French Twist (3 page)

Chapter Five

I parked my car outside the restaurant and took a deep breath.  One foot in front of the other, Sydney.  You can do this.  As I walked towards the restaurant, I started to panic.  Shocker!  But seriously, I couldn’t remember if I was supposed to meet him inside or outside the restaurant.  I decided to wait outside as I was fifteen minutes early (thank you, Kate.)  The fresh air would help with my butterflies.

As I stood there, trying to pass the time, my mind started to wander.  What if he doesn’t show up?  In my concern of what to wear, do and say, this thought had not crossed my mind.  No.  Don’t go there.  Come on, Sydney.  He’s given you no reason to think he would be a jerk.  Give him a chance.

Five minutes had passed and my panic had escalated.  I decided to go inside to use the ladies room.  (I always had to pee when I got nervous.  It was rather inconvenient!)  On my way, I could casually peruse the guests inside to see if Louis were waiting for me there.

Ten minutes later, I was standing outside the restaurant again.  Louis was nowhere to be found inside and I had done whatever primping I could.  Or “wishful makeupping” as Iona said in
Pretty in Pink. 
John Hughes was a wise man.  Clearly I required a sanity check.  I pulled out my cell phone and called Maya.  She picked up on the first ring.

“Why are you calling me?  Aren’t you on your date?  Did something happen?” Her words rushed out at top speed.

“He hasn’t shown up yet.  I’m nervous.  I need you to talk me down.  I feel like bolting.”  I took a shaky breath.

“Syd.  You got there early, right? Kate is a
bad
influence on you.  You need to make men wait, you know; really make an entrance!  Now, keep in mind Louis is European.  I don’t think they have the reputation for having the firmest sense of time.  Do you have his cell phone number?”

Rats.  “No, I don’t.  Come to think of it, he doesn’t have mine either.  I gave him our landline.”  Maya scoffed.  “Hey!  I have trouble remembering my cell phone number after a few drinks!”  I started to laugh.

“Will you
relax
?  Everything is going to be fine.  Stop assuming the worst.” 

I nodded my head for a few seconds before I remembered she couldn’t see me. I cleared my throat, “Yes, you’re totally right.  It’s going to be great.”  Before I knew what I was doing, I had run my hand through my expertly gelled locks.  Shoot!  It had taken Kate an hour to get my hair to look perfect.

Just as I was falling into a fit of despair, I glanced up to find Louis rushing down the street carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  “He’s here!  And he brought the most gorgeous flowers!”

Maya sighed.  “I knew you were overreacting.  Later, crazy girl.”  She hung up before I had the chance to say anything.

Louis stopped in his tracks when he saw me.  Oh no.  Did I smudge my makeup?  Is my skirt tucked into my underwear?  That happened to Maya once in a bar and it was hideously embarrassing.  I was certainly nervous enough to have missed something along those lines following my trip to the bathroom.  What was going on?  As I quickly checked my appearance, he came up to me and exclaimed, “You are stunning, Sydney. I did not think it was possible for you to look even better than you did last night, but you have proved me wrong.”

I blushed a far deeper red than the shade of my dress.  I was terrible at taking compliments.  “Thank you, Louis.  You look...handsome.”  Lamely put, but true.

Louis was wearing a black short-sleeved collared shirt, black pants and black leather shoes.  He seemed to go for the whole monochromatic thing.  He was wearing his signature blue sunglasses though.  In a word - he was
gorgeous
.

“This is a high compliment, coming from such a beautiful lady.”  There was his sexy smile again.  I felt a twinge of desire.  Wow.  It had been a long time since I had felt that.  I think Kate and Maya were right.  Louis was going to be good for me, even if it was only for two weeks.

We were standing in front of the restaurant staring at each other when a car alarm went off.  Louis snapped to attention first and handed me the bouquet of flowers he was holding.  I took them and beamed.  This man didn’t miss a thing.  They were blue irises, one of my favorite flowers.

