by Lacey Legend
I told him that I completely understood. “Maybe some other time, then.”
Fed said I could count on it. “And don’t forget…I think you owe me a dinner tonight. Are we still on?”
I glanced over at him, smiling. “Definitely. Fair is fair, and I intend to treat you to a filet mignon.”
Fed smiled back. “You know, I was just joking about that.”
Raising my eyebrows, I fought a smile. “Why? You don’t think I can afford it? I’ll have you know that even ‘coffee girls’ at your company are paid well enough to afford the occasional filet mignon.”
We’d reached the elevator bay, and Fed hit the button before taking my hands in his, appearing to be fighting a smile himself. “Look, Jasmine. I believe that you can treat me, but I don’t want you to. I want to treat you tonight. I want to make you feel as special as I think you are. You can treat me later. Okay? Maybe your treating me can even be a homemade Spanish omelet sometime. I don’t get enough home cooking, so I would really love that.”
Liking him more and more by the second, I said okay. “You might regret what you just said about home cooking, though, because I absolutely love cooking. You might find yourself ten pounds heavier by the time you leave Detroit on Wednesday.”
“Well, then, we’ll just have to have more running races so I can burn off all the calories.”
Talking, joking, and laughing, we soon made our way up to my apartment on the fifth floor of the building. Once at my door, Fed took my hands in his again, gently pulling me close to him. Then, without missing a beat, he lowered his mouth to mine and planted a firm, lingering kiss on my lips. His own lips were firm and warm, and the feel of them on mine was immediately so heavenly that I curled my toes in my running shoes, reveling in the pleasure.
Fed didn’t kiss me for nearly as long as I would have liked, lifting his face from mine after only a few seconds. “I’ll see you tonight. Does eight work?”
I said yes. “Don’t be late. If you are, the penalty will be you having to give me three more kisses.”
“I’ll be here at exactly one minute past eight, then.”
Wearing a little smile, he turned and began walking back down the hallway to the elevator. Focusing on how his plain white t-shirt displayed his muscular, broad back to its best advantage, I watched him go, wondering how I was going to get through the next ten or so hours until our dinner date.
Chapter6
That evening, Fed treated me to filet mignon and lobster at a new restaurant called Nova, which was quickly becoming the “it” place for wealthy people to dine in the city. I could definitely understand why, because the food was delicious and the interior of the restaurant, with statuary and little marble waterfalls everywhere, was gorgeous. The wait staff, however, left a little something to be desired, I thought, when our young waiter spilled food on our tablecloth for the third time. This particular time, it was a small cup of melted butter for Fed and me to dip our lobster in, and as the waiter dabbed at the spill with a napkin, he looked so upset that I was afraid he might cry. Fed and I tried to reassure him that it was no big deal, and he tried to smile.
“Thanks, both of you. It’s just that…well, Mr. Balducci, I recognized who you were the moment you came in here, and the truth is that I’m a huge fan of yours. I’ve read everything you’ve ever written about entrepreneurship and green technology; I’ve read and watched all your interviews; and I’ve researched your company so much that I feel like I could probably work there by now…and I plan to someday, actually, if things work out.
See, I’m working my way through college right now, studying mechanical engineering, so that maybe someday, I can join Testera’s design team.” Further reddening, the waiter suddenly stopped speaking and swallowed hard, as if embarrassed that he’d said what he had. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be presumptuous by acting like I really have a shot at joining Testera someday. I’m just so star-struck, and nervous to be meeting you, and that’s why I’ve been spilling things. I think you’re a total visionary, Mr. Balducci. I’m so sorry I’m saying all this. I didn’t mean to ruin your meal.”
Fed said he hadn’t ruined anything at all. “I am eager to continue dinner with my dining companion, though, so maybe we can continue this discussion later.”
“Oh, of course, Mr. Balducci. Of course.”
