12 - Samantha
Jess gives me a thumbs up as I get up to leave. I laugh and roll my eyes.
“I’ll see you in a few hours,” I say.
“Or not,” she replies with a wink. I shake my head and open the door. When I look up, my jaw drops immediately. In front of the house is a gleaming black Bentley. At least, I think it’s a Bentley. I’ve never seen one in real life before.
Dean is leaning against the passenger’s side door. He’s wearing a proper sling now, and is dressed in dark denim jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. He smiles when I walk out and my heart does a backflip. He looks really, really good.
I walk down the steps and try to ignore the beating of my heart. My hands are shaking and I hope that my palms aren’t sweaty. I don’t know if I can trust my voice right now. I walk towards him and he leans in to kiss my cheek. I inhale his musky smell and brush my lips against his cheek. His stubble tickles my skin and I smile as I pull away.
“You look amazing,” he says in a low voice.
“Oh, this old thing,” I say with a wave, gesturing at the outfit that Jess and I carefully crafted over the past two hours. I’m wearing my favourite jeans and that black camisole, and Jess helped me fix my hair so it falls around my face in loose waves. I’m wearing more makeup than I normally would, but it’s just enough to make me feel like a bombshell.
Dean laughs and pulls the car door open.
I whistle. “I thought you couldn’t drive. This is quite the upgrade! Weren’t you driving a Honda before?”
He shrugs. “This is my automatic.”
“Right, of course,” I say as I give him a thumbs up. “My automatic Bentley is just parked out back.” He laughs and I shake my head. “Who are you?”
His lips curl upwards and he gestures towards the open car door. “Tonight, I’m your chauffeur, your date, your tour guide, your beau, anything you want me to be.”
“My beau! That’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?”
He just winks at me and closes the door when I swing my legs inside. It’s incredibly spacious, and I sink into the luxurious leather seats. I watch as he walks around the front and take a second to run my fingers along the smooth polished wood panelling. I’ve never been in a car like this.
Dean slides into the driver’s seat and turns to me with a smile.
“What do you say we go to a favourite spot of mine?”
“Lead the way,” I say with a smile. “I don’t know the city at all. You’re my tour guide, aren’t you?”
He chuckles and starts the car. We drive through the streets and I can’t believe how quiet the car is. Dean turns on the radio for a bit of low background music. I can see heads turning as we drive by, and I wonder if they’d ever guess that a small town girl from Virginia is in here. I glance over at Dean.
“So, I’m guessing either ‘children’s entertainer’ isn’t your main occupation, or you have some dark side that I won’t be allowed to hear about. Which one is it?”
Dean laughs. He glances over at me and winks before turning back towards the road. “My father owns an investment banking firm. This car was a present from my parents.”
“Are you close? With your parents, I mean.”
Dean’s eyebrows draw together slightly and he shrugs. He leans back in his seat and adjusts the sling before answering. “Depends what you mean by close.”
“I mean like you spend a lot of time with them and they’re important to you.”
“Well I work with my father, so I spend a lot of time with him by definition,” he says with a laugh. “We’re here.”
We pull up to a building and I see a small sign for a bar. Dean gets out of the car and comes around to open the door for me.
“You only have one good arm, you shouldn’t be doing that for me,” I say with a smile. He shrugs and leans me towards the building. His hand sweeps down my spine to rest in the small of my back and a shiver of excitement runs through me. He’s so close to me I can almost hear his heartbeat.
He can probably hear mine, it feels like my heart is bouncing violently against my chest. We step down the stairs together and I grab the door at the bottom.
“I’ll get this one,” I say with a grin. He smiles at me and we step through to a dark jazz bar. I swing my eyes around the room to see a three-piece band playing on a small stage in the corner. The whole room is dimly lit with exposed brick walls on all side.. The bar is black and shiny, and we head over to sit on two stools near the end. I look around at the plush booths and rich wood wainscotting and I smile.
“This place is cool!”
“I know,” he says, glancing towards the band. “I love coming here. It’s like a little hideaway.”
He motions to the bartender and orders a bottle of champagne. Once the glasses are in front of us he hands me one and lifts his own towards me.
“To new beginnings,” he says. “And congratulations on your divorce.”
I grin. “To new beginnings.”
We drink together, staring at each other until the last moment when we tip our glasses back. The bubbles explode on my tongue and I put my glass down. I smile. Jess is right. I can enjoy myself tonight, and enjoy his company. This doesn’t have to be anything more than a bit of flirtation and a bit of fun.