxed.
“Come on, buy me a beer,” he said, letting me pull him across the road and into the loud, smoke filled bar. I wasn’t sure how the place got away with allowing people to smoke in the building, but no one seemed bothered by the thick haze hanging in the air.
A band was playing hard rock on the stage and the place was filled with your less than savory types. I wasn’t sure what possessed me to want to come. Even with my rock show past, this was a bit more hardcore than I was usually comfortable with.
And I had just dragged my preppy date into a den of wasted toughs. Way to make great decisions, Vivian.
“Let’s get a drink,” I yelled over the din. Theo darted an anxious look around and nodded. At least he had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Though the pair of us still stood out like sore thumbs. I noticed the strange looks we received as we pushed through the crowd on our way to the bar.
Seductive Chaos Page 20
