They turned their attention to the menus and she found a pasta dish that sounded yummy.
“You found something?” he asked.
“The pasta primavera sounds good!” she replied. He took another look and closed his menu.
“It does. Shall we order wine?” he asked.
“What would you recommend?” she asked raising an eyebrow.
“Have you tasted any Italian Soave wines?”
“No, I don’t believe I have,” she replied.
He picked up the wine list and scanned through the white wines until he found one that sounded promising. “Would you care to try one?”
She nodded with a grin and he looked for the waiter.
The man returned and they placed their orders, Frank requesting a bottle of an Italian Soave he spotted on the list.
When they were alone again she looked at Frank and he seemed to be more relaxed now. Something he’d said earlier reminded her of a question she’d had about his age. Maybe there was a way to get an answer. She’d have to be willing to talk about her own life though. Then she realized she could… with him.
“I have a question but I’m not sure if you are comfortable talking about your marriage. You seemed to be earlier.”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
She relaxed a little. “You mentioned you were eighteen when you met Stephanie. How long were you married?”
“Twenty one years,” he said quietly.
She thought about that. That was a significant amount of time to invest in a relationship. She saw the sadness in his eyes. “Are you still in love with her?”
“What? No… no. She was clinically efficient in excising any trace of love for her from my heart,” he said with a frown.
“I’m sorry for mentioning it. You just seemed sad.”
“Well… I’m sad about losing what we had but it seems that died some time ago and I was just too busy working to notice.” Frank sighed.
“So… you’re thirty-nine?” she asked.
He smiled at her and shook his head. “Forty. It took a year of wooing to get her to marry me.”
“Ah,” she said with an embarrassed grin.
“You could have just asked me how old I am,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure if that would offend you,” she said and bit her lip. His eyes locked onto the gesture then he pulled them away. He cleared his throat.
“No, I don’t get offended by such things. I’m forty. A divorcé. I have no kids. I have no family for that matter.”
“Since we are being open and honest, divulging our secret truths, I’m 32 and a double divorcé. I have no kids from either marriage and my family disowned me when I married my first husband who was black much to their horror. My second husband was of Italian descent so they probably would have hated him too.” She held his eyes with hers but all she saw in them was compassion. He wasn’t shocked or disgusted by her past.
“Being disowned must have been rough,” he said.
She nodded. “It was certainly eye opening. I have a little sister I haven’t spoken to since that day. She was always too much under my mother’s influence so it isn’t surprising. But it is sad.”
The waiter returned with the wine and poured for them.
Once he’d left Frank lifted his glass and she did as well. “To new friends?” he asked.
“Definitely, to new good friends!” she grinned and he nodded as his eyes fluttered a little. They took a sip and she caught his eyes once more. “May I ask you another question?”
He hesitated then nodded.
“Why do your eyes do that when I smile at you?” she asked gently.
He looked down at the table and seemed to take a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t press-” she quickly added.
“No, it’s alright.” He lifted his face to look at her with a sad smile. “It’s just a reaction driven by the stuff my ex did to me during each and every meeting we had and there were many.” He took another breath.
“I’ve… gotten used to… some pretty vicious verbal abuse from a pretty blond. So when a beautiful blond treats me to a smile and kind words my brain doesn’t really know how to process that and… it takes a little holiday.”
Elyse lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she looked at him in dismay.
“No, please don’t hide your mouth from me. Those smiles are Heaven on Earth for my soul. My brain can twitch all it likes as long as I can keep seeing them!” he pleaded quietly.
She dropped her hand to the table and was unable to stop her lips from flashing another smile at him.
“Oh my god you’re charming!” she growled playfully at him as her face heated up to keep pace with his.
Dinner arrived and saved them both from further embarrassment. It was a good choice and they both enjoyed their meals very much. Halfway through Elyse looked out the window and realized it was dark.
“Oh no!”
Frank looked up in worry. “What is it?”
She gave him a smirk. “We missed the sunset!”
His head whipped around and he barked out a laugh when he saw how dark it was. He looked back at her and shrugged. “I knew I’d miss it.”
“You knew you’d miss viewing the sunset?” she said raising her eyebrows in surprise.
“There are far more dazzling sights to behold just across the table,” he said as he returned to his salad with a small smile in the corners of his mouth.
Elyse felt her whole body respond to that last compliment. “Did I mention you’re a charmer?”