“Nice touch, Louis. Thank you.”  I reached over and hugged him.  He smelled unbelievably good, I didn’t want to let go.  As this was definitely not the time or the place for such activities, I reluctantly pulled back.

He contemplated me with his beautiful blue eyes.  “Are you not used to a man who listens to what you say?  You told me last night how much you love irises.”

I laughed.  “Yes, I did.  The men I’ve been out with either wouldn’t remember I had said that or wouldn’t take the time to figure out what an iris was.”

Louis regarded me with raised eyebrows.  “What kind of men have you been dating?”

I couldn’t help but smile at him again.  “I don’t know, Louis, but l have no desire to think of them anymore.  I want to hear more about you.  Shall we go inside?”

At this Louis offered me his arm, walked me to the entrance of the restaurant and opened the door for me.  He held my chair out for me once we got to the table and even asked the waiter to bring a vase for my flowers.  He was a perfect gentleman.  While Louis ordered a bottle of wine, I glanced at my watch.  I nearly gasped in surprise as I noticed it was six o’clock - exactly the time we agreed to meet.  It was then I recognized that Louis was rushing even though he was early.  I had panicked for no reason.  I truly was a freak!  I thanked my lucky stars I had been able to hide this from him thus far.

I quickly turned my focus back to Louis.  I couldn’t believe my good fortune.  I had never laughed so much on a date before.  Louis told me the most amazing stories about his childhood.  Growing up on a small farm in France may seem tame to the average person, but Louis managed to find whatever trouble there was to find.  He said since he was an only child, he felt it was up to him to keep his parents, Simone and Michel, on their toes.  He jumped from rooftops, swung from ropes at great heights and raced motorcycles.  He was even a national martial arts champion.

Louis was also valedictorian of his high school class, in the top of his graduating class in engineering college and regularly built computers for himself and his family.  He was like a French MacGyver.  I was sure he could have built some kind of communication device with the items left on the dinner table.  It was mind blowing.  I had never felt more ordinary.

I stared at him incredulously.  “Is there
anything
you can’t do?”

Without so much as flinching, he said, “No.”  Then his whole face lit up and he started to chuckle.  “There are many things I cannot do, Sydney. For one thing, I cannot understand how it is possible that a woman like you is single.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

He laughed.  “I saw that!  You are quite....what is the word...sassy?  Are you not?”

I broke into a grin.  For the umpteenth time since I had met Louis (a whole twenty hours ago), I thought, “Is he for real?”  He seemed too good to be true.  This man
had
to have flaws.

“Enough hiding, Sydney.  I want to hear more about you.”

I sighed.  “Well, after all the tales you’ve told me, my life is going to seem pretty boring.  Besides, I gave you quite a bit of information last night.”

“Not possible and we barely scratched the surface last night. Please start from the beginning.”  He waited patiently.

I took a deep breath.  Here’s the basic rundown I gave Louis:  I grew up in New York as the youngest of three children.  My parents got divorced when I was six and my mom, Lyn, remarried two years later.  I  consider my stepfather, Ted, to be my real father as he loved and raised my siblings and me as his own after my biological father left us for his secretary. (Is it any wonder I have issues with trusting men?)  He even went so far as to adopt us, which was a huge deal considering he had already raised three daughters of his own.  We, in turn, adopted his last name, Bennett.  My brother, Charlie, and sister, Kate, were my favorite people in the world other than my parents.  I was the salutatorian of my high school class, graduated
Magna Cum Laude
from Northwestern University and loved my job in Human Resources at a small biotech firm in Mountain View.

After we finished our desserts, Louis took my hand.  “Sydney.”

A shiver ran down my spine.  “Louis?”

“Where shall we go next?”

I felt butterflies in the pit of my stomach.  I was having a great time, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go without making a complete ass of myself.

“What about a walk down University Avenue?  It’s rather lovely at night.”  Was it possible for me NOT to sound like a dork?

