Trigger (8 page)

Nina.
Whom I’d done my best not to think about since seeking her out at Bliss four days ago. It had been a futile effort, but I’d hoped that, if I gave it some more time, I’d eventually forget her. I wasn’t going to try to see her again. What could she possibly want?

I opened the email.

Hi Dylan,

Thanks for coming to see me last Thursday. I’ll admit that I was a little shocked, but now that I’ve gotten some time to think about it, I’ve realized that I’m happy you came. I would love to have dinner with you and get to know you a little better, too. So let me know if you still want to.

Nina

I read the email a few more times to make sure it wasn’t just my brain playing a trick on me, conjuring up words that weren’t there. Then, when I was sure it was for real, I no longer felt tired but exhilarated and the pounding in my head was gone. A big grin had spread over my lips.

I clicked reply and typed in a message:

Hi Nina! I’d love to take you out for dinner. How about tomorrow night?

I didn’t have to wait long until a reply appeared in my phone.

Sure, tomorrow is good. When and where?

I fired off a reply:

If you’d like, I could come and pick you up at eight and then we’ll go together somewhere? Or we can meet at the restaurant?

My phone buzzed with her response.

Let’s meet at the restaurant.
Just let me know where and I’ll be there.

I sent an email telling Nina I’d let her know the location tomorrow and that I was looking forward to seeing her again. Then I turned on the TV, feeling better than I had in a long time.

Nina

I spent some hours the next day feeling absolutely sure I’d made a huge mistake in contacting Dylan, others so excited I couldn’t help but grin like a fool. That last part proved to be of great use since it coincided with my lunch shift at the restaurant. My customers responded fabulously to my happy demeanor by giving me mostly better-than-average tips.

When I was done at McCormick and Schmick’s, I jumped into my car and drove in the direction of Ricki’s job, a non-profit organization that helped the homeless called Invisible People. She was lending me a dress for tonight, a hot red number that fit me like a glove. Since her job was located on the way to my mom’s house in Downtown L.A. and I had to go down to see her this afternoon, it was easier for me to go there instead of to Ricki’s house tonight to pick it up.

My car stereo was playing a Beyonce song I loved, so I cranked up the volume, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel along with the beat. At the moment, I was riding another wave of elation, so I smiled at the aging, pale woman in the black convertible next to me at the stop light. She was looking like she was having a bad day. Maybe I could cheer her up a little.

She didn’t smile back, only glared at me like she thought I must be nuts. She must be a New York transplant.
Most New Yorkers I’d met were on the grumpy side. Well, her demeanor didn’t faze me. It was only as I turned back to face the road in front of me that my smile left my lips. Pain was suddenly shooting through my head.

I rubbed my temple with my free hand.
Damn
. It had been a while since I’d experienced any kind of headaches. I really hoped it wouldn’t get any worse or I might have to cancel my date with Dylan. That would be such a shame now that I’d decided that seeing him again was not only a good idea, but the sooner it happened, the better. I pulled out the pills the doctor had given me that I kept in my purse for when these random spells of headaches attacked me. It had been several months since the last one occurred, but I still never went anywhere without my pills. Experience had taught me that, in order to have a chance to quell the aches, I needed to catch them in their infancy as opposed to later, when they had matured, completely debilitating me. I hoped that very soon, they would go away forever, like the doctor had promised they would. But even if they didn’t, I knew I should be grateful the sporadic migraines were the only complication of the concussion I had experienced in high school. The rest of my brain seemed to function as well, if not better, than before.

I popped the pill and swallowed it with the help of some water from the bottle I had brought with me. It didn’t take long before it was working and I was once again flying high on endorphins.

Dylan

I didn’t think I had ever been as nervous as when I was driving into the parking lot behind JiRaffe, the romantic French-American restaurant I had picked for my dinner with Nina. As I parked my car, my heart thumped in my chest and my gut flopped with crazed butterflies. Nina had continued to dominate my thoughts, and even though I didn’t get as much done at work as I’d liked, this time around I didn’t mind. In fact, I kind of liked it. I exhaled. It was almost scary how fast I was falling for this girl. Who would have ever thought so? Or that I’d be falling for her at all? But falling for her I was, and hard. I still could hardly believe that she had reached out to me, changed her mind so drastically about my dinner offer.

