I am not ready for this.
Then the title flashes on the monitor. “We've Got Tonight.” I grin at her and she gives me a sly, seductive smile.
If I didn't know better, I'd think she maybe was coming on to me. I'm not sure though. It's not as if she started telling me about the time she went backpacking across Western Europe, hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo.
"I thought it fit. And it was either this or 'Islands in the Stream.'" She leans in close and whispers, her breath hot and husky against my ear, "Don't tell anyone, but I'm a closet Kenny Rogers fan."
There's an unmistakable look in her eyes when she sings to me. If I didn't know she was a performer, I'd be falling for it hook, line, and sinker.
Maybe I still am.
We finish up and I pull her to me. It takes everything I have not to kiss her. But there are cell phones waving in the air.
"We need to go. I need to get out of here," she says. Once again, she takes my hand and pulls me from the stage area, heading toward the stairs. I pull her back quickly and grab our coats and her purse. Then, she's tugging me to leave again. The cold February air hits my face, but I can barely feel it. Tabitha continues leading me, stumbling as her heel catches in a sidewalk crack.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
She turns and pulls me into a small alley, pushing me against the brick wall. Instinctively, my hands go to her waist, pulling her body to mine. As she leans in, though, the reality of the situation hits me. "What are you doing?"
Tabitha pulls back, startled. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
I put my hands on her forearms to separate us, as well as to start backing her toward the street. "Tabitha, this isn't a movie set. This alley is probably filled with urine and feces and God knows what else. Not to mention it's a really good way to get mugged."
"Oh and yuck. Can we go somewhere?"
The neon lights of an overhead sign light up her blue eyes. Even though I've been looking at her all night, suddenly now she seems familiar. I can't place her, but it's like we've met before. Or is it just that something has changed between us?
Or maybe we're both drunk and horny.
The last option seems most likely.
"Let's go to my …" I trail off, the earlier burst pipe returning to the forefront of my mind. "Crap. My place is flooded."
"It's fine. I'm staying with Angie and Sergei, but they're still out of town. Duh, obviously. So we have the place to ourselves. I mean, if you want to."
"Oh, I want to. Where do they live?" I've got my fingers crossed for somewhere close.
"Brooklyn." Her gaze darts to the side. "I honestly have no idea how to get there, though. I tried taking the subway earlier today and ended up in Chinatown. At least that's where I think I was."
I glance at my watch; it's pushing midnight. "Let's grab an Uber. Do you at least have their address?"
She nods. "I feel like such an idiot that I can't work the subway. I mean, like millions of people take it every day, but it's like reading Greek." Tabitha leans in close, her breath heavy with wine. "I don't speak Greek."
"I'll teach you how it works. By the time you go back to California, you'll be a pro at it."
"Is that a promise?" she asks coyly, holding my gaze for a beat before pulling out her phone and swiping away. "Uber will be here in seven minutes. I wonder what we could do to pass the time?"
"I've got a thought." I've got multiple thoughts, but many of them would have me arrested for public indecency and lewdness, so I try to keep it PG-rated.
"Me too," she says breathlessly, as her lips close in on mine. Oh good, we're on the same page.
This is a woman who knows how to kiss.
This is also not where I saw this night going. Not at all. Maybe schmoozing has an upside?
A car horn startles us apart and Tabitha giggles. "Oops, that's our Uber." She again takes my hand, pulling me toward the car. I don't even have a chance to open the door for her.
I may be thinking quite naughty thoughts, but that doesn't mean I'm not still a gentleman. Okay, maybe it does, but I can still open the door for her.
