Chapter 3

• Instead I decided to think about my budding relationship with the enigmatic artist who inexplicably sent me a painting worth thousands of dollars.
• “Yes?”
• I nearly pressed “End” on my cellphone. I was terrified, and my boss (the District Attorney himself) was watching me through the window of my office. Personal calls were frowned upon, of course.
• “Um, hi. Olivia?”
• “Yes, this is Olivia. Who is this?”
• “Hi. Um.” I cleared my throat and straightened my back. The words wouldn’t come.
• This was absurd. We were going to dinner. That was it. It didn’t have any other undertone just because she was a lesbian and I was straight. I knew plenty of gay people and never read anything extra into what they did, just as it was vice versa.
• So why did it feel like I was asking her out on a date?
• “This is Elizabeth. From the art gallery. Well, the lawyer who was visiting the art gallery. You sent me ‘Afterglow’?”
• “Yes,” she said with a smile in her voice. “I remember. Thank you for calling. I wasn’t sure you would.”
• “Why wouldn’t I?”
• She was quiet on the other end for a few seconds. “Truth be told, you seem a little uptight.”
• “Oh,” I said. I couldn’t fault her for thinking that. “I see.”
• “So, were you planning to join me for dinner?”
• I thought, “Hang up, Liz. This feels more and more like a date.You really don’t need this. You’re confused about your existence enough as it is. Blurring the lines of your sexuality is not necessary right now,” on a continuous loop.
• And yet another part of me was tempted by the worst sin ever: curiosity.
• “Of course. I’d love to talk more about your work.” I cleared my throat. “Dinner is fine. And talking about your work, uh, sounds ... fine. Yeah.”
• She let out a breathy, silky laugh. “Free tonight?”
• I took a deep breath. “I am.”
• “Meet me at The Brink at 7. Know it?”
• “Of course.”
• “I’ll ask for a table. See you there.”
• She hung up, leaving me with the loud voices in mind going absolutely crazy.
• I was the first one there, naturally. It was engrained in me at an early age to be prompt. Plus I wanted the advantage of being there before her.
• I sat at the table she reserved and sipped my vodka and OJ. It did nothing to ease my anxiety. Why I was so nervous I didn’t know. I eventually concluded it was because I thought she was much smarter and prettier than me. She was the cool senior and I was the pimply freshman who couldn’t meet her eyes.
• Eventually Olivia drifted into the restaurant like a dream. She wore a gauzy, cream-colored dress and her hair danced way below her shoulders, tickling the bottoms of her breasts. My eyes traveled down to her heels, which were pink and higher than anything I’d ever dare wear. Men broke their necks as they watched her cross the restaurant, but she kept her eyes on me.
• She sank into the seat across from me and eyed my orange juice and vodka with amusement. “Needed the hard stuff tonight, darling?”
• And just like that I was the awkward girl again.
• “I like vodka,” I said. I prayed she didn’t see the way I self-consciously squirmed in my seat.
• “How about we switch to wine?” She gestured to the waiter and ordered us the most expensive red on the menu.
• Then those mesmerizing eyes settled back on me. “Aren’t you curious why I asked you to meet with me?”
• The waiter promptly returned with our wine. I focused on the sound of it dripping into my glass rather than her stare.
• The waiter disappeared and Olivia clinked my glass with her own. “For a lawyer, you’re not very talkative.”
• That got me to smile. “I usually am. Most times people are telling me to shut up.”
• “Really?” She watched me like I was the most fascinating specimen of human on the planet, which was just not so.
• “I think I’m just in awe of your talent a bit. Like a fangirl.”
• “A fangirl?” She smiled and tilted her head. “I don’t know the expression.”
• “It’s like when a girl is a really big fan of something or someone. It’s dumb.”
• She sipped her wine. The waiter came back and we ordered our dinners--steak for her, chicken for me. And then we were alone. Truly alone.