I had arrived a few minutes early so I could have a quick drink to calm my nerves before meeting Nina, get familiar with the restaurant again. I remembered that last time I’d visited JiRaffe, I’d enjoyed the food and service so much that I made a mental note to bring a girl I wanted to impress there. Nina definitely fit that category.

I walked into the establishment and told the hostess I was early for my dinner reservation and that I would wait in the bar for my date to arrive. Relieved to see that the bar was fairly empty, I sat on one of the chairs and ordered a gin and tonic from the bartender.

As I sipped on my drink, my phone buzzed in my suit pocket. Fear gripped my heart, making me almost unable to check what the incoming message regarded. I was suddenly sure it was Nina contacting me, telling me that she couldn’t make it after all, that she had changed her mind about the dinner.

With the utmost effort, I reached into my pocket and got out my phone. It was a text message from my younger sister, Elisa.

I got the job!

So glad it wasn’t Nina cancelling but only Elisa reporting she’d gotten the position at a financial firm she had sought and wanted so badly, I let out an audible gasp. The woman seated on the stool next to me gave me a funny look. I ignored her and typed a quick message to my sister.

I knew you’d get it, E! Congrats!

I smiled and put the phone back in my pocket. My sister was one of a kind, a go-getter who worked harder to get what she wanted than I did, and I worked pretty damn hard. At least compared to my buddies. Yeah, so Elisa and I were from an affluent family, but that didn’t really matter. Except for the fact that we’d had our admittedly stellar education paid for us, our parents had made it clear that we should not expect a free ride in life. To underscore this point, they had decided to give away most of the family’s wealth to charities after their death, providing practically no safety net for me and Elisa. I didn’t mind; I wanted to become a success in my own right anyway and I knew my sister did, too.

I finished my drink and turned toward the entrance, just in time to see Nina walking into the restaurant. Wearing a red tight dress and her dark tresses piled on top of her head, she was looking even more gorgeous than I remembered. My heart thudding, I stood up. The bar had filled up since I got there and I wanted it to be easy for her to spot me. She walked into the bar area and our eyes met. I smiled wide, squaring my shoulders.

“Hello, Nina.”

She gave me a shy smile in return that suggested she was nervous, too. “Hi, Dylan.”

I kissed her on the cheek. “You look beautiful. How about a drink before dinner?”

“That sounds good.”

Nina

I told Dylan I wanted a glass of white wine and he turned toward the bar counter to order it. As he talked to the bartender, I let out the breath I had been holding pretty much since I left my apartment and drove over to this restaurant.
So far I am still feeling like normal.
Well, except for my heart beating faster than normal, but that I attributed to the fact that I was so attracted to Dylan, which made me nervous.

I watched him as he paid for the drinks. He was wearing a dark suit jacket over a white shirt and jeans, and I couldn’t help but think that he really should consider modeling. He was so incredibly handsome! My eyes zeroed in on his beautiful hands and the hair that grew on his wrists, disappearing under his sleeves. To my surprise and delight, I shivered with pleasure.
Oh, those hands knew exactly what to do with me in bed.

A little smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
Thank God he had sought me out, been so intent on seeing me again. This would all end the way Ricki had assured me when she’d called to wish me good luck tonight, better than I could ever imagine.

He gave me my glass of wine, holding another in his other hand.

“Thanks,” I said. We brought our glasses together, looking deep into each other’s eyes. The invisible pull toward him made me step a little closer to him. I inhaled his scent that was clean and unmistakably manly and smiled wider.
Yes, definitely a good idea for me to decide to see him again…

He smiled back, raising an eyebrow slightly. “You look like you’re thinking something.”

“I was.”

“Care to share?”

