Page 8 of All My Love
6
Ben
When we stepout of the cab, I admire Liz’s long, slender calf as she steps onto the sidewalk in these fuck-me heels. I can’t get close enough to her while still remaining a safe distance away, one that will allow me to get on with my life after she leaves me. Because if I could control fate, I’d have her stay with me forever. I feel so certain of it despite the very little sense itmakes.
“You should order for us,” Liz says over her shoulder. I grab the door for her and we walk up to the hostess stand where I give our name. The hostess grabs two menus and we’re ushered through the noisy, dim dining room and through a smaller room in the back, then past a line of cooks. It feel like we’re going on a little journey together and Beth smiles back at me with excitement in her eyes when the hostess brings us outside to a small gardenarea.
The whole time, I’m praying that I can keep my eyes off of her plump, round ass for more than twoseconds.
“Your server will be right with you.” The hostess smiles at me and bats her eyelashes, but I’m having none ofit.
“She spoke English. How did she know we’re American?” Liz asks, taking off her shawl. A light breeze makes her hair shimmy around hercheekbones.
“She probably just heard you telling me I had to order,” I reply. “You look like you’d fit right inhere.”
Our waitress comes by to take our order. As promised, I order for both of us and make a little eye contact with Beth as I do to suss out if she seems happy with what I’m getting for us. I throw in English words so she can follow along, and the quiet interest on her face reminds me of my first days inParis.
“That sounded lovely,” she tells me when the waitress has taken away our menus. “I didn’t get most of it, but it soundedlovely.”
“You don’t have to understand the words to understand themeaning.”
“As far as I could tell, you ordered red wine, butter, salt andcheese.”
“That’s actually not too far off,” I tell her. I’m about to ask her to catch me up on everything that’s going on in her life when my phone buzzes from mypocket.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Liz. I have to take this. It’s myboss.”
“Of course,” she says, smiling up at me. A pang of guilt hits my chest, but I really do need to take this call. Our university has spent the last eighteen months courting and trying to woo a prospective candidate to a new program we’ve started, where undergrads can work toward applying to graduate school using an interdisciplinary approach to their studies. I spearheaded the entire project and it’s the closest thing I’ve had to ababy.
I walk away from the table, excusing myself as I squeeze through the tightly-packed tables. I look back at Liz, realizing only now that the table we have, in the back corner and under the shadows of moonlight, is the most romantic table in the place. Everyone else is practically sitting in their neighbors’ laps. For me and Beth, one of us sitting on the other’s lap is purelyoptional.
Quickly making my way through the restaurant, I swipe my finger across the screen so I don’t miss my boss’call.
“Hey, Professor Mathis, how are you?” I get outside and it’s not much less noisy out here. The sidewalk is lined with tables, so I cross the street to give myself some privacy, and despite my excitement for this call, I can’t help feeling sorry that I left Liz alone. Even if it’s only for a few minutes at most, I don’t like the idea of her being byherself.
“Benjamin,” she replies with a smirk in her voice. I feel my attention being tugged back toward the restaurant as she continues. I really wish she were’t calling me right now, but I really did have to takethis.
“Hi, so what’s going on?” I perch on the back of a bench and look down at the cobblestone below my feet with a pinstripe of anxiety slicing through me. But it’s not purely anxiety. It’s also excitement. I pinch the bridge of my nose when she doesn’t respond rightaway.
“We have a professor coming in from the states tomorrow,” she says. There’s still that smirk in her voice, and I move around the bench to take aseat.
“That’s fantastic,” I reply. “Do you need me to doanything?”
“Yes, I was hoping you’d be able to come to dinner with us. This project is all you, Ben. If we can get her to accept a job talk here, I’m quite certain she’d be a shoo-in, which of course would reflect marvelously onyou.”
I look back at the restaurant again. I don’t know why, but there’s an uneasy feeling settling into my chest. Acoldness.
“Of course.” The words rush out of me. “Anything you need me todo.”
“This is a really good thing, Ben,” she replies. I know she’s surprised by my sudden, seemingly uninterested attitude. I fought hard for this opportunity; now it looks like I’m waffling on going through with it, and to her it seems like there’s no good reason for my temperateattitude.
“Yes, absolutely. Thank you,” I say, standing up. I should be more excited about this, but my mind is affixed firmly on Liz. I know she’ll want to do her own thing at least one night she’s here, but I still can’t help feeling like I’m doing wrong by her. “Can you ask Steph to email me thedetails?”
“Yes, will do,” she replies. “Have a nice evening,Professor.”
“Same toyou.”
I end the call and I’m crossing the narrow cobblestone street quickly, making my way back into the restaurant even quicker. When my path is about to open up to the backyard garden, I see a man standing over ourtable.
