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The Date
I was a nervous wreck as I entered the restaurant. I was meeting Edge at East, this ritzy little sushi place in the West Village. He'd called me about an hour earlier about it.
I was greeted by a young hostess but didn't have to wait long, as I instantly caught sight of him. He was already seated at a table and stood up, a smile on his face as he gestured to me.
"Hello," he said, and the deep timbre of his thoroughly masculine voice had ripples running up and down my spine. He looked exceptionally handsome in his dark gray suit, baby blue silk tie and crisp white shirt. His shoulder-length blond curls were flowing. I couldn't recall a time when I'd gone on a date with a sexier man.
"Hi," I said, glad I wasn't stammering. I took a seat at the booth, directly across from his chair. He didn't sit back down until I sat first. I glanced down at the menu set before me but could feel his eyes on me.
"Wow," the man said. "You look incredible."
"Thank you," I replied, unable to keep the grin from coming to my lips. It was always nice to hear, especially when it came from such a hot man. And right about then, I thought of Lisa Marie. It was the sort of thing she would have said.
A waitress came by moments later to interrupt our small talk and take our orders. We decided on the smallest sushi boat they had. As long as there was plenty of my favorite, unagi, I would be a happy camper.
"So, Amy," Edge said minutes later, "I understand you write for Cosmopolitan?"
"Indeed I do," I told him with a smile. I folded my hands neatly on the table. "I have my very own column - Sex and Love."
His brows quirked upward, and to me that either meant that he was impressed, or else he'd never even heard of my column.
"Ahh."
My guess was the latter, judging by his exclamation.
"It's just basically your typical relationship advice column. Actually, it's a lot of fun." I didn't tell him that a lot of my real life experiences with men, dating and sex were incorporated into the column. Now, don't get me wrong - I was a very private person, but it came quite handy to use my own personal experiences in my work. And I tended to use those of my three closest friends pretty often as well.
"Cool," he said between sips of green tea. "So, how'd you get started in that field?"
"Well," I said, for some reason unable to keep the smile off my face - gorgeous men tended to have me all giddy and actually extra girlish - "I majored in Journalism in college. Of course, prior to that, I was editor of my high school's newspaper." I clamped my mouth shut, realizing I was babbling. Trish would have been poking me by now, telling me it wasn't "ladylike." But that wasn't what was bothering me. I cocked my head and met his green eyes squarely. "I'm sorry... I'm just going on and on about myself, and-"
Edge waved a hand at me, protesting my protestations.
"Don't be silly. I'm enjoying every minute." He smiled. "I find you fascinating, Amy Dumas."
There were those pleasant ripples returning. I couldn't resist grinning back at him. He just had a way, a charm about him.
The waitress returned with our boat of sushi. She placed it in the center of our table, along with two tiny dishes for soy sauce. This date was shaping up so nicely.
"So," I said as I reached for my chopsticks, "you don't sound like you're from New York originally."
"I'm not. I'm originally from Toronto."
"Cool. Well, that explains the accent. So, what do you do for a living?"
He fixed his emerald orbs on me and smiled before directing a piece of raw salmon into his mouth. He seemed to relish chewing it so much that I nearly blushed. I raised my water glass, taking a sip of the cool beverage as he answered my question.
"I'm an importer-exporter," he said. "Real exciting, huh?" He rolled his eyes, soft laughter emerging from him. "Although it sort of is. I deal in exquisite women's lingerie."
I nearly did a double-take as I swallowed a piece of tekka maki. Was he serious or only joking?
"My importing and exporting business only deals with the finest, top-quality stuff," he stated. "We get all our silk from Japan, hence why I was there on business the other week. I was visiting a new client in Tokyo. Great guy."
"Wow," I breathed. It was funny... I gave women helpful advice on relationships for a living. He gave women sexy lingerie to help their relationships. We actually had something in common other than our intense love for sushi. That was an unmistakable plus.
We were definitely feeling quite comfortable with our mutually healthy appetites as well as with our easy conversations. Edge's real name was actually Adam Copeland, and he told me he didn't mind me calling him by his first name. However, I actually did like 'Edge,' and so I opted to refer to him by that.
After dinner, we went for a leisurely stroll around Washington Square Park. It was a lovely night, and to be quite honest, I didn't really want it to end.
"You know, you really do look so gorgeous tonight."
I glanced almost shyly over at him, the breeze picking up. I smiled, enjoying the feel of those ripples coming back into my spine. I noticed his hand coming over toward me as he offered it, and I took it, interlacing my fingers with his. It was such a nice feeling. And shortly thereafter, he walked me home.
"Can I take you out again soon?" Edge asked, his face so close to mine, head cocked as he gazed into my eyes. "How about Thursday night?"
I smiled softly, feeling just so good all over.
"I'd really like that."
He raised his right hand to my face, gently brushing away some strands of my hair. Goosebumps pricked my skin at the feather-like touch. And then, Edge lowered his head toward mine, and my breath was taken away by his soft kiss.
A moment later, it was over.
"I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight," he said with a smile.
I stood there with probably the goofiest smile on my face.
"Goodnight." I stood there at the bottom of the stairs in front of my brownstone, watching as he got into his limosine. His window went down a few inches and he waved before the vehicle took off.
Only when it was completely out of my sight did I head up to the apartment. God, I was feeling giddy!