Spark

2 Blind Date

Alexandra
She scowled as She looked at the outfit her best friend had laid out for her and she smiled at her.
"Bri, I'm going to look like a stripper!" She muttered and Bri grinned at her.
"Sis, that is the point" Bri laughed and Alex cursed at her.
"I am not wearing this" she said firmly and grabbed her black dress from the closet. The dress hugged her curves and flared from the hip, it had crisscrossing straps across her back and it came to her knees. She pulled on her cute black flats and the ensemble was completed.
"Now let me put your hair up and do your make up so you look presentable" Bri said and Alex scowled at her as she huffed in annoyance.
"Why?! Why do I have to dress up and pretend to be someone I am not in order to get a guy to like me? I just want a guy to like me for who I am..." Bri cut her off.
"Because most men are sex-crazed monsters that only want a good fuck" Bri muttered with a laugh and Alex scowled at her.
"I still don't see why you get to pick the men I date" Alex mumbled in annoyance and Bri raised an eyebrow at her.
"The last guy you picked turned out to be a psychotic freak who..." Bri trailed off as she saw the look on her best friend's face and hugged her.
"Everything is going to be just fine. If not call me and I will come get you not matter what" Bri reassured her friend as she squeezed her friend tightly.
"I know, but I'm nervous" Alex admitted an hugged Bri back before untangling herself from her friend's grip.
"If this guy hurts you I'll personally go mob enforcer and kill him painfully..." Alex laughed cutting her best friend off.
"Bri, you have been reading too many books and watching The Godfather too much" she giggled and Bri gave her an incredulous look.
"I could hire one of my clients..." Bri trailed off as Alex gave her a flat look.
"Sis, you better not. Getting involved with crime syndicates will cause nothing, but trouble. What is your obsession with the Russian mafia? I mean you read books about them, you watch movies about them, you even wrote your capstone about the use of circumstantial evidence in mafia cases to... Blah blah lawyer crap. I mean seriously, sis, they are criminals and murderers..." Bri laughed as she looked at Alex and grinned.
"I don't know. I just find the subject fascinating. Plus, the books romanticized them into sexy specimens of hotness" Bri mused as she looked at her sister and smiled.
"You look hot, Sis. If I swung that way and you weren't my sister from another mister, I'd fuck you. Now the cab is going to be outside any minute so let's get going" Bri stated as she dragged her best friend out of the apartment building and to the sidewalk where a yellow cab was waiting.
"Love you, sis. Go have fun. If it goes well maybe you'll get rid of the cobwebs" Bri exclaimed as she shoved Alex into the cab and shut the door.
"Your friend seems like she's trying to get rid of you" the cabbie states and Alex laughed.
"Oh, my sister wants me to date a guy so she can introduce her boyfriend to our parents because he's everything our parents taught us not to be. He's a musician who barely has enough to live on and he drinks like a fish, but he loves my sister" Alex answered and the cabbie laughed.
"So she's using you as a diversion?" He laughed and pulled away from the curb.
It took fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant so Alex paid the cabbie what she owed plus a little more for making her laugh. She walked inside the fancy hotel and took the elevator up to the floor just below the penthouse where the restaurant was stepped off the elevator into an immaculate room. A hostess smiled at her and she walked forward with a nervous smile.
"I have a reservation..." The hostess cut her off with a giggle.
"Your sister called. She's very demanding. Follow me" the woman said and led Alex to a small table set for two. Alex sighed as she took her seat and the people around her looked at her curiously making her feel a little self conscious. She looked around the room at the people and smiled. They were all rich and most of them were in their fifties, but one person caught her eye.
A towering man in a tailored charcoal gray suite with short blonde hair was sitting alone at a table in the corner and he couldn't have been more than a few years her senior. She immediately looked away when his grey eyes met hers and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She'd been staring at this guy like he was a piece of art and he'd caught her red handed. Then she pulled out her phone to check the time and frowned. Her date was twenty minutes late so she looked towards the elevator, but there was no one. She waited anxiously for twenty more minutes before she sighed and started to get up, but a server set a plate down in front of her. There was a beautifully prepared fillet with a side of pan seared vegetables. As the smell of it wafted towards her nose her mouth watered and her stomach growled. It looked absolutely delicious.
"I didn't order anything..." She trailed off as the stranger she had been staring at earlier seemed to appear from nowhere.
"You have been sitting there for an hour waiting for someone and I couldn't let a beautiful woman go hungry," the stranger explained in a masculine voice and Alex smiled when she heard his Russian accent.
"I was supposed to be on a blind date, but he never showed" she said and the man gave her a smile that made her heart skip a beat.
"His loss. Can I join you instead?" He asked softly and she blinked.
"Of course" she replied as the handsome man sat in the chair across from her.
