Chapter 12: Date with Don

“Was it real?” Laura lay in her bed wondering before her alarm sounded at six a.m. This thought followed her for the entire morning as she showered, ate, and practiced the cello.

At eight a.m. the buzzer rang.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Love Bud Flower Shop. Delivery,” the voice responded.

Odd but okay, she decided and let them in and up to the third floor. She met them at the door mere moments before they rang the doorbell. “Yes?” she asked.

“Are you Laura?”

“I am. Why?”

“We have a delivery for you. Please sign here. Come on up, boys!” The delivery person yelled back toward the open elevator.

A confused Laura stepped aside as not one, not two, but six delivery people came carrying crystal vases containing a dozen long stemmed red roses in each arm.

“Where do you want these, ma’am?”

“Just put them on the dining room table and on the kitchen counter, please.”

“Okay. There’s a card for you with the order.”

He handed her the card. She opened it and read the sweet message from Alex.

“Maybe he is not just a romance writer, but the genuine article,” she said to herself, closing the door behind the last delivery person to leave and indulging herself in the sight and smell of twelve dozen roses in her loft. She texted Alex a heartfelt thank you, “Thank you, Prince Charming,” she sent.

Just as she was getting her bearings after such a magnificent gesture, her phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hello Laura,” a deep male voice answered. It was Don. “Are you free for lunch this afternoon?” he asked.

Laura had a full schedule today, but the only time that she did not have scheduled was lunch time. “I can be,” she said. She always felt like she had to keep her guard up with Don, lest he successfully play her like he might do with a random woman at a club. He was all man and loved all women. But she could tell that he had a good heart and liked to have fun.

“Great. Shall I pick you up?”

“Yes, that would be fine, but I’ll have my cello...,” she said as her voice trailed off, imagining that he would come for her in a convertible sports car or on a motorcycle.

“I’ll send a car for you. And Laura,” he continued, “plan to have fun.”

“Will do, Don. Will do.”

Whatever he had planned for them, he sounded super confident that it could draw her in completely.

She could not go to orchestra rehearsal and meet her music students in a short, sexy, low-cut crimson red dress, so she folded it and put it in her backpack as she chose typical Laura-wear to be seen in, not yet comfortable with her made over image. Proof of its powers was her loft. She could not move about her home without feeling the impact of Alex’s red roses, and that put a permanent smile on her lips, just as his soft, sweet kiss had done the night before.

###

A white stretch limousine rolled up to the Tate Concert Hall at 12 noon on the dot. The musicians were breaking for their hour and a half lunch break before their tough afternoon of more rehearsal. She did not feel comfortable letting her colleagues see her in the red dress and shoes she had planned for lunch with Don. It was bad enough that the limo driver emerged with a sign that had her name on it. She decided that she would hit the bathroom of whatever restaurant they went to and change before sitting down to get to know Don.

But how would she know anything more about him unless she spent more time with him? All she had were assumptions based on one brief experience at a club. He could have a day job. A positive assumption should be just as easy as a negative one. She was willing and trying to accommodate his efforts to woo her. But her imagination kept getting in the way.

She got into the car, praying that no one from the orchestra saw her. The unspoken rule among the musicians was that one’s private life was private. Just show up and play on time.

An entire 15 minutes passed and the limo pulled up at the marina. “Locked.” The chauffeur opened her door and Laura grabbed her backpack, but left her cello, not certain where to go or what she was in for. The chauffeur provided her much needed guidance.

“Mr. Don will meet you for lunch on his yacht. You can leave your instrument with me in the car. I’ll be the one taking you back”. She walked toward the yacht, and saw a dressing room for guests to put on sail and swim attire; she dashed in for a Superman-like transformation.

“Lingerie.” Once she had on her black, lace bra and panty set, she instantly felt sexier and more confident. Before this, she had never seen the purpose behind putting so much effort in wearing something that no one will see or, if seen, would quickly come off. Now she understood better as she completed her lunch hour transformation.

She slipped the slip dress over her head and strapped on her new shoes. She had chosen flat sandals to show off her pedicure. Now she was relieved that she had elected this more practical shoe over a sky high leopard print heel the sales manager had suggested for making her red dress pop. Old habits die hard and too much change at once could be challenging. She tied her silver hair up in a bun and prepared to meet Don for lunch.

Two steps outside of the dressing room and closer to the yacht, she could see that this would not be an intimate lunch for the two of them. She saw hundreds of partiers, handsome men and beautiful women, heard loud party music, and smelled barbecue hamburgers and ribs.

“What the...?” she mumbled under her breath.

She made it onto the yacht and moved towards Don. It was as if he sensed her presence, because when he looked up and saw her, he was unable to take his eyes off of her. They met each other half way.

“Laura, so glad you could make it. You look so sexy.” As he hugged her, he took her hair down from its bun and decided, “Now, that’s better. Let’s get you a drink!”

“No. I can’t. I have to be back by 1:30 to finish rehearsing with the orchestra. I thought we were having lunch, not an orgy.”

“Calm down, calm down. Prepare to have more fun in an hour than you have ever imagined or done in your lifetime. Since I only have you for an hour, you’re not leaving my side. When I’m done with you, you’ll be playing jazz not classical music.”

Don spoke and Don delivered. He was in his milieu and Laura became his real life Sea Queen. They drank and danced and snacked, filling up on hors d’oeuvres. For an hour he forgot about all of the other attractive women partying on deck.

Don checked in with Laura to make sure she was holding up okay, “Let me know if you want me to stop,” he said. “I am so happy you made it.”

“I would like something more than snacks to eat in order to counteract the drinks.”

“Yes, yes, yes. How about a burger to go?”

“That would be great.”

Laura had his undivided attention for an hour. And he had hers.

“You are charismatic and therefore a little dangerous,” Laura said, catching her breath after a half an hour of partying with a playboy.

“They don’t call me Don Juan for nothing,” he smiled.

“Why me? Why today? Why this?” she fired her questions at him.

“Why not you? Why not today? Why not this?” he played with her, enjoying watching her react. “You should let yourself go sometimes. I see this woman...this attractive woman, all tied up, hair, clothes, and I want to set her free, to set her heart on fire. You play music, but without putting your experiences and emotions into it, it could come across as empty, hollow. Right now you are empty and part of you is searching. Searching for a way to fill it up.”

She did not want to talk philosophy anymore. She did not want to dance to safe music. She wanted to be released from all that held her back. If only for her lunch hour, she wanted the freedom that the red dress and Don could help her to have. Why not now?

This was a different world for her. It challenged her. She came thinking she was above it. But at the same time, she was drawn to him and his world. She wanted it all: the life, the pleasure, his love, and their potential passion.

The church bells rang at one. At one ten he quickly stole a kiss, which surprisingly, she thoroughly enjoyed and generously reciprocated. She dashed away from him and back into the dressing room. She changed back to regular Laura, pulling her hair back in a bun, and leaving Don and his yacht party behind, ready to set sail for more adventures but without her onboard, at least for today.

Don had planted the seeds of passion. He had caught and released her. She wanted more of him and she wanted more from him.