CHAPTER 5 #2
“I said only one thing. I’m interested in taking you on a date, getting to know you better, and seeing where things can go from there. I’m a bit old-fashioned like that.”
“You want to go out with me?”
“Yes, I do. Very much. I am very attracted to you.” Iro moved her hand to the side of Arwen’s neck and slowly ran a thumb over her pulse point. “I have been since you walked through that door. You are incredibly beautiful.”
“So are you,” Arwen said. “How did you know?”
“That you’re beautiful?”
“That I’m gay,” Arwen clarified.
“I didn’t. I only knew that you looked back at me when you caught me staring at you, and when I couldn’t pull my eyes away, yours seemed to have the same problem.”
“You’re…” Arwen swallowed, causing Iro to feel it in her fingers as she continued to caress Arwen’s neck. “You’re so different than who I’m usually interested in.”
“How so?”
“Earlier, before you approached, Zara pointed out to me – and she was right – that I’m usually attracted to more…” Arwen cleared her throat. “Well, femmes, like me.”
Iro nodded and asked, “And what would you call me?”
“Butch,” Arwen answered directly as she smiled. “And I’ve got to tell you, it’s really working for me.”
Iro smiled and replied, “I’m glad. Will you permit me to take you out sometime this week?”
“Permit you?” Arwen asked, smiling still.
“I told you, I’m old-fashioned. I’d like to take you to a nice dinner and then walk you to your door at the end of the night.”
“That’s refreshing,” Arwen said.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” Arwen replied. “I’ll give you my number.”
Iro pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Arwen.
She missed the days of knowing everyone who lived in a small village.
Of course, by the time she had been born in London, it was no longer a small village, but she had lived in many after turning, and they hadn’t needed cell phones or technology of any kind.
They could simply arrive at a door or send a thoughtful letter.
In today’s world, there were text messages, and some people even sent them without actual words, only those little figures they called emojis, which Iro hated.
“There you go,” Arwen said. “Can I text myself so that I have your number, too?”
“Of course,” she replied.
Arwen sent herself a text message before handing Iro her phone back, and when Arwen’s phone pinged in her purse, which was next to her in the booth, she made no move to get it.
Possibly, it was because she knew exactly what that notification was, but Iro hadn’t seen Arwen reference her phone once since arriving.
Even her friend, Zara, had pulled out her phone.
A busy attorney like Arwen surely had plenty of emails and messages to check, but she didn’t seem to care about anything other than the fact that she was here with Iro.
Iro had dropped her hand from Arwen’s neck when she had handed her the phone, but she needed contact again, so her arm moved back around the booth and rested on Arwen’s shoulder this time.
She wasn’t touching skin, only the sweater Arwen had on over her dress, but that had to be enough because she wasn’t about to take things too far and mess this up.
“So, when?”
“Sorry?” Iro asked.
“When do you want to go out?”
“Oh,” she replied with a smile. “This week sometime, if you’re free. I’ll need to check my calendar.”
“Is that to make me not worry if you ghost me after this?”
“No, Arwen. It’s because I just moved back to America from Paris, so I’ve been incredibly busy, but I will prioritize this date with you because I have no plans on ghosting you.”
“Why does that word sound funny with you saying it?” Arwen giggled.
“Can I please take you home to ensure you get there safely?”
“I’ll be okay,” Arwen replied. “I can leave my car in the lot and–”
“I can take care of that for you,” she interjected. “Just say yes.”
“Um… Yes?”
Iro smiled again, unsure she had smiled this much in a very long time. Then, she picked up her phone and dialed her driver.
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“Bring the car around, please. And can you get me someone to pick up another car and follow us?”
“I’ll get someone in security to do it. Three minutes?”
“Yes, please.” Iro hung up and slipped the phone into her suit jacket. “I’ll have someone on my staff drive your car, if that’s okay. He’s trained in evasive maneuvers and is a member of my security team. He’s very trustworthy. He’ll follow us home so that you don’t have to pick it up tomorrow.”
“What? You have security? Who are you?”
“It’s a small team. Sometimes, my investments make me enemies, so it’s precautionary more than anything.”
“Um… Okay,” Arwen said.
“I’ve already paid for our drinks, so we can go whenever you’re ready. The car will be outside in three minutes.”
“That’s… efficient,” Arwen said and grabbed her purse. “But I’m ready.”
Iro stood and held out her hand. Arwen slid her hand into hers, and Iro entwined their fingers moments later.
Then, she stared down at the new connection, never wanting it to break.
She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, even though she had never been a schoolgirl, and this strange feeling was more than a crush.
Once outside, she helped Arwen get into the back seat of the SUV and climbed in next to her, reaching for Arwen’s hand again and setting their joined hands in her lap.
Arwen gave the driver directions on where to take them, and after Iro handed the keys to her security man through the open window and told him what kind of car it was, he took off to drive Arwen’s car home for them.
“I’d like to walk you up,” Iro said. “It can get dangerous at night.”
“I’ll be fine. The door’s right there, and it’s the second floor. You can walk me to my door when we go on our date. Deal?”
Iro nodded, reluctantly accepting this compromise, and then leaned over and kissed Arwen on her warm cheek, wanting to connect their lips instead.
“Good night, beautiful Arwen.”
“Good night,” Arwen said as her door was opened for her.
Arwen let go of her hand, and Iro watched her walk to the door of the building.
“Don’t go until she’s safely inside,” she told her driver, who still held the door open. “And wait until she gets her car keys. He’s walking toward her now.”
“Of course,” he replied.
Iro watched her security man give Arwen her car keys before Arwen pushed open the door to the building, which seemed to have no key entry required and no way to buzz up.
“Well, this isn’t secure,” she said to herself.
“Ma’am?” her driver asked.
“Nothing. We can go,” she replied.
When Iro got home to her brownstone, she pulled out her laptop, sat down on her leather sofa, and looked down at it and over at the matching chair, realizing she would need to make a change if she were going to invite Arwen over.
She pulled up the furniture site she had used to buy practically everything in this place and searched for non-leather living room furniture instead.
Quickly finding a set that would work well enough, she paid for expedited delivery and messaged the support email address, telling them she’d pay even more if they could get it here within the week instead of having to wait two to four weeks.
Returning to the browser homepage, Iro read through a little news, seeing an article about a few deaths in New York City.
Then, she got distracted with thoughts of Arwen, so she pulled up Arwen’s LinkedIn page, which was public for work, while her other social media pages seemed to be private.
Iro would not send a friend request or follow her, though.
She didn’t want to be a friend or a follower. She wanted more.
She rose and went to her kitchen, where she opened her walk-in pantry.
The back wall had a button that anyone would miss if they didn’t know it was there, but she pressed it, and the wall slid open, revealing her blood refrigerator.
Iro pulled out a bag of pig’s blood and closed the door.
As she poured all the liquid into a mug and set it in the microwave, for the first time that night, her excitement about meeting someone new dwindled to nothing.
When the timer ran out and beeped at her, she pulled out the now-warm blood and stared down at it, picturing what it would look like to Arwen to see her drink this.