Revolving Doors (17 page)

CHAPTER 30

~*~*~

There was definitely something about him.

When we met at the club that night, I set in motion what I thought would be a one-night stand, but Robert crossed my mind more than a few times beyond our initial encounter.

There was something in the way he took his time when he made love to me, how he made himself immediately available to me, and his overall character.

He appealed to me…and my curiosity.

I hadn’t planned to pursue anything past what we shared in the wee hours of that early morning; mostly because I had always been a girl about her space, and if I was going to share my space, I wanted it to be in spurts. I wasn’t ready to have it filled on a continual basis.

So far, that was a situation that was
way
up in the air.

Imagine my surprise when a few days after our early morning rendezvous, Robert sent flowers to my home with a note that read:

“
Hey Beautiful, I would have called, but since I don’t have a number (smile), I thought I’d try this way. Lunch? Dinner? Call me? No pressure (still smiling)
.”

His note brought a smile to my face. I hadn’t received flowers from a man in a while. Had I not been busy guarding my feelings, shooing men away and holding onto the belief that attachment was better off avoided, it might have been more of a frequent occurrence.

I had to give it to Robert; he did evoke a different feeling in me that caused me to consider giving thought to the world of dating.

I mean, how bad could sharing a little bit of space and time be?

It wasn’t that I was closed off to the idea of finding someone, I just felt as though I had things aligned exactly as I wanted them and that current alignment was a perfect fit for my life.

But that didn’t mean I had to keep the brick wall up and the more I thought about it, the more I began leaning toward responding with a “
Yes, Robert…I’ll go out with you
.”

There wasn’t any one thing holding me back.

What’s one date, Gabriella?

I didn’t know if I was ready, but I decided to give him a chance. By all accounts, everything pointed to him being a good guy, and a solid individual.

~*~*~

When I called to accept Robert’s offer for a date, my call went to voicemail.

Everything happens for a reason, and maybe it just isn’t meant for the date to happen, was what I told myself.

I figured if it was meant for us to talk, or see each other, then he would have been available to answer the call.

Then like two little beings on each shoulder, another voice of reason kicked in with a contrasting philosophy…
stop over-thinking and looking for an excuse!

I waited a few minutes and dialed back again. I decided that if he didn’t pick up the second time, I would leave a message thanking him for the flowers and nothing more.

After the third ring, I was sure the call was headed for his greeting and as I pulled the phone away from my ear to press the pound key, I heard his voice.

“Hello?”

“Hello…Robert?”

“Yes, this is Robert.”

“Hey there, it’s Gabriella. How are you?”

“I’m doing well, thank you.
Yourself
?”

“I’m good. Thank you for the beautiful flowers. Very pretty arrangement.”

“I’m glad you like them. I didn’t know if you would call or think I was some kind of stalker,” he laughed.

“Of course I was going to call; if for no other reason than to acknowledge receipt. What kind of person would that make me had I not?”

“
O
…
kay
. Well, is that why you called? To tell me
thank you, but no thank you
?”

“
No
. I was actually calling to accept your invitation to go out…
if
the invitation is still open?”

“Yes, of course, the offer is definitely still open.”

“Okay. Good. Did you have a particular day in mind?” I asked him.

“I was thinking this Friday if you have that open. We could do dinner if that works for you? Or a late lunch.”

“Dinner works fine for me,” I answered.

“Would somewhere around the 7 o’clock hour work for you? If so I could make reservations.”

“That would be perfect,” I responded.

We made a little small talk before hanging up and I noticed that he left out telling me where he would be making reservations.

It was clear he wanted to take the lead on planning the date and I was okay with that.

It briefly crossed my mind about whether he was in the habit of making final decisions that affected the whole.

That could be a problem.

In the end, however, I settled on him taking those actions because he wanted to impress, and nothing more.

Once I abandoned theories of deceit and control, I found that I was actually excited about the Friday’s date. I was looking forward to being able to unwind with some good food, semi-new company and hopefully, good conversation.

CHAPTER 31

~*~*~

Three days later when Friday evening rolled around, I arrived for my dinner date at H’s Lordships on the Berkeley Marina.

I opted to meet him versus having him pick me up, so that I could gauge where his head was. He hadn’t presented intentions that birthed concern; it was just how I chose to proceed for the first date.

Had we gone together, there might have been that whole
lingering in the car
thing, after the date and him expecting an invitation inside and since I wasn’t sure yet what direction I wanted to take things, it was better to avoid awkward moments at all costs.

If our date ended with me giving him my phone number, then I knew it was a go. If not, then I was certain we could work out some type of arrangement that would involve him answering to a few booty calls.

While I was being escorted to our table, I saw that Robert was already there. As soon as he spotted me, he stood.

