A Song for Julia

you?”
    He stepped close and looked me in the eyes. “I want to take you back to my hotel and have my way with you.”
    I sucked in a quick breath. Not what I’d expected him to say. I swallowed, meeting his eyes, then dropping mine to his lips. Bad idea, because his lips looked very kissable, and I found myself wanting to find out what that felt like. Then I tried to speak, but my voice caught a little. I coughed then said, “I don’t sleep with guys on the first date. And we’re not going to have a second one.”
    In a motion so quick I would have missed it had I not been watching, he licked his lips, then stepped even closer. Too close. Way up in my personal space. I could smell his sweat from the performance. He said, “Then I’ll have to settle for a kiss.”
    I opened my mouth, speechless. No one was this forward. He was nuts. I took a breath, said, “I …” and then he stepped forward just enough to close the gap between us and touch his lips to mine, and he was kissing me, and more disturbingly, I was kissing him back. Shivers ran down my back as he put his hands firmly on my waist. His tongue darted forward and pressed between my lips, and mine met his, and I think I may have made a little bit of sound because he pulled me closer, and I was lightheaded, even though I’d barely touched my margarita.
    I gasped and pulled back just a little bit. “We should … stop.”
    He sighed and met my eyes. “Why?”
    “Because I don’t do this with guys I’m not serious about.”
    He replied, “I don’t get serious about anybody.”
    “Neither do I,” I said, trying for a flippant tone, but knowing I was failing. It’s hard to be flippant when you can barely breathe. Crank was setting off every alarm I had. Crazy, assertive, a little arrogant. I’d been down that route before, and it ruined my life. I took a deep breath and tried to ground myself.
    He chuckled and slid his arms up to my shoulders. He squeezed gently then dropped his arms. “Yeah … sucks for me.”
    “I’m not your type of girl, anyway.”
    “True enough,” he said. “You’ve got way too many clothes on, for one thing.”
    I laughed. “Why don’t we grab some dinner or something? Since I didn’t get to finish my salad before.”
    “Something … all right. Where to?”
    “I don’t care.”
    “Then let’s walk and see what we see.”

    I’d like that (Crank)
    So we walked, and we talked. I was aching to kiss her again, and I could tell she was too. Maybe I’d get lucky, maybe not. Whatever, I was having fun. As we walked, Mark sent me a text message, asking if I was coming back to the hotel. I sent back a response telling him to buzz off.
    Her phone rang a moment after that. “Sorry.” She flipped it open and answered.
    “Hello? Oh, hey, Brittany … no, I’m out with … a friend. Yeah, I won’t make it tonight, sorry … what? No, I was planning on staying at my parents’ place in Bethesda. I’ll see you soon. Bye.”
    She flipped the phone closed.
    “Friends checking up on you?” I asked.
    “Something like that,” she said, looking distracted. “Let’s eat here.”
    ‘Here’ was a hole in the wall—a door to a half basement just before the gate that led into Chinatown. It had a small, old and dirty sign written in Chinese characters above it. It did not look like a restaurant.
    “What is this place?” I asked.
    “Come on,” she said, taking the four steps down and opening the door.
    The smell of food flooded out the door when she opened it. Inside, there were six tables, four of them occupied. The diners were all Chinese, all older. The walls were a faded yellow, the lighting dim, and the room had none of the normal kitsch I was used to seeing in Chinese restaurants.
    A woman came out of the back and spoke in a thick accent. “I’m sorry, we’re closing for the night.”
    Julia responded with a stream of words in Chinese. At least, I think it was Chinese. She might have been speaking Greek for all I knew. The only language I knew other than English were some choice curses in Spanish.
    Whatever. The woman replied to Julia and then Julia spoke again. The woman beamed and led us to a table.
    “You have hidden gifts,” I murmured.
    Julia grinned. “This place is locals only. The food here won’t be anything like what you’re used to.”
    I just looked around, taking a seat across from her and checking out the unusual surroundings. Not like I hadn’t eaten in holes in the wall … in