“How about you come by the first floor of the Testera building first thing Monday morning? Tell the main secretary that you have an appointment with me and one of the design engineers. We won’t have much time to talk, but if you’d like, we can have a brief discussion about your degree program and where you’re going to school, and the possibility of a paid summer internship at the company.”
Now the waiter really looked like he might cry.
“Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Balducci. Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me. I tried to get an internship last summer, but with thousands of applicants, the competition was so stiff, and I just wasn’t able to get in. Thank you so much for this.”
Fed said he was very welcome. “Now, do you think my dining companion and I could get some more butter so that we can continue on with our meal?”
“Oh, of course, Mr. Balducci. Of course. Back in a flash.”
The waiter scurried away, and I smiled at Fed.
“You’re really kind. Do you know that? I bet you run into ‘star-struck’ people every day, but you were still so patient and kind to that young man.”
Cutting a bite of his steak, Fed glanced up at me with a little smile. “I don’t get recognized as often as you might think…and when I do, I always try to remember that I was once ‘star-struck’ with some of the biggest players in the industry myself.”
The young waiter soon returned, apologizing for the wait, and managed to set down the little cup of melted butter without spilling it this time. Fed and I both thanked him, and he said we were so welcome about three times before bustling away.
Later on, after Fed and I had finished our steak, lobster, and vegetables, washing it all down with extremely expensive wine, the waiter came back and asked if we’d like any dessert. Fed and I had a brief discussion, coming to the conclusion that we did want dessert, but everything on the menu looked so good that we couldn’t decide what to get. So, Fed told the waiter to just surprise us.
Saying that the dessert was compliments of the restaurant owner, the waiter soon returned bearing two crystal plates of vanilla panna cotta topped with strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. I’d never had panna cotta before, but after one bite, I told Fed that it was the best dessert I’d ever tasted in my life, and it really was.
Fed grinned. “Then, you might really like touring Italy someday. Panna cotta is an Italian specialty, and nearly every restaurant has their own special version.”
Spooning up another bite, I smiled at him. “I might just take a tour of Italy someday…if I can get a native Italian to show me all the sights, anyway.”
Fed smiled back. “We might be able to arrange that.”
After we’d finished our dessert and had enjoyed a little more wine, Fed asked if I was ready to leave, and I said yes, although a little reluctantly, because our dinner together had been so nice that I wanted it to last forever. Fed paid the bill with some kind of all-jet-black credit card that I’d never seen before, and I was a little curious if this was the fabled “billionaire’s card” that I’d heard people talk about before. I’d kind of thought that this was just an urban legend.
However, not wanting to be rude, I didn’t take more than a quick glance at the card while Fed tucked it into a small leather folder that contained the bill. I did, however, take more than a quick glance at the tip Fed left on the table, because I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Between two small, glass-domed tealight candleholders, Fed had set a stack of folded-in-half bills, maybe ten of them, and because of the way that they’d kind of fanned out, I could see that they were all hundreds. Forcing myself to look away after a second or two, I thought
of what the young waiter’s reaction might be when he saw the size of his tip.
We soon ran into him on our way out of the restaurant, and Fed told him that he’d see him Monday morning.
The young man nodded, grinning. “Yes, sir. First thing. I can’t thank you enough.”
Before Fed could respond, a middle-aged man-and-woman couple kind of came out of nowhere, and the man told Fed that they were so sorry to interrupt. “But my wife and I just have to know…are you Federico Balducci?”
Fed said that he was, and the wife stifled some kind of excited squeal.
“Oh, I just knew it. I knew it!”
After the husband had told Fed that he was a businessman himself, and a “longtime admirer,” he asked if he could please just trouble Fed for a picture. Looking just slightly wary, as if he’d been through this experience numerous times before, Fed said sure, and the man handed his phone to the waiter, asking if he’d mind.
Once the waiter had taken a picture of Fed and the couple, they thanked Fed profusely and returned to their table.
Fed turned toward the waiter with a wry kind of smile. “Do you want one, too?”
Grinning, the waiter had his phone out of his pocket within a fraction of a second.
