9 Come Have Dinner with Me

I spend the afternoon alone in my room. I take a shower, put on some comfy clothes and watch movies. I hear a lot of noise downstairs, my dad’s meeting with the intruders is still going on. I want to go to the kitchen to get some snacks, but I don’t want to run into Stefan looking this messy. I wait until the house is quiet and go downstairs. I pour myself a glass of milk and grab as much chocolate chip cookies as I can hold in one hand. I push the swinging door with my back and as I do it someone helps me open it all the way. 

“Is that your idea of a balanced dinner?” Stefan asks as he holds the door for me. 

“I’m not listening to health advice from a smoker.” I reply feeling annoyed to bump into him not looking my best. He’s supposed to be gone by now. Why is he still here? 

Stefan laughs at my response and takes a cookie of my hand. 

“That’s my dinner.” I complain. 

“Actually, your dinner is waiting for you in my apartment.” He says as he grabs another cookie.  

My jaw drops involuntarily. The nerve on this guy! The worst part is that I’d love to go with him.

“I think I’ll pass, but thanks anyway.” I reply making use of all my self-restraint. 

Stefan snorts. “You are confused, doll. I wasn’t asking, I’m telling you, you are having dinner with me.” 

I stare at him, unsure if I should laugh or tell him where he can go.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m not taking orders from you.” I say in a haughty tone. 

Stefan gives me a condescending smile. “We’ll work on that after we’re married.” He says calmly.

“Again with that?” I ask irritated. “Why do you keep talking about us getting married? We don’t even know each other.”

“And we’ll never get to if you keep refusing to spend time with me.” Stefan puts his hand on my back and softly pushes me forward to make me walk. “It’s just dinner and I promise you’ll have a good time. Go change those clothes. I’ll wait for you here.” 

I move to the side to break contact between us. 

“No, sorry. I can’t.” I state firmly, my chest is aching from what I’m about to say, but it’s best to be honest and stop these games between us. “I won’t go out with you, not tonight, not ever. You’re waisting your time with me, Stefan. Just give up already.” 

Stefan raises his eyebrows with surprise. “Ok... Can I ask why?” He inquires amused. He’s not taking me seriously. 

“You know why!” I say with a somber expression, hoping he gets how serious I’m being. “You were here the night my dad attacked Sam. He’ll do the same or worst to you. You are playing with fire, it’s safer for you to keep your distance from me.” 

Stefan burst out into laughter. I stare at him with a frown. Where’s the fun in this? It takes him a few minutes to compose himself.

“I’m sorry, doll, don’t get mad, I’m not laughing at you. I think it’s sweet you worry about me, but there’s no need. I’m not stupid, your dad knows I’m taking you out tonight.” 

“What? And he’s ok with that?” I ask skeptical. 

“Yes, of course.” Stefan says like it’s no big deal. “I told you before, I can be very persuasive, doll.”

I babble something incoherent and then I just stare at him in disbelief. My whole life I wasn’t even allowed to speak to the intruders and now my dad is ok with me going to dinner with one of them. How did this happen? Who is this man?

“So... if you have no more objections, what do you say we go have dinner? Go change and meet me here.” Stefan gestures me to go upstairs and, as I’m still speechless, I just do as he says. 

The first thing that crosses my mind when I get to my bedroom is to call Miranda, but there’s no time. I look in my closet for something to wear, but everything seems inadequate. I don’t want to overdo it, but I also don’t want to look scruffy. He’s always so well dressed in those elegant suits, I have to keep up, but without making it obvious I’m trying to look good for him. It’s an impossible task! 

After trying out numerous outfits, I choose a burgundy short dress. I then do my makeup trying to keep it very natural. I apply little perfume and I’m ready to go.  

As I walk down the stairs I feel my pulse rising, I’m nervous. I try to breathe to calm myself down, but the second I see Stefan standing at the bottom of the stairs I know there’s no way I can stay calm. A nervous smile escapes me when he offers to help me put on my white coat. As he does this, his nose briefly brushes my hair and I hear him take a deep breath. 

“You smell nice.” He says and I just grin at him.

Once we are out, he puts his arm around me, holding me close. It’s a cold night and I appreciate the gesture. His car is parked a few meters in front of my house. We get in and once he starts driving I turn my head and look outside the window, the growing distance between us and my house makes me feel uneasy, as if I was never coming back. 

“What’s wrong?” Stefan asks.

I look at him puzzled. How does he know something is wrong?

“I just realize I’m heading out to an unknown place with a stranger.” I say with honesty. 

“Are you afraid of me?” Stefan smiles, showing his perfectly aligned white teeth. 

“No... yes... I mean, I don’t know anything about you apart from the fact that you work with my dad and that you have some weird persuasion power over him. But you could be a murderer or a rapist or a puppy kidnaper. Who knows?!”

Stefan laughs. “I promise you I’ve never kidnap a puppy.” 