His face lit up.  “Wonderful.  Let us go. I do not want to say goodnight to you yet.”

As we walked out of the restaurant, he took my hand.  I had to suppress a gasp because I was easily startled.  I turned to him and smiled.  He smiled back at me and suddenly stopped.

“Is something wrong?”  I peeked over at him, puzzled.

“No, not at all.  I wondered...if it would be OK to kiss you?”  He eyed me uncertainly.

My stomach turned to jelly.  “Um, that would be...nice.”  Way to be definitive, Syd.  You seem thrilled.

He took a step closer to me and caressed the side of my face.  Then he gazed deeply into my eyes and I felt I might expire on the spot.  His face was mere inches from mine, his beautiful blue eyes searching mine.  He was so intense, so sexy, so close to me and he smelled
so
good.  Just when I thought I was going to hyperventilate from anticipation, he closed his eyes and pulled my face gently towards him.  His lips brushed mine and it was absolute heaven.  He kissed me softly a few more times and then gently released my face from his hands.  He gazed down at me and took my hand.

“You are extraordinary, Sydney.  And you don’t even know it.”

I stared up at him in a daze and nodded.  I knew he had said something, but I couldn’t process it.  I was having trouble remembering how to walk.

After a few moments of strolling down the beautiful tree-lit street, I regained my composure and was able to engage in somewhat intelligent conversation.  Before long, we walked into a bookstore and started browsing the latest titles.  Somehow we ended up in the star sign section and I asked Louis when his birthday was so I could read about his personality quirks.

He scoffed.  “I do not have any personality quirks, but my birthday is July 22nd.”

I gasped.  “That’s a week from today!”

He seemed confused.  “Yes, I know. Is something wrong?”

I touched his arm and smiled. “No, it’s just, you’ll be here instead of in France, right?” 

“Yes, I will be here. Is that a bad thing?” He took a step closer to me.

I shook my head. “It’s a shame; you won’t be with your family.”

He pulled me close to him and whispered in my ear, “Well, I guess it will be up to you to help me celebrate.”

I giggled nervously.  “How old are you going to be?”

He seemed puzzled for a minute.  “I never remember how old I am.  I know you will think me ridiculous.  I will be...twenty-four years old.”

The smile froze on my face.  I was nearly
four
years older than Louis.  Holy crap!  Wait a minute...why did this matter to me?  I had been totally fine…OK, sort of fine…before I knew his age.  This is
so
not a big deal.  Just let it go.  I had dated guys who were years older than I was and they still sucked.  Stop finding things to disqualify him!  Louis is perfect.  At least that’s what I’m going to believe for now.

I regained my composure and grinned at Louis.  “You’re a baby!”

He pretended to look affronted. “French men mature faster.  Why, how old are you?”

I laughed at him.  “Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman her age?”

He winked at me.  “I am French.  We are known for being rude.  Now, please answer my question.”

I pouted at him. “I’m twenty-seven...soon to be twenty-eight.”

He pretended to be shocked.  “Oh!  You are ancient.  I cannot believe you have fooled me for this long.”

I swatted at him and laughed.  “You suck!  I was going to ask you to dinner for your birthday, but now I’m not sure you deserve the invitation.”

He pulled me close to him. “I would love to go to dinner with you for my birthday, but only if you let me take you out again tomorrow night.”

Whoa!  Tomorrow night?  I started to panic.  How long could I keep up the charade of normalcy for Louis?

“Make it Tuesday and you have a deal.  I promised my sister I would hang out with her tomorrow night.”  It was a total lie, but I needed a little breathing room.

“OK.  Tuesday it is.”  He let me go and took my hand. “It is getting late; I should walk you back to your car.”

I nodded and we set off towards the parking garage.  When we got to my car, he took my face in this hands.  “I had a wonderful time with you tonight, Sydney.  I will call you tomorrow.”