Chapter Six
Jamie
As I was leaving the house on Friday evening, Aaron sent me a text. Meeting Judith tonight?
I shook my head and chuckled. Sometimes I swore my business partner could gossip more than a middle school girl. Yes, I’m meeting her tonight. Thanks for setting us up…I think.
His response was immediate. You will thank me. She’s a great person.
I thought of asking why he wasn’t dating her in that case, but it would just come out sounding immature, so I held back.
I stepped out into my driveway and looked around. Liz’s light was on upstairs, and her car was in the driveway. Wasn’t she out on a date tonight, too? Fridays were like the hallmark of dating couples. Fridays were one of the benefits of dating, in my opinion—you always knew you’d be busy doing something fun on a Friday, and sometimes you’d be doing someone fun.
For some reason, the lone bedroom light on in her house made me feel sort of melancholy. Around me, crickets chirped. The scent of jasmine filled the air from the garden of my neighbor on the other side. If I were a dog, I’d be rolling in those flowers because they smelled so good.
I realized, with a shock, that the scent reminded me a little bit of Liz. Intoxicating, flowery, feminine.
Pushing away the thought, I got into my car. I drove into San Francisco to meet Judith at the Italian restaurant we’d agreed upon. Bella Rossini. It was a pretty good place, good reviews on the restaurant review site. I’d never been there before, so I was excited to try something new.
I’d have rather picked Judith up and made it into a real date, but this was probably best because we hadn’t met before. She’d told me that she had to work late this evening and asked to meet me there. I half wondered if she was as nervous about this as I was. If we each drove separately, it meant an easy getaway if things didn’t work out.
As I navigated south on 101, I thought about what exactly I expected from this date. I didn’t expect to meet someone I liked better than Liz, that was for sure. But maybe she’d surprise me. Maybe Judith would turn out to be everything I ever wanted in a girlfriend.
My optimism was shocking, really, given the way everything had been going for me lately.
The Golden Gate Bridge stretched ahead of me, the rust red of the cables lit up by street lamps and car lights. Beyond it, the San Francisco Bay would be midnight black. I loved driving over the bridge in the daytime and seeing the beautiful bay wrapped in the arms of green hills on one side and the cityscape on the other. But right now, in the dark, it held a strange sense of foreboding. I hoped it wasn’t a promise of things to come with my date.
I got to the Italian restaurant first, and the maître d informed me that Judith wasn’t here yet. He led me to a table at the back. I sat down and sipped my water while I waited for her. Around me, several other couples were either chatting animatedly with one another, giving each other bedroom eyes, or looking everywhere except at their partners. I promised myself there would be no bedroom eyes with Judith. First, we’d get to know each other. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes with her that I’d made with Liz.
From my seat facing the door, I watched as an attractive blonde walked in. She wore tight jeans and a tiny tank top that looked like it was ready for a dance floor of a trendy club. My eyebrows felt like they were shooting up to my hairline when the maître d greeted her and then started leading her toward my table. I looked from one side to the other, thinking this had to be a mistake. Seriously, the woman looked like she couldn’t be a day over twenty-one and she’d made a wrong turn out of a high-end rave and into a restaurant.
But I stood when she reached the table and gave her an awkward handshake. “You must be Judith,” I said. “I’m Jamie.”
“Hey,” she said with a bright smile.
While she was attractive from far away across the restaurant, up close she was gorgeous. Her cheekbones were well defined and she had a sharp chin, but full lips and huge eyes. She looked like she could play a fairy queen in a movie.
“It was great of Aaron to suggest this,” she said. “He was telling me so much about you, that I knew I had to meet you for myself.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said, immediately feeling at ease. “Yeah, he’s a pretty good guy.”
“I heard you’re doing a start-up together?”
“Yeah, we are.” I gave her a few general details on what the app was about, but nothing that said too much. At one point I paused, unsure of how to complete my thought without giving away information that Aaron and I had decided to keep to ourselves and our team for the time being.
Judith held up her hand. “Hey, it’s cool,” she said. “I know all about not being able to divulge everything. I’m a graphic designer for several start-ups, and I totally understand the secretiveness behind it. Ideas can make or break a business.”
“Exactly,” I said. She had a knack for making me feel comfortable. “Tell me more about your work. How’d you get into graphic design?”
As she talked about her life-long interest in drawing and art, I watched her closely. She moved her hands as she talked. Not a lot, but enough to signal she had a lot of extra energy. Who knew, maybe she was going clubbing after our date. Her eyes were her most expressive feature, squinting in distaste or widening when she made a self-deprecating remark.
We ordered our food, two dishes of lasagna and a bottle of wine to share. After the waiter disappeared, Judith and I talked even more. She had plenty to say about San Francisco. “I grew up here, born and raised. I’ll never move away from this place,” she said. “It’s just—it feels like it’s a part of me. I even love its flaws and problems.”
I smiled. “It’s nice to be passionate about a place like this. I hope I can come to feel the same way. I miss Philadelphia in some ways, but mostly I’m really happy to be out here, forging my own path.”
