It's All a Matter of Choice Read online

  Emmet looked at Anita.

  “Taking in a movie,” he replied.

  Herman scowled a little.

  “That’s all?” he asked Emmet, whose eyes still rested on Anita. She actually blushed a little.

  “Believe me Herman, it’s more than enough,” he replied.

  Herman noticed Emmet looking at Anita and put two and two together.

  “Oh. Oh yes. I certainly agree, Emmet,” he said, beaming, “More than enough.”

  Chapter 16 ~ First Date

  Emmet picked up Anita at the hotel at seven-thirty. She had just received her first paycheck and deposited it in her bank. Three more and she’d be good to go. Emmet met her in the lobby. She wore a white print dress that flared at the bottom and her hair was pulled back with a matching scarf. A little shell necklace graced her neck with matching shell earrings. She wore flat white sandals that tied around her ankles. Her legs were very pretty. Emmet was still in the clothes he wore to work and just stared at her when she approached him, blinking.

  Anita stopped in front of him, smiling.

  “So, how do I look?” she asked the stunned young man.

  Emmet continued to blink.

  “Emmet?” Anita said, waving her hand in front of his face, “Emmet can you hear me?”

  Emmet snapped out of it.

  “Hi, Anita,” he said, swallowing a bit.

  He hadn’t heard a word she said to him. It was as if the whole world had stopped when Anita stepped into the lobby. All he could see was how lovely she was.

  “Hello, Emmet,” she replied, shaking her head a little and slipping her arm into his.

  “What a nice looking couple,” a gray-haired lady said to her husband as Anita and Emmet exited the hotel lobby. The old man looked at Anita’s legs and smiled.

  “She does have a nice couple,” he said, then winced as his scowling wife pinched his arm.

  Emmet walked Anita to his rental, opened the car door and helped her in. When she was seated and buckled in, he closed the door, walked around the car and got in, starting it up and driving in the direction of the theater. He felt as if he had a box of cotton in his throat and was very aware of Anita sitting next to him.

  He couldn’t think of anything to say and his palms were sweating. Cool, Emmet was not.

  Anita broke the ice.

  “So Emmet, what movie are we seeing?” she asked him.

  “Um…it’s a retro movie. ‘When Harry met Sally” he said, “With Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. It sounded like a nice movie for…for…”

  “For a first date?” Anita asked him.

  “Yes,” Emmet agreed. He didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes carefully on the road.

  Anita smirked.

  “Emmet, have you ever seen ‘When Harry met Sally?’” she asked him, an eyebrow arched.

  “No. Not really. But I tried to pick something that you might like. Women like romance movies, right?” he asked her, daring to glance over at the smiling brunette, “It sounds like a romance movie.”

  “It’s a romance movie, but a comedy too,” Anita said.

  “Even better,” Emmet said, relief in his voice, “I could use a few laughs.”

  Anita thought she would be the one having all the laughs watching Emmet react to the movie, particularly Meg Ryan’s famous restaurant scene where she fakes an orgasm. She couldn’t wait.

  *

  Emmet knew he had chosen the wrong movie for a first date with Anita as he listened to Harry and Sally argue over men and women as friends.

  Billy Crystal (Harry Burns): You realize of course that we could never be friends.

  Meg Ryan (Sally Albright): Why not?

  Billy Crystal (Harry): What I’m saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): That’s not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved.

  Billy Crystal (Harry): No you don’t.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): : Yes I do.

  Billy Crystal (Harry): No you don’t.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): Yes I do.

  Billy Crystal (Harry): You only think you do.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): You say I’m having sex with these men without my knowledge?

  Billy Crystal (Harry):: No, what I’m saying is they all WANT to have sex with you.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): They do not!

  Billy Crystal (Harry): Do too.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): They do not.

  Billy Crystal (Harry): Do too.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): How do you know?

  Billy Crystal (Harry):Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): So, you’re saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?

