Pleasant

Mel and I arrive at Del Monico's twenty minutes later. After the coat check girl hands me the ticket we head up to the host, "Table for two, please."

"You are lucky. Just had a cancellation." the girl says, then turns to the waitress, "Table 6."

The waitress smiles at us and leads us over to a table by a window. "Here you are." the brunette states putting two menus down on the table as I helped Mel into her seat.

I sit across from Mel, giving her a smile as I pick up and look through the menu. I knew I wanted a steak and...

"Oh my God." I hear Mel say as she looks at the menu. "There...there's no prices!"

"Of course not. Del Monico's is a place that if you need to ask how much something is, then you shouldn't be in here." I say with a smile.

"OH...no I couldn't ask you to buy me an expensive dinner for a fake date..." Mel says as she starts to stand up. I stop her by reaching across and grabbing her hand gently. She inhales sharply at the touch, "John, what...?"

"Forget it, It's only money...And I consider you a good friend. Think of it as a birthday and Christmas present all in one." I say with a gentle smile.

"Oh...no...no I couldn't..."

"Sit." I say. "Please. I'd be very offended if you don't. I have to be pretending to be your boyfriend. You say you are a bad liar, so what if someone asks if I've treated you to a nice dinner? Hmmm? Sit."

"Okay...but I'll make this all up to you , I swear." Mel says resettling herself in the seat.

"Think nothing of it. It's a gift."

We order and eat, making small talk as we ate. I found her laugh to be infectious and her smile beautiful. Her conversation was very engaging. It's amazing that though I thought of her as a friend I really knew very little about her. And as the night went on and on I forgot about her promise to hook me up with her friend Cheryl. I found myself getting more and more attracted to Mel herself.

I like to think I played it cool. But I'm not really sure. She didn't give me any overt signs that she was thinking the way I am, but at the same time she was playing with her hair a little more. Exposing her neck a little more while she was listening to something I said.

I ordered a bottle of wine, then we had dessert. During the dessert we didn't talk to much, the tirimisu was just too good to let settle and waste. But it wasn't an awkward silence, in my opinion...just a pleasant one.

"I'll drive you home." I say as we leave the restaurant, and head to the parking lot across the street and down the block.

"Oh, wow. Except for the picking up part this is almost like a real date, John."

"Well, again, you say you are a bad liar...so..."

"Uh huh...okay. Take me home Romeo." She says with a wink as she gets into my car.

Twenty minutes later I pull up to her apartment building. "I'll see you at..."

"Wanna come up for a drink?" She blurts out.