Chapter Twenty-Five
“So this is why you never date,” Liana said with wide eyes as she watched Arielle wrinkle her nose and cast off what must have been her eighth dress of the evening. “It turns you into a human disaster.”
“You are the one who invited Judah to your engagement party,” Ari reminded her as she considered a wrap dress that she knew made her boobs look obscene and disregarded it.
As much as she’d love to make Judah’s eyes bug out of his head over dinner, that was decidedly not the point of this date. Attracting him was not the issue.
Figuring out exactly how deep this attraction went was another story.
“Yeah, and obviously it was the right move, but this is fascinating to me. You are so smitten. I’ve always wondered what it would look like on you, and whether I’d ever even get to see it, and it’s, like …
five million times better than I thought it would be.
I kinda wanna FaceTime Bella to get her in on the action. ”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Never,” Liana said with a grin. “I’m texting with her right now, and she wants to know what’s wrong with the bright blue one that makes your eyes look amazing.”
“It’s at the dry cleaners,” Ari grumbled, because that’d been her first choice too.
“The green velvety one?”
“Too itchy. I already feel itchy just going on this date. I can’t add external factors.”
“And the pink one was—what was it again? Ah, yes, ‘too pink,’ right?”
Ari stopped riffling through her closet long enough to shoot Liana a look. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. It’s insulting to us both.”
Liana tipped her head in concession. “Okay, how about the sheer black shirt thing with the black leather skirt?”
“Too slutty.”
“What the hell does ‘too slutty’ mean? You’ve worn that many times to very proper occasions.”
“Yeah, but we’re not operating on Arielle Becker levels of propriety right now. We’re operating on Judah Klein levels—Judah Klein in public levels. I can’t be embarrassing.”
“Ari.” Liana put down the phone and took Ari’s hands. “I’ve seen the way Judah looks at you. If he didn’t believe in God, he could probably be convinced you created the heavens and the earth. Give him a little credit. He’s going to think you’re beautiful no matter what you wear.”
“Ugh, stop being all Wise Engaged Woman. It’s unsettling.”
Liana waggled her eyebrows. “Fine, then I’ll point this out instead: He’s already seen you naked. You could wear a garbage bag, and it wouldn’t stop him from thinking about what’s underneath.”
“Okay, now there, you may have a point.” She checked the time on her phone and swore under her breath. “Crap, I am so late. Quick, just pick one for me right now.”
“Wrap dress!” Liana declared. “Easy choice.”
Ari went with it, though she put on her most comfortable, least cute cotton underwear in the hopes it’d serve as a deterrent if they were getting overly distracted.
She considered dark lipstick as an added barrier but decided kissing was on the Approved list for tonight, if for no other reason than that she couldn’t stand knowing she wasn’t the last person whose lips Judah’s had touched.
She was just finishing up her mascara when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Liana called out.
“Oh, no, you will not,” Ari said firmly, cutting off her roommate as she slid her feet into her sandals. “I am giving you exactly zero seconds alone with him to embarrass me.”
“Well, I never!”
Ari rolled her eyes and swung open the door.
“Hey, I’ll be ready in two…” Her words fell away as she laid eyes on a meticulously assembled display of Lego flowers and, holding them, the absolute sexiest clothed version of Judah Klein she had ever seen.
He looks like he walked off the fucking cover of Esquire, she thought, just as he said, “Good God,” under his breath.
“I’ll take that,” said Liana, sailing in between them and carefully snatching the Lego sculpture. “You two just keep staring at each other until one of you bursts into flames.”
“Ignore her,” Ari murmured, fiddling with the sleeve of her dress just to have something to do with her hands. “She was raised by wolves.”
“Maybe,” he said, laughing lowly, “but I still feel like I might burst into flames. You look … wow.”
Ari had to bite her tongue to resist suggesting they stay in. “Is it gonna be distracting? I can change.”
“Don’t you dare.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb lingering on her jaw. “I’ll keep myself under control. Are you ready?”
“Just need my ba—”
“Got it.” Liana thrust her clutch into her hands. “Now, please, get out. You guys are gross. And I mean that in the most loving, supportive way possible.”
They laughed and said their goodbyes, but half a second after the door closed, Ari backed up against the hallway wall and pulled Judah down for a hungry, needy kiss that quickly turned desperate, dirty, his tongue stroking hers as if they were back in his apartment with him on his knees, craving a taste of her.