His appearance was
immaculate
. He nervously tugged at his jacket as I approached and he wore a welcoming smile that reciprocated.

He was in a pair of relaxed fit, indigo jeans, a white button down shirt, camel-colored Stacy Adams and my favorite…a velvet blazer. This one matched his shoes.

My god. He is a stunner!

Velvet blazers were definitely his thing! He looked good as hell in those jackets, and nothing short of amazing.

I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to talk about. It always added to a man’s sex appeal when he had conversational skills that accompanied his looks.

Considering that I showed up to see if Robert would be date worthy, substance was very much a requirement and something told me that Robert L. Johnson, Jr. was a contender.

“Hello, Gabriella,” he greeted leaning toward me to plant a kiss on my cheek. “I’m glad you made it.”

“I’m glad you invited,” I responded, smiling. “How have you been?” I asked as we both sat and locked eyes.

“I’ve been good,” he responded. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I blushed.

“How did the rest of the week go for you, Gabriella?”

“I got a lot done on my to-do list so that’s always good.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I said looking across the table at him.

“Of course…ask away.”

“Do you have a closet somewhere with every color velvet blazer? I am digging those and you wear them well.”

“Ha!” he laughed, making me realize it was the first time I got a full laugh from him.

“Thank you.” I don’t have
every
color, but I do have a few and two each of the black and blue. They’ve become a favorite.
Although…
I do have a nice collection of sports jackets too that I can see about pulling out for our next date,” he hinted.

“Our next date, huh? You’re already making future plans with me?”

“I see you caught that.”

“You weren’t exactly being subtle.”

Snapping his finger at the air, “Aww man, I’ve been made. Cold busted. You’re right! It was completely deliberate.”

“You’re cute…
and
silly,” I laughed. “I never would have gotten that from the seriousness of your demeanor that night at Allure.”

“
Oohh
, so you were scoping me out!” he playfully bragged. “You can admit it, I won’t take you for a stalker or anything,” he teased.

“Umm, no! I was not scoping you out,” I lied. “You just had this whole sophisticated thing going on like the rest of us weren’t worthy of breathing your air, Mr. Debonair.”

“Please tell me you’re kidding. I can’t afford to have you thinking I’m a person other than the one I want you to get to know. That person is nowhere near cocky and is compassionate and is humble…”

Hmmm, nowhere near cocky? I beg to differ.

“I do get
compassionate
and
humble
from you. No need to put a bid in, you’ve already won,” I advised, smiling.

“Okay, bidding is closed for the night then,” he kidded.

“So…” I redirected. “Nice choice of restaurant. I’ve always loved it here.”

“Me too. I figured it would be a central enough location since I’m in Hercules, which is about the same distance you travelled from
Castro Valley.”

How thoughtful of him.

“Oh, okay. You’re in Hercules? There are some nice homes there.”

“Yeah, my parents live there too. So the family’s not too far away.”

Wait, was I hearing that he lived with his parents?

Seemingly, having read my mind, he reiterated.

“I don’t mean my parents live
with
me,” he said with a slight grimace, “I meant they live in Hercules
as well
.

Whew
. Inside I was breathing a sigh of relief.

That would have been hard to come back from finding out he was a grown ass man sharing a residence with his parents
, especially with the CEO behind his name on the business card he gave me! 

When the waiter arrived at our table, I ordered a Hibiscus Martini, and Robert ordered a Rock Coconut Mojito.

“No Scotch on the rocks, tonight?”

“You remembered my drink I see,” he exclaimed, with a look of surprise. “And what about you? You don’t trust the bartender here to make you a perfect Blue Hawaiian?”

“Touché!” I acknowledged. “The night is still young though, I
might
have a second drink. We’ll see.”

When our drinks arrived, it wasn’t too much longer after, that our meals were delivered: Roast prime rib dinner for Robert, and the grilled Atlantic salmon, for me.

After a few bites Robert asked, while cutting into his steak, “Is the food to your liking?”

“It sure is,” I answered. “Every time I have it, I walk away satisfied.”

“Is it one of a few dishes that you order?”

“It’s the
only
dish I order.”

Robert chuckled and placed his fork onto his plate momentarily.

“Gabriella, you’re kidding, right?”

“Nope…not kidding at all.”

He shot me a look of confusion.

“
Whhaat
?” I faked innocence knowing full well what his issue was. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t encountered before. “It’s just that I’m not a huge fan of changing up after I’ve already taken a liking to something;
especially
, when it has to do with food. It’s just too risky.”

“So, you order the same thing each and every time you come?”

“I do.”

“Gabriella
…”

“Yes, Robert…”

“You’re missing out. Life is about chances. You owe it to yourself to try new things every now and then.”

