Are you my Adonis?

First Date

My phone rang in the middle of lunch. I looked down and smiled when I saw Devin’s name pop up. He’s probably the only one I can speak with without feeling irritated right now.

“Hello,” I sighed into the phone.

“Tough day?” his deep voice asked. It was a comment, not a probing question.

“Yeah, more like a tough weekend, but it’ll get better,” I said lazily before I bit a fry. “So why the phone call?”

“I wanted to hear your voice and ask you out. Tomorrow night?” he replied simply. How can a simple sentence warm my heart instantly? I was glad he didn’t ask about my weekend further.

“Bold move. Hmmm… I guess I’m free then,” I teased. “Where are you taking me?”

“That’s a surprise,” he teased back. “But wear flat shoes.”

“Intriguing,“ I commented. “Well then, I’m looking forward to being thoroughly surprised.”

“Then I’ll pick you up at eight?” he asked. I could hear the joy in his voice.

“Okay, I’ll text you my address,“ I replied. There was a pause on the other end of the line. It was as if he wanted to say more or prolong the conversation. I waited to hear what he’d say next.

“Um, I’ll see you then,” he chickened out. I almost laughed but swallowed it down. He seriously reminded me of a teen asking out a girl for the first time.

“See you,” I hung up the phone, and I felt much better than I had this whole weekend. Maybe Devin was what I just needed. As I thought this, I panicked. I don’t know what to wear. I sighed deeply, knowing I couldn’t go to Sally right now, so I had to depend on Jacob. I really miss my best friend at times like this.

The next night, I nervously stepped out of the car and looked around in confusion. We were standing in front of the Science Museum. I felt very overdressed in my burgundy off-shoulder bodycon dress.

“Interesting,” I murmured. “Is the museum even open?”

“I rented it out this evening. One of the perks of being the main donor,” he replied with no arrogance. He opened his palm and offered me his hand. I took it and felt the warmth of his calloused hand. I remember how his hand caressed every bit of me that night.

A security guard met us at the door and led us to the aquarium. We walked into the clear tunnel that went through the giant aquarium. Fish and coral surrounded us. I took a deep breath as a shark swam by. I had been to this museum many times, but it was so different this time. No screaming kids running about of loud tourists commenting incorrect information, just being able to take it all in.

We eventually made it through the tunnel and into the viewing space before the coral reef. A candle-lit table with a seat for two sat right in front of the glass. Devin pulled out a chair for me, and I sat in it even though the feminist part of me was cringing.

The aqua-green glow of the aquarium added a mysterious ambiance. It was far from what I expected from a first date. I smiled watching a school of colorful fish swim by. I looked at Devin as he sat across from me.

“This is amazing,” I almost whispered.

“I wanted to share one of my favorite places with you,“ Devin said. He reached over the table and took my hand again. He laced his fingers with mine, his thumb tracing patterns on my palm. “As a kid, my parents used to take me here on free admission days. This place used to make me imagine what the future could be.”

“Fish used to make you think about tech?” I teased.

He laughed genuinely; his laughter sounded rich and beautiful. “Well, to tell you the truth, I tried to get them to let me have dinner inside the space shuttle, but they absolutely said no. But they did okay us to sit in the cockpit of it with supervision. “

“I’m sure I agree with them. It would be hard to explain wine stains on the bulkhead if the server trips on a wire,” I said coyly.

“Good point,” he replied as the server came with our dishes. I recognized them as dishes from the Falcone, one of the top restaurants in the city.

The meal was scrumptious, with savory appetizers, fresh salads, and a perfectly medium-rare prime rib. We laughed when a curious octopus came up to the glass and interacted with us. The conversation was stimulating in a way that seemed natural. We talked about our backgrounds, childhood antics, and tech trends.

After dinner, I walked to my favorite jellyfish tank. I stood there, mesmerized by the soft blue-glowing jellyfish undulating under the circular current of the tank. Their calming presence released the last bit of tension from the weekend.

