"No problem," she said, taking his hand to get into the SUV. And yes, wearing a red pencil skirt and tall black heels wasn't the ideal outfit for this car, but he at least was a gentleman about helping her in.
He closed the door and jogged around the front of the car to his side, quickly opening his door and climbing in with ease. But as he started it up, some sort of loud guitars came blaring through the speakers, shaking Charlotte's rib cage. Jordan's hand quickly moved to turn the music down.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I usually take some liberties with the radio when it's just me."
"Quite the sound system."
"When I want something, I always get the best," he replied with a look that made Charlotte think he wasn't talking about his speakers anymore.
As he pulled out, he quickly set her at ease by narrating their trip through the city. "That bar is a total dive, but you have to go sometime," or "That's the statue they put a Pirates jersey on every time we make it to the playoffs."
"So then I'll get to see that this year, right?" she asked.
He stopped at a red light and looked over at her, his blue eyes sparkling under the city lights. "I hope so. For your sake, of course," he said. "I wouldn't want you to miss that."
She laughed at his joking tone, knowing exactly what he was implying. He was the captain of the team and while she liked the attention from him and liked being his date this evening, she knew he still had another priority besides her.
Jordan pulled up to the Renaissance Center, its five towers looming over the waterfront, and Charlotte watched as the valet did a double take before promising to take special care of the car.
"I'll make sure our best driver handles it, captain."
Jordan joked around with him before heading inside and Charlotte noticed just how at ease he was with people recognizing him. She'd seen bad behavior from quite a few of the high society types who would often get recognized in New York — or who would get pissed off if they weren't.
Jordan led them over to a bank of elevators, standing close while still trying to keep a gentlemanly distance from her. But as they got in the elevator to go up, she couldn't help but grab his hand and slip her fingers through his, letting her guard down for just a moment. He didn't seem to mind.
"So where are you taking me exactly?"
"Top floor," he explained. "There's this great restaurant up there that just opened a few months ago with an amazing view of the city. I mean, I'm sure it's not like a Manhattan view, but it's still nice."
She gave him a reassuring smile. "I think it sounds pretty amazing."
They gave their coats to the maitre d' and followed as she took them to a table in the corner right by the windows. Charlotte couldn't help but look out over the tall buildings and river with the large bridge lit up in the distance.
"So you're really looking south over to Canada," Jordan said as he pushed her chair in behind her.
"I actually knew that!" she replied excitedly. "Weird but true facts you learn when you move to Detroit."
He smiled at her warmly. "Down there is the arena, which you have become familiar with."
Charlotte peered down to the ground way below them. It seemed so small from here but had been looming large in her life lately.
"I hope you like this."
There was a bit of apprehension in his voice that made her feel a warmth inside knowing she had this kind of effect on him.
"I do," she told him reassuringly. "This is actually really nice."
The two of them fell into comfortable conversation after their food arrived with Jordan prodding her about how well she had adjusted to her new city that she was starting to think of as home.
"So how did your family feel about you moving here?"
"It was a little hard for them to understand," she explained. "My parents, and my mom especially, are big in the New York social scene. So coming here is almost like moving to another planet in their eyes."
"Then why did you do it?"
"I got sick of being in New York and the people that I was around, especially when it came to my mom," she explained. "Plus, I needed something new because my writing was getting a bit stale."
"I thought New York was supposed to be romantic," Jordan said.
