First Class to New York (10 page)

“So you aren’t mad at me?” Janie squeaked.

“God no!”

“Oh,” she replied.

“Do you think you might allow me to take you to dinner this
evening?”

“Well, yes. I would like that.” Janie blushed.

*****

It was as if a great weight had been lifted from Janie. She
was relieved to hear that he wasn’t mad at her, or embarrassed by her. That had
been her worst fear; that she had done something, said something that had him
regretting his decision to take her to the fundraiser. It wasn’t her; he’d said
it was him.
And
, he had asked her to dinner, tonight! She smiled at the
thought of seeing him again.

Feeling much happier, Janie stepped into the elevator, ready
for a new adventure in the great city of New York. She had arranged to spend
the day on a sight-seeing bus tour of Manhattan, and had purchased her ticket
online shortly after securing her plane tickets. Dressed in a pale yellow sun dress
and a white cardigan and white sandals, she made her way out into the bright
sunshine. According to the map on her phone, she had about 12 blocks to walk to
the departure point of the tour bus so she followed the dot on her phone map guiding
her in the right direction.

After several minutes, Janie had replayed the phone
conversation of earlier in her mind over and over again. He wasn’t mad at her
but rather admitted to being an ass, ‘a master of the game’. That phrase rolled
around in Janie’s head as she tried to understand what he had been telling her.

Janie found the double decker bus, produced her reservation
paper and took her ticket and map from the attendant. She climbed the steps to
the top deck and found a seat in the open air, ready for a day full of
sight-seeing. She and Robert had taken a tour bus just like this in Washington
DC, when they had gone on a working vacation several years ago. She had enjoyed
that trip immensely even though it was way too short. Janie sat looking through
the map at all the stops on the tour; Chinatown, Rockefeller Center, Radio City
Music Hall. Today she would get to see it all!

The bus filled with tourists and the tour guide proceeded
with her scripted introduction as the bus pulled out into traffic. But Janie’s
mind wasn’t listening. It was still dissecting Matt’s words. ‘Notch on my
bedpost’, ‘just sex’, ‘no relationship’, ‘no commitment’, ‘move on to the next
partner’. The concept was all very foreign to her. She had married her first
love, her high school sweetheart, and they had lived happily ever after. Well, not
really now, but it was happy until Robert had gotten sick, and then it was NOT.

‘It’s like a dance, Janie. Two people come together, each
knowing exactly what the other is after, each understanding the rules. They
play, dance if you will, and when the song ends, they both walk away, each
having gotten what they each wanted, no regrets, and just move on to the next
partner.’ His words confused her. Katy would understand; she would know what
Matt meant. Since she had gotten divorced, Katy had dated a lot. She’d had
several long-term relationships, but had refused to take it any further,
deciding she wouldn’t get married again. In the beginning it was for the sake
of her son. She didn’t want him hurt, or traumatized in any way by his mother’s
actions. And then it was just because she enjoyed her freedom, enjoyed being
able to play the field. Yes, Katy would understand, but she couldn’t call her.
She couldn’t tell her about Matt.

I don’t understand this game
, Janie thought.
I
don’t understand the rules. I don’t know how to play.
I don’t know if I
want to play.
Matt admitted to being a master. He knew how to play
the game. Hell, he probably made the rules! She hadn’t thought of him as a
playboy, but he did fit the description. He was incredibly handsome, rich, smooth
and sexy. He possessed all the traits and the women fell at his feet. Janie had
experienced that first hand.

So, he’s a player.
And he was honest about it. But
what about the friend thing? Not wanting her to be a conquest, because he
needed a friend. Janie had not come to New York to have sex with strangers, to
fall in love, and definitely not to find a new husband. That couldn’t have been
further from her mind! This was to be the landmark trip to begin again, to
start over. She wasn’t looking for anything either, certainly not a
relationship. But she had come to an awareness the past few days, one that
Janie was finding difficult. She wasn’t just alone, she was lonely. She no
longer had a husband, a best friend, a lover. She lived alone, she ate alone,
she was alone. It was a sad realization.