Fed and I finally made it out of the restaurant after he’d posed for pictures with numerous other people, eventually telling the small crowd that had gathered around him that he really had to go.
Once outside, holding my hand, Fed told me that he was so very sorry about “all that.”
Smiling, I said there was nothing to be sorry for. “It was kind of nice to see how many people admire you.”
“Well, sometimes I wish I could go someplace where I’m not ‘admired’ quite so much.”
After thinking for a few moments, I asked Fed if he liked carnivals.
Looking a little surprised and amused by the question, he looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Carnivals?”
“Yeah. Ferris wheels, fair food, the midway…all that. See, maybe we’re a little overdressed, but there’s an annual spring carnival going on in Hamtramck this weekend. I think it goes on until midnight tonight. And if you wanted to go…well, with all the people there, and with most of them being working-class families and not business people…I just think you might be able to get some peace from people wanting to talk to you and take pictures.”
We’d reached Fed’s glossy black sedan, and he now stopped beside it, smiling.
“I think going to the carnival sounds like a wonderful idea.”
During the drive there, we talked, joked, and laughed, and Fed revealed that he hoped there wouldn’t be clowns at the carnival because he’d always disliked them.
“They’ve just always creeped me out.”
“Oh, you, too? I’ve hated clowns ever since college, when I saw a horror movie about ax-wielding clowns in a funhouse at a carnival. So…maybe let’s not go in the funhouse, if they have one there tonight.”
Fed glanced over at me with his beautiful gray eyes twinkling. “But I’ll keep you safe from all ax-wielding clowns. See, I may not like them, but if I must fight them in order to protect my gorgeous date, I will. Even if I have to punch a dozen red rubber noses.”
Laughing, I covertly scooted just a tiny bit closer to him, just the inch or two that my seat belt would allow. “Well, that’s good to know. At least I’ll have the protection of ‘Federico Balducci, businessman and fearless clown-puncher.’”
When we'd made it to the carnival grounds and parked in a large, crowded lot, Fed asked me if I would think he was “gluttonous” if he got a carnival caramel apple even after the meal we’d just had.
Laughing, I said no. “In fact, I think it’s kind of a crime for a person to go to a carnival and not get a caramel apple. I was even thinking about getting one myself. The only problem with that is that you know the rule, right?”
“What rule?”
“Oh, the rule I just made up that says that only the first person to reach the caramel apple stand gets a caramel apple. The second one just gets the core and the wooden stick. So…see ya! Good luck catching my dust! And, yes, this is kind of a ‘rematch’ from our races this morning.”
Stifling laughter, I flew out of the sedan, shut the door, and began striding away, not slowing until I felt Fed take my hand in his own.
“Not so fast, Jasmine. I really love caramel apples, and I’m not about to just settle for a core and stick. I think I know a way that we can bypass your ‘rule’ and arrive at the caramel apple stand at exactly the same time, though, and both get a caramel apple.”
“Oh, yeah? How?”
"Well, if you want, you could hop on my back, and I’ll piggyback you there. If anyone asks what we're doing, I’ll just explain about your second-to-the-caramel-apple-stand rule, and it will, of course, all make perfect sense to them.”
Laughing, I soon hopped on Fed’s broad back, not even caring that I was wearing a dress. I then wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders, wondering if it was actually possible to fall in love with a man during the first few days of getting to know him.
Chapter7
If falling in love with Fed was what I was doing, I just kept falling harder over the next couple of hours. Making me laugh frequently, he treated me to a caramel apple, raspberry lemonade, and no fewer than three Ferris wheel rides, just because I enjoyed the view of the city’s twinkling lights so much. I also greatly enjoyed sitting so close to Fed during the rides, and the feel of my smaller hand in his much larger one.