I laugh nervously. “Good, because that’s where I draw the line.” I say trying to sound playful, but feeling unease. I know he’s joking, but it would be reassuring to hear him say that he’s not a murderer nor a rapist. 

As we drive further and further away from my house, I feel increasingly uncomfortable with the fact that I don’t know where we are going. Where does he live? Maybe he lives in a tiny apartment with ten roommates above a meth lab or maybe he still lives with his parents and we’re having a family dinner with me in this tiny tight dress. I make myself a mental note to never again get in a car without knowing the destination. 

“Are we going far?” I ask hoping not to sound snobby. 

“No, we are almost there.” He replies and turns left headed to one of the newest and trendiest neighborhoods in town. 

Everyone from college dreams of living here after graduation, it’s just THE place to be. All the hip bars and restaurants are in this area. The bar we went to last night is really near. If he lives around here he made an unnecessary trip just to take me home.

He stops in front of a tall dark glass building and takes out a remote control from his glove compartment. The garage door opens without making much noise, it must be really new. In fact, the hole building looks new. We park the car and then walk to the elevators. I have to admit the place looks fancy, so I doubt the ten roommates above a meth lab theory is true. 

The elevator takes us directly to Stefan’s apartment on the 14th floor. We walk into a room with dark furniture and white walls. Behind the living room there are two sliding doors that lead to a balcony. To our right is the dining room with a large dark wooden table that sits 10 people.  The lighting is too dim for my taste. It would be the same if we use candles. 

Suddenly a door opens to our right and the white light coming from there brightens the room, a blonde tall woman comes in carrying a tray. 

“Good evening.” She greets us in a hostile voice. 

She takes the tray with glasses and a bottle of wine to the dining room. 

“Thanks, Olga, you may leave, I won’t be needing your service for the rest of the evening.” Stefan says once the woman has placed the tray above the table. 

Olga glares at me before going back to the kitchen. She shuts the door taking away the bright white light. Why did she look at me like that? Did I do something wrong? I was just standing here in the middle of the living room. Is it me? Maybe she thinks I’m not good enough for her boss. I feel all of my insecurities coming at me at once. My palms get sweaty.

“Let me take your coat.” Stefan says and helps me take it off. “You look really good in that dress. In everything you wear, actually.” 

I blush. Who cares what Olga thinks? Stefan likes the way I look and I like the way I look, so she can give me all the dirty looks she wants, it won’t matter.

I smile at him and when he smiles back, my palms get sweaty again, but this time for a different reason: We’re alone in his apartment. A sense of danger and excitement runs up and down my body. I have to relax. I look around trying to distract myself.  

“Do you want something to drink?” Stefan asks. 

I shake my head no as I study the apartment. Black must be his favorite color since almost all the furniture he has is black, I find it depressing, not my taste at all. Although I must admit the place looks elegant, the furniture must be expensive and probably custom made since it all fits perfectly within the space. Aside from the luxury, what draws my attention is the fact that the place is impeccable, there’s not one thing out of place or anything that suggests someone lives here, no pictures, no personal belongings, it gives me the impression that I’m in a model house. 

“Here, have a drink, you’ve been really quiet since we got here.” Stefan says and hands me a glass of red wine. 

I take a sip. I usually don’t like wine, but this one tastes good, it’s sweet. I drink some more. Maybe some alcohol in my veins can help me to relax.

“Have you lived here long?” I ask and take another sip. 

“A few months.” He replies distracted. 

“Where you lived before?” 

“Somewhere else.” He answers giving me no indication of whether he’s joking or this is his actual answer. 

I frown. Stefan was the one who said he wanted for us to get to know each other and we are not going to with these kinds of answers. 

“When I was a little girl we used to live on an island in the Caribbean. I don’t remember much and then my dad decided to move here to grow his business.” Maybe if I share something about me, he’ll bring himself to share something about him.     

“I know.” It’s his only reply. 

I grunt. This is going nowhere. Stefan opens one of the chairs in the dining room for me to seat in. The table is too big for just us two. The dinner is already served, there’s lasagna and Greek salad, I assume Olga did the cooking. 

“So tell me about your job. Do you like it?” Stefan asks as he serves me a plate of lasagna.

“You go first. I want you to tell me what you told my dad to persuade him that me taking the job was a good idea.”

Stefan laughs as he plays with the food on his plate. “Does it really matter?” He says without lifting the sight of his plate. 

“Yes. I was hoping you’d teach me how you do it.”

Stefan looks up with a smirk. “Don’t worry, doll, next time you need something I’ll get it for you.” He says confident. 

“Yeah, but you won’t be around all the time”. I say as I roll my eyes. “It would be more useful if you taught me your technique.”

Stefan scowls, he looks upset.

“What do you mean I won’t be around all the time? I thought I made it clear: this is it, doll. You and I.” He reaches over and clasps my left hand, then he gives me an intimidating look as if to let me know I have no choice but to accept. 

“Again with the marrying joke?” I ask friskily as if it was a trivial subject, refusing to be subdue by his threatening eyes. 

