The Only One He Wants

“Wow, such a gentleman. Where did you learn all your manners, Michael?” Gabrielle said trying, to beat back her nervousness. She was glued to the spot.

“Oh, thanks for the compliment. Don’t expect an interesting answer like some prestigious college or anything like that. It was just my parents. They were the ones who taught me that,” he replied and bent to kiss her hand. His lips were hot against her skin. His touch burned her. And it was a good type of burn. The kind that sent chills down her spine and goosebumps up her arms.

“That’s precisely the answer I wanted to hear,” Gabrielle said, making him smile. “They raised a good boy.”

“Pun unintended?” He winked at her. “It’s become our thing.”

Gabrielle shivered. Our thing? When did they become a ‘we’ and when did they start using ‘our’? Her rational mind wanted to rebel, but her heart didn’t. She thought that it was a nice gesture and it was just a phrase or a figure of speech or something along those lines. Nothing too serious. Nothing intimate.

Then involuntarily, her arms surrounded him and she hugged him. It came spontaneous and definitely unplanned. Actually, when it happened, she felt a bit awkward for doing it.

He let out a grunt, obviously not expecting that from her. His hands were also around her, giving her the safety and affection she direly needed. “Thank you for everything. You’re too kind to me,” she whispered.

“You’re an amazing person, Gabrielle, did you know that?” he said and put his hand on the small of her back. The goosebumps appeared again.

They went to their table and Michael held the chair out for Gabrielle to sit. Finally, he sat in his and sighed. He was dressed in a gray tuxedo, the fabric of it fit his body perfectly as if glued to it.

Gabrielle’s nervousness was getting the better of her, so she grabbed the menu to steady herself and her trembling hands. What was happening to her was beyond her understanding. She’d never been like this with other men. She had always been the confident type of girl and the guys had been thrilled when they had noticed that in her. But now…this wasn’t an ordinary situation and the guy in front of her wasn’t of the mediocre sort.

Blankly, she stared at the list of meals, not reading them. Her thoughts were a jumble, flying everywhere. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted Michael looking at her. One second. Two. Three. Four. He was still gazing at her, not taking his eyes off of her. Gabrielle sensed that familiar warmth rising in her cheeks again.

“What are you staring at?” she giggled nervously.

“At you,” he said instantly without even thinking. “You… You look lovely tonight. Wonderful. Majestic… I don’t have the appropriate words.”

Gabrielle was laughing now. “Thanks. You aren’t bad yourself. And very charming too. I wonder who the woman that fell for it is. There must be one, I’m sure.”

Ouch, she was on dangerous terrain now and she wasn’t even aware of it. The words were just casually jumping out of her mouth.

Michael’s eyes were fixed on her. A wide gorgeous smile graced his face. “There isn’t one at the moment. I’m single,” he said and quickly added, “What about you? A beauty like you absolutely must have many suitors.”

“If there are any suitors, I don’t know of them. I’m single as well,” she replied and gave him her best smile. A headline from a dating site came to her mind, then. It said ‘single and ready to mingle’ which made her laugh even now.

“So wow,” Michael broke the silence. “Two single people that met in the most unusual circumstances and are now having dinner together. It almost sounds like a script from a romantic comedy.”

They both laughed, more from sudden relief than the humor of the statement. “Yeah. And by the way, I would definitely watch that,” Gabrielle replied.

“I’m not much for romantic comedies, but that would make me start watching them,” Michael said through his laughter.

“Who would play you?” Gabrielle asked him, still smiling.

“Um… That’s a deep question. Will Smith, maybe, although he looks nothing like me.” Michael burst into a fresh manly booming laughter. “What about you?”

“Err… I shouldn’t have asked that question in the first place, right?” Gabrielle giggled. “Hmmm… Oprah or Kerry Washington if she gains some more weight.”

“How about Oprah going to the gym and killing some weight instead for the role of the great Gabrielle Bassett?” Michael winked at her.

“It’s a deal,” Gabrielle replied and they both sealed it with a warm-hearted smile.

Then the waitress came, interrupting them. She asked whether they wanted to order something.

“Red wine to begin with?” Gabrielle said and raised her eyebrows, looking at Michael.

“Yeah, works for me as well,” he told the waitress, “Thanks.”

And she was off, leaving the two new friends alone. Although they were in a room full of people, it felt to Gabrielle as if they were alone—just the two of them on some deserted island.

“So what do you do?” Gabrielle said, placing her hands on the table.

“Real estate. International, mostly,” he replied, his adorable smile still spread across his face.

“Awesome. So I’m at dinner with a real estate investor who owns investments all over the world?”

Michael chuckled. “Not to brag, but kind of, yes. You summed it up perfectly. What’s your job? Oh, don’t tell me. Let me guess.” He pointed a finger at her and cocked his head in a macho gesture.

Gabrielle remained smiling, not giving a single detail.

“Hmm…Gabrielle Bassett…What could she be doing for a living? Fashion blogger, maybe. Designer, maybe…Maybe running a beauty salon… Maybe, maybe…” He was thinking out loud and that made Gabrielle laugh.

“Oh come on. Is it that hard to guess?” she managed to ask through laughter.

“It is easy when you know! Try putting yourself in my shoes. Oh, wait. I know. You work as a salesperson at a pharmaceutical company and fashion is just your passion and hobby!” He exclaimed all pleased with himself.

Gabrielle was frozen on the spot. She was flabbergasted and she was sure that her bewilderment was already showing on her face because Michael was chuckling. How did he… How could he possibly know? She voiced her thoughts. “How the hell can you possibly know stuff like that? Are you a magician? David Copperfield?”

Michael was hysterically laughing now and Gabrielle saw that people from the surrounding tables were starting to look at them. His booming laughter was even louder than the classical music in the background.

“Stop it, everyone’s eyes are on us,” she said, desperately trying to hide her laugh. His was so addictive that she couldn’t possibly keep her poker face.