Not long after we’d boarded a Ferris wheel gondola for our third ride, I told him that my friends always teasingly accused me of being “lame” and a “baby” for wanting to go to the spring carnival every year. “See, my friends’ idea of a good time is going out clubbing, although I can’t say that I ever really have too much fun when I join them. I guess clubbing just isn’t my thing, although I sometimes feel like it should be since I’m in my twenties. So, maybe I really am ‘lame’ and a ‘baby.’”
Fed looked at me with his expression surprisingly serious. “You’re neither of those things. To me, you’re a beautiful woman who knows how to have fun and enjoy life without needing to join in on the craziness that sometimes happens in clubs to do it. To me, it sounds like maybe you’ve just matured a little faster than your peers.”
I smiled at him, feeling like I was maybe blushing a little. “Well, thank you for saying that. I do think I’ve definitely ‘matured’ past the point of thinking that being jostled by hundreds of drunken people on a dance floor is any kind of a good time. I much prefer actually getting to know people in places where you don’t have to practically scream to be heard.”
Fed curved his full lips in a smile, giving my hand a squeeze. “I think you’re a very level-headed, smart woman. I also think you’re an incredibly gorgeous woman, too.”
For the second time in a minute, I felt myself blushing a little bit, fighting a smile at the same time. “Okay, stop. I consider myself to be a woman with healthy self-esteem when it comes to my looks, but I’m also realistic. I know I’m not ‘gorgeous.’ But thank you for the compliment, anyway.”
“All right. Now I’m adding humble to the list of things I think you are. I can’t believe you really don't think you’re gorgeous, or you really just don’t know. Either way, I find this pretty incredible.”
I might have thought that Fed was teasing me or something, yet his expression was completely serious, indicating that he really was incredulous that I didn’t find myself “gorgeous.” This served to make me blush even harder, tucking a loose strand of my curly hair behind one ear.
“Well, if I’m gorgeous, I guess I really don’t know it. A few of my friends have called me gorgeous before, but you know how friends are. They can be over-generous just to be kind.”
I’d always had the feeling that boyfriends could definitely be over-generous, too. Malcolm had called me gorgeous before, although I’d just never really felt the compliment, in a way t
hat I hadn’t even been able to explain at the time, even to myself. I just simply hadn’t felt the compliment in the same way that I was now feeling it with Fed.
While the Ferris wheel slowly continued lifting us skyward, he continued looking deeply into my eyes with his expression remaining completely serious. “You are gorgeous, Jasmine, whether you believe it or not, and you should know that. In fact, I've hardly been able to look away from your gorgeous eyes and face all night. As far as your lips…your lips are just...." He paused and then swallowed hard, clearly suddenly a little uncomfortable, as if possibly worried that he’d said too much. “Your lips are utterly gorgeous, too, to say the least.”
Feeling something like a current of electricity racing through my veins, I suddenly spit out exactly what I was thinking right then, afraid that if I hesitated for even a second, I might lose my nerve. “Well, if you really think my lips are that gorgeous, then just show me. Just show me by giving me a kiss.”
Fed’s face registered a little surprise, although I got the impression that he was very pleasantly surprised. After gently pulling his hand from mine, he put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, looking deeply into my eyes. He then brought his mouth to mine.
I’d been expecting his kiss to feel good, but I hadn’t been prepared for exactly how good it would feel. From the first moment, my whole body seemed to melt in response to the sensation of Fed’s full lips, so firm and warm, pressed against my own. His muscular arm around my shoulders also contributed to the overall heavenly experience of being kissed by him, as did the presence of his scent, which was something woodsy, clean, and very masculine. Reveling in everything I was feeling with my eyes closed, I took in his scent through my nose, reaching my right arm around to wrap around his strong shoulders.
Soon, my stomach was doing wild little flips, but not just because I could intuitively feel that the Ferris wheel had risen to the top of its circle. My stomach was doing wild little flips because Fed was, hands down, the best kisser I’d ever been kissed by in my life. With his lips firm, yet somehow still incredibly gentle at the same time, he intensified our kiss little by little, slowly probing my own lips apart, as if savoring every single second of our mouths merging.