"I'm Aleksandar, but call me Alek. What is your name, beautiful?" He asked her making Alex blush furiously.
"Alexandra, but everyone calls me Alex" she answered shyly and Alek grinned.
"We have almost the same name, but mine is the Russian spelling of Alexander" Alek mused and Alex looked at him with a smile.
"Are you really from Russia?" She asked curiously and he laughed.
"Yes, my estate is about fifty miles from Moscow..." He trailed off as Alex sighed.
"I have always wanted to go to Russia. Are the sights really as beautiful..." He cut her off as he chuckled.
"Yes they are, but I would have never guessed you would have an interest in my home. Most women want to go to Europe or something like that..." He trailed of as she laughed.
"I am apparently very unique according to my sister" she giggled.
"What do you do for a living?" Alek inquired curiously.
"I am a trauma surgeon. What about you? What are you doing in the states?" She asked and he sighed.
"I run Shadow Tech Industries. I have to travel all around world for business, but Russia is my home" he answered calmly, but Alex felt as if something he was saying was not the whole truth, but she let it go.
"So what's the name of the poor fool who stood you up?" Alek asked curiously and Alex sighed.
"Richard Vasquez. He went to law school with my sister and she thought he'd be perfect for me, but to be quite frank I think the guy is a snake. I've done my research" she answered and Alek nearly choked.
"Again, his  loss. However, as far as snakes go, aren't all lawyers snakes? I am not a fan of the lawyers, but the doctors on the other hand..." he trailed off as he chuckled with a grin, making her blush.
"You're funny" she giggled as she beamed at him, feeling immediately relaxed and he waved a waitress over.
"I try. Especially when it comes to a beautiful woman like you" he mused  warmly as he smirked and she blushed again. The waitress hurried over with a smile and Alek looked at her.
"Would you mind bringing a nice bottle of red wine for my friend and I? As with everything else put it on my bill" he asked charmingly making the waitress giggle as she hurried off and Alexandra looked at him with wide eyes.
"I can help split the bill..." he cut her off as he raised his hand, shaking his head.
"I would not dream of allowing it. This is my treat. It is not often I get to have dinner with such a lovely young woman" he chuckled making the woman across from him blush.
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly and he grinned at her.
"Trust me, I'm getting the better end of this deal. I'm supposed to be meeting with an associate of mine, but I was putting it off as long as possible because I knew it would be a dreadfully boring affair" Alek sighed in his thick Russian accent and Alexandra rolled her eyes and smiled at him.
"You should dig in before your food gets cold" he muttered and she blinked as she looked down at her food. She had actually totally forgotten she had food in front of her. She had been so absorbed in talking to the man in front of her that the thought of food had slipped her mind.
"Are you sure? I can wait for you to get your food..." He cut her off shaking his head again.
"Honestly, I've already eaten" he explained and she smiled.
"So what do you like to do for fun?" She asked that she started to cut a small piece of the steak and he smirked.
"I don't really know. I've never really taken time to have fun in the past five years" he answered as he watched her pop the piece of steak in her mouth. Her eyes lit up in the light at the taste.
"What do you mean you haven't taken time to have fun?" She asked softly with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged.
"I grew up in Siberia, honestly there's nothing fun to do up there it's bitter cold all the time" he explained and she laughed.
Then her phone buzzed and she frowned as she looked down at the screen. The name Richard Vasquez popped up on it and she rolled her eyes.
"a text from the snake who stood me up" she sighed and Alek immediately looked at her.
"If you don't mind I'm curious to hear his explanation" The Russian mused and a small woman before him shrugged.
She looked down and read the text message:
Richard Vasquez: I am so sorry I couldn't make it tonight. Something came up with work and I had to go out of town suddenly for a few days. How can I make it up to you?
"Honestly, what he said sounds really weird. Here, read it for yourself" she muttered as she handed him the phone across the table. The Big Russian look down at the screen and scroll through the message. He immediately frowned at the phone. That was an odd message, but he figured it had more to do with him than her. It seems somebody had tipped off Richard Vasquez that he was in town.
"It sounds like a bunch of excuses to me. Are you going to give him a second chance?" He chuckled as he handed the phone back to her and she frowned.
" no, I don't really do second chances. In the past second chances have always come back to bite me in the ass" she muttered sadly making him raise his eyebrow and look at her curiously. Now that he looked in her eyes he saw a deep sadness there. There was apparently much more to this woman Than he had thought.
"I understand that" he answered just as solemnly and she smiled at him.
"I have a feeling that tonight went better with you than it would have gone with him. I am so tired of people acting fake. You seem so genuine" she amused changing the subject and Alek hesitated for a moment before grinning.
"I have never seen the need to pretend to be something I'm not" he said softly as he looked up to see the waitress coming with wine glasses and a bottle.

AN:
What do you think?