"SO THAT guy is your ex-boyfriend, right? You don't seem to like him much," again, the whole conversation was about me. It was quite refreshing, but I wanted to know more about her.
"Ricky?" She nodded, "he must have thrown a fit when you outbidded him. He doesn't like to lose."
"I bet. He approached me when I was leaving. But Maxwell scared him away, before he could've said anything."
"Really?" I giggled, "don't know why he even bidded on me. He knows that I despise his guts."
"And he came over to talk to you."
"Yeah. He probably forgot about me throwing a blowdryer aiming for his big head."
Maxwell wasn't anywhere in sight. So when she placed her hand over mine on the table, I didn't mind, "what did he do?" She brushed her index finger over my knuckles.
"You know, the typical cheating. And he blamed me for it, said I was gaining a lot of weight," I chewed on the inside of my cheek nervously.
"Wow, that's fucked up," she intertwined her fingers with mine. Fuck, I felt as though I was in middle school all over againâsuch little things making me feel so flustered, "you're perfect just the way you are. He just wanted an excuse."
"Yeah?" I sighed. He was the one person who drained my self confidence when he left, "I know I'm not ugly. But it's nice to hear a compliment every now and then. Helps me feel better."
"You don't need anyone to tell you what you already are. Once you believe it, fuck anyone who says otherwise. They're just jealous, or blind. Because you're gorgeous, okay?"
My entire chest felt as though it melted into a puddle. Okay, you're too much of a sweet talker.
"Okay," she tightened our intertwined fingers, "let's talk about something else?" I suggested.
"Yeah. Are you attracted to me?" My face immediately flushed. Wow, way to catch a woman off guard.
"I'm not," I said.
She tilted her head to the side, "I don't believe you," I bit down on my bottom lip nervously, "why are you so afraid to admit it?" I looked down at the last roll of sushi on my place. Maybe if I focused long enough on it, she'd forget that she asked me a question, "Alyssa?" She placed her index finger below my chin, and pushed upwards, making me look at her.
"It's complicated. This isn't something I'm used to."
"You've never been with a woman?" I tilted my head side to side.
"Kinda? Does drunk kissing count?" I doubted that it did. I mean, the few times that I did kiss a girl, it was either out of a dare, or a friendly peck on the lipsânothing intimate or meaningful.
"Depends. You've never thought about what it would be like to be with a woman?" I'd thought about a lot of things. On occasion, I'd even thought about adopting a baby from China. But just like everything else, thinking about being with a woman was just a thought, and nothing else.
"Not in a serious manner. I've never focused my thoughts on it."
"Are you saying that I'm converting you?"
My eyes widened, "you're so full of yourself."
"But I'm right," she grinned. I retracted my hand, and placed it on my thigh, causing her to frown.
"I don't know, Delia. I like you, I really do. I'm just not sure if I'm capable of being with you."
"That's intense," she took a deep breath, and looked away from me, "I'm not asking you to marry me, Alyssa. And I'm not asking you to come out to the world. I just know that you like me, and I like you too. So we can take it from there, okay?"
That sounded a lot less complicated than I initially thought, "okay."
"Now, tell me about law school," Maxwell cleared the table, and poured us more champagne. He then left us to ourselves, which I truly appreciated. We were about five miles out from the dock, and I wanted to go outside, and enjoy the moonlit night when we were finished with dinner.
"No, no. It's your turn to do the talking."
"Really?" She leaned back, "what do you want to know?"
I picked up my wine glass, and leaned forward, "are you single?"
"Well, that's quite obvious, since I'm planning to kiss you at the end of the night."
I would have blushed, but my cheeks were already as red as they could have gotten, "it doesn't hurt to make sure. You wouldn't be the first person to be in a relationship, and try to get into my pants," I tell her.
She gasped, "how dare you! I'm not trying, I'm succeeding," she winked and bit down on her bottom lip.
I had to force myself to not roll my eyes, "okay, let's move on from that particular subject."
"If you insist," she said. This woman better not think that I'm going to have sex with her on only the second date. Yes, I considered those meetups as dates. Who was I fooling? Only myself maybe.
"What do you do for a living?"Â I asked.
"I'm an entrepreneur," she fluttered her eyelashes, can you be more specific? As though she read my thoughts, she continued, "have you ever heard of Wilks Cosmetics?"
Wilks Cosmetics? "It does sound familiar," I racked my brain for answers, "wait," my eyes widened, "doesn't my firm represent your business?"
She awkwardly nodded. I knew that her name sounded familiar, "I'm surprised that you don't remember me from before," she said.
"We've met before?" I couldn't find a memory of her anywhere, except from when we met at the auction to that very moment.
"It was brief. But I could never forget a beautiful face like yours."
"Brief, yet you're surprised that I don't remember you? I meet hundreds of people a week sometimes. Faces gets blurry after a while," I explain.
"I hoped that I enticed you as much as you enticed me. But you were only into men back then I assume," that's not how it works, right? Could you be straight for the most part of your life, then realize that you're also attracted to women?
I'd heard about women who didn't realize that they were gay until they were in their forties, fifties and even older. Is so much denial involved when it comes to sexuality? That we refuse to even think about the same-sex in any sort of way that isn't socially accepted?
"I think I need some air," I said. She got up, and stretched her hand out for me to take. As she helped me up, I focused my attention on the necklace around her neck. It accentuated her collarbones. And the pendant rested perfectly on the jugular notch of her neck, "so you knew me all this time?"
"When I saw you walk onto the stage, looking all gorgeous and petrified, I knew that I had to win that date with you. I've always wanted a chance to take you out, so I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by."
I suddenly felt very odd, "you were around me often then, if you always wanted a chance toâ"
"I've seen you around the office here and there when I'm there to talk with my lawyer."
"Wong?"
"No, Brenda Steeles."
"Right," Brenda. I knew her. She'd wave at me everytime we passed each other in the hallway. But she was only an associate at the firm. Though, I knew that she was a great lawyer. As we stepped onto the deck, the wind swept my hair into the air, "so you own a cosmetic company, I don't think I've ever tried anything from it."
"That hurts my feelings a little," she placed her palm against her chest, "we're vegan and cruelty free. And our products are packaged in reusable and biodegradable containers."
"That's eco friendly. Saving the world one lipstick at a time?"
She reached for my hand, and placed her other hand on my waist, "exactly," her eyes fluttered over my facial features, before she looked carefully into my eyes, "I'll let you test out some of our best products. I think you might like them."
"That sounds nice," she carefully leaned in, her body heat radiating onto mine. I felt all of my thoughts disappear. as her lips neared, and I almost allowed her to kiss me.
"I'm turning back now, Miss Wilks," Maxwell yelled, as he walked towards us. I felt my heart almost jump out of my chest, as I pushed her back. Why did I react so badly to his presence? I wasn't sure.
He looked at me skeptically, before heading to the cockpit, "he's not going to tell on us, darling," Delia placed her hands on my shoulders, and pulled me into her.
"I know," I leaned my head back, "I don't feel comfortable when he's around. I'm sorry."
She sighed and moved her hands down the length of my shoulder. Placing her hands in mine, she smiled softly, "I understand. Next time I'll leave him behind, okay? He won't be in a ten mile radius."
"I don't want to make things difficult for youâ"
"It's okay. I feel safe with you. So I don't need him with me," she really is a sweet talker.
"I had a great time."
"Sure, you did," she led me back inside, "we'll have an even better date next time."