The Beltway Diaries: Chapter 12
Last full day in town, first real date. What could possibly happen?
Lots of things.
Chapter 12: Little Black Dress - 19 June 2010
I woke up the next morning to hear Rahm tapping away on his BlackBerry. He had his back to me, so I rolled over and spooned him close, peering over his shoulder to see what he was typing.
Synagogue 9-11:30
Meeting 11:45-1:45
Lafayette Park
Dinner 7 p.m.
I placed a soft kiss on his shoulder. “Someone’s a busy boy,” I whispered. “No yoga class today?”
He put the Blackberry back on the nightstand and turned over, circling me in his arms and giving me a kiss. “This is our last full day together, and I want to make the most of it. There’s an early class at 7, so I’ll be fine. You’re all I want right now.” His hand drifted down to the small of my back as he kissed up my neck to my ear, and I practically melted when he kissed behind it softly.
This was nice, being cuddled in his arms on a warm summer morning. “Taking advantage of the ‘double mitzvah’ thing?” I asked as his hand slid up my back so softly that it felt like he was tickling me.
“Maybe,” he whispered. He kissed his way back down my neck to my shoulder and held me tight. “You’re beautiful in the morning.”
“Hm, you won’t think that way after we’ve done this for a few mornings,” I said as I snuggled into his embrace.
After a while we reluctantly got up and went our separate ways, Rahm to his class and me to the Eastern Market on Capitol Hill after I had breakfast. I wanted our last afternoon together tomorrow to be special, and I thought that perhaps he wouldn’t mind if I made lunch for us. I picked up a few things while I was there as well as a few items for lunch that afternoon, and I was very pleased with myself on the ride back home. By the time I got there I knew he was sitting in his weekly meeting, so I hurried up and made lunch just in case he was hungry when he came back.
When he did return, we decided to eat in Lafayette Park, which was absolutely beautiful in the summer - it was a shame that the magnolias were gone, because they would’ve been like a sweet pink canopy over our heads. We sat on a bench within sight of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and it was as lovely as I’d hoped - it wasn’t too hot, and there was just the right amount of shade where we sat. Afterward, we took a little stroll through the park, and it was nice to hold hands with him.
Just before we got to the car, he stopped. “I almost forgot. I have something special planned for tonight.”
“Ooh, what is it?” I asked.
“I thought that maybe we’d go home, have a nice little nap together, then get ready to go out to dinner.” The little smile on his face widened.
“And where would we go?”
“Well, I thought we could go to Equinox, then go back home and…relax.” He crinkled his nose at that last word and winked.
I giggled like a little girl. One last night of sweet loving sounded wonderful, and going to a nice, romantic restaurant was the icing on the cake. But then I realized -
“I don’t have anything really nice to wear,” I blurted out as we got in the car.
“Let me fix that,” he replied. He leaned forward to his driver and whispered something to him, then leaned back against the seat with a smile.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” He put his arm around me with that devilish little grin of his.
We ended up in Columbia Heights, where a very nice shopping plaza on 14th Street just happened to have a Lane Bryant, someplace I hadn’t been to in a while. We walked in and made a beeline for the dresses.
Some of them were just too gaudy for my taste, and a couple of them were too long for my 5-foot frame - “the perils of being a short shiksa,” Rahm noted. But then I saw one that was perfect - the right size, the right length, and when I tried it on, it fit me perfectly. It was a black light knit fabric with an Empire waist, a surplice neckline and flutter sleeves, and when he saw it on me his eyes lit up. It didn’t take long for us to leave the store with it after that.
After we got back home I made sure to hang up the dress right away, my thoughts turning to the upcoming evening and what lay ahead for me. As for Rahm, he wasn’t thinking that far in advance because he stripped down to his boxer briefs before stretching out on the bed. “Nap time, my love,” he said as he patted the spot beside him.
