Next Guy Through the Door

by Haley Travis

  I murmured into her ear, “Sweetie, that was the best first kiss ever. I think that’s a sign.”

  I gave her a wink as I slammed the last of my whiskey, dropping some cash on the bar and giving her hand a squeeze. “I’ll text you tomorrow,” I said.

  She nodded, and her delighted grin actually made my stomach flip. “See you tomorrow,” she said sweetly.

  I watched as she walked back toward her friends, who were practically bouncing in their chairs.

  Finally tearing my eyes away from her, I hurried out the door and down the street. I hoped that I didn’t have to pull another all-nighter, but as always, the show must go on.

  CHAPTER THREE

  * Lindsay *

  Such a tiny thing, to sweep your lips against someone else’s. But such a thrilling, crazy thing to kiss a total stranger. My chin had turned to him before my mind could catch up and it was already happening. It was the most intimate, overwhelming, and longest kiss ever.

  It was also only the third kiss of my life, if anyone insisted on counting.

  I felt like I was floating in a strange haze as I carried my drink back to the table where Nadia and Charity were applauding.

  “You’re amazing!” Charity grinned. “You even talked to him for more than five minutes!”

  “We’re going out tomorrow night,” I said, then I laughed out loud at their shock.

  “Seriously?” Nadia shrieked. “You’re going out with a strange guy?”

  “Where is he taking you?” Charity asked quickly. “A fancy dinner? Something fun like dancing?”

  “I have no idea,” I said. “He said that he’d like to take me out, and I should just trust him.”

  I noticed that my friends gave each other sharp looks across the table. “Hey, I’m not an idiot,” I said. “If it seems sketchy, I’ll take off like a shot.”

  “You gave him your number?” Charity grinned. “That’s so crazy that you two actually clicked right away.”

  “And you kissed him,” Nadia laughed. “Damn, girl, we were not expecting that.”

  “It was… It just happened,” I stammered. I dug in my purse to find my phone. Sure enough, there was a new text that read, “Your smile is everything.” My heart began slamming so loudly I honestly wondered if my friends could hear it.

  “Oh my god, she’s blushing,” Nadia giggled. “You two really are cute together.”

  Charity raised her glass. “To Lindsay’s new boyfriend!”

  “Potential boyfriend,” I said quickly, lifting my drink. “Let’s not jinx something before it’s even started.”

  ***

  Concentrating on my work was simply not in the cards the next morning. Luckily my job was fairly straightforward, and I had systems in place to take care of almost everything.

  Working in a law office wasn’t terribly exciting, but there was usually interesting work going on around me. I got to hear about the most fascinating cases, and hear about how my boss helped injured and innocent people fight against gigantic corporations.

  Mr. Donnelly had legal assistants to help him with his casework. I was simply his personal assistant, who ran his schedule, picked up his dry cleaning, fetched lunch for him and catering for big meetings, and tried to keep the rest of his life in order.

  The pay was fair, and there were a few perks like leaving at two o’clock on Fridays. He always left the office early so he could miss the traffic on his way to his weekend house.

  This enabled me to get home by three so that I could shower again and style my hair properly. Usually for work, I kept it brushed flat in a timid bob. But I preferred it with a tiny bit of gel, fluffing it up in a slightly spiky, messy disaster. I felt that my face looked too girlish, so a bit of wild hair gave me some balance.

  When I finished my hair and makeup, I realized that I had no idea what to wear, since I didn’t know where I was going.

  I didn’t know much about dating or men at all, and was going to have to pick things up as I went. Since my father abandoned my mother and I when I was only three, I didn’t even have a chance to watch them date. All I knew about the entire subject was from movies and the strange tales from my friends.

  Checking my phone, there was a text from Dale. “Hey, gorgeous. Can you meet me at the corner of Queen and Dufferin at 5:30? I’m sorry I can’t pick you up, something is running late, and I want to be finished when you get here so I can give you my full attention.”

  I sent him a quick message back. “Sure, I can meet you there. I know this is a surprise, apparently, but what should I wear?”

  “LOL. Anything comfortable. No high heels. Can’t wait to see you.”

  Comfortable? For a first date? As I threw open my closet, I couldn’t help laughing. Although I knew nothing about Dale, I would guess he had probably never lived with a girl before. Most women needed a few guidelines so we knew what the heck to wear.

  No high heels was a vague clue. He wouldn’t take me somewhere sporty without checking first. But there could be some walking involved, or maybe something with steps.

  Pulling out my favorite black leather boots with the big silver buckles on the side, I decided to pair them with a little green dress that had a black lace overlay. It was sort of artsy-funky, but dressy enough for a party situation. It was also a nice contrast from the plain dresses I wore at the office every day.

