Her red heels clicked on the pavement as she walked up to the entrance of the restaurant she was supposed to meet him at for dinner. She stopped to fix her hair in the plate glass window, straightening the glittery red bar clip in it and to straighten her jacket. She had worked really hard to find something nice to wear, even going so far as to borrow shoes from her best friend. Well, actually, borrow wouldn’t be the right word, she had taken them, leaving a note. But her friend wouldn’t mind and surely the details of the date would make up for the temporary theft. They matched the red blazer she had on. From the front it looked perfectly respectable but from the back…..that was another story. The back was completely sheer and showed her bra and the tattoos on her shoulders. She had found the perfect ripped jeans, they were dark blue with a hint of sparkle, cuffed at her ankles and displayed the red heels perfectly. They had a row of studs along the ankle straps and the patent leather shone in the street lights. She went easy on the makeup that night, just a thick line of black eyeliner and a red lipstick that make her think of freshly washed cherries, slick and wet looking. She peeked in the door and saw him sitting at the bar. He looked amazing in a dark green sweater, ripped black jeans and black boots. He was talking to the bartender as he looked around occasionally, probably for her. He had a beer bottle in front of him and played with the label as the bartender told a joke, which he laughed at. She walked in and snuck up beside him and sat down.

“I’ll have a gin and tonic please, make it a double.” She didn’t say anything to the man beside her.

“Coming right up.” The bartender turned to make her drink. The man beside her smiled and turned to look at her. “That’s not………”, his voice trailed off as he realized who she was.

“Maggie?” He reached over and brushed her hair way from her face and grinned at her. “I was just starting to think you’d stood me up.”

“Really, Minwoo? You thought I was going to stand you up?” The bartender set her drink in front of her and she sipped it through the skinny little straw. “Why would I do that?” She smiled coyly and flicked a curl out of her eyes.

“Well, you played awfully hard to get, starting back in LA……the way you slammed the door in my face at the hotel.” He took a drink of his beer and chuckled. “No one has ever done that to me before.”

She burst into gleeful laughter. “Well, it’s about time someone did. Walking around like you’re God’s gift to women like you do……”, she sipped as he stared at her.

“So tell me, what finally made you give in? Was it the texts? Late night visits to your hotel?” He looked at her, curious to know.

“You really wanna know?” She leaned in and said softly. He nodded.

“Let’s have dinner first and see how that goes. Maybe I’ll tell you afterwards.” She finished her drink just as the hostess came over to take them to their table. He had reserved a table in the back, it was a little more private than the main dining room, even though everyone there already saw him. In fact the dining room was filled with curious glances and whispered exchanges between the patrons as they tried to figure out who the woman with Lee Minwoo was. They walked to the table, his hand rested lightly in the small of her back. He pulled her chair out and she sat down. He sat across from her and the hostess left, their waiter would be out shortly. They made small talk about their day and how did she like Seoul and when she planned to head back.

“So you never said what it is you do back in sunny California?” He leaned his elbows on the table and smiled at her.

“I write a weekly column for a small business owners magazine. It’s about how I started my craft/jewelry business and I share a tutorial with the readers once a month. We film tutorials and they post on my website.” She smiled as she pulled out a glittery card holder and slipped a card out and handed it to him, their fingers brushing. He took it and looked at it front and back, impressed.

“So you own your own business and are a published columnist. An independent woman”, he grinned back as he slipped the card into his pocket, “I like it. I mean I liked you before but this makes you much more interesting.” He glances at the clip in her hair. “Is that one of your pieces?”

She slipped it out of her curls and and showed him the back, it was stamped with an M and a rose.

“It is. It’s an early piece. My brand is called Maggie Rose Shines. I do lots of things, but my real passion is resin. I love the chemistry of it. Two chemicals, add some sparkle, polish it and you have a unique piece of wearable art.” She was getting excited as she spoke and her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkled. He reached out and took the clip, looking at it closer. He though it was just red but there were also gold and blue flecks mixed in and there was a tiny black feather embedded in it. He leaned out and slipped it back into her hair, his finger sliding down her cheek gently. Just then the waiter came over with menus and took their drink orders, she decided to stick with sparkling water and he had a glass of wine. By the time the waiter came back with their drinks they knew what they wanted to eat.

“I’ll have the steak medallions with the truffle butter, grilled asparagus and the salad, no onions and just oil and vinegar with it please.” She smiled and handed the menu back. Minwoo ordered the same except he had a baked potato with butter and sour cream with it and steamed vegetables instead of the salad. The waiter bowed and went away to put their order in. Someone else came by and put bread with butter between them. Maggie’s eyes lit up as she quickly reached for a piece of the crusty sourdough. He chuckled and she looked at him.

“I gave up carbs…..well mostly……I only eat them when I got out to dinner……”, she spoke as she broke off a piece and ate it without putting butter on it. The look of joy on her face drew him in.

“Why did you do that? I mean give up carbs?” He reached for a piece also and butter a bit and took a bite. She set her bread down and stood in response.

“You see this body?” She did a little turn. “A year ago I was twice this size……eating my way into diabetes. So I gave up carbs, starting working out regularly and went to therapy twice a month. Not only is my body banging now but I’ve got my head on straight to. You’re the first date I’ve been on in a year.” She sat down and returned her attention to her bread, which she nibbled slowly as he absorbed what she had revealed.