The bus was passing by the Lincoln Center and Janie raised
her phone and snapped some pictures. She really wasn’t paying much attention to
the sights at all. Matt’s words were still dancing around her head when a small
light bulb went off in her brain.
He wants to be friends
.
He doesn’t
want to have sex with me! He doesn’t find me attractive!
 
Oh God! Am I
the ugly girl best friend that doesn’t make the wife or girlfriend jealous
because the thought of their man sleeping with me is just laughable?
Janie
was horrified at the thought and tried to push it far from her mind.

*****

Janie was ready for dinner at 6:35pm. Matt had texted her in
the early afternoon, telling her he would pick her up at 7. She was excited,
nervous and still quite bewildered at his honest confessions on the phone. At
least she had assumed he was being honest.
And if he is still playing a
game?
thought Janie.

She checked her make-up once more and ran her fingers
through her hair. She sprayed her favorite perfume, a sweet Givenchy scent, on
her wrists and neck, and waited, trying not to think about games and dances and
bedposts.

There was a knock on her door at precisely 7pm and little
butterflies flitted through her belly. Standing on the other side of the door
was a dashingly handsome man in charcoal grey pin-striped suit, a pale pink
dress shirt and grey tie with pink fleur-de-lis. His hair was slightly damp and
once again, Janie drank in his smell.

“Hello Matt,” Janie smiled.

“Good evening, Ms. Anderson. You are a looking particularly
lovely this evening,” he said, looking all the way down to her shoes and then
back up again, and smiled.

Janie had selected the other ‘little black dress’ she had
purchased in Portland before her trip. It had small cap sleeves and a V-neck,
showing just a little cleavage. It was clingy, but not tight and stopped just
above her knees. She had opted for simple black peep-toe pumps that let her
bright red toenails peek out, and the only jewelry she wore were silver hoop
earrings. She grabbed her black clutch and turned off the light and Matt led
her down to the waiting BMW.

Ray was leaning on the car as they stepped into the crisp
night air. He stood and opened the door for Janie as she slid in and gave her a
smile.

“Thank you, Ray.”

“Most welcome Ms. Anderson. I’m very happy to see you
again.” Ray shut the door and walked around to the driver’s seat while Matt
slid in the backseat beside her.

“I am going to take you to the only revolving restaurant in
Manhattan,” Matt spoke matter-of-factly. “I haven’t been there, but I heard the
views are quite worth it.” He smiled at Janie and in that moment she didn’t
really care if he was playing a game with her or not. She was going to make the
most of her time in New York and she hoped some of it would be spent with the
man sitting next to her.

“Well it sounds exciting,” she gushed. “I have never been to
a revolving restaurant before.”

“What about Seattle? The Space Needle? That’s just a quick
drive from Portland,” he asked.

“No, I’ve only been to Seattle once and that was for a
Seahawks game. The boys…” she stopped suddenly.

“The boys?” Matt questioned, his eyebrows shooting up.

“The boys…lost. The team? They lost.” Janie attempted to
recover. She didn’t want to talk about the boys. Beth’s voice was screaming in
her head ‘He HATES kids!’ No, she wouldn’t say anything about the boys.

“That’s too bad,” replied Matt. “About the team
and
the restaurant.”

Janie looked at Matt, a question forming, her expression
showing deep thought.

“Everything ok?” Matt asked.

“Well, I thought it was raining,” she said, chewing on the
inside of her cheek.

“Why?”

“Your hair. It’s damp.”

Matt grinned. “I apologize. I was running a bit late. My
workout went long; lots of tension to work out.” Matt looked at Janie, more
like eyed her like a lion about to pounce on his prey.

“Oh,” said Janie.

*****

Dinner was indeed fabulous. The views were stunning. The
food was divine, the company entertaining and lovely to look at. Most of the
conversation was about Matt’s business; how he got his start and how he had
continued to make money during a recession. They talked about his family and
his six brothers and the trouble they got into as kids. Janie laughed at his
stories and, having met his parents, could understand how he had enjoyed such a
happy childhood.

They had been at the restaurant for hours, and Matt glanced
at his watch and then back to Janie. “I should get you home.” He finished the
last few drops of wine from his glass and stood, stepped toward Janie and offered
his hand.

