Chapter 9 - THE FIRST TIME ADRIAN ASKED HER OUT
Adrian waited six months.
Dante said three would have been enough.
Mrs. Bellini said nine.
Titan offered no opinion.
Then Adrian called Elena.
Not her employer anymore.
Not her boss.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“Dinner.”
Silence.
He closed his eyes.
“That sounded like an order.”
“Yes.”
“I’m rusty.”
“Clearly.”
He tried again.
“Would you have dinner with me?”
“Why?”
He stared at the phone.
“Is this a test?”
“Yes.”
“Because I like you.”
Pause.
“And?”
He sighed.
“Because I think about you constantly.”
Better.
“And because Sophia informed me last week that I have no social life.”
Elena laughed.
“How did she know?”
“She asked Dante.”
“Dangerous friendship.”
“Yes.”
Then:
“Friday?”
“Yes.”
Their first date happened at a small restaurant in Beacon Hill.
Adrian did not own it.
Elena checked.
Titan stayed home.
Dante sat two blocks away.
Adrian pretended otherwise.
They talked about Mateo.
Adrian asked rather than avoiding the dead husband like competition.
Elena talked about him.
Rescue dogs.
Terrible singing.
How he once spent six hours searching Boston for the exact purple bicycle Sophia wanted.
Then Elena asked:
“Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“Engaged?”
“Once.”
“What happened?”
“She wanted someone who could leave work at work.”
Elena smiled sadly.
“Could you?”
“No.”
“Can you now?”
Adrian thought.
“More than before.”
Honest.
Good.
At the end, he walked her to her car.
No hand placed automatically at her back.
No assumption.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“Can I kiss you?”
She smiled.
“You’ve become suspiciously civilized.”
“Answer.”
“Yes.”
He kissed her once.
Slow.
Then stepped back.
No possessive claim.
May you like
No dramatic promise.
Just enough to begin.
