Chapter 4 A Second Encounter

Leah had all but forgotten her near-assault experience on the subway by the time she and Maya had finished splitting a bowl of kulfi for dessert. It was sort of like ice cream. But more ice and less cream. The girls split the bill and headed for the door.

"Where are you headed?" Maya asked as they stood outside. It was a warm night, neither of them had jackets on and Leah suddenly felt very overdressed for someone ending her night in front of an Indian restaurant.

Before she could answer, a couple of men bumped them as they walked by. "Rude!" Maya yelled out to the men's backs. When they turned around, Leah stopped.

"Hey! Enjoying your stay here in New York?" one of the men called. His voice was deep and familiar in an unfamiliar way.

Maya scoffed. "Move along, boys! Nothing for you here!"

Leah's eyes caught the man who had raised the question and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "We live here." Thankfully Maya by her side gave her the confidence to respond .

"Really?" the man looked shocked as he took a step closer to Leah. "You don't look like a New Yorker. A New Yorker would have avoided singing with homeless men on the Subway." Embarrassed, yet excited to see her Subway savior, Leah was trying to figure out what he looked like. Was he a New Yorker? He was still wearing a suit with the top button opened up. The collar was a little wilted, showing his Adam's apple. He had freckles and dark brown eyes under a head of blond hair that looked like it would run wild if he ever let it grow too long.

"What do New Yorkers look like?" Maya challenged him with her eyebrows raised.

"Well, usually they look mean." The guy scrunched his brow in a mockingly mean face. "And very, very busy. Like they are about to be late for a meeting so you better get out of their way."

Leah laughed. She did feel like most of the people she saw could fit that description. "Well, we're going to be late," she giggled. "Out of our way!"

"Wow, that was almost convincing!" He winked at her. "Ok, New Yorker, what's the plan? What's the trendiest spot to head to next?"

Leah looked at Maya. Surely she'd know. But Maya looked less interested. "There's a cool dive around here. They have like 80 beers on tap." Leah was impressed. She didn't even know there were 80 kinds of beer out there. "I could get a beer. Leah?"

Leah smiled and nodded at her friend before looking at the guy.

"Leah," he said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Gabe."

Maya started walking and Leah tried to stay in step without letting Gabe fall behind. He stayed close, walking with his friends a couple of paces behind them. Maya led them a few blocks away to a crowded bar where people seemed to be spilling out the front door. She pushed through, pulling Leah in with her. Leah feared they'd get absorbed in the crowd and find themselves in another universe where Gabe couldn't find them. She pushed her way to the bar and shouldered her way in. Leah was relieved to see Gabe behind them.

Leah was thrilled with how the evening was turning out. New York was exactly how she imagined! Friends, exotic restaurants, and cute boys who saved your life and followed you into crowded bars, what else could she ever ask for?

"What beer do you like?" Maya shouted to Leah. Leah had no idea. She'd only had beer at college parties where people got excited if there was anything other than Budweiser.

"I'll have what you're having." She shouted back. Maya leaned over and shouted to the bartender who came back with two tall glasses of beer .

"Cheers," Maya said as she handed one to Leah. The girls clinked their classes and took a sip just as Gabe and his friends got to them. Leah almost spit the beer out. It was bitter. Stronger than she could have imagined. She took another sip. Maybe it would grow on her. "It's an IPA. The best."

"Thanks for ordering for us!" Gabe joked while his friend got the bartender's attention. When the boys had their beers everyone gave a round of cheers and Leah tried to continue sipping her beer even though it tasted disgusting. But disgusting in a way that made her want more.

"So, Leah, what were you doing earlier on the Upper East Side?" Gabe shouted in her ear in the most intimate way possible. His breath made her ear tingle and she was afraid of turning her head to get too close.

"I live there." She kept her gaze on Maya who was already talking with one of Gabe's friends.

"Really." It wasn't so much a question, or an accusation, rather, just a statement. "I live up there too. I guess we're neighbors."

"Leah, I have to go to the bathroom." Maya grabbed Leah's wrist and pulled her away. "We'll be back in a few." Leah handed Gabe her beer and followed Maya to the back of the bar where a graffitied door led to a completely black bathroom.

