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“To not wear it is a show of disrespect toward me,” I say, holding her eyes. “And you do not want to disrespect me.” I run my thumb along her bottom lip. “Do you understand?”
Nora smiles. “Yes, I understand.”
I kiss her once more before releasing her from the wall. She lowers her feet to the floor and looks into the mirrored wall to check her shirt for wrinkles while I wipe her lipstick off my lips and fix the mess she made of my hair.
“Do you work tonight?” she asks me, catching her breath.
“Actually, I have one of those strange happenstances I keep hearing about called a night off.”
“Really?” She smiles at me, her eyes twitching with thought.
I reach out to straighten her necklace. “Why?” I ask.
She nods a thank you. “I thought that maybe…” She picks up her purse and briefcase. “Maybe you’d like to grab a cup of coffee. With me.”
I lean over to enable the elevator again. The car bounces an inch and continues its ascent.
“Coffee?” I ask.
“Uh-huh,” she says.
“Coffee…”
“Yeah, you know, it’s like tea but better,” she quips. “Or worse, depending on your perspective.”
I shift on my feet. “Hmm.”
“What?”
“It just occurred to me that we’ve never gotten coffee before.”
“I came to a similar realization myself,” she says. “Figured I’d do something about it. Also, it gives us a chance to talk. One-on-one. Face-to-face. About something other than… well, you know.”
“Talk?” I ask.
“Uh-huh.”
“Talk…”
She squints in confusion. “Yeah, you know, it’s like thinking… but you say it out loud.”
I laugh. “Okay. Sure. If you want.”
Her eyes shine with the slightest, most innocent, twinkle. “I want.”
“Then,” I stand taller, “let’s get some coffee… and talk.”
Nora bites her lip. “Meet me at the coffee shop next to Red Brick at six?”
I nod. “I can do that.”
“Great,” she says, her face relaxed but still smiley.
The elevator opens and Nora walks onto the floor with confidence the way she always does.
I stand still until the last possible moment before the doors decide to close.
Talking over coffee.