His hands gripped her hips so tightly she knew he was using superhuman strength to stop himself from shoving them up her skirt, but she wanted it so badly that she was tempted to beg for some much-needed relief right then and—
Bing! The elevator bell dinged, and they jumped apart, hands flying to fix their appearances. Judah’s meticulously styled hair was bordering on a disheveled mess, and she knew she must look like a disaster, but it was just so hard to care about any of it.
“Yeah,” Judah murmured as he steered her down the hall with a firm hand on her lower back. “Five weeks was definitely not enough.”
“Migdal? Seriously?” Ari paused to look up at the wooden sign as he closed the cab door behind her. “Judah, you know we can just get pizza, right? Do I give off a ‘must take me to the most expensive kosher restaurant in Manhattan’ vibe?”
He shrugged. “I was in the mood for a steak. Besides, you’re not exactly dressed for pizza.”
“I don’t even know if I’m dressed for Migdal. Judah, I—”
“Arielle.” He turned to her. “I know it’s overkill.
I promise, I know it’s all overkill. I know you don’t need it, and if you give me a next time, I’ll be more than happy to eat pizza with you on my couch.
But right now, I’m excited for a date for the first time ever, so I made it at my favorite restaurant and let Akiva dress me and spent way too long putting together Lego flowers.
Please, just let me be a dork about this. ”
Her smile in response, the way she looked down at the sidewalk, was so uncharacteristically bashful, it made his heart thud in his chest. “Okay,” she said quietly, and he held the door open so she could walk inside, his eyes glued to her gently swaying hips.
As soon as the hostess saw them walk up, she called someone over to show them to their table without so much as requiring a name.
Steak wasn’t the only reason Judah liked Migdal; he also appreciated their professionalism and discretion.
Mira had loved going out to eat specifically because she got a kick out of people stopping by their table, but all Judah wanted to do that night was get to know the obscenely gorgeous woman on his arm.
“So this is a date,” she said with a teasing grin as he held out her chair. “What does one do on a date, exactly? Is this the part where we share our hopes and dreams?”
“Depending on who set us up, this is the part where we play Jewish Geography for a while or talk about what we’re looking for in a partner. I think we can skip those.”
“Humor me.” Ari lifted a glass of ice water to her lips. “What are you looking for in a partner, Judah Klein?”
His eyes flickered over her cleavage, and his lips turned up in the ghost of a smile.
“Judah.”
“Arielle.”
“You asked me on a date. Isn’t this the kind of thing you’re supposed to do on a date?”
“My first dates are usually in hotel lobbies or coffee shops.” He draped the linen napkin over his lap. “I generally haven’t seen them naked or spilled my guts to them repeatedly. This isn’t exactly a normal first date.”
“But—”
“Have you had a chance to decide?”
Neither of them had even noticed the server approach. “No, sorry,” Ari said, sounding flustered as she picked up her menu. “We need another minute.”
The server looked at him, as if requiring male confirmation, and Judah just raised his eyebrows and lifted his menu.
“Can I get you drinks? Wine, perhaps?”
Ari opened her mouth, shut it, and said, “Water’s fine, thank you.”
He knew she was uncomfortable with the prices, could see it in the way her eyes scanned the menu.
He wanted to tell her not to worry and what stupid amounts of money people with way too much of it paid him to sing for a few hours.
Instead, he asked the server, “Could you make the lady a Shirley Temple?”
She snorted a surprised laugh, and he couldn’t help grinning, way too pleased with himself for eliciting such a response. He suggested they get actual cocktails off the drink menu, and she conceded, choosing a passion fruit martini alongside his old-fashioned.
“Well?” she asked once the server had left. “I’m waiting.”
“For what?” As if he didn’t know.
“Tell me what you’re looking for in a partner. Besides nice boobs.”
He folded his arms on the table. “All right, fine. Someone I can talk to. Someone who makes me laugh. Someone who’s passionate about things and kind and likes to have fun, but the kind of fun that doesn’t force me to leave the house more than I already do.”
“In fairness, you do leave the house a lot.”
“I do. It’s terrible.”
“What else?”
The server arrived with their drinks, and Judah waited until he left to keep going. “Someone who keeps Shabbos and a kosher home, obviously.” He took a sip of his drink, relishing the slight burn. “Wants kids. But maybe not five kids.”
“There goes my whole initial vision of you, up in smoke,” she said with a snap of her fingers as she lifted her martini to her lips.
He huffed a laugh. “Sorry to disappoint.”