I felt Devin’s hand softly touch the small of my back. I turned my head and smiled at him. He smiled back at me, and I melted. How is someone so blessed with such a gorgeous face?

“You like jellyfish?” he asked awkwardly.

“Yeah, something is calming about letting yourself get lost as they float by. I thought about getting a jellyfish tank in my office, but I think they’d be too distracting,” I said softly. “Jacob would kill me if he caught me staring at them instead of working on every present the pile of documents on my desk.”

“Thomas is the same way,” he said with a chuckle. “He was getting frustrated because I would zone out thinking about you.”

I gasped and didn’t know what to say to that. He leaned over and softly kissed my bare shoulder. I couldn’t help but shiver at the contact. I was transported again to that hotel suite in front of that mirror. I felt my lower half clench as the familiar ache pulsed between my legs.

He locked eyes with me, and for a second I wanted him to take me there. He slowly leaned over and brushed his lips on mine. I closed my eyes, and he planted a gentle kiss on my lips. It was so different from the kisses we had shared before. It was sweet and held more meaning than the passion-driven ones from before. My heart quivered a bit, and warmth bloomed in my heart. He pulled away and looked at my face as if he was searching for an answer I wasn’t ready to give.

He cleared his throat and said, “The museum gave us two hours to explore it. Do you want to look around? There is the traveling Cleopatra exhibit and the space shuttle.”

“I would love to,” I answered with a smile. He led me by the hand through the museum. I barely noticed the security guard following us around as we looked at all the exhibits. We talked about how technology of Cleopatra’s time looked amazingly like what is used today as I looked at the aqueduct valves. I was astounded by the level of craftsmanship on the fine jewelry on display. I commented on how the tiny uniform links looked machine-made.

We then went to the space shuttle display. They had an elevating scaffolding lift that took us to the cockpit of the shuttle. I pushed down the temptation to push the buttons on the console and play with the joystick. It brought back childhood memories of wanting to be an astronaut. Devin laughed and said he once had that dream too as a child. I almost started telling Devin about how Bill, Sally, and I would occasionally play astronauts, but I pursed my lips, remembering this weekend.

Sensing my sadness, Devin took me to play on the interactive displays. I soon was giggling as we competed against each other on who could grab the most rocks with the robotic arm. I won, of course. I watched the incubator as the chicks inside were tapping their beaks to get out. I felt like a kid again, and Devin was as exuberant as I was. For some reason, I could see him with a bunch of kids, exploring this museum with them.

At the end of the date, I was laughing and giggling more than I had in years. Maybe I was missing out on this whole dating thing. Maybe Jacob and Sally were right; I needed to live a little and explore what is out there. Maybe they were right, and Devin is good for me. I at least had more fun than I’ve had since college.

Devin dropped me off in front of my building. We shared a small kiss goodbye. I actually felt a little shy giving it to him. I was sure I was blushing. I felt him smile against my lips. I was tempted to invite him upstairs, but I wanted to explore this outside of the s****l feelings. Could I feel for someone else other than Bill?

After we separated, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and produced a velvet pouch. He gently put it in my hand. Curiously, I opened the pouch and laughed hard.

“I can’t believe you were serious!” I shouted through my giggles. In my hand was a single earring from the sapphire parure. I wiped the tears from my eyes and hugged him.

“I keep my promises, and I didn’t want your necklace to be lonely,” he quipped back my joke from the gala.

“Thank you, Devin. I really had a great time, even if you didn’t give me the earring,” I said sincerely. “I’m really looking forward to our next date.”

Devin beamed at me, and I swore I was going to go blind from the sparkle of his teeth. We said our reluctant goodbyes and I walked into the lobby. As I got into the elevator, I waved at Devin through the glass doors. He waved back and got into his car to drive off.

In the elevator, I looked at the glittering earring. The weight of it was proof of the platinum used to encircle the deep blue sapphires and clear diamonds. As much as I wanted to be happy, Bill’s voice rang in my head. I sighed and placed the earring in the pouch. I knew it would be a while before I could look at it again.