Chapter 21: Don’s Day

“Hello?” Laura answered the phone.

“Hi. It’s Don. I wanted to see if you would be available to come out on a date with me sometime this week.”

“Not bored with me yet, huh?”

“Never,” Don promised. “It was fun hanging out with you and the guys this weekend. I just want to have some more fun, but alone with you.”

“Oh. I see. When were you thinking of?”

“Why don’t you check your calendar and tell me what you have available,” Don suggested.

Laura had no social calendar. Her schedule was divided into orchestra rehearsal, music lessons, and quartet rehearsal. She paused all the same so as not to reveal this fact to Don.

“Why don’t you pick the best night for what you have planned and we’ll make it work,” Laura responded.

“Sounds great. How about Tuesday night? Late dinner followed by drinks and dancing?”

“Okay. It’s a date.

“And we don’t need Ricky to cook this time. I’ll pick you up at nine. Wear something sexy.”

# # #

Monday seemed to drag on. When she was done with her final appointment she headed back to the department store. She only had the one sexy dress and he had already seen that one.

Luckily the same store manager who helped her before was there this evening. Tempted to get the same dress she already owned in black or white, the manager matched her with a silver sequined sheath and an ivory wrap.

She wanted more than anything to call Caitlin and tell her she was going out with Don, with whom she had flirted, before she thought better of it. They were long-time friends and a man was not going to drive a wedge between them now.

# # #

Don texted from his limousine that he had arrived.

Once Laura was comfortably seated facing him, he poured her a glass of Merlot. No hello. No compliment of her dress or her hair. No continental kisses of greeting on each cheek. She chose to focus on the positive. This, she realized, was Don being thoughtful.

“You remembered.”

“Honey, it’s what I do.”

She blushed.

“I want to take you to this very exclusive night club. It’s called ‘One’. Lest anyone think that we are not together, I want us to hold hands as much as possible, okay? Then we’ll hit a few after-parties and finish up with steak and eggs at the diner. Does that sound like fun?”

“Okay.” This type of evening for an introvert felt like a nightmare. She had hoped that they would have dinner first to get a better idea of the man she was with. That’s what dating was supposed to be all about—-getting to know another person better. For Don, dating was about seeing and being seen.

The wine was already having its effect and just when she was almost done with the first glass, he poured her another.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“No. You seem a little uptight. Think of it as liquid courage. I’ll be with you all night. Relax.”

The chauffeur drove up and helped them out and onto the red carpet, past the people waiting in line to get in, and past the people on the list to get in.

“Exclusive,” he looked in her eyes and smiled. Then he took her hand in his and they walked in as the paparazzi snapped their photo.

Once inside, Don bought her another glass of Merlot. They made their way through the crowd and to a booth. Once Laura finished her third glass that evening, Don wanted to dance. Laura, whose confidence had been sky high, was now soaring thanks to the wine.

As they danced to the bass heavy techno music, she took a few stolen glances to check out the crowd and her environment. Scantily clad people dancing in cages. People near the bar were inhaling shots of liquor. They moved together on the beat and through the near capacity dance floor. Was this a backdrop for romance and seduction?

The music started getting faster and he twirled her more. However it was too much twirling for Laura with three glasses of wine and nothing of substance yet to cushion it with. She excused herself and ran to the bathroom. She sat down in the ladies’ room trying to compose herself.

She did not remember where their booth was and with a place this crowded it would be almost impossible to find him. Overwhelmed and lightheaded, she left the bathroom and sat on an open bar stool. She wished she had some...

“Coffee? And bottled water?” Don Juan to the rescue. He offered her his arm and they walked out together and waited for the limo to pull up. Once inside the limo he helped her sober up.

“Not your scene, huh?” He held onto her free hand then patted it gently to help her relax as the limo pulled off and sped away from the club. “All of my exes except my first wanted me for my wealth and access to the best parties. You are the first of your kind for me, Laura.”

“Nnnn,” Laura spoke. “Nnnno. I —feel— horrible.”

“But not you. I know you must feel bad. You’re not a drinker. We need to get some food in you that will stick to your bones and offset the liquor. How about a late supper of burgers? Believe me, it’s the perfect medicine for drinking a little too much.”

They hit the burger shack and ordered ten of the little slider-sized burgers, parked and ate. She felt much better after an hour of Don’s post-club coffee, conversation, and food. He talked about himself, not because he was bragging, but because he wanted to give her a chance to heal and not have to work too hard to hold up her end of the conversation.

She knew this since he kept alternating between holding and patting her hand. In his own way, Don cared that his date made her sick. 3 a.m. and they were on the other side of town, closer to Don’s penthouse than to Laura’s loft. She wasn’t sure if he wanted her to come up, or if it would be like the lunch time yacht party and the chauffeur would drive her home.

So, more sober now, she asked, “What do you want from me, Don Juan?”