"Hello, Naomi. I'm Michael Dubinecki."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said in absolute honesty as he shook my hand and made all words vanish from my brain.
"How are you keeping up with tonight's events so far?"
"I... hmm..." I cleared my throat.
"I'm sure this is all very overwhelming for you."
"Uhh… Well…" Still, I couldn't formulate the fragments of words into an intelligent sentence.
He was so sweet to ask how I was coping with the pressure, but the switch between a photo of a Greek god, which was attached to his application form, to a living and breathing Greek god standing too close to me, made my knees shake.
As if he could read my mind, Michael suddenly took a few big steps back and made the distance between him and me bigger.
"Do you see this space between us?" he asked, gesturing to him, then me.
"Yes." Short answers, Naomi. You can manage short, clear answers.
"Are you more comfortable with it than the closeness that was between us before?"
"Yes."
"In that case, I'm going take small single steps forward toward you, and when I get to where you want me to stop, please tell me."
I nodded in approval. I couldn’t understand what was it about him that silenced me in such amazement, but I had to admit I found it fascinating.
He placed one foot in front of the other, just as I did a few moments ago when I was trying to step outside my door, and his slow and sensitive pace caused the words to come back to me.
"Okay, you can stop now," I said when he was a reach of his hand away from me. "This is the ultimate distance for us to get to know each other."
"I'm glad to hear it, Naomi. Now take a deep breath." It sounded like he was asking me to cooperate and not demanding that I do as he asked, so I filled my lungs with air and slowly exhaled it when he asked me to.
My vision turned blurry for a few seconds, but immediately after, a sense of power and control took over me, and my self-confidence came back with all its glory.
"Thanks for that, Michael."
"What are you thanking me for?"
"For a strong and empowering introduction. For the fact that instead of trying to impress me, you took the time to make sure I was at ease, and for being so peaceful and calm, which helped me to also relax."
"Me? You think I'm peaceful and calm?"
"Well, you seem so…" I tilted my head to its side and didn’t finish my sentence.
"Well, that's as far away from the truth as it can be." He gently pulled my hand and placed it softly on his chest.
He didn’t lie. His heart was pounding hard, and all of a sudden, the rhythm of my heart adjusted itself to his as we stood there, both excited, and looked into each other's eyes. The physical contact between us made it clear that we were attracted to each other. We didn’t need any words said to get that message across, and I knew that at some point, I'd have to learn more about him.
"Michael, I'd love to sit and talk to you in private for a while, later tonight."
"I'd love that too," he pushed my hand away from his body, pulled it closer to his mouth, and kissed the back of my fingers so very lightly.
A chill I hadn't experienced since my teen years paralyzed me for a few moments as he painfully let go of my hand, and I was left watching him disappear behind my door.
I was going to curse again, for slamming the door too soon, but instead, I let out a sigh of relief as I realized that was probably the way the evening was supposed to play out.
If I'd asked for a few moments of quiet between getting to know each of the men, we would be there all night. Knowing that four men were waiting for me inside my apartment and six more waiting for me in the lobby of the twentieth-floor made me happy, and I smiled at the noise coming from the stairwell, knowing that Nick had sent the next guy toward me.
"Hi," Omar said, with his chopped hair, silky mocha-colored skin, and a well-groomed French beard, as he shook my hand firmly.
"Hi, yourself," I replied casually, hoping to hide the excitement of him not being disqualified during the second filtering round. Nick said that the men who weren’t invited to the cocktail party were those whose answers were found to be dishonest, unfit, or misleading, and I was so happy Omar wasn’t one of them.
"So, what do you have to say to me now?" I smiled at him, giggling like a teenage girl.
"I don't really know what I'm supposed to say right now."
"I guess I can't help you in that regard. It's not like I'm an expert in this kind of situation. It's a first for me too."
"So… Should I just go in?"
"I think so. We'll find time to talk inside, but I'm really glad you're here, Omar." I opened the door and was very aware that I slammed it behind him.
In his application form, Omar wrote that he was shy and introverted, and after three seconds of getting to know him, I could also add that he wasn’t a liar. He certainly looked shy and undeniably introverted, but I was surprised to see how those qualities brought something I already forgot I had in me.
Ever since I can remember, I've been conquering those attributes stages. I got used to getting everyone's full attention, and I loved having all eyes on me as I entered a room.
The quietness that reflected from Omar's eyes, combined with his calmness and shyness, didn’t make me think he was insecure. On the contrary. He seemed perfectly sure of himself, yet it seemed he didn’t really care about me being a famous person, which made me giggle like a silly little girl.
I turned toward the footsteps that sounded coming up the stairs and prayed in a not so quiet whisper, "Please be someone I like. Please be someone I like. Please be someone I like…"
Five men had already passed me by and went into my apartment.
One sent shivers down my spine while the other made my blood boil with anger. Sure, some of them made me smile, and some lit my insides with passion, but only one man could allow me to fall into his arms in a way that would fill me up with the strength to continue with the five men yet to come.
"Oh, I have a feeling your prayers are being answered, Naomi." Nick hurried to walk toward me, and I was so relieved to see him.
He was exactly what I needed, and his embrace allowed me to let go of a breath that I held in my lungs as the tears of excitement, which were choking me started flowing on their own.
Chapter 11
"So, Baby Girl, how are you doing so far?" I loved him calling me that, as it emphasized he was back to being my best friend for a while.
"I'm doing much better, now that you came up the stairs. Just thinking about meeting another guy right now makes me feel like I'm about to pass out again."
"Well, I can send the rest of them home if you think you've had enough. Do you think your future husband is in your apartment already?" I thought about the other men I had liked from the applications and the possibilities of who still hadn’t come up from the twentieth-floor lobby to meet me.
"I think that if we don’t get this cocktail party started, I'll meet God before I meet my soon-to-be husband."
"So I won't take too much of your time. I just wanted to make sure you're fine and to tell you that five lovely men are waiting for you downstairs."