First Love

Chapter Seven

     James pressed the elevator call button as he held me close to his side. I could feel the entire floor watching us. When the elevator reached the lobby, he asked me where I would like to eat.

     "Surprise me," I grinned.

     James hailed a cab and gave the cabby an address that I didn't recognize. Twenty minutes later, we reached our destination. He paid the fare and whisked me towards a building with a sign that read RH Rooftop Restaurant of NY. It looked very fancy. I wondered if we would need a reservation for this type of place.

     As we walked inside, we were greeted by the hostess. She was very nice and directed us to the nearby elevator. Being the man on the cover of Forbes must have some benefits. James put his arm around my waist and smiled at me as we rode the glass elevator to the top of the building. The doors opened to reveal gorgeous chandeliers throughout. The whole place looked like a fancy garden. It was truly gorgeous. I knew this place must be quite pricey. As I continued to marvel at the beauty around me, James took my hand and led me to a table.

     "Do you like it? It's nothing compared to you," he smiled.

     "It's very lovely, but don't you think it's a little too fancy for a friendly lunch," I teased.

     "Don't look at the fanciness, it's just you and me and we're here to have a good time," he assured me.

     "I like to see you happy," I replied.

     The waiter handed me a menu and bowed. "Good afternoon and welcome to the RH Rooftop Restaurant. I will give you a few minutes to look over the menu."

     "Have you selected what you want to eat?" James asked after a few minutes.

     "Yes, I will have the broiled salmon and some sparkling water, please," I announced.

     James gestures for the waiter who scurried over right away. James ordered the broiled salmon for me and shrimp cocktail for himself. He also ordered two Pellegrino sparkling waters. I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous he looked in his light blue shirt.

     "You look so beautiful. I didn't want to take you to a fast-food place. I wanted to take you to a place that looks as beautiful as you," James interrupted my thoughts.

     "This place is more beautiful than even me. I like the chandeliers, and I like this fancy garden that we're sitting in. But to top it off, I like you. Your light blue shirt makes your blue eyes look so mesmerizing and I know they are looking at me. I feel like this place is perfect for our first lunch date. The Starbucks was more like a refill of my coffee that your shirt drank," I laughed. I pulled his hand towards my lips and kissed his fingers.

     "You sure you majored in Accounting and not in English Literature? Because your words are so beautiful. I could listen to you all the time. I think you're the most wonderful woman I've ever met," he swooned.

     We continued our flirtatious banter, but were interrupted by the waiter bringing our order to us. The entrees smelled delicious. I took a piece of my salmon and it melted in my mouth.

     "This salmon is so good, would you like a taste?" I asked.

     "If you're going to feed it to me, I sure would like that," James grinned.

     I cut a big bite with my fork and fed it to him across the table.

     "I have one more surprise for you later after we're done with our meal," I said suddenly. As I said it, I was shocked with myself. I hadn't bought him anything, nor did I have anything planned. I just blurted that out without thinking. Why did I say that to him? I knew I had better think of something quickly because he started to blow through his meal quickly. I took a few more bites of my salmon and sipped on the sparkling water.