The Only One He Wants

“Not a magician, although that would be very, very cool. I’m just a great Googler, I suppose. Facebook and LinkedIn can tell us so much, did you know that?”

Then it dawned on her. He had been googling her. Of course. She had put that on her social media profiles. She never even thought about that.

“Cheater.” She playfully threw a napkin at him. “You were investigating me. You stalker.”

“What’s wrong with that? Everyone does it!” Michael put a hand over his mouth to compose himself. There were small tears in his eyes from laughing so much.

“Well, I don’t. And I regret that now,” she said and giggled. He had searched her. So he was interested in her. That brought a sudden wave of warmth to her heart. She felt it glow inside.

Then the wine came and shortly after that their food. They ate while quietly speaking about their lives and sharing interesting stories. Gabrielle told him about her daughter and her husband. He told her that he was a lone wolf and that there hadn’t been a chance for him to form a family.

“The thing is, everyone wants to be rich and famous. I guess I was among those people. So I became a billionaire. But seldom do people talk about the dark side of money. It’s a glamorous life, I will give you that. But it’s terribly lonely. I’ve dated several women in the past and they were all in it for the money. I’m starting to think that there’s no such thing as true love in this world,” he said sadly. His whole expression faded into a shadow and his eyes lost that beautiful gleam.

“Shh… Don’t say that. Of course true love exists. How will we go about our days if we think that we’re going to stay lonely for the rest of our lives? It is a cliché, but the only thing at the bottom of the Pandora’s Box was hope. And hope is what we cling to. Never lose faith. You’ll find your soulmate . And you’re going to be grateful to me for telling you these words,” she said and put her hands on top of his. They were warm against her cold touch.

Michael looked into her eyes and smiled the widest smile, from ear to ear. She wondered what was going on in his mind right then.

Gabrielle and Michael had been some of the last customers to leave the restaurant and they were now casually strolling down the sidewalk in the dead of night. Gabrielle turned to look at Michael’s figure, which towered over her. He was staring at his shoes with his hands in his pants pockets.

“Have you got a ride home? I can take you if you don’t,” he said finally, looking up and staring at her eyes.

“I do. Thanks to you,” Gabrielle said and smiled. He did as well. The parking lot where they were heading had no lights, so they stood in darkness. It was then that she noticed the glow in his eyes intensifying.

“Oh, don’t mention it. We’ve been sharing thank-yous all night already. You have nothing to thank me for,” he said, leaning closer.

“Michael, you are one terrific man. Unlike anyone I have ever met,” Gabrielle said all of a sudden, totally unplanned. It just came to her in the moment.

Their noses were touching now. Under the scarce moonlight she could see him smiling. His eyes as well. Gabrielle also noticed a few white hairs above his ears and forehead. And that meant wisdom.

She felt her body trembling like a schoolgirl’s. As a matter of fact, she felt like a youngster ditching classes for some sneaking with her boyfriend. But Michael was far from that, her mind warned her. Her heart wasn’t sure though.

His long eyelashes brushed against her skin. Gabrielle took a breath and opened her mouth. Then, he planted a kiss on her cheek. His full, warm lips collided with her burning skin. She thought that she was going to faint.

“I’m going on a trip tomorrow,” he whispered as if he was telling her the biggest secret.

She was taken aback. “Um…Where?”

“I’m supposed to tour the Caribbean, Ghana, Mauritius and Australia. But I’m not sure if I’m going to do it all at once.”

“Oh,” Gabrielle let out a sigh.

Michael ran his index finger across her cheek. “I’ll call you when I land. So that we can have a round two of this, okay?”

Her face lit up. “Okay. Have a nice trip!”

“Thanks. Good night, Gabrielle. And have some sweet dreams.” He left and headed for his car.

“You too,” Gabrielle yelled after him.

He wasn’t like those other guys who only wanted to get inside a woman’s panties. He was special. Very special. Sadly, men like him were endangered species on this planet, Gabrielle thought as she started toward her own red car.

When she got to it, she fumbled with the keys. They were right in front of her, yet she couldn’t see them. She was out of her mind and shaking. Putting a hand on her forehead, she inhaled and exhaled to calm herself. That Michael was doing something to her. To her body. She needed a minute or two. Yes, a minute or two and she was going to be just fine.

Entering her car, she slid the key in and drove home deep in thought. And as she drove, she noticed that the road wasn’t pictured on her windshield. It was the face of the billionaire property mogul with the most beautiful name, Michael Good.