It was Payne’s appointment day. He walked in as usual, gave Jennifer a look, and sat down. But then Jennifer saw him staring at her again. Dreamy-eyed. Seductive. And looking like he wanted something.
But this time, she was going to say something first.
So, when he came out of his session with Dr. Prentice, Jennifer struck up a conversation about his next appointment.
“Need an appointment?” Jennifer made eye contact.
“How about Wednesday next week?
“Ok,” Jennifer made a note, “how about nine o’clock?”
“That’s fine,” said Payne.
“And what time are you going to pick me up tonight?” Jennifer looked Payne directly in the eye.
“Tonight?” Payne looked confused.
“Yes,” Jennifer said, “what time are you picking me up tonight?”
Payne was still confused, then he caught on.
He switched to flirting mode. “Why would I be picking you up tonight?”
“I’ve seen the way you eyeball me every time you come in here. Are you telling me you're not interested in going out with me?”
“All right, I’m busted.” Payne grinned sheepishly. “I do want to go out with you, but not for the reason you might think. I wanted to talk about some things with you. Get a girl’s opinion about dating.”
“Really? Then, pick me up at eight.” Jennifer wrote down her address and gave it to Payne, who pocketed it and went on his way.
Jennifer was waiting outside her apartment for Payne when he drove up in a brand new
Mazda CX-5. Jennifer was impressed. And not just with the car.
Payne was clean-shaven, had trimmed his hair, and wore a new-looking tailored blazer that matched a trendy shirt and pair of pants; even his shoes looked expensive. What a change from the construction worker she saw in the office once a week. He also smelled like he was wearing a designer fragrance.
“You look beautiful,” he complimented Jennifer as he guided the Mazda through the streets of downtown Orchard Park.
“So do you,” she said, not sure what to make of his transformation.
I’m going to take you to Hallford-on-Hudson. Have you heard of it?”
“Yes, I have. I heard it was nice.”
But Jennifer knew that Hallford-on-Hudson wasn’t just nice. It was a new, trendy, and expensive restaurant. What was all of this? Did Payne have a secret life that Dr. Prentice missed in his psychotherapy sessions?
Or was this really just an all-out effort to make a good first impression?
When Jennifer and Payne got to the busy restaurant, Payne gave the keys to the valet. He said a few words to the maître d’, who showed them to a table on the patio with a beautiful view of the Hudson River.
When the waiter arrived, Payne ordered a bottle of wine without looking at the menu and hors d’oeuvres as well.
After the waiter left, Jennifer decided to communicate her suspicions.
“What gives?” she said. “You’re a construction worker by day who is pretty rough around the edges. Then at night, you are some ultra-sophisticated international playboy?”
“I clean up well, that’s all,” he said, looking into her eyes.
“I think there’s more to it than that.”
The waiter came with the bottle of wine. Payne sniffed the cork and sampled the wine the waiter poured. Payne accepted the wine and motioned for the waiter to pour both glasses.
Jennifer watched the entire scene closely, and then it clicked for her.
“Someone has been teaching this boy to be sophisticated,” she thought. “He certainly didn’t learn any of this on his own.”
Jennifer gave Payne’s clothes another quick once-over and came to a conclusion: she might not know who was helping Payne with the clothes and the wine tasting, but she knew it was a woman—a woman who had a vested interest in making Payne over into a gentleman.
Did this woman know that he was out with Jennifer tonight?
Payne lifted his glass and proposed a toast.
“Here’s to what I hope will be a night that will start us both on interesting new adventures.”
“Cheers,” said Jennifer, wondering what the hell that even meant.
The dinner went smoothly; Jennifer calmed down after a few glasses of wine, and she was relieved to find out that Payne was very bright and pleasant to talk to. It was too bad the evening wouldn’t end as she had wanted, but getting out of the apartment and talking to a real person lifted Jennifer’s spirits. It was also a beautiful evening, and the restaurant lived up to everything that Jennifer had heard about it.
“This dinner was beautiful, Payne, and I appreciate it, but why am I really here?”
Payne wanted to speak, but he didn’t.
“What’s going on here? Tell me, Payne. You owe me that much.”
Payne was silent.
“Did you have something you wanted to ask me?” Jennifer was not going to let this go.
“Yes,” admitted Payne, “but after such a nice time with you tonight, I feel like a jackass doing it.”
“Well, whatever it is, I had a nice time tonight too, so just go ahead and ask, and I promise you I won’t be offended.”
“I guess I should start by telling you I already have a girlfriend.”
“I know,” said Jennifer.
“What gave it away? I didn’t tell Dr. Prentice. Only that I wanted to ask a girl out and I didn’t know how.”
Jennifer laughed. “It’s the way you dress, the way you smell, and the way your hair is cut. Only a woman can put all of that together, and they usually only do it for their boyfriends. Plus, most construction workers don’t drive Mazdas.”
Payne blushed.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not cheating on her with you. She knows I’m out with you. In fact, it was her idea.”
“Really,” Jennifer was intrigued.
“I’m just gonna say it….she wants to have a three-way with you.”
For once in her life, Jennifer didn’t know what to say.
They sat there in silence for a few moments. Neither one of them was experienced in actually going through with this kind of sexual situation. That’s why neither of them knew where to take the conversation from there.
Fortunately, Erica, Payne’s girlfriend, had coached him a little.
Payne remembered this and pulled up Erica’s picture on his mobile phone.
“This is her picture. Her name is Erica,” he said as he handed the phone to Jennifer.
Still a little bewildered, Jennifer took the phone.
In her hand was an image of a remarkably beautiful young woman.
She had soulful brown eyes and hair that was layered and highlighted in a very luxurious-looking way. Her features were perfect: beautiful eyes, nice cheekbones, and pouty lips. But what Jennifer noticed most about this girl, Erica, was that she seemed to look directly at you, and right through you, at the same time.
“She certainly is breathtaking,” said Jennifer, handing the phone back to Payne. “I don’t know what to say. I’m flattered, I think. But wait a minute. How does she know what I look like?”
“I took a picture of you in the waiting room when you were daydreaming. You seemed like you were somewhere else.”
“I was.”
Payne reached over and took Jennifer’s hand.
With a great sincerity and tenderness in his eyes, he said, “I’ve had such a nice time tonight. I wouldn’t ask you to do anything that you wouldn’t want to do. I know I sprang this thing on you, but I don’t think of you as that kind of girl. I can’t get my mind off of you, and as you know, I’ve watched a lot of porn.”
Jennifer started to speak.
Payne stroked her hand.
“Don’t say anything tonight. Give us a call tomorrow, and if you want to get together, even to talk, we'll be home. You know, you can come over and just hang out. There’s no pressure. If it gets weird for you, you can leave, no worries. At least think about it. If we don’t hear from you, we’ll know the answer, and you can remember the nice time we had tonight.”
“Alright,” Jennifer said, “I’ll think about it.”
She surprised herself by speaking the words out loud.
Maybe it was the wine.
Maybe it was the river.
Maybe it was reading the files.
Maybe it was the fact that Payne had been, against all odds, genuinely sweet.
He smiled with relief.
“I’m glad,” he said. “That’s all I wanted tonight, really. For you to think about it.”
The waiter came back, plates were cleared, dessert menus arrived. Payne waved them off and ordered something without asking. Crème Brule, espresso. He knew what to do, or rather Erica knew, and Payne was following a script written by someone far more worldly.
And Jennifer couldn’t help but feel the ghost presence of that other woman at their table.
Erica, with those impossible eyes and perfect hair and that hungry, evaluating gaze.
Erica, who wanted something from Jennifer without ever having met her.
They talked about safer things then. Work. The Hudson. How Payne hated winter but loved the first snowfall. The reasons why Jennifer didn’t feel like her life was going anywhere fast.
When dinner ended, Payne didn’t rush. He didn’t crowd her. He offered his arm to walk her to the car. Erica must be some incredible girl.
The drive back to Orchard Park was quiet.
Payne finally spoke.
“Whatever you decided, I want you to know I didn’t ask you to do this because I think you’re a fantasy girl from one of my videos.” He glanced at her, then back to the road. “Erica’s different. Complicated. She doesn’t let people in. But when she does, she really does. And she likes you from what I’ve told her and what she’s seen of you.”
Jennifer felt a little uncomfortable. “Where did she see me?”
“At the Astor. Flirting with Vaughn. She put it together when I described you to her.
She’s really quite taken with you.”
“I see…” Jennifer was strangely flattered. She had been eye candy for both a man and a woman.
“And me?” he went on. “I wanted to make sure you were treated right tonight. Not like some proposition. Like a person.”
They pulled up in front of Jennifer’s building. The street was quiet. Street lights glowed.
The night had come to a standstill.
“So this is it,” Payne said. “time for an awkward goodnight.”
“Not necessarily,” Jennifer said. "Things went well and I’m considering you proposal. I’m perfectly comfortable.”
“Good night, Jennifer,” Payne said, “give me a call when you decide.”
He gave her a peck on the cheek.
Jennifer exited Payne’s car and went up to her apartment. She changed into her pajamas and went to bed. She left her phone on her nightstand and lay in bed thinking. She was torn between calling Payne right away or waiting a few days.
But what was the right time limit for considering a three-way?
There was none. So Jennifer sat up, picked up her phone, and stared at it.
Her fingers hovered over the screen, waiting for the right words to come to mind.
They didn’t.
She started the only way she knew how: Dear Payne.
But that wasn't right. So she tried it again.
Payne had a nice time tonight. I hope you did too.
But that was wrong as well.
Once last time.
Payne and Erica, give me a call when you want us to get together. I’m not promising anything, but I would like to spend some time with the two of you together, Jennifer.
She hit the send button, put the phone away, and drifted off to sleep, feeling more satisfied than she had in a long time.