Unwanted Heat

Taking a deep breath, I send Bridget a text message saying I agree to meet NP; I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I still can’t help but question if I’m making the right decision and if I can trust Bridget whom I barely know. She has addressed all of my concerns and I have insisted that all meetings occur in public so I think there’s less chance of getting hurt. I know if I ever want to improve my life, I need to make some changes and the only way to do that is to earn more money. I hate that I’m working so many hours and barely making ends meet.

I would love to be able to go back to school, afford a nicer place and maybe take a trip or something one day. Right now my focus is always on working enough hours to pay my bills and then to put a little money aside in the event that one day I might need to leave quickly or if one of my jobs fell through, I would have a safety net at least for a little while. I cross my fingers and hope that for once I have met someone I can trust.

I’m still leery but so far Bridget has been nothing but truthful with me. She isn’t asking me for a crazy commitment, just one dinner to start with. She won’t have control over the dates I accept or don’t accept and it’s not costing me anything to meet one guy to see if this is something I want to do. It’s hard to trust someone I barely know but opportunities like this rarely come along so it’s a risk I have to be willing to take. I’m going to proceed cautiously; I’ll bring my mace and the knife with me to dinner and make sure my cell phone is fully charged in case I need to call a cab quickly to get me out of somewhere.

He wants to meet you, tonight 6pm at The Summit. Reservation will be in my name. Go to Stacy’s on Third, she will provide you with everything you need for tonight. It will be charged to my account. Good Luck, Kenzie.

Bridget

Holy crap! I didn’t expect anything to happen so fast! I quickly throw my clothes into the bag and head back to my apartment. I only have a couple of hours to find something to wear for tonight and then get ready. Of course The Summit is nowhere near where I live, so I will need to transfer routes to get over to that area of the city. I’ve never been to The Summit, but I saw it advertised in magazines at work; it’s one of those places you could only dream of having enough money to eat there.

Less than an hour later, I arrive at Stacy’s on Third which is what I expected: a high end, very expensive, boutique. When I mention Bridget’s name, I’m immediately assisted by the owner who ushers me into a dressing room and starts throwing dresses at me. It feels very different to be on this side of the dressing room; usually I’m the one finding expensive, beautiful clothes for women who are getting ready for a night on the town. Once again it almost feels surreal to know that I’m the one experiencing all of this. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop or for someone to pull the rug out from underneath me. It’s one of those things that is too good to be true. Those types of things don’t happen to girls like me and if they do, I’ve learned the hard way that the other shoe will always drop.

“Oh that’s it! It will be perfect!” Stacy pulls me from my pity party when she steps into the room just as I finish putting on a dark blue dress.

“I’m going to-”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Bridget told me where you’re going when she called me earlier. Rest assured Miss, this dress is perfect! We will pair it with some jewelry and shoes with a small heel but you won’t need anything else. I recommend you wear your hair up, have a few pieces fall around your face and curl them. Minimal make up, you’re a natural beauty anyway so you don’t need that stuff caked on your face.”

“Th… thank you,” I’m stunned by her compliment.

“Shall I wrap everything up for you?”

“Yes, please.”

By the time I’m back to my apartment, I have less than hour before I need to take almost the same trip to head to dinner. If nothing else, I’m grateful that the electricity in the apartment has been turned back on. I don’t know how I would manage getting ready without electricity. If I decide to move forward with this arrangement after tonight, I’m probably going to need to come up with a contingency plan for getting ready when the electricity is turned off again at least until I can hopefully afford a new apartment… one at least where the landlord doesn’t randomly decide to turn off the power.

I take one final look in the mirror before it’s time to leave. I barely recognize the woman staring back at me. On one hand she looks vaguely familiar… she looks like the woman I’ve been trying so hard to forget used to look like. But, there’s something else I see that I never saw in that woman. I’m not sure what it is exactly but it’s definitely there and it’s different from the woman who let him walk all over her. I shake my head, vowing to not think of him tonight, to not think of that life again. I may not live in a fancy house and have a lot of material things like I used to, but I’m happier now than I think I have been in my entire life.

“Good Evening, may I help you Miss?” I’m greeted the moment the elevator doors open to the restaurant.

“I’m… I’m meeting someone, the reservation is under Bridget Wilder,” I take a deep breath desperately trying to calm my nerves.

“Yes of course, the other party has not yet arrived but I will show you to your private dining area for tonight.”

As we walk through the dining room, I can’t help but try to take everything in. The large dining room is even more stunning than the pictures in the magazines. There are floor to ceiling windows that line two full walls overlooking the city. I wish I could get closer to the windows to take in the full view but I realize if I don’t keep up I’m going to lose my guide to the room. Just before we reach the back corner of the dining room, I take a final peek around the room and send a silent thank you to Stacy who dressed me absolutely perfectly for tonight. I’m pleased to see I am neither overdressed nor underdressed which was my major concern.

“Miss, your other party should be here shortly,” he opens the door to the private dining room, ushering me in.

“Thank you.”

The private dining room is small with only a handful of circular tables throughout the room, but what captures my attention are the windows along the wall. Just like in the main dining room, the windows line the entire small wall. My feet bring me to the wall of windows almost on their own; I can’t help but gaze out at the beautiful view before me. Being on the top floor, the restaurant sits higher than most buildings which provides it with an unobstructed view. I’ve never seen the city from this high; it’s truly breathtaking. I’m told the view from the nightclub that is part of this restaurant just one floor down is just as stunning. Most likely a view I’ll never see, but I try to take in as much from this view as I possibly can, vowing never to forget it.

I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t realize that someone else is in the room with me until they clear their throat. I turn around and am shocked at the man who stands before me. I never expected to see him again… and never in my dreams did I think he would be the man I was meeting tonight. Of course I had hoped to see him again, but never thought it would actually happen. I knew the chances of our paths crossing would be very slim. When he stepped out of the car to personally apologize for soaking me, I knew the moment I saw him that I would never see him. I could even then that we were from two different worlds. I always hoped that sometime we would run into each other again, but I wouldn’t have thought of him needing a service like this.

“Umm…. hi,” I nervously walk towards him, praying I don’t trip over my own feet as my legs suddenly seem weak.

“It’s nice to see you again Miss…?”

“Mackenzie… well Kenzie. It’s nice to see you again…?”

“Nicholas,” he shakes my offered hand. The moment our fingers touch, a jolt of electricity goes through me, almost like static electricity but stronger. The look in his eyes tells me he felt it too.

“Would you like to have a seat?” he gestures me to the table behind me.

“I… I want to thank you again for paying for a new outfit-” I nervously begin.

“Don’t… it was the least I could do,” he interrupts.

“I’m not sure… how this works exactly. I’ve never done this before,” I admit after an awkward moment of silence.

“Neither do I,” he chuckles. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

“Okay,” I take a deep breath trying to calm my nerves. “I currently work at a bakery in the mornings and for now as a personal shopper in the evening.”

“Did you grow up in New York?”

“No, I’ve lived here for the past two years.”

“Where did you grow up?”

“On the west coast; how about you? Did you grow up in New

York?”

“I was born in New Jersey, but I’ve lived in New York most of my life.”

“What is it you do?”

“You don’t know?”

“Should I?”