Once again, his touch sent shivers through her body. Still
holding her hand, Matt took his other hand and tilted her chin up so he could
look into her eyes. “You are beautiful Janie,” he whispered and placed a chaste
kiss on her lips. And just like that it was over and he started walking away
still clutching her hand, making their way to the elevator.

They stood on the sidewalk for just a minute or two before
Ray pulled the sleek car in front of them. Matt opened the door and Janie slid
in and Matt started climbing in after her. Surprised, Janie slid over but the
fabric of her dress didn’t glide over the leather and she was having difficulty
getting to the other side of the seat. Matt slammed the door shut and Ray
pulled back into the traffic.

Janie tried to slide over, but Matt was now sitting on the
edge of her dress and she was stuck in the middle of the seat, unable to move.
She didn’t know what to do.
Do I ask him to move? Do I just tug on my dress
till I’m free?
So instead, Janie just sat there feeling ridiculous, heat
rising up her neck to her cheeks.

Matt took her right hand in his left and caressed the back
of it with his thumb. “You smell heavenly,” he whispered.

Janie couldn’t look up at him. His thumb continued to move
back and forth over her knuckles. Her breath hitched in her throat and she
couldn’t move. Slowly, he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. And
then he kissed each fingertip, ending with her thumb. He took it in his mouth
and sucked ever so slightly and Janie was immediately on fire. Her nipples
hardened and pushed against her lace bra. She was tingling in the pit of her
stomach and she felt her body reacting. Her mouth was open and she found it
difficult to breathe.

“Mmmm, you taste heavenly too,” he murmured as he withdrew
her thumb and rested her hand on his knee.

Ray pulled up in front of the hotel and a doorman stepped
towards the car. Janie didn’t know whether she was angry the drive was over or
relieved the torture had come to an end.
No, it wasn’t really torture. Not
torture at all.

Matt climbed out of the car, never letting go of her hand,
almost pulling her out with him. They walked through the lobby to the bank of
elevators and waited, silently. Once inside, Matt pushed the button, never once
looking at Janie, or speaking a word. They walked down the hall to her room and
he only relinquished her hand because she had to find her room key. He took it
from her, unlocked the door, opened it and ushered her inside, closing it
behind him. He reached for her hand and pulled it back to his mouth, gently
kissing her palm.

Janie inhaled sharply and placed her clutch on the table,
and then boldly took a step so that she was mere inches from him. She looked up
into his eyes and searched for something, a hint of what he wanted, what he was
thinking. He looked back at her, his eyes half closed, his tongue licked his
lips.

“I want you, Janie,” he breathed. “May I have you?”

Janie’s eyes flew open and her surprise was written all over
her face.

“Me? You want me?” she whispered.

Matt lowered his head and answered with his mouth, his
tongue. He pulled her to him, ran his fingers through her hair, the other hand
dropping to her behind, pushing her against his erection that now pressed hard
against her body. He devoured her mouth and she responded willingly. He nipped
at her tongue with his teeth and her hands traveled up his back and held him
tightly. The kiss went on and on and eventually he pulled back, needing to
catch his breath.

“Do you want me to go?” breathed Matt.

Janie shook her head.

“You’re sure?”

Janie nodded.

“Thank God!” And Matt drew her back to him and kissed her
again.

Janie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up
to his kiss. Her mouth accepted his tongue and offered hers in return. Matt’s
hand slid down to her behind, and once again, pressed her to him, his erection
hard and pulsing into her hips. She moaned into his mouth and he stepped
backwards, leaning against the door. He spread his legs wide and pulled her
between them, his erection now pressed to her mound. Janie immediately
responded to the pressure and she moved against him, her heart racing and
breathing becoming ragged.

Matt’s hands brushed up her sides to her breasts. His thumbs
circled her nipples and they hardened at his touch. He reached around to her
back and slowly undid the zipper of her dress and moved his hands inside,
feeling her warmth. He caressed her silky skin and ran his fingertips down the
indentation of her spine. Janie shivered and pulled back from his kiss. His
fingers found her dress at her neck and he gently, slowly, pulled it down her
shoulders, exposing her black lace bra. Janie, never looking away, pulled her
arms out of the sleeves and Matt let go. The dress fell to the floor in a pool
around her feet.