I took off my jeans and t-shirt, then decided to get rid of the bra as well, which won his approval. I snuggled up in his arms and sighed. “This was a good idea. We both need a break before dinner.”
“I just wanted an excuse to curl up next to you, but that’ll work, too,” he laughed as he played with his BlackBerry. “I set the alarm for an hour. How’s that sound?”
I nodded and stretched out. “See you in an hour,” I purred as I kissed his cheek.
The nap was delicious, and when the alarm went off I sat up and stretched, gazing at him lying on his nice cream-colored sheets. He looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes and reached for me. “Come back here,” he whispered with a smile.
I snuggled back up and sighed. “Mmm, do we have to go out tonight?”
Rahm rubbed my back. “I want to show you off. I couldn’t wait till you moved, so I decided we’d go out now.” He reached for his BlackBerry and groaned. “We better get up now, or we’ll never make it to the restaurant.”
We took our showers (separately, no time for a shared one) and got dressed, and he couldn’t stop staring at me once I put on the dress. By the time I put on a little makeup and slipped into my dress shoes, it was time to leave.
Equinox is on Connecticut Avenue, practically a stone’s throw from Lafayette Square and the White House. It’s very sleek and posh inside and out, as I found out when he led me in there and we took our seat in a private section of the restaurant. We had a lovely time and some sweet conversation over halibut and an incredible chocolate and hazelnut dessert, and when we left I had the feeling that the best was yet to come.
Not even close.
As we got in the car and pulled away, his BlackBerry buzzed, along with his personal cell. “What the hell?” he said as he answered the phone and checked the BlackBerry at the same time. He barely said an entire sentence before he yelled “Fuck!” and told the driver to take him to the West Wing on the double. He shoved the BlackBerry into his pocket and hung up the phone with a loud snap.
“What’s wrong?” I asked timidly. He looked incredibly pissed off.
“There’s been a firefight over in Afghanistan, ambush from the sound of it. A lot of our troops are pinned down by the Taliban, a few were killed. I gotta call the President down to the Sit Room for this.” He gave me with a disappointed look. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to ruin the evening.”
“You can’t help it. And it’s totally the Taliban’s fault. They hate romance.” I held his hand and looked out the window while he called the Executive Residence and talked to the President. We sped down 15th Street and E Street - I’d never seen the Washington Monument so stark white with all those floodlights.
We turned onto West Executive Avenue and pulled up to the side entrance, where a stern-looking Marine met us in the lobby. He wanted Rahm to come with him to the Situation Room, but Rahm begged him to wait just a few moments. He turned to me and took me aside.
“Here’s what I need you to do. Go upstairs to my office - here’s my key - and wait there. Don’t answer the phone. You can watch TV if you want. I don’t know how long this’ll take.” He gave me a kiss and whispered “I love you.”
I watched him walk through the doors before taking the elevator up to the first floor. It was quiet, although I knew it was bound to get noisier if what Rahm said was true. I got to his office and unlocked the door but only turned on a few lights. I took the remote and settled on the couch to watch a little TV, kicking off my shoes and stretching out while I watched a few shows. Pretty soon I started feeling sleepy, but I needed to stay awake in case he came back.
It was a futile fight, because the next thing I knew, I felt something touching my face. When I opened my eyes, Rahm was kneeling beside the couch smiling at me.
“Can we go home now?” I asked in a groggy voice.
“Not just yet, beautiful. I just came up here to check on you.” He took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. “I should really invest in a nice blanket in case this happens again.” He kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll make this up to you, I promise.”
I made an approving little noise and yawned, snuggling under his jacket and falling back asleep to the lovely smell of his cologne. I don’t know how long I’d slept after that before he woke me up again.
“Honey, time to go home.” He pushed my hair back from my face as I opened my eyes.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
Rahm made a little face. “I’m not sure yet. We’ll see.” He gently took the jacket away and put it back on. “Anyway, we both need some sleep, since you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Not for long,” I interrupted as I put on my shoes.
“I know, but I still want to spend the day with you. I told them downstairs to call me only if it was an absolute emergency.” He put his arm around me as we walked out of his office.
Once we were in the car, I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “You do realize that this was our first real date,” I mumbled.
“I know,” he replied softly, “and I promise we’ll have an evening all to ourselves next time. I’ll shut off the phones, and we’ll stay in and do whatever you want. The world can go to hell that night.” He kissed my forehead. “As long as it’s just the two of us.”
“Sounds good to me.” I yawned again as we got out of the car and went back to his place. I was so tired I barely made it up the stairs, and the dress and everything else seemed to just fall to the floor with little effort. I climbed into bed and stretched out under the covers, and pretty soon Rahm turned out the light and joined me. I curled up with my head on his shoulder, and with a sleepy sigh and a goodnight kiss, I fell right to sleep. This may not have been a perfect date, but it was an unforgettable one.
Lots of things.
Chapter 12: Little Black Dress - 19 June 2010
I woke up the next morning to hear Rahm tapping away on his BlackBerry. He had his back to me, so I rolled over and spooned him close, peering over his shoulder to see what he was typing.
Synagogue 9-11:30
Meeting 11:45-1:45
Lafayette Park
Dinner 7 p.m.
I placed a soft kiss on his shoulder. “Someone’s a busy boy,” I whispered. “No yoga class today?”
He put the Blackberry back on the nightstand and turned over, circling me in his arms and giving me a kiss. “This is our last full day together, and I want to make the most of it. There’s an early class at 7, so I’ll be fine. You’re all I want right now.” His hand drifted down to the small of my back as he kissed up my neck to my ear, and I practically melted when he kissed behind it softly.
This was nice, being cuddled in his arms on a warm summer morning. “Taking advantage of the ‘double mitzvah’ thing?” I asked as his hand slid up my back so softly that it felt like he was tickling me.
“Maybe,” he whispered. He kissed his way back down my neck to my shoulder and held me tight. “You’re beautiful in the morning.”
“Hm, you won’t think that way after we’ve done this for a few mornings,” I said as I snuggled into his embrace.
After a while we reluctantly got up and went our separate ways, Rahm to his class and me to the Eastern Market on Capitol Hill after I had breakfast. I wanted our last afternoon together tomorrow to be special, and I thought that perhaps he wouldn’t mind if I made lunch for us. I picked up a few things while I was there as well as a few items for lunch that afternoon, and I was very pleased with myself on the ride back home. By the time I got there I knew he was sitting in his weekly meeting, so I hurried up and made lunch just in case he was hungry when he came back.
When he did return, we decided to eat in Lafayette Park, which was absolutely beautiful in the summer - it was a shame that the magnolias were gone, because they would’ve been like a sweet pink canopy over our heads. We sat on a bench within sight of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and it was as lovely as I’d hoped - it wasn’t too hot, and there was just the right amount of shade where we sat. Afterward, we took a little stroll through the park, and it was nice to hold hands with him.
Just before we got to the car, he stopped. “I almost forgot. I have something special planned for tonight.”
“Ooh, what is it?” I asked.
“I thought that maybe we’d go home, have a nice little nap together, then get ready to go out to dinner.” The little smile on his face widened.
“And where would we go?”
“Well, I thought we could go to Equinox, then go back home and…relax.” He crinkled his nose at that last word and winked.
I giggled like a little girl. One last night of sweet loving sounded wonderful, and going to a nice, romantic restaurant was the icing on the cake. But then I realized -
“I don’t have anything really nice to wear,” I blurted out as we got in the car.
“Let me fix that,” he replied. He leaned forward to his driver and whispered something to him, then leaned back against the seat with a smile.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” He put his arm around me with that devilish little grin of his.
We ended up in Columbia Heights, where a very nice shopping plaza on 14th Street just happened to have a Lane Bryant, someplace I hadn’t been to in a while. We walked in and made a beeline for the dresses.
Some of them were just too gaudy for my taste, and a couple of them were too long for my 5-foot frame - “the perils of being a short shiksa,” Rahm noted. But then I saw one that was perfect - the right size, the right length, and when I tried it on, it fit me perfectly. It was a black light knit fabric with an Empire waist, a surplice neckline and flutter sleeves, and when he saw it on me his eyes lit up. It didn’t take long for us to leave the store with it after that.
After we got back home I made sure to hang up the dress right away, my thoughts turning to the upcoming evening and what lay ahead for me. As for Rahm, he wasn’t thinking that far in advance because he stripped down to his boxer briefs before stretching out on the bed. “Nap time, my love,” he said as he patted the spot beside him.
I took off my jeans and t-shirt, then decided to get rid of the bra as well, which won his approval. I snuggled up in his arms and sighed. “This was a good idea. We both need a break before dinner.”
“I just wanted an excuse to curl up next to you, but that’ll work, too,” he laughed as he played with his BlackBerry. “I set the alarm for an hour. How’s that sound?”
I nodded and stretched out. “See you in an hour,” I purred as I kissed his cheek.
The nap was delicious, and when the alarm went off I sat up and stretched, gazing at him lying on his nice cream-colored sheets. He looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes and reached for me. “Come back here,” he whispered with a smile.
I snuggled back up and sighed. “Mmm, do we have to go out tonight?”
Rahm rubbed my back. “I want to show you off. I couldn’t wait till you moved, so I decided we’d go out now.” He reached for his BlackBerry and groaned. “We better get up now, or we’ll never make it to the restaurant.”
We took our showers (separately, no time for a shared one) and got dressed, and he couldn’t stop staring at me once I put on the dress. By the time I put on a little makeup and slipped into my dress shoes, it was time to leave.
Equinox is on Connecticut Avenue, practically a stone’s throw from Lafayette Square and the White House. It’s very sleek and posh inside and out, as I found out when he led me in there and we took our seat in a private section of the restaurant. We had a lovely time and some sweet conversation over halibut and an incredible chocolate and hazelnut dessert, and when we left I had the feeling that the best was yet to come.
Not even close.
As we got in the car and pulled away, his BlackBerry buzzed, along with his personal cell. “What the hell?” he said as he answered the phone and checked the BlackBerry at the same time. He barely said an entire sentence before he yelled “Fuck!” and told the driver to take him to the West Wing on the double. He shoved the BlackBerry into his pocket and hung up the phone with a loud snap.
“What’s wrong?” I asked timidly. He looked incredibly pissed off.
“There’s been a firefight over in Afghanistan, ambush from the sound of it. A lot of our troops are pinned down by the Taliban, a few were killed. I gotta call the President down to the Sit Room for this.” He gave me with a disappointed look. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to ruin the evening.”
“You can’t help it. And it’s totally the Taliban’s fault. They hate romance.” I held his hand and looked out the window while he called the Executive Residence and talked to the President. We sped down 15th Street and E Street - I’d never seen the Washington Monument so stark white with all those floodlights.
We turned onto West Executive Avenue and pulled up to the side entrance, where a stern-looking Marine met us in the lobby. He wanted Rahm to come with him to the Situation Room, but Rahm begged him to wait just a few moments. He turned to me and took me aside.
“Here’s what I need you to do. Go upstairs to my office - here’s my key - and wait there. Don’t answer the phone. You can watch TV if you want. I don’t know how long this’ll take.” He gave me a kiss and whispered “I love you.”
I watched him walk through the doors before taking the elevator up to the first floor. It was quiet, although I knew it was bound to get noisier if what Rahm said was true. I got to his office and unlocked the door but only turned on a few lights. I took the remote and settled on the couch to watch a little TV, kicking off my shoes and stretching out while I watched a few shows. Pretty soon I started feeling sleepy, but I needed to stay awake in case he