  Billy Crystal (Harry): No. You pretty much want to nail ‘em too.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): What if THEY don’t want to have sex with YOU?

  Billy Crystal (Harry): Doesn’t matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): Well, I guess we’re not going to be friends then.

  Billy Crystal (Harry): I guess not.

  Meg Ryan (Sally): That’s too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York.

  Emmet colored as he felt Anita look over at him several times during the movie conversation. She looked as if she wanted to burst out laughing. But that was nothing compared to the fake orgasm scene.

  The audience was cracking up about Meg Ryan’s very loud and vocal rendition of a faked orgasm in the restaurant, but Anita was cracking up over Emmet’s shocked and distinctly uncomfortable look. He had never heard a woman orgasm. Did they really make that much noise? He glanced sideways at Anita, who fell out again and he reddened even more…it was obvious she was laughing at him.

  After the movie, Anita said she was hungry, so she took Emmet’s arm and they walked together up the avenue, looking for someplace to get a quick bite. Emmet was very quiet. Anita looked up at him.

  “It’s not really that complicated, Emmet,” she said to him softly.

  Emmet looked down at her. The whites of his eyes were showing a bit.

  “What’s not?” he asked her.

  “Men and women. That movie was an exaggeration,” she said.

  “Oh,” Emmet said shortly.

  Anita got a decidedly devilish look in her eyes.

  “So, do you agree with Harry that men can’t be friends with attractive women because they want to have sex with them?” she asked him.

  “Not if the movie was an exaggeration,” Emmet replied, dancing around the question. He didn’t want to talk about that. Anita was very attractive, and it was dangerous ground.

  “Well, what do you think?” Anita pressed.

  “I think men and women can be friends,” Emmet said.

  “Without sex even being considered?” Anita asked.

  Emmet was silent for a few seconds.

  “I honestly don’t know, Anita. I haven’t had enough female friends to tell,” he said honestly.

  “Do you think of me as a friend?” she asked.

  Emmet swallowed.

  “Yes,” he said shortly.

  “So have you thought about having sex with me?” she asked him, a wicked grin on her face. She knew she turned Emmet on because of the inseam incident.

  Emmet didn’t know how to answer this. If he said yes, she might think he was a pervert…if he said no, he’d be lying. Then providence interceded.

  “Ah, a place we can eat,” he said, turning off into a small restaurant quickly with Anita. They were seated and Emmet handed Anita the menu.

  “Order what you want,” he said, burying his face in his own open menu.

  Anita looked over at Emmet, but only the top of his head was showing. Then she looked down at the menu.

  Ooh, corn on the cob. That so
unded good. Then she saw something else.

  “I couldn’t,” Anita thought, looking over at Emmet, who was studiously studying his menu. Then he peeked up at her, and bobbed back down when she met his eyes.

  “Yes, I could,” she told herself mischievously.

  Emmet felt as if he couldn’t eat a thing. When the waiter returned, he opted for minestrone soup with a side order of bread and salad. He also ordered a seltzer water with lemon to calm his stomach. Anita made her order in such a low voice, Emmet couldn’t tell what she was getting.

  “I’m pretty hungry, so make sure it’s big and thick,” she said to the waiter, who notated her preference, took their menus and walked away. Now Emmet didn’t have anything to hide behind. He hoped Anita wouldn’t pick up the conversation where it left off. She didn’t. She went someplace deeper.

  “Emmet, I want to ask you something rather personal,” Anita said to him, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

  “All right,” Emmet replied, his brown eyes a bit worried. What was she going to ask him?

  “Have you ever been in a relationship before?” she asked him.

  He shook his head.

  “No, I haven’t,” he answered.

  “Never?” Anita asked him again.

  Emmet felt like such a loser as he answered her. What could she think of a twenty-six year old man who never had a woman?

  “No. I didn’t attract girls,” he said, “I was too nerdy even for the nerdy girls.”

  ”You’re a nice guy, Emmet. Didn’t you even try?” Anita asked him softly. She could see this was painful for him, but she really wanted to know the answer.

