Principessa Diana

Chapter Four: Dave

By the time that we landed in Boston, I had become quite enchanted with my raven-haired seat mate and found myself not wanting to part from her company. Diana was a unique woman for her age, which couldn't be more than thirty (he was a gentleman, he hadn't asked). She was introverted but very smart and witty once she was comfortable with you. She also had tastes that ran more in line with his generation than hers. She confessed to enjoying the music of the Beatles, Joan Baez, even Tony Bennett and good ol' Frank Sinatra. Like me, she also still stubbornly carried a Blackberry because she didn't see the need of upgrading to a smartphone.

When it came to looks, she reminded me of what I'd always imagined the mythical Diana she was named for to look like. Hair as dark as night, brown eyes with a touch of honey, sun-kissed skin and a voluptuously short build. If you asked me to describe my perfect woman, all I would have to do was point at her.

We got off the plane together and chatted all the way to baggage claim. When I discovered that we would be staying at the same hotel, I took a chance and asked if she wanted to share a cab. To my pleasant surprise, she said yes. Once at the hotel, I started to think that maybe fate was trying to tell me something when our rooms ended up being directly across from each other.

I couldn't help myself, as she stood outside her room, waiting for the bell hop to finish unloading her bags, I asked, "Hey, Principessa Diana, you wanna come over and have a drink with me?" I knew that since she was an introvert, I would have a better chance of getting her to agree to a drink if I didn't ask her out to a public place. "I have the Beatles White Album on my iPod."

That actually got a smiled out of her and she nodded, "sure, I'd like that."

"Why don't you go and change into something more comfortable and meet me over here in say, an hour?" I suggested and she agreed.

Once alone in my room, I noticed the time. It was a little after six. I was starving and I knew that Diana hadn't eaten since at least before she had boarded the plane so I placed a call to room service. I ordered a couple steaks and their best bottle of scotch. I had just changed out of my suit and into a pair of jeans and a red button-down shirt when Diana arrived at the same time as room service.

As I tipped the bell hop, I took a look at what Diana was wearing. She had traded in her skinny jeans and prim blouse for a pair of black leggings and a loose fitting purple sweater that hung off one shoulder. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and on her feet were a pair of uggs. She looked adorable.

Once the bell hop had left, closing the door behind him, I turned to her with a warm smile. "I ordered us dinner... I hope you don't mind."

She shook her head. "No, I don't mind but, Dave... is this a date?"

"Only if you want it to be. I've noticed you're a bit introverted so I thought it best to just let you decide. I like you but if you're not interested, this can just be dinner between two friends, no pressure."

"You picked up on the introversion, huh?"

I knew she was stalling to give herself time to think and I let her. "I'm a profiler, cara, it's what I do."

"I like you too, Dave." She paused and chewed on her bottom lip. "And I think I'd like for this to be a date."

I reached out and took her hand, rubbing soothing little circles on her palm with my thumb. "Then a date it is, cara."