Chapter 18: Bad Dates

“How did you wind up with Jane?”

“Almost the same way you wound up with Henry, except I grew up with her. So, I’ve had almost a lifetime of her and her attitude even from an early age.”

“How so?”

“Our parents were college friends. They were always pushing us together. I guess they hoped that we would wind up together.”

“Well aren’t you...or why didn’t you?”

“We’re not. She is too...too self-centered for me in the long-term, but as a friend to hang out with, it takes my mind off of my legal studies to see the kind of life I could’ve wound up living. Kind of like a cheat day on a very restricted diet. She indulges in entertaining her fantasy of us becoming a power couple, and I get her off of my back from nagging me to go out together.”

“To quote a friend, ‘You can do better.’ Much better”

Arthur laughed.

“I like small town life and she prefers London; that’s another point of discord. More like a deal-breaker. I love Clovelly.”

“Then why are you preparing for bar exams stateside? New York and California aren’t even in the United Kingdom.”

“Ah, yes. The big question. My grandmother is terrified that I’ll go to the states and practice law there. But that is not the reason. That was never my intent. I have dreams that make the ability to be licensed in the states necessary.”

“Such as...?”

“I’d like to set up a boutique law firm in Clovelly specializing in international trademarks and copyrights. The ability to be able to practice in New York and California is necessary to be competitive and lucrative. So much popular culture is exported from the U.S. and those two places are the loci. Also my grandmother is getting up in age and I’d like to be near the only family I have left.”

“Wow! That’s awesome. My...” Rachel almost shared that her father has huge mansions in New York City and Los Angeles, but caught herself.

“Jane and I both spent two summers clerking in the same multi-national, mega-firm. I learned what I could and determined I could be more professionally and personally rewarded on my own; she stayed with the firm for the security, power, and prestige. That’s Jane. I have more of an entrepreneurial spirit and basic business sense. That’s me. What about you and the lean, green, tie-wearing machine?”

Rachel laughed.

“Like I said before, I felt guilty and backed into a corner by Henry. Plus, he is too quiet and shy. That turns into this very annoying nervous laughter he lets out when he is in a new social situation. Trust me, he has no romance, no seduction skills, and no game to get with a woman like me.”

“And what kind of woman is that?” Arthur asked Rachel flirtatiously.

Rachel smiled coquettishly, then tapped her glass for a refill.

“I like more of a— challenge,” touching him lightly on the nose with her index finger. “See what you miss out on by being rude—all the little details and none of big benefits,” she said in her sexiest voice with a wink, in an attempt to make a joke.

“Okay. Okay. I thought the apology was accepted?”

“It was but the raw memories remain.”

“Touché.”

“Tell me more about the law firm,” she said, sipping on her second drink.

“Well, after I pass both, I’d like to move out of my grandmother’s house, and get a store front with a two floor apartment for me and four other apartments above it that I could rent out.

He elaborated, “I can work from home and remotely with technology being what it is and things happening in the global marketplace.” She leaned in to hear him better at the bar and noticed how close they actually were. She could smell his cologne and, if she wanted to, she could reach out and touch him again lightly on the arm, if she felt like making a bold move.

Arthur continued, “But two bar exams are plenty to keep me busy at the library and at home, burning the midnight oil.”

She caught him focusing his attention on her lips, then looking her up and down and lingering on her legs. She was getting flustered and excited. The electricity between them was undeniable. Instead of connecting with him by gently touching him, she made a safe, comment, supportive but not flirtatious.

“That’s brilliant Arthur!”

“Thanks. What about you?”

She almost gushed that she wanted to be his wife and the mother of his children, but instead said, “I’d just like to find my place in the world. I have a good liberal arts education, but no idea what to do with it next. Thus, the bakery.”

“Right, thus, the bakery.”

“I did get a promotion.”

“Do tell.”

“I’m the Assistant Manager,” she said with pride, “And Faye pseudo-adopted me as her heir to run and own it. Business is booming. We can barely handle all of the demand we have now. Soon we’ll be open extended hours and be fully available to catering. I’ve never had a job...,” almost blowing her cover, “like this. There’s no power and prestige, but I definitely have purpose and place in this community. I like small town life here, too, and despite the occasional ‘Henry’, it suits me fine.”

She could not escape how Arthur was making her feel. It was new, but sensual. Although they were at the bar, they were both focused on each other; the entire world seemed to disappear from view.

Arthur’s glance was locked in at her lips. It was a different way for him to relate to Rachel, but she seemed open to his physical closeness and sexual advances. Was it possible to have intimacy in a bar full of people?

It felt like a magnet was drawing them together, closer and closer, until both found themselves leaning in for a kiss.