“Exactly,” she said. “It’s the best spot for forging your own path, that’s for sure.”
Her little tank top wasn’t exactly modest, and her breasts were two swaying globes beneath it. I’d bet my left nut that she wasn’t wearing a bra. I felt the stirrings of lust. Yeah, there was a spark here, and I could definitely see myself enjoying more of her company.
Our food arrived, and we continued talking about anything and everything. “Do you have a big family?” I asked her.
“Nope, only child. How about you?”
“I’ve got a brother, older than I am. He’s part of the reason I left Philadelphia.”
“Yeah? Is he a jerk or what?”
I laughed. “It’s not so clear-cut. He’s always bossed me around, but he’s a good guy overall. He didn’t want me to leave. I think he liked being in charge of me, not to be an ass, but to protect me. But it was time I made my own way, you know?”
“Cheers to that,” she said, holding up her wine glass.
I knocked mine against it, and we each took a sip.
“He also swooped in and stole the girl I’d been crushing on,” I said.
“No way!” She laughed uncomfortably.
“Yeah, it was pretty awful. I’m over it now, but damn, that hurt. But obviously it was meant to be—they’re married now and really happy together.”
“Was that your last relationship?” she asked.
I shook my head. “That wasn’t ever a relationship. I’d just been crushing on her. I’ve dated a few women since, but haven’t had the time to settle into something very serious.”
“I know that feeling,” she said. “Sometimes it can be fun, though, right? Seeing a few people, finding out who you really mesh with, both physically and emotionally?”
“Yeah, for sure,” I said. “But at some point, I’ll want to settle down and pursue a long-term relationship.
She nodded, but didn’t say anything else about relationships after that. After more talking and some subtle flirting, we finished dinner.
“Do you want to share dessert?” I asked.
“Yeah, that would be great. What do you like?”
“Pretty much everything. Have you been here before? What’s good?”
“This is one of my favorite restaurants. Their tiramisu is to die for,” she said. “Seriously. It’ll ruin you for all other tiramisus everywhere.”
“Well, then I think I should try it.”
We ordered the tiramisu and flashed private smiles at each other when the waiter raved about the wisdom of our choice. “It is one of the most popular desserts we offer,” she said, “and for good reason.”
While all of Judith seemed like a great package—the looks, the intelligence, the humor—I was most excited that she seemed into me. What I wanted more than anything was the kind of relationship with staying power, a relationship that was all about sticking together through thick and thin.
The waiter brought our tiramisu and two forks. Judith waved at me to take the first bite, smiling at me expectantly, like she’d made the tiramisu herself. I couldn’t help laughing as I cut off a bite with my fork. She was practically dancing in her seat.
“How old are you, anyway?” I asked before taking my bite.
She laughed. “I get that all the time. I’m twenty-seven.”
“Okay, phew,” I said. “You look so young.”
“Just a baby face, that’s all.”
We laughed, and I finally put the forkful of tiramisu in my mouth.
Judith and the waiter were right—the tiramisu was beyond perfect. We took turns taking bites, laughing about the idea of ordering ten more plates of the stuff.
“Maybe we’ll come back,” I said, “and we could challenge each other to a tiramisu-eating contest.”
“Dude, I’m so on board with that,” she said with a laugh.
After paying the check, I walked her out to her car. Luckily, we’d both parked in the same parking garage, although my car was one floor up. The parking lot was well-lit and not at all romantic, but I couldn’t help wondering if Judith would let me kiss her. I’d had such a good time, and I was so ready for a girlfriend. Judith was funny and charming and beautiful.
As we walked through the garage, I could hear other cars moving on the street below. Someone was whistling, loudly and out of tune, from the sidewalk. It sounded almost like the melody of “Summertime,” but then it would change into something else halfway through before repeating. The air was cool on my skin, but my face felt flushed from the wine. I’d been smart and not had too much, though, knowing I’d be driving home across that bridge.
Judith stopped next to a sporty-looking Acura. She unlocked it with her key fob and turned to face me.
“This is me,” she said, pointing to the car.”
“Thanks so much for coming out to meet me tonight,” I said, stepping closer to her. Now I’d find out if she was as on board with the beginning of this relationship as I was.
“My pleasure, Jamie. Really. I had a great time.”
“I did, too.”
We leaned toward each other, and her eyes closed. I waited a half-beat, then pressed my lips to hers. Oh, the spark was definitely there. I opened my mouth slightly, wanting more of her sweet taste. She arched forward. It would be so easy to bring one of my hands up to cup the globe of one of her breasts, but unlike things with Liz, I wanted to take this slow. I wanted to allow a real relationship to develop.
And so, I contented myself with kissing her, our tongues sliding together, our lips melding in a friction of pleasure. It wasn’t as hot as some of the kisses I’d shared with Liz, but it was still pretty damn hot, her body pressed to mine. I could easily take it further, and so could she, if I was reading her signals correctly.
But I pulled back, because a thought hit me like a bucket of cold water. Even while I was kissing another woman, I was still thinking about Liz.