He was right and I knew it. And while we were discussing food in that moment, I was well aware that his angle was less about the food and more about him.

“You got a point, Sir. So I’ll tell you what…the next time I come here I’ll make it a point to choose something different off the menu. How does that sound?”

“Well, seeing that you didn’t say anything about
me
being there, I
guess
it sounds
alright
,” he kidded. “But…since there’s no time like the present, how about you try mine?”

I watched as he cut a small piece of prime rib and reach across the table with his fork.

“Here…” he offered. “Take a walk on the wild side.”

Reluctantly, I leaned forward to wrap my mouth around his fork and as I chewed, he studied my reaction.

“I like! It’s tender and
perfectly
seasoned.”

“Whew! Cool! I was nervous as hell thinking, if this lady doesn’t like it, I’m done for and will forever be the man remembered as the bad steak man!”

We fell into laughter, and I realized, and appreciated that he offered a much-needed good time.

“It was good! I will for sure be ordering something different when I come back.”

“Told you!” he boasted. “I won’t steer you wrong.”

“Yes, I’m beginning to see that…”

~*~*~

Conversation was flowing at a healthy pace as we finished our meals and debated whether we would tackle dessert, settle for wine, or indulge in caffeine.

Since it was nearing a late hour and we were our own designated drivers, we agreed caffeine for the finale would be best.

“Where do your parents live, Gabriella?”
he inquired during our caffeine sip fest.

“They’re in the Temescal area, up near the Caldecott Tunnel.”

“Oh yeah…beautiful area. You ever seen that house up there that’s shaped like a musical note? Crazy!”

“I have!” I almost wrecked in disbelief when I first saw it. That’s some weird architecture.”

“I know, right? I thought the same thing!”

“So do you…or have you, traveled much?” I asked him.

“Unfortunately, with my schedule, I don’t get to often. But there are two places I want to get to one day. The first one will crack you up, but don’t judge me. And don’t laugh too hard because people might stare.”

“Uh-oh…I can’t make any promises with an introduction like that.”

“You gotta promise, first. I don’t just give up details like this without knowing that I won’t get laughed at.” He placed his baby pinky across the table for me to lock with mine.  “Swear?”

“Okay, let me get my laugh out right now because I haven’t had to
pinky swear
since I was a little girl.”

After pinky swears had been committed to, he blurted out, “
Disneyland…there, I said it.
I want to go to Disneyland
.” He threw his hands in the air and leaned back into his chair.

I placed my coffee mug on the table, in disbelief. “You’ve
never
been to Disneyland?”

“Nope, never have. Is this where you break the promise and start laughing at me?”

“Actually…this is the point where I tell you how insanely criminal that is! Also that Disneyland is one of
my
favorite places
in the whole world
! Not that I’ve traveled the entire world, but I swear I will
never
outgrow that place. You have to see Fantasmic when you go! It’s soooo pretty with lights and all the Disney characters on this huge tug boat! It’s amazing. Then there’s Downtown Disney with my favorite candy apple store and a huge movie theater…”

When I saw him smiling, I realized that I had been talking nonstop and immediately activated the mute button.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he teased. “Have you ever given thought to being a Disney cheerleader? I’m 100% sure you could pull it off,” he said grinning.

“Ha ha ha! Funny guy! No cheering for me. I don’t have the moves,” I said playfully.

“The hell you don’t,” he announced. “On the dance floor,
and
off.”

I couldn’t help blushing, as he sat staring into my eyes and flashing that beautiful smile again.

Change the subject, Gabriella!

“What’s the other place you want to visit?”

“Huh?” he said, seemingly caught off guard.

“You said there were
two
places,” I remarked, holding up two fingers, “…that you wanted to go, right?
What’s the other
?”

“Oh yeah, my bad! Well, the other is far from a laughing matter…because I don’t know a living soul that doesn’t want to go. My boys talk about going for the women. Me, I want to go for the beauty of the oceans, scenery and to see Carnival up close.
”

I almost choked on the sip I had taken.

“You okay, Gabriella?” he asked concerned.

“I’m good, thanks. Just went down the wrong pipe, I guess.”

Of all the places on Earth…beautiful places on Earth and he picked
there
?
  My
place of comfort?

“You sure the women have nothing to do with it, Robert? Women are at the root of all men’s actions.”

“Not
this
man. Promise. I love women as much as the next man, but women aren’t the driving force behind anything that I do.”

“Well
excuse me
. I guess you are of a different breed. Unless that’s just what you’d like me to think.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard the women are
all that
and a bag of chips. But…when I think of Brazil, I think of the way it comes alive in every picture I’ve seen, the food, the beaches, the culture.”