"He likes you!" Maya said when they were inside. "How do you know that guy? "

"We just met." Leah wasn't sure how much of the story she should tell Maya. "On the Subway earlier. He lives in my neighborhood."

"Or he is stalking you." Maya laughed as she entered a stall. Leah looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe he did like her. She did look pretty tonight, she thought. Her make-up was just right and she had that glow of seeming happy. The toilet flushed. "Are you going to kiss him?"

"What?"

"He's going to try to kiss you. Would you kiss him back?"

"Well—" Leah had never kissed someone she had just met! She hadn't even thought about kissing him until Maya said something and now she was imagining it in her head. He had really pink lips and perfectly straight teeth. She could imagine his hand gripping her head as he leaned into her. She could feel her face heating up.

"You do want to kiss him!" Maya laughed as she dried her hands. "I knew it!"

"He's cute."

Maya nodded in agreement and Leah followed her out of the bathroom. Gabe and his friends were exactly where they left them and Gabe handed her the beer when she got back. "No roofies right?" Maya joked to the boys as she took a sip. Leah laughed but remembered the warnings her mom had always given her. She could trust Gabe, right? He shouted something in her ear.

"What?"

"What are you doing in New York?" He repeated, this time so close to her ear she could almost feel his lips. The feeling made her whole body shiver.

"I'm working for Diamond Media."

"What?" He now shouted back. "Want to go somewhere quieter?"

She nodded and motioned to Maya that they were going to step outside. She followed Gabe and the two of them spilled out of the bar. "Cigarette?" he asked.

Leah shook her head and immediately felt disappointed. How could she kiss a smoker?

"Good, because I don't have any," he laughed. "I'm a runner and it kills my lungs."

"A runner?"

"Yup, that's why I live so close to the park. Do you run?"

Leah shook her head. She was one of those people who went to the gym daily for the first week of January, weekly by the second, and forgot her membership by February until May rolled around and she remembered that summer was coming.

"So what did you say you did?"

"I'm a researcher for Diamond Media." She said proudly.

"Wow, impressive. Do you like it? "

Here was where imposter syndrome showed up. "Well, I haven't started yet. Monday's my first day."

"Good luck then."

"Thanks."

"So I have to get up early for training, so I think I am going to head back. Want an escort home? I'll protect you from all the homeless people. I've got a few dollars left."

Leah smiled and agreed, asking to first step inside and say goodbye to Maya. She pushed back inside and found her friend still talking to one of Gabe's friends. "I'm going home," she shouted to her friend.

"Oohhhhhhh," Maya pursed her lips, implying something a little more scandalous than Leah would have done. Leah giggled. "Text when you get home," Maya continued before Leah realized she didn't even have her new best friend's phone number. The girls exchanged numbers and Leah stepped back outside.

Gabe wasn't there. She suddenly panicked. Did he leave her? Did he think she was lying about going home? Was he over her already? But then she saw him coming out of the convenience store next to them with two water bottles. He handed her one. "Got to stay hydrated after the alcohol."

She followed him to the Subway and swiped her card feeling like an insider when the turnstile let her in. They stood together, drinking their water as they waited for the train. Conversation flowed easily between them. He'd been living in New York for a few years already. He grew up on Long Island and had a Business degree from NYU. He'd been working for a hedge fund for three years already and was hoping to one day start his own. He also liked to read and still used the public library to pick up new reading materials every week. "Usually I read on the Subway," he said. "I love my commute to Wall Street!"

When they got off the Subway Leah led him all the way to Second Avenue to the doorstep of her tiny apartment. "Thanks for the escort." She smiled at him.

"Anytime." He smiled and stood in front of her. This was the moment, Leah thought. The one she had envisioned back in the dirty black bathroom at the bar. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, pulling back before his hands could grab her head or his lips could bind too tightly with hers. "It was nice meeting you, Leah. How about next time, I pick the place?"

She agreed and gave him her number, hoping he'd kiss her again. But he didn't. He nodded his head and said goodbye.

Inside, she immediately pulled out her phone to text Maya. Home safe! He kissed me!

A moment later she got a response. Yay! But is he Jewish?