  After a quick snack, I packed my purse and locked the door, leaving my cozy apartment to go on the adventure of my first real date. Most women likely had countless dates by the time they were twenty-three years old. It was so hard for me to open up around men that I’d never had the opportunity to click with someone.

  Rushing into something wasn’t my style, not that I really had a dating style to speak of. But kissing someone after only having known them for a few minutes was not like me at all. I hope that Dale didn’t expect me to be so outgoing all the time. That would be too much for me to keep up with.

  After a relatively quick streetcar ride, I saw that I was going to arrive a few minutes early, so I sent a text. “When I get to Queen and Dufferin, where should I go from there?”

  As soon as I got off the streetcar and was safely on the sidewalk, I checked my phone again, but there was no response yet. As I slipped it back into my purse, I heard, “Lindsay, how are you even more beautiful just a day later?”

  I spun to see Dale looking down at me with the sweetest, most seductive smile. In my flat boots, he seemed even taller, those wide shoulders on full display since he didn’t have a jacket, just another tight t-shirt. This one was dark gray, with a few smudges of a strange metallic gold on the outer bicep. Good grief, those arms.

  They wrapped around me in a warm, comfortable hug. “You smell amazing,” he said softly, giving me an extra squeeze before releasing me.

  He took my hand so casually that I didn’t have time to be surprised. Leading me a block north, then west, we seemed to be headed for some strange small warehouse buildings, with logos for various media companies out front.

  “I know this isn’t a fancy date, but I couldn’t wait to see you without your friends staring at us,” he laughed. “I’m the co-owner of a set design company, and a new TV show is shooting a test episode tonight. We’re friends of the production company. It’s kind of like a dress rehearsal, so we can check the lights, the set, and they can get a real feeling for the flavor of the show.” He grinned, squeezing my hand. “We’re going to be part of the live studio audience.”

  “Oh. Wow.”

  “It will be less than an hour, then we can hang out alone. Does that sound good?”

  “Absolutely.” I smiled up at him as he led me around the back of a gray concrete building. “I don’t know a thing about shooting TV. Is there anything I need to know?”

  He stopped me outside a big metal door that had green paint chipping off. “Yeah – put your phone on silent.”

  I dug it out of my purse and clicked the button. “Done.”

  “Always watch your feet. T
his set is pretty clear, but there are often cables or equipment lying around, so you always have to walk slowly and carefully.”

  “Okay.” Then I laughed. “Not a place for high heels.”

  “Exactly.” His arms slid around my back as he leaned down. “And you’re not allowed entry unless you kiss the guy who is letting you through the door.”

  His lips pressed to mine gently, as that indescribable heat began to flutter through my belly. His fingers dug into my back, clutching me against him. I’d never felt true lust before, and the electricity tingling between us was a force of nature that I could not have imagined.

  “Damn,” he murmured as he finally backed away. “You are far too hot for your own good, sweetie.”

  My eyes instinctively closed, and I felt myself blushing. Then I felt his finger under my chin, tipping my head back up so I couldn’t burrow into my chest.

  “Lindsay, you are positively gorgeous. Breathtaking. Don’t worry, if you don’t believe me, I’ll just tell you thirty-two times a day until you do.”

  I giggled as he took my hand again, opening the creaky green door.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  * Dale *

  The huge reaction I felt deep in my core every time I touched Lindsay was surprising. I barely knew her. I didn’t even know if we were good for each other yet. But on another level, I already knew. She stirred things deep inside me.

  As soon as we walked into the stage area, her bright eyes lit up with delight. “This is so cool,” she whispered. I followed her gaze to the host’s desk, and the giant couch where guests would sit when being interviewed. “It’s so weird from this angle,” she said, looking up at me.

  “There are parts of it you get used to, and there are some things that always stay magical,” I grinned.

  The theatre-style seating was filling up with people who had come through the main lobby. I led her to the front row, at the far edge. “We’ll have a great view from here, but I can also keep an eye on whether that backdrop wobbles.”

  I pointed to the elaborate ‘junk wall’ that we had constructed. It was a massive random arrangement of shelves filled with knick-knacks, treasures, and hiding places.

  “That’s really cool,” Lindsay said. “Are you going to change a bunch of the sculptures for every show?”

  I slid an arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze. “Funny, we were having that discussion a few days ago. Some of the pieces will have to be glued down, but there are a whole bunch that we can change out every week, or thematically.”

  The chatter in the room was starting to die down as everyone took their seats. “What kind of show is this?” she whispered.

  “In about half an hour, you can tell me,” I said.

  She pretended to glare at me, but her eyes were sparkling.

  I took her hand as the lights dimmed and the host came out to welcome everyone. Natty explained how this talk show format was going to be a bit different, and encouraged the audience to laugh loudly, clap, gasp, yell out questions, or whatever they genuinely felt. He wanted things as informal as possible.