  “There was no reason to try, Anita. Being a nice guy didn’t matter,” he said, “I wasn’t the kind of guy girls went for. Skinny, bad clothes, big glasses, shy…no. I didn’t try,” he said.

  “What about now? You’re a success, Emmet. You’ve just landed the biggest account B, B & B has ever acquired. And you dress nice, and really are good-looking. You see how Jennifer is buzzing around you. You can attract women now,” she said.

  “Jennifer wasn’t buzzing around me a week ago,” Emmet responded, looking at Anita directly. “The only girl that would give me the time of day was you, Anita. Nerdy clothes and all. I still don’t know why though.”

  Anita gave him a small smile.

  “I used to be kind of nerdy too, Emmet. People picked on me, ignored me, teased me, and I learned early that it’s not what’s outside that matters, but what’s inside,” she said…then she frowned. “Though I have to admit I don’t really like smooth, good-looking guys on sight because of the way so many of them treated me. I can even be a bit unfair concerning them. Leftover angst I guess. I always go for the guy everyone underestimates or ignores. He’s usually the sweetest and the nicest. Like you are. But if I met you today, Emmet, I might not have been so friendly. You’re too cute now,” she said, smiling at him.

  Emmet looked at her. Too cute? He couldn’t help but smile a little.

  “Have you been in a relationship?” he asked Anita. Her eyes darkened.

  “I’ve been involved in little short flings, Emmet, but never a real relationship with one steady guy. I move around a lot,” she said.

  “Why do you move around a lot?” Emmet asked her.

  Anita shook her head. She didn’t want to tell Emmet about her father.

  “I’d rather not talk about that,” she said, looking a bit upset.

  “That’s all right. We don’t have to talk about it then, Anita,” Emmet said, hating to see her looking distressed, “It’s your business.”

  Emmet wondered if “moving around a lot” meant Anita wouldn’t be here long. He hoped not.

  “Do…do you think you’ll be here long?” he asked her, trying to sound nonchalant, but Anita could hear how important this was to Emmet.

  “I plan to stay here as long as possible,” she replied, “At least long enough to get to know you better, Emmet. I really want to know you better. I think you’re a special guy.”

  Emmet felt his chest tighten and let his breath out slowly.

  “I…I think you’re special too, Anita,” he said, wishing he could think of something better to say than repeat her words. But they seemed to work fine on Anita, because she smiled at him…a soft smile that made his heart beat a bit faster. Then the waiter appeared with a large circular tray on which precariously perched their meal.

  The waiter served Emmet first.

  “Soup, bread and salad, sir,” the waiter said, placing his food before him. Emmet couldn’t see Anita’s meal. The waiter moved to her side of the table.

  “Corn, kielbasa and sauerkraut, Miss,” the waiter said, deftly placing her food before her.

  Emmet looked at the thick, long sausage on her plate, then up at Anita, who was smirking slightly as she thanked the waiter, who thought, “I’d like to hang around and watch her eat that,” as he smiled and walked away.

  Anita looked over at Emmet’s soup.

  “Soup? You must not have much of an appetite,” she said to him.

  Emmet was still looking at the kielbasa.

  “I don’t. But you certainly seem…hungry,” he replied with a little crack in his voice.

  How in the hell was he going to watch her eat that? Hopefully Anita would cut it up first. If not…

  ”Starved,” she said, picking up the ear of corn and biting into it.

  “Mmmm. That’s good,” she said in a low voice.

  Emmet felt himself tighten a bit.

  “Oh no. Not now. Not while we’re eating,” he thought.

  Emmet tried to concentrate on eating his soup as Anita consumed her corn. He did all right until she picked up the kielbasa.

  “This is the kind of food that is best eaten with the hands,” Anita said, causing Emmet to look up just as she inserted the end of the sausage into her mouth. He froze, his eyes locked to her face as she slowly and sensuously bit the kielbasa.

