Vagary

An eight-course tasting menu at Le Gavroche had somehow escalated into her going out into the city with a friend. It wasn’t something that happened often anymore; she was far too busy to even consider having fun on a Thursday evening. Tomorrow, there would be a lot of work waiting on her once again, but tonight she could hardly bring herself to care. And it wasn’t as if two glasses of Toscana Vermentino would leave her feeling completely incapacitated in the morning.

Her friend excused herself and left for the restroom, while Bella herself headed on over to the bar to order their next set of drinks. Surely, the wine here was of lesser quality than at the Michelin-star restaurant she had just been to, but Bella was fine with lowering her standards for the time being. As she waited for her drink to be served, she looked around at her fellow patrons. Her gaze lingered on one man in particular, not too far away from her. Someone undeniably handsome, sitting at the bar all alone. Those two glasses of wine she’d had before were just the encouragement she needed to approach him. “How’d someone like you end up here all alone?” she curiously inquired, almost expecting a gorgeous woman to walk out the restroom and settle down by his side out of nowhere.

It wasn’t every day that one could find a handsome man, sitting alone at a bar, unattended to. Usually, they were out with their friends or with a girl. And the men that did visit bars by themselves on occasion usually weren’t much to look at. Bella, like most other women, could appreciate a decent display of masculine aesthetic. She could, of course, humbly admire him from afar, but she reminded herself of the fact that she was no longer married. No longer tied down. And, as such, there was nothing holding her back from trying to get what she wanted.

He returned her ‘compliment’, however abstract it was, and offered to buy her a drink. His comment made her chuckle. “No, buying me a drink is completely risk-free,” she assured him, “I came with a friend.” One that, hopefully, would leave shortly afterwards, so she could try her hand at making the most of her night. The corner of her mouth turned upwards at his words, reaching for her own glass of dark red wine. “Will you be here for a little while longer?” she inquired, hoping that the answer would be ‘yes’. In that case, she might choose to have her friend leave early, and join him for a nightcap instead.

Arguably, she had changed a little ever since her divorce. Being married to the same man for multiple decades would certainly wear you down. It made life a little duller, even if you both tried your hardest to keep introducing new things. Everything slowly grew predictable, meaning boring, and left you wanting for more. Now that she was without a partner again, she was free to do as she pleased. She could go out when she wanted, for as long as she wanted, and – most importantly – go home with whomever she wanted. And apparently, after her husband, she had developed a taste for younger men.

“After this one,” she spoke, holding up the glass of red wine she had just bought for herself. Then, he asked for her name, introducing himself as Dax in the same breath. Not something one heard very often. “I’m Bella. Pleased to meet you,” she said with a charming smile on her face. She then turned towards him a little more. “Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll have this final glass of wine with my friend once she comes back. Afterwards, she’ll go home, and you and I will be having that drink together, alright?” It would not be easy to get Elizabeth to just leave like that, but she was sure she could get it done.

Bella wasn’t one to sleep around. Instead, she liked to bond with people before taking them home with her. Have some stimulating conversation paired with a few glasses of wine before progressing towards the bedroom. To call her promiscuous would be somewhat of an erroneous assumption, or so she thought herself. She found that she was actually quite selective in whom she chose to associate with. The man at the bar, however, was so extraordinarily handsome that she felt as if she had no choice but to act on it.

She briefly smiled at his comment. “Correct,” she said with a quick nod. Although only few people actually called her Isabella. He agreed to her plan, which meant they would be sitting together within the hour, hopefully. “Of course,” she agreed when he proposed they eat something together as well. She had just sat through an impeccable dinner, so she wasn’t all that hungry herself anymore. But if he wanted to eat, why not? His remark made her briefly chuckle. “I’m not sure whether she’ll appreciate it, but I’d like to see it.” She then grabbed the other glass of wine as her friend emerged from the restroom and winked at Dax as she headed off.

Of course, she ended up talking to Elizabeth about him. A few glances his way, and her friend understood. He was undeniably, unanimously attractive. Once they had finished their drinks, Elizabeth said her goodbyes, leaving Bella with the freedom to seek out her mystery man once more. She sat down next to him, flashing him a seductive smile. “I’d like that drink now.” He had promised her one, hadn’t he?