“Sure. I was just thinking how glad I was that I agreed to go out with you again.”

His gaze lit up. “Well, I’m glad, too. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t contact you sooner. So, how have you been?”

I was about to disappear back into my usual edgy girl-persona, make a joke out of his question, but something about the way he kept looking at me—with such gentleness, such genuine openness—made me change my mind. It made me want to be the same way back. Sweet. Honest. Naked in every sense of that word.

“I’ve been fine. Thinking about you a lot actually…. What about you? Busy at work?”

“Yeah, kind of. It’s always busy.” He smirked. “The life of a corporate lawyer. All work and no play. Well, mostly. And you? Any more open mikes?”

“Only once since Bliss unfortunately. I try to do at least one open mike a week. The more you’re on stage, the better you become. You know, practice makes perfect.”

“Right. I really liked your material the other night, especially the stuff about Russians. I didn’t realize you were Russian. Do you speak Russian?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I did when I was a kid, but as I got older, I wanted to be like all the other kids—all American—so I refused talking any more Russian with my mother.”

“How about to your father?”

I blinked. “My father left us right after we got to America, when I was five. Haven’t seen him since.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.” Dylan cleared his voice. “Well, it would have been cool to be able to talk Russian. Russia is a fascinating country. I’d love to go there sometime.”

“I can’t say I do.” I smiled. “America’s
so
much better.” A moment of silence followed during which we got lost into each other’s eyes. I could hardly believe how comfortable he made me feel, how much I actually
liked
him, the way his voice sounded, gentle yet so manly. Was this the same guy I went out with the last time? It almost didn’t feel like it.

“Are your parents pure Americans?” I said.

He laughed. “You mean are they native Indians? Aren’t those the only pure Americans these days?”

“I guess that’s true.”

“My grandparents on both my mother’s and my father’s side came from England. There might be some Dutch in there as well, but mostly we’re all Brits.”

“Is your father a lawyer like you?”

“Yes. Well, he was.”

“He changed profession? Being a lawyer bored him to death? I can imagine doing that kind of work would be a real killer!” I grinned at him, pleased with my little joke.

Dylan smiled a little. “That might actually have been why. Cancer is often due to stress.”

My mouth flew up to cover my mouth as I realized what I had done. How could I not have at least suspected what he’d meant? In hindsight, it had been pretty obvious. “Oh, my God, I’m
so
sorry. That was really tasteless of me.”

“No worries. He died a long time ago. I’ve dealt with it already. Talking about it or even joking about it doesn’t bother me any longer.”

A hostess came to tell us our table was ready. We followed the black girl to a table in a corner on which a single candle was lit. I was grateful that Dylan was walking behind me and not able to see my face, which flamed with embarrassment.

By the time we were sitting down most of the blood had left my cheeks.

Dylan

I snuck peeks at Nina while we were both studying the menu. The soft candle light made her skin glow and her hazel eyes glitter invitingly. I liked the way she had put her long hair in a loose bundle on her head and imagined the silky tresses tumbling down over her shoulders later, when we were done with dinner. If she was willing to go home with me again, that was. Maybe she wouldn’t feel like it. She seemed a lot softer tonight, not as mischievous. Certainly not as belligerent, which I liked. I was determined to end this date on a whole other note than our first one. So, if she didn’t give me signs that she felt like repeating what we had done that night, I wouldn’t press the issue, just thank her for letting me take her out and then leave. The way my groin currently pulsed with lust, this would not be easy, but I’d find a way to do it.

She suddenly met my gaze. The flash of hunger I spotted in her eyes, the same kind I was experiencing, told me I had nothing to worry about. Not all things had changed between us… I relaxed, allowing the feeling of wanting to have sex—hot, animal-like sex—to spread in my stomach.

I wondered when the best time would be to bring up what had made her dash out of my apartment. Probably not until the end of dinner. Or maybe I should wait until she brought it up herself. Maybe it had to do with something that embarrassed her and she wanted to forget it had ever happened. Yes,
she
needed to bring it up in order for us to talk about it.