  Lindsay seemed curious that he was encouraging people to be rowdy. “I thought that people were only supposed to applaud when someone waved a sign,” she whispered to me.

  “That’s why they’re testing this format,” I said.

  The show got underway, with Natty interviewing a local musician, then a comedian, then a filmmaker whose indie project became a viral hit and he still couldn’t believe it.

  Lindsay seemed to be having a blast, laughing and clapping along with the crowd. Her sweet, enthusiastic energy was infectious, and I found myself laughing along with her. Then she leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Did you see that? When he gestured really widely, his fingers tapped that teapot on the shelf and it wobbled a tick.”

  I had noticed, but was shocked that she did. “Good eye,” I grinned.

  The second the show wrapped up and the applause died out, I grabbed her hand and led her off to the side, around behind the set and down the corridor. Turning on the lights of the meeting room, I watched as her eyes drifted around the cluttered mess of chairs and couches.

  Pulling her against me, I kissed her gently. “Everyone will be coming in here in a couple of minutes, but I needed to get you alone.”

  “Why are you so naughty?” she giggled.

  “Because you drive me absolutely crazy.”

  Sliding my hands down her back, I gripped her hot, round ass, giving a firm squeeze. She gasped, as I caught her mouth with mine, our kiss deepening. Her tiny moan made me need to throw her on a couch and take her right there.

  Her lips parted, inviting me in as I explored every inch of her soft mouth. Another low shuddering moan rumbled out of her, and I finally pulled away. Her pretty blue eyes looked hazy.

  “Lindsay, I think you’re the only person who has distracted me from work, ever.”

  Her face started to fall, but I laughed. “Just for a second now and then, it’s a good thing.”

  “What happens after the show?” she asked.

  “Everyone comes in here, grabs some sandwiches and beer, and we talked about how it went. Things we should improve, or fix before we start the regular shooting schedule.”

  “Oh,” she said, “I guess I should get out of your way.”

  I locked my arm around her waist. “No, I need you.”

  She grinned. “You don’t need me for work, silly.”

  “I really do. We need input from people who aren’t in the industry.” Leading her to a couch that was just big enough for the two of us, I said, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  I flashed her a grin, but she returned it unsteadily. Damn, she really was shy. But I was sure that she could hold on for a couple of minutes without me.

  Running out to the van, I hauled in a giant cooler. As I got back to the meeting room, I saw that Steve had already found the beer cooler and wine stash, and had appointed himself bartender.

  “Food,” I announced, opening the cooler and taking out several trays of sandwiches, setting them on a long table at the side.

  Everyone scrambled to help themselves. Grabbing two sandwiches, I sat back beside Lindsay. “Their caterer makes the most amazing chicken salad. Is that okay?”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Lindsay, would you like a beer?” Steve asked. “Or we’ve got red and white wine.”

  “White wine, thank you.”

  “I see you’ve met my partner in crime,” I chuckled.

  “Oh yeah,” Steve said, handing Lindsay a plastic cup of wine. “We go all the way back to three minutes ago when I walked in.”

  They laughed as everyone settled down. I introduced Lindsay to Natty, the show’s host, Amy, the producer, and the various camera people and assistants. Once the bunch of us were assembled, we started chatting about how the show went.

  I saw that Amy and our director Devon were both taking notes. “Remember folks, all opinions are valid, and there are no wrong answers,” Amy said brightly. “What worked, what didn’t. Fire when ready.”

  A lively discussion ensued, and I noticed that Lindsay simply ate her sandwich, quietly taking it all in.

  Everyone agreed that it was lively and fun, and the laughter and yelled out comments of the live audience really did add to the energy of the room.

  A woman who I think was an assistant’s girlfriend asked, “Is it going to be free for the audience to attend?”

  “Absolutely,” Amy said. “We’re going to try to make it seem sort of exclusive, so that it seems like a treat to be chosen. But we’re really just going to randomly select people’s emails once we get going.”

  “At first we will be relying on friends, friends of friends, and family,” Devon said.

  Steve turned to them. “We were discussing swapping out several sections of the junk wall for every show. Do we still think that’s a good idea?”

  Lindsey and Devon stared at each other for a second. “We’d really l
ike every single episode to have its own look. We can do that with the lighting, to some extent, but changing out as many pieces as possible would be preferable. The only thing is, that gets expensive fast. And we don’t have hours to be searching second-hand stores for props.”

  I felt a tug at my arm and turned to Lindsay. “What if you asked the audience for help?” she whispered to me. “If you’re having a theme show, ask the audience to bring stuff in. You’d have to work really fast to arrange it, but they’d lend it for free.”