The Date Auction

Chapter 5: First(!?) Date

"Relax." Jake said, massaging my shoulders. "You'll be okay." It was 6:55 and Blaise would soon come pick me up.

"You aren't more worried?" I asked him, nervous.

"No! You and I have such great chemistry, as has been well established! There is no reason for me to feel threatened."

"Yes, I agree. Honestly it's pretty clear who I'd pick if events conspired such that I were in a love triangle situation! But that'd never happen." I said, sharing a laugh with Jake good -chemistry-fully.

6:55 turned to 7 turned to 7:15 while I waited. I began to grumble. Blaise better be this rude to everyone and then be extra nice to me after if he still wanted to make a good impression. I resigned myself to a long wait when my phone dinged. A text: "come outside"

I smoothed my dress, gave Jake a romantic goodbye handshake, and headed out. A limousine purred at a standstill with a single door open, waiting for me. Inside, I saw Blaise lounging inside, a smirk played out across his lips.

"You're late." he said.

"You're late! You said you'd be here at seven!"

"I've been waiting two minutes for you outside." he said. "My chauffeur, Driversby, drove up super quietly out of respect for your quiet college dorm neighborhood, but it seems he was too smooth because you didn't even notice. But let's let bygones be bygones. Would you like a drink while we seek out our destination?"

He motioned to a bottle resting in a bucket of ice. My jaw dropped. An 1854 bottle of Frisson Sexoir, dad's favorite kind of champagne. They used to be a lot cheaper, but after an earthquake in the world's largest champ-cave, only a few bottles remained, each selling for thousands when they even came up in the market. I gasped aloud.

"Oh, don't let me forget." he opened another ice bucket. Orange juice. And my father's favorite kind: Florida.

"How did you..." I began, but couldn't finish.

"I used to be... acquaintances with your father. We-" But I missed whatever he kept on saying. His eyes were the deepest color. I suddenly felt a strange, anxious, delightful feeling. I was on a date with Blaise!

He handed me a glass, indicating I should mix my own. I did, and he nearly leapt to his feet before hitting his head on the ceiling of the limousine.

"I forget my courtesies." he said, "let me take the first drink, to prove it's not poison. This is, after all, how we handled it in the castle." I handed him the drink I'd made. He sipped it with a brooding delight.

Wow, he's very considerate for a rude brute! I thought, making another drink for myself. I found welling up within myself a sudden desire to please him, like a fire waiting to be stoked. He passed the rest of the ride staring at me through the champagne glass. Why did that make me feel the way it did?

Abruptly, he knocked on the partition. "Driversby, here is good." The limousine pulled to a smooth stop and Driversby opened the door to reveal the abandoned harbor.

"I heard you used to play here as a kid." Blaise said. "I thought you might like to revisit it."

I was swamped with an avalanche of memories, breaking over me like a wave. Here I played tag with Courtney as kids. There Dad used to pretend he'd throw me in the water while I shrieked in delighted opposition. There was the shore where I saw that enormous shadow beneath the sea and briefly saw myself as a speck in an infinite sea of nothingness. Over there behind those rocks was where a summer crush and I first nervously held hands.

"I can't believe you brought me here." I breathed.

"Do you like it?" Blaise asked.

"I love it." and I did! I was secretly glad he hadn't tried to impress me with his money. Can you imagine, buying a girl's date then taking her somewhere free? What a confounding man!

Driversby brought Blaise a cloth wrapped something, and I grinned from ear to ear when I realized what it was. A picnic blanket. Blaise spread it out, revealing the most enticing charcuterie spread I'd ever seen. We sat as the water lapped against the concrete pylons and ate and laughed as the sun set. When I began to get chilly, he offered me the blanket and we just watched as the last traces of sunlight vanished from the sky.

The moon was nearly full, a wispy white light reflecting off the waves. "Damn!" Blaise complained. "In all my excitement, I've forgotten. One of my... friends is... having trouble. I need to help guide him through some things."

"You're cutting it short?" I cried.

"If this doesn't count... we'll have to do it again." He pulled me up with a wink.

I thought about it for a second. My sorority's honor was at stake if I ended a date too early. I was compelled by external forces to have another date with Blaise.

I got up to return to the limousine, only to trip over the copy of Anne of Green Gables I'd left for when I wish to read at the abandoned harbor. I was about to fall into the water!

With superhuman speed, Blaise jumped in front of me and halted my fall. But even as he did, the wood of the pier crumbled under his foot and sent him splashing into the midnight water.

"Blaise!" I cried.

He pulled himself out of the water, sputtering. His shirt, wet, clung to his abs and other very good muscles. I'd never realized how hot and sexy he was until this moment.

"You make my lose my equilibrium, Madison. Perhaps the only woman to ever do so."

I blushed all over, glad he couldn't tell unless he had some sort of dark vision, which would be absurd. We got in his limo and set off. He glared off into the distance, a funny, sexy figure with his injured dignity. Then he started shivering. I offered him the blanket.

"Here. You need it more than I do."

"Nonsense, Madison. A gentleman would never-"

"Then we'll have to snuggle up together for warmth." I said.

Driversby's voice came from the front, "Sir, would you prefer I turn on the heat?"

"Silence, Driversby!" Blaise cried.

And just like that, as Blaise was rude to his servant but kind to me, I realized: I must be something pretty special.