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  David wanted to kick himself for how that had come out. He added, “I just mean it figures that this is what your business would be.”

  “What do you mean it figures? You just said you never would have guessed.”

  “All I said was I was surprised. That’s all.”

  Nadine beckoned him to follow her into the living room. When she flopped down on the couch in front of him in a perfectly effortless way, David sat on the ottoman next to the couch. His posture was stiff.

  “Can I be frank?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “You’ve got this energy about you. It’s kind of…well…it’s kind of all-consuming.”

  “Oh, please.” She brushed off his compliment with an elegant flick of the wrist. But as he sat across from her, she enquired further, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that ever since you put that coffee in front of me, I’ve been trying to figure out why.”

  Nadine laughed as she leaned on the back edge of the couch. She relished his attention, craved it like a perfect dessert to end a fine evening.

  “It’s true,” David said. “I can’t pay attention in my classes. I might as well drop out.”

  “And do what?”

  “Worship at your feet.”

  She laughed again. David was mesmerized by Nadine’s incredible laugh—sincere and from the belly. It was nothing like the insecure giggles of girls his age. He saw in her something else entirely. She was a goddess in the real sense of it. She was an untouchable. It was taboo for mere boys to try to seduce real women. Everyone knew that. Sure, now and then you had your Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore scenarios but such couplings invited scorn and criticism or outright mockery and always ended. Either way, it was not understood—not like David understood it—sitting there, across from Nadine, completely transfixed by her.

  “You think I’m joking, don’t you?”

  “Yes, a little,” Nadine said.

  She was being perfectly honest. She really couldn’t imagine how smitten David was with her because she had forgotten what puppy dog love was like. But in this moment, she felt alive again. She felt a flourish in her belly. He moved in closer to her, so close that she felt his knee brush against hers. She felt his desire to kiss her. She could see it in his faraway gaze and she wanted so badly to give in and let her mouth do what it wanted, but she couldn’t let go of that part of her that nagged her with reason. He’s too young. You work together. It could never go anywhere.

  She sat up and her body was firm, maybe even rigid. It clearly jolted David back into alert awareness and immediate awkwardness. He took a step back. I’ve ruined it. She had sabotaged the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.

  “David,” she said, trying to ease the moment. “Sorry,” she whispered.

  He looked down. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I think I jumped to some kind of wrong conclusion.”

  “You didn’t,” she said abruptly. “David, I like you. I’m just aware of some key facts that, uh, well, keep this from being able to be a thing.” She waved her right hand back and forth in the air, gesturing at the two of them. She shook her head.

  “Why did you invite me here tonight?” David said in a tone that was hard to decipher.

  “David,” she began.

  “Stop saying my name,” he interrupted. “I know what it means when women do that.”

  “What?”

  “That you’re going to tear my heart out and eat it.”

  “Um, did you just accuse me of cannibalism?” She gave him a look of sarcastic chagrin.

  He looked mortified as though he had suddenly realized what he’d said. He laughed. “That’s not what I meant,” he explained. He got up and moved to the couch.

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry if I sent mixed messages. I don’t think anything can happen here because… Well, I’m considerably older than you.”

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed.” He said it playfully, teasingly. She couldn’t help but smile too when she saw him beaming at her.

  “And we work together,” she argued.

  “Not really. I’m on contract and, in fact, yesterday was my last shift.”

  “But you’ll be back at the beginning of next semester.”

  “Not if you don’t want me to,” David said.

  “But it’s the best job on campus. You’d be an idiot not to come back. And you got a great performance review, so you know they’ll ask you back.”

  “Maybe so, but if you didn’t want me to come back, I would not come back. That’s what I’m saying.”

  “Really?”

  “Nadine, I’d do pretty much anything for you.”

  “What?” She cocked her head to one side and stared at him. “Nobody’s ever said anything like that to me before.”

  “There is no way that’s true. You are a liar, Nadine Baxter.” His tone was sardonic, his face stern with mockery at her self-deprecation.

  “I’m not. I’m being perfectly serious,” she insisted.

  She giggled in spite of her words. She couldn’t help herself. The moment was suddenly hilarious to her. She felt so young all of a sudden.

  “Well, I would do anything for a chance to get to know you a little better, even if it meant having to work twice as many hours somewhere else.”

  Her heart throbbed inside her chest. The sincerity in his eyes told her everything she needed in that moment. She needed nothing else but that feeling of certainty that this was right. She leaned in and kissed him. The second her lips touched his, he threw his arms around her and pulled her in close.

  They settled into an embrace on the couch in Nadine’s living room, where it was plush and warm, a little nest in the cold of autumn.

  “What movie would you like to watch?”

  “You choose,” David said.

  “I’ve been working my way through Hitchcock lately. I don’t know if that’s something you’re interested in.”

  “I love Hitchcock. When I was in twelfth grade, I spent a whole paycheck on a pass to the Hitchcock film festival.”

  He regretted referencing high school immediately. He did not want to add that that had been just a few years ago.

  “Have you seen Spellbound?”

  “Yes, but I’ll watch it again.”

