Trancas Canyon

Sweet or Savory

The test day concluded at six o'clock in the evening. She strode to the rental car and hopped in as if it were a getaway car. The last thing she wanted to do was go out to dinner. As hungry as she was, she really just wanted to go lay down in her hotel room, order room service and take a nap but Luke was already at the restaurant and had sent her a pin.

From the website picture, the pub looked like a charming inn. This was the way it seemed to be in New Jersey. Luke was waiting for her at the table.

"You need a beer."

She didn't normally drink beer but today the salty, cold taste of the beer sounded like the perfect elixir. At the table, she couldn't help but yawn as she skimmed the menu. Luke picked up her hand and gently massaged her palm. She almost melted.

"Sorry, I'm not much fun."

"You're fine," he said taking her other hand. Her eyes drifted from his face to his hand holding hers. The gentle stroking motion of his thumb on her palm was surprisingly intimate. She shyly looked back at him feeling suddenly vulnerable under the gaze of his beautiful hazel eyes.

"What did you do today?" she asked intentionally trying to interrupt the intensity of the moment.

"I went for a run. Worked on my book," he replied as he released her hand.

"You're writing a book?" she asked, surprised.

"Yep. Same topic as my dissertation. Cross-race political campaigning. You know where the candidates are of a different race than the voters."

Madli was intrigued by his field of study.

"How did you become interested in that?"

"My first job out of college I was a field organizer on a congressional campaign for a white Jewish Democrat. Part of the district was African-American so she brought a famous African-American Congressman down to the district to campaign with her. Then in graduate school, my advisor ended up being this big shot Mexican-American professor and political pundit. All of it came together and then I started thinking about how race and diversity applied on the actual political space."

Luke spoke with such authority and intelligence. It made him even sexier. She could feel the heat between them. He filled her with these urges. She was relieved that tomorrow she was obligated to return to the convention center for another day of testing otherwise she might become a cliché.

Back in her hotel room, she kicked off her clothes and ran a bath for herself. She stepped into the tub and slid down into the water, feeling it enveloping her body. She closed her eyes and thought of Luke and the hand massage he had given her across the table. She could still feel the sexual energy coursing through her as she slid even deeper into the tub.

The next morning was a repeat of the previous day except that she packed up all of her belongings and carried them into the car. Instead of telling jokes about poop, Luke plotted their escape from Trenton to the Marriott in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania was his home state so he had all sorts of suggestions for food, cocktails and fun. He lamented the fact that she was not a meat eater otherwise he would have taken her out for a Philly cheesesteak.

At the end of the test day, Luke was waiting for her outside of the convention center. He held out his fist and gave her a fist-bump.

"You rep'd hard today."

His words made her smile.

"Done and done!"

She handed him the car keys as they walked to the rental car. The heat from inside the car felt like a furnace blast as he held the door open for her. She could barely keep her eyes open as he navigated his way out of the parking lot.