“You think I’m joking? Oh, doll...” He gazes at me as if I was a little child refusing to eat my veggies. 

His tone and condescending look bother me more than he can know.

“Not at all, I was just wondering when is the happy event taking place?” I ask sarcastically.

My tone doesn’t bother him, he laughs harder, not with mockery, but with genuine mirth. I like it when he laughs, his eyes make an inverted semicircle and that way he doesn’t seems so menacing. 

“Whenever you want. Just don’t take too long, because patience is no my strong suit.” He says once he stops laughing. 

I click my tongue and move my head so he knows I disapprove of this weird joke he keeps bringing up. He smiles at me again and then softly pulls my left hand near his mouth and gently kisses the back of my hand. The sweet gesture takes me by surprise and for a few seconds I just hold my breath, overcome with emotion. 

“Do you like the lasagna?” He asks as he delicately returns my hand to the table.

“Sure!” I say although I haven’t even taken a bite yet. I was too busy talking. I look at my plate and then, instead of starting to eat, I take another sip of wine. My glass is empty now. 

Stefan pours more wine in my glass without me asking him to. I thank him with a smile and start eating. He then asks me about my new job. I give him a recap of everything I did this week, he listens to me attentive, like he’s genuinely interested to know about the things I did and learned. Neither of my parents nor Miranda asked me any details about my job. It’s nice to have someone to talk to about all the things that happened to me. 

“Now is your turn.” I say once I’m finished talking. “Tell me about your job.”

“You already know about my job.” He answers as he pours me more wine. 

“No, I don’t! I have no idea what is it that you do, I just see you around my house a lot.” 

“Well... there’s not much to know. It’s a boring job.” He shrugs.

“So I guess flowers is not your thing... Why do you do it, then? What would you do instead? What was your last job? Have you always worked in the flower market?” I fear I’m turning the dinner into a police interrogation, but I suspect the wine is making me talk more than usual and, also, there’s so much I want to know about him. It’s ridiculous to be this attracted to a guy and know so little about him.

Stefan looks increasingly uncomfortable with each new question. “It’s just a job... it pays the bills.” He says elusively. 

“Are you upset?” I ask afraid that I’ve ruined our first date with my nagging questions. 

“No, not at all.” Stefan grins at me. “I just thought you wanted to know me and I’m so much more than just my job.”

“Oh, yes... you are right, then... tell me about yourself. How old are you? Do you have any siblings?” 

“I’m 29 years old. No siblings.” He answers curtly. 

“And...” I say encouraging him to keep talking. 

Suddenly his cellphone starts ringing. Stefan looks at the screen and stands up. 

“Excuse me for a second.” He says and then walks to another room, probably his bedroom. 

I can’t hear him talking on the phone once he closes the door. I look at my plate, it’s only halfway empty, but I’m already full. I drink the rest of my wine before I stand up and walk out to the balcony. The night is cold, but I appreciate the fresh air, maybe it was a bad idea to finish that last glass of wine, I feel a little tipsy. I look down to the street where pedestrians walking by look small, some of their laughs reach up to me, the street feels alive even though it’s late; by this time the street where I live in is almost empty. Our house is located in an elegant neighborhood filled with old people, like my father, that are in bed by 10 pm at the latest.

 I hear Stefan approaching, but I don’t turn around. He stands behind me and then surrounds me with his arms. I place my hands on his forearms and close my eyes. I lean my head back and rest it on his chest. He’s tall enough that his chin is just above my head. We stay there in silence. I concentrate on his breathing, his chest going up at down rhythmically.

“Are you cold? Do you want to go in?” Stefan asks after a while.

“No, but I wouldn’t say no to dessert.”  

Stefan smiles and then clasps my hand to lead me to the kitchen.

The kitchen is as neat and tidy as the rest of the apartment. Embolden by the alcohol, I take a little leap and sit on the kitchen island as Stefan takes an apple pie out of the oven. He places the pie next to me and takes off the oven mitts. He then stands in front of me, so close I have to spread my legs to make room for him. He places both arms to my sides, there’s nowhere to move, but I wouldn’t move even if I could. I can feel his breath over me. My heart is racing. He leans forward and gently grabs my chin to make me lift my face. Our lips touch, at first, he kisses me softly and as the moment goes by his passion increases. I place my hands on his back, trying to pull him even closer to me. I would merge into one with him if I could. 

Stefan places both hands on my behind and pulls me towards him. He lifts me up the kitchen island and starts walking, carrying me in front of him. I put my hands around his neck and my legs around his hips. We reach the bedroom and Stefan drops me on the bed, he falls over me and I feel his hands under my dress reaching for my underwear. I undo his tie and take off his jacket while I kiss his neck. A little voice in my head reminds me that it’s never a good idea to put out on the first date, especially when you like the person this much. But I don’t know if it’s due to all the wine I drank or how much I like him, but not even a meteor falling right here on the bedroom would stop me from making love to Stefan tonight.