  Emmet went rock hard almost instantly, his eyes glazing a bit at the rush of blood to his loins and subsequent loss of blood to his brain.

  “Emmet, are you all right?” Anita asked him. He was holding a spoonful of soup in mid-air.

  “I’m…fine,” he said in a somewhat strangled voice, bringing the spoon to his mouth.

  Anita put Emmet through a small series of tortures for the rest of the meal, alternating between the corn cob and the kielbasa. She really stretched her meal out. Emmet had to close his eyes when she sucked some of the juice out of the sausage. Finally she finished with a long sigh, her brown eyes resting on Emmet with a sated look.

  “That was sooooo gooood,” she said.

  “Yes, it was,” Emmet agreed rather dreamily.

  Anita smiled wickedly.

  “I mean the soup. MY soup,” Emmet added hastily.

  “Hm. You’ve hardly eaten any of it,” Anita observed.

  Emmet hadn’t. He’d watched her eat. So did a few other male patrons.

  “What I ate of it was good,” he said, pushing the bowl away and wiping his mouth. Both the bread and salad remained untouched.

  “Did you want dessert?” Emmet asked Anita. His cock was still swollen and the imprint was quite clear against his jeans. He couldn’t stand up yet.

  “No,” she said with a yawn. “I’m really ready to go back to the hotel now.”

  Emmet stared at her.

  “Um, I think I’d like another seltzer with lemon first, then I’ll take you back,” he said, motioning to the waiter again.

  “All right,” Anita said. She had an idea why Emmet was hedging. She felt a little pulse of warmth again, then popped two after dinner mints into her mouth. There was the good-night kiss to think about.

  As she watched Emmet drink his seltzer, a small battle was going on inside Anita. Should she try to get Emmet to come to her hotel room, or should she let the poor guy go? She knew she should let him go, but she was feeling quite attracted to him on a number of levels. First
ly, he was so good to her. He deserved a roll in the hay just for getting her out of that ratty motel, not to mention not letting her buy lunch and standing up for her when Jeffrey said what he did.

  Plus, Emmet was such a gentleman. She wanted to see if he could be persuaded not to be one. Anita had a decision to make.

  *

  Emmet walked into the elevator behind Anita and pressed the button for the second floor. He was very nervous. It was the end of the date. You were supposed to kiss your date good night at the end.

  “I had a nice time tonight, Emmet. Why don’t we do it again next weekend? Unless you have other plans,” Anita said to him, smiling.

  “No. I don’t have other plans,” Emmet said, “But do you want to go to the movies again?”

  Emmet hoped not. Harry and Sally had been enough for him.

  “No. How about we rent some videos and watch movies in my suite?” Anita suggested.

  “Here at the hotel?” Emmet said, “With you?”

  The elevator stopped and they walked out.

  “Yes, with me. Is something wrong with that?” she asked him.

  “Ah…no,” Emmet said, running his finger around his collar. It was getting a bit warm. He walked Anita to her door. She looked up at him.

  “Would you like to come in, Emmet?” she asked him.

  Poor Emmet went pale.

  Anita’s heart went out to him. He wasn’t anywhere near ready for this. She could start getting him ready next Friday.

  “Never mind. You look tired, Emmet. You had a big day today and need to get some rest. Next Friday will be fine,” she said, letting him off the hook.

  Emmet nearly slumped with relief. He couldn’t tell her no, that would have been rude. But to be honest, he was a little afraid to go into her room. It was too intimate a situation, too soon. Next Friday would be better. He’d have a whole week to prepare to be alone with her. A whole week to worry about what would happen…if anything.

  “Yes, I am a bit tired,” he agreed. “And I have to pick out my and my mom’s cars tomorrow.”

  “You’re buying your mom a car?” Anita asked him.

  Emmet nodded.

  “She needs one,” he said shortly.

  “Emmet, you really are a sweetheart,” she said. Everyone loved a guy who was good to his mother.