He nodded without looking up. She could see his cheeks were red. He was still struggling against what his ex had done but he wasn’t giving up. She took another drink of her wine and he topped up her glass. She was really enjoying the wine!
They ate the rest of their meals in companionable silence, each enjoying just being together with the occasional admiring glance.
As they finished Elyse was craving something sweet. She picked up the tiny dessert menu and cast her eyes up and down the short list. The cheesecake immediately jumped out at her.
“Mmmm! Cheesecake. I know what I’m having for dessert!” she purred.
He chuckled and just shook his head to indicate he would pass.
The waiter arrived to collect their plates and Elyse ordered the sweet treat.
A moment later he returned with a generous slice of cheesecake on a plate with two forks.
“If you think I’m sharing this you have another thing coming!” she teased and he just shook his head with a grin.
She managed to get halfway through when she realized there was no way she could finish.
“Ok, maybe you can have one bite,” she said pitifully.
“Sure. Just one,” he agreed as he reached for the fork. She scooped another forkful and lifted it up towards him.
She saw him lock up again, his eyes darting between the fork and her, then he moved towards the fork slowly until his lips closed over it. He pulled back as she remained frozen, eyes locked on his mouth. He sat back, slowly relishing the taste of the dessert in his mouth until it was gone.
“That was good cheesecake,” he said.
“Yes… it was,” she said after she pulled the fork from her mouth. She realized she was feeling very warm all over. She looked over at the bottle and realized it was empty. “How much wine did I drink?”
“I think you may have had three glasses,” he replied.
“And you?”
“Just the one.”
“Hmmm… do you know how to drive a stick home? Ah! I mean a stick shift!” she blurted when her mind immediately flashed to an alternate meaning of her question.
He must have heard it as well as his face was a little red. “Yes, I can drive your car. Not as well as you obviously but tonight it might be a good idea.”
She signaled the waiter and asked for the check. While she waited she drank her glass of water as a preventative measure to head off tomorrow’s dehydration headache.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to pitch in for dinner?” Frank asked.
“No! It’s my treat!” she insisted.
“Thank you for a lovely dinner!” he said and she grinned at him. Woo! She was feeling the wine!
She paid the bill and Frank stood up to pull her chair back. He took her hand and helped her to her feet. She felt the room begin to tilt so she clung to his arm.
“The wine?”
“The wine.”
They headed for the exit but she stopped when they got to the front door. She looked at him a little desperately. “Three glasses of wine and one big glass of water means I won’t make it home. I should use the ladies room before we go.”
“Sure, I’ll wait here,” he said.
Elyse carefully made her way into the bathroom and found an empty stall. She lifted her dress and slipped her silky g string downwards. Why had she chosen her sexy underwear for a dinner with a friend? She struggled to get them off and accidentally dropped them. They landed in a puddle on the bathroom floor near the toilet bowl. It was probably just mop water but she couldn’t put them back on now! She stepped clear and finally sat to do her business. Her relief was enormous.
When she was done she stood and took another look at her panties sitting in the puddle. She pulled her dress back down and used some tissue to grab a dry section of the waistband and carried the underwear to the trash can. She washed her hands and sighed, looking at herself in the mirror. He was being such a gentleman and here she was walking around with no panties. A little tingle went through her and she clamped down on it. Not the time or place.
Elyse walked back out to the front door and Frank held it open for her. When they got outside she wobbled a little on the driveway so he put an arm around her to help steady her walking. God that felt so good!
They got to the car on the passenger side and he looked at her.
“Yes?” she said looking deeply into his eyes.
“Keys?”
She blushed crimson. “Sorry. Keyless entry.” She gripped the door handle and the doors unlocked. He held the door for her and she got in. He closed her door and got in the driver’s side once more plopping down onto the seat. She snorted in amusement.
“Sorry. Not used to how low this car is yet,” he said smiling self-consciously.
Elyse watched him make himself familiar with the layout of the controls then he got them underway. She was impressed with how smoothly he worked the gears. She must have made a sound as he glanced over at her.
“My Jeep’s a standard too.”
“Ah!” she sighed then giggled. She wasn’t feeling drunk so much as just really relaxed. Frank made her feel safe. He was a careful driver too. She leaned back in her seat.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder gently shaking her and heard her name. She opened her eyes and saw they were in her driveway.
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