  “Well, if you’ve seen it we can watch something else.”

  “No, Spellbound is perfect.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. You haven’t seen it?”

  “No.”

  “We have to see that one, then.”

  David was relieved.

  “More wine?” she asked.

  “Please,” he said.

  She went to the kitchen for refills. When she came back, she said, “You look comfortable.” He had both arms spread out, one on the armrest, the other—suggestively—at the top of the couch, beckoning for her to sit down beside him and let him cradle her.

  Nadine could not wait to feel David’s arm around her. Watching the movie was just a formality. She’d have been happy to skip it. She sat down next to him and slowly, without seeming too eager, eased herself into the warm and safe comfort of his embrace. She could barely concentrate on the film but she was in heaven.

  * * * *

  By the time the movie was over, Nadine had fully curled up into David’s embrace. There was no mistaking it. They were cuddling. He had been so hyper aware of her beside him all throughout the movie. He was glad that he’d already seen the movie before because otherwise he would have had no idea what it was about. The smell of her hair was intoxicating and when he looked down, he could see her cleavage. He wondered if she was aware of how she’d positioned herself. Did she want him to see it? Did she want to torture him?

  Nadine turned off the television and sat up, leaning against the other armrest, though their bodies were still touching.

  “I’m so glad I asked you to come over tonight,” she said.

  “Me too,” he said.

  “Maybe we can do it
again sometime.”

  Sometime. It was the kiss of death, David thought. It really meant never. He didn’t want to settle for that. He needed something more.

  “How about tomorrow?” His eagerness betrayed him. He knew it wasn’t good to play with open cards when dealing with a woman like Nadine. He pictured Nick giving him hell for it.

  “I wish I could. I have a deadline, actually,” Nadine said.

  “What kind of deadline?”

  “A client brought a dresser and wardrobe to me and I told her I’d have them back to her by Tuesday, and they still need another coat of varnish then a beeswax treatment, so I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow and Sunday.”

  “Can I help?”

  “No, no.” She seemed utterly shocked at his offer, and he wondered if that was because she wasn’t nearly as used to receiving help as he had assumed. Her oblique references to her ex had him curious as to whether he was the kind of guy who’d given her a hand when she needed it or if he was more self-centered. He couldn’t imagine taking someone like Nadine for granted, but he had noticed that often the best kinds of girl were treated the most poorly.

  “Well, can I come watch?”

  She looked at him quizzically.

  “I’ll be good. I promise. I can bring my guitar and entertain you,” he said, because if playing the hippie philosopher was a way to insinuate himself into her presence, he was happy to do it.

  “Serenade me while I varnish in my coveralls? Hmmm. Well, that would be a first.”

  David could tell that Nadine didn’t know how to answer. She pulled away and sat up in a stiff manner.

  “Look, I’m on a mission, kick-starting a new life for myself, and if I’m going to turn my dream into reality, I can’t afford to get distracted.”

  David understood her intention completely. He’d also had similar spurts of ambition and he knew that it took total concentration to achieve the stuff worth striving for.

  “I respect that,” he said. “I wouldn’t get in your way. I’d just hang out and play music for you.”

  “David, I’m flattered by all this…attention, but I…”

  “Okay,” he interrupted. He didn’t want to let her finish the sentence that could very well exclude him forever. “Well, what about next Friday? I have a Criterion collection edition of Vertigo. I could bring it over—or you could come to my place.”

  David pictured himself bribing his roommates. They’d clear out if he let them take his car and if he gave them twenty bucks each to go to the all you can eat Japanese buffet downtown. Then all he’d have to do was clean the place from top to bottom. No sweat.

  “Yeah, why don’t you bring it over next weekend?” she said. He breathed a sigh of relief. The longer he could delay her seeing his place, the better for him.

  He took this conversation as his cue to leave. It would serve him best in the long run to be gentlemanly and considerate. She’d just agreed to see him again. This was it. They were dating.

  “Nadine,” he said, taking her hand in his. “Thanks for having me over.” He got up. She followed him as he went to the door. He started to put on his shoes and jacket. He was thinking about how he might be able to steal a kiss.

  Nadine opened the door for him. He was about to go without a kiss when all of a sudden, he knew he’d kick himself if he didn’t make it happen.

  “Nadine?” he asked.

  “Yes?”

  “I had a really nice time tonight.”

  “I’m glad,” she said. “Me too.”

  She motioned to hug him, and he opened his arms to her and without any hesitation, he kissed her. As soon as their lips touched, he closed his arms around her and held her tightly, his lips firm against hers. Kissing her felt so right. Nadine felt almost limp in his arms, as though she wanted him to hold her, take her, keep kissing her. Her eyes were closed and her arms were around him.

  After a couple of minutes of unbridled passion had elapsed, they both simultaneously pulled back. David noticed that Nadine looked dizzy.

  “Wow,” she said. “I was not expecting that.”

  He took her hand again and this time he pulled it to his lips and kissed the back of it. He hadn’t felt that kind of uncomplicated connection in ages.

  “See you next Friday,” she said.

  “Yes, Friday.” He took a step into the cold. “Goodnight, Nadine.”

  “Goodnight, David.”

  Chapter Ten

  Nadine went back to her living room and flopped down on the loveseat. She hadn’t experienced anything like that kiss in years, especially the way he’d taken her hand and kissed the back of it. She could still detect David’s scent, a combination of detergent and a manly hint of musk. She was smitten. There was no denying it. Against her own rationale, she was deeply attracted to this young guy who gave her the delicious attention she’d been craving for so long. He didn’t ask her about the future, about kids and weddings. He didn’t seem to evaluate her against the rubric she’d grown accustomed to. That in itself was intoxicating. There was more to it, though. She got the sense that he had a pure heart, that he had a positive outlook on the world and that, too, was something she hadn’t come across during the past decade. Perhaps the reason the corporate world was so exhausting and draining was that it required a certain cynicism and selfishness. She was so glad to be free of that and grateful for this evening of bliss.

  Marnie called.

  “How was your date with the boy toy?” she wanted to know.

  “Um…well,” Nadine didn’t know how to put her feelings into words that her friend would understand.

  “Oh no,” Marnie said. “Don’t fall for him, okay? He’s just a baby. There’s no way you two are actually compatible.”

  “You’re the one who encouraged me!”

  “Yeah. That should be your first clue. I don’t know shit about men.”

  “He’s not a baby, by the way. He knows himself better than a lot of people I know.”

  “Oh, please. He thinks with his penis, like every other guy.”

  Nadine changed the subject. She didn’t want to spoil her precious evening by trying to convince her best friend of anything. She realized in that moment that it really didn’t matter to her what anyone else thought. They discussed Marnie’s co-workers instead.

  * * * *

  Nadine’s brow was sweaty. The doors were wide open and the cool October wind permeated her workspace. The scent of varnish was strangely appealing, a reminder of her grandfather. How she missed him. It didn’t take a degree in psychology to guess that Nadine’s love of furniture restoration connected her to her childhood, which she had spent helping her granddad at Winston’s Fine Furniture. She’d been so sad to see the business sell after his death but her parents didn’t want it and she had been too busy with her supposed career. Selling the shop had been easy. Grandpa Winston had an excellent reputation and the turnkey operation was off the market two days after it was listed.

  Her phone rang.

  “It’s David. Just wondering if you’d like some takeout. I know you’re busy. I won’t distract you. I just happened to be in your area and thought maybe it’d be hard to do everything you need to do and make food too.”

  “You’re too sweet,” she said. “I do have to eat.”

  “Great. I’ll swing by with some Thai food in about half an hour.”

  How did he know that Thai food was her absolute favorite? She was almost finished with the final coat of varnish on the dresser but wouldn’t have time to clean up and look presentable. She considered stopping but decided it was best if David saw the real her. Maybe it would change his puppy-dog infatuation and solve the problem of their relationship before it even began, she rationalized.

  As she hurried through the last strokes, she couldn’t help but wonder whether any of the guys she’d ever gone out with, especially Allan, would have come by with food for her, if she’d asked. Certainly none had ever called and offered.

  * * * *

  Da
vid, dressed in his best work clothes, pulled into Nadine’s driveway at quarter to three in the afternoon. He had felt on top of the world driving home the night before and he knew that he had no reason to play it cool with Nadine. He had no interest in playing games with her and he figured she would either appreciate that about him or not, and it didn’t much matter. He had to do what was right in his heart and that meant seeing as much of Nadine as possible.

  He saw Nadine put down her brush and walk toward him, smiling in spite of the chilly gray afternoon. She threw her arms around him.

  “Thanks for bringing lunch,” she said.

  “My pleasure.”

  “You really didn’t have to.”

  “That’s what makes it pleasurable.” He gave her a telling smile.

  He grabbed the bag of coconut curry and spring rolls and closed the door to his car. They walked up to her open garage.

  “So let’s see what you’ve got going on,” he said. “Wow. Nice pieces.” He examined the wardrobe and the dresser carefully.

  “I’ll show you the ‘before’ photo inside.”

  “Impressive finishing.”

  “Thanks. I’m not finished yet, though.”

  “Should we eat out here?”

  “No, no,” Nadine said. “Let’s go upstairs and get out of the fumes.”

  He followed her up the stairs, through the living room they’d cuddled in mere hours earlier, into the kitchen where she gestured for him to put the bag of takeout on the table in the dining nook. He could imagine belonging here, being a regular part of her life. He felt comfortable in her surroundings and though he tried not to appear too comfortable too soon, he also wanted her to see him there.

  “Where do you keep the plates?” he asked. “I’ll get us set up while you go wash up from your work.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure.”

  Nadine gave a brief overview of her kitchen then went to the bathroom to wash up. At the sink, as she exfoliated her hands, she recognized that something she’d only ever fantasized about was actually happening. A man had showed up to be supportive of her. This was highly unusual. He was making himself useful in the kitchen, and he was genuinely interested in her work. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. There wasn’t a trace of makeup or pretense about her in this moment, yet here he was.