Chapter Eight

Ruby

I walked along the sidewalks of the city, looking at it in a different light than I had just a few days earlier. Nathan had just dropped me off the night before at my house, but I already hoped he would call and ask me out again. Meeting him was a surprise, something I didn’t think would happen in a million years. I literally went to the bar to get away from guys after that horrible blind date, but I sure was glad I did, because that one night and day had done wonders for my faith in men. I still didn’t know if I would ever see Nathan again, but I had a good feeling about it.

I walked up to the door of Marie’s, a bakery and bagel shop that I was meeting Lisa at for our weekly Sunday morning coffee and gossip session. When I walked in, she was in the back booth waving her hand at me with a full mouth of food. I swore she was the skinniest person, but she ate like a freaking three-hundred-pound man. I walked over and plopped down in the booth, letting out a deep sigh.

“Hey there,” Lisa said looking at me curiously. “How’s it going?”

“Freaking awesome,” I said shaking my head.

“Well, I know it’s not from my friend because he called me after your date to let me know how much of a bitch you were,” she said laughing.

“Yeah, no, he was a complete moron,” I said scrunching my nose. “What were you even thinking?”

“You needed to get laid,” she admitted.

“Gross,” I replied.

“Okay, so if it wasn’t him then who?”

“Why does it have to be a who? I am capable of being happy without a man,” I said unconvincingly.

“Seriously?”

“Fine,” I said leaning forward excitedly. “After I left the restaurant I went across the street to Exposé and sat at their bar.”

“They have a bar?”

“Yeah,” I said. “So, I’m sitting there drowning my sorrows in whiskey and mainstream media, and in walks this gorgeous guy in a suit I swear probably cost more than my college education.”

“Probably worth more too,” she said sarcastically.

“Anyway,” I said rolling my eyes. “He sat down and started talking to me, and I assumed it would be more bullshit, but it was so far from that I couldn’t even explain it. He was intelligent, open-minded, and pretty much my male clone.”

“Oh, lord,” she replied.

“So, we drank and talked and then I went back to his place,” I said. “In The Avalon.”

“What? He lives in The Avalon? What the hell does he do?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t asked yet. But then the next morning he cooked me breakfast in bed and then took me out into the city for the entire day, talking and walking.”

“Like talking about life or what?”

“Everything,” I said excitedly. “Politics, worldviews, people, food, the city, family, everything.”

“I don’t get it,” she said looking at me strangely.

“You don’t get what?”

“You meet a guy at a bar, you sleep with him, then you spend the whole next day with him,” she said as if it were a question and a statement at the same time.

“Yeah, and?”

“And, are you kidding me? And you don’t even know what he does for a living,” she said. “He lives in the most luxurious and expensive place in the city, goes to Exposé on the weekends, and you didn’t think to ask what he did? He could totally be in the mob or like someone who extorts money from people.”

“No,” I said shaking my head. “I’m sure he owns a company or something.”

“So, when are you going back out with this guy?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “Whenever he calls and asks me out, I guess.”

“Mmmm,” she said looking down at her watch and packing up the food. “We have a ten o’clock appointment at the nail salon. We gotta go.”

We left Marie’s in a hurry with me almost spilling coffee all over myself as I ran for the cab. We were always doing that, getting caught up in conversations and then having to rush to whatever appointment we had. I honestly forgot all about the nail appointment since I usually never paid to get a manicure. I knew that Lisa enjoyed it, it was her break from having to do anything but focus on herself. She was a professor at New York University, and her days, and nights, were always filled with student and faculty issues. She was the youngest tenured professor in the history of NYU, but to get that title, she had to seriously kick some ass and put in the time.

When we arrived at the nail salon, we picked out our colors and were seated next to each other. The woman behind the desk pulled on my hand and turned the lights on it, starting the manicure. Lisa sat next to me smiling at her tech, who happened to be an attractive guy, who also happened to be wearing a Gay Pride T-shirt from that year’s parade. When he walked away, I pointed it out to Lisa, and she got pouty quickly.

“So, what does this mystery man look like?”

“He’s tall, tan, extremely muscular, with dark hair and blue eyes,” I said. “Like drop dead gorgeous.”

“When you say extremely muscular do you mean like a sexy built guy, or like muscles so big the veins pop out, and you can see the blood circulating?”

“Ew,” I laughed. “I mean like sexy built guy. Like Channing Tatum body.”

“Nice,” she said. “Well, I guess you owe me then.”

“For what?”

“For helping you find this guy,” she said.

“You had nothing to do with me finding him,” I laughed.

“On the contrary,” she said in her professor's voice. “I set you up on a date.

“A miserable failure,” I added.

“Still, if it wasn’t for that you wouldn’t have ended up at Exposé’s bar, and thus you would not have met Mr. Sexy Eyes.”

“You are stretching it,” I said with no expression.

“Whatever,” she sang. “You are welcome unless he turns out to be a douche bag then it’s all your fault.”

“Of course,” I laughed.

We spent the rest of our manicures arguing over who was responsible for me meeting Nathan. Finally, I conceded and let her take the credit, it was way easier than fighting with her about it. Besides, she did have a point, if I hadn’t met the asshole, I would have never ended up across the street. At that moment, I was finding that to be a lucky thing, but I wasn’t sure if my view on that would change or not. If he didn’t call, I might go back to being that cynical bitch that pissed off every date I had.

After the manicures, I rode along to Lisa’s apartment since it was on the way to mine. When we pulled up, she looked at me and smiled. She reached over and took my hand, looking as if she were going to get a bit sentimental.

“Look,” she said. “All joking aside. I’m glad you met someone that made you this excited. I haven’t seen you so non-serious since we were kids. I hope he calls, and even if he doesn’t don’t forget the feeling you have right now, it’s what keeps us going.”

“I love you,” I said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

“Love you too,” she replied opening her door. “Now, go spend the rest of your Sunday being lazy for God’s Sake, and call me if he calls!”

“I will,” I yelled as she shut the door.

I laughed and shook my head as the cab pulled off, heading for my house. She was so goofy, but I loved her nonetheless. Growing up I could have never imagined my older sister being my closest friend, but I seriously felt like there were too many times to count, that if she hadn’t been there, I would have gone insane. The cab pulled up in front of my apartment, and I paid the driver and then jumped out on the sidewalk. I waved at my neighbor as I climbed the stairs to the house, ready to lounge around with my freshly painted fingernails. As I put the key in the door, my phone started to ring. I reached down into my bag and pulled it out, not even looking at the number.

“Hello,” I said cheerfully.

“Hey there,” Nathan said on the other line, making me almost drop the phone. “You busy?”

“Busy? No,” I stuttered.

“I was calling for two reasons,” he said. “I wanted to see how you were feeling today.”

“I feel great,” I said smiling. “I had breakfast with my sister, and now I’m walking into the house.”

“Good,” he said. “And my other reason was that I wanted to ask you to dinner tomorrow night.”

“I would love to,” I said excitedly.

Oh, boy, I had it bad already.