Fall From Grace(36)

“Immortal?  What, like you’re a vampire, I let you bite my neck and I’ll get to live forever with a beautiful woman like you.  I would.  In a heartbeat.”

I’d never met an ass like him before.  Strike four.  “No, immortal because I would write about you.  Theoretically, writing about someone makes them immortal, because the words live beyond them, keeping them alive.”

“That doesn’t make sense, but any who, no.  It would be impressing you and making you happy.  Not that I wouldn’t love to be immortal.  I can think of some situations where that can be really useful.”

He just said “any who.”  What strike is this?

I laughed, “Oh, really?”

He sped down the street.  Within two minutes, he was pulling up to Columbus Circle, right in front of The Time Warner Center.  We could have walked there.

Noticing my puzzled look he purred, “I got reservations for Masa.”

I just stared at him.  Blankly.

Tucker jumped out of the jaguar, ran around to my side of the car, and waited for me to open my door.  Strike twenty-something. Maybe he’d break a nail if he had opened it for me? He hooked his arm around my waist and squeezed.  “Masa, Grace!  It’s the most expensive place to eat in Manhattan.  It’s a two hour eating experience that you’re going to love!”

Inside was simple and elegant.  We were escorted to an exquisite bar and our coats were taken as if we were family visiting.  Noticing me without my coat, Tucker’s eyes filled with pride. His chest visibly puffed out and he glanced around the room.  I hated it, and it made me feel dirty. Why should he feel pride from me?

A bottle of champagne was brought out for his approval; the staff called him by name.  The champagne was poured. Tucker sipped his and motioned for me to do the same.  It went down delicious and smooth; he smiled.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It tastes lovely, thank you.”

“It’s Gaston Chiquet Brut 1er Cru 2002.  It’s $150 a bottle.  Drink as much as you want,” he winked.  Oh, I f*cking will.

Without ordering, we were served food.  Sushi.  Well, at least I had $150 champagne to fill me up.  I think that someone should warn you before taking you to a sushi bar, since it might be nice for a person to be able to tell you they HATED SUSHI!

Toro, uni, aoyagi, sayori...I kept drinking to make myself not think about what I was eating.

“This place is beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, leaning against the bar; eyeing me.

“Yes.”  Does he know ANY other adjectives?

“So tell me about you,” he said.

“Like what?” I asked gulping my champagne.

“Where did you grow up, where’d you go to school?  Stuff like that,” he explained.

I swallowed hard, champagne going right to my head.  I could tell him everything; that would send him packing.  It almost made Jacob leave me and he was my brother.  Tucker wouldn’t believe me though; he wouldn’t even hear me.  “I grew up in Belle Harbor, a block away from the beach.  Lea and I lived next door to each other.”  My knees started tingling from the champagne.  “I’ve been to a couple of schools and I studied everything.”

“I was thinking,” he said, proving he did not intend to get to know any more about me.  Sure, you were thinking.  “Why don’t I see if there’s any room for an assistant in our office?  I was thinking I could help you out, since you don’t have a job right now.”  He smiled so wide, I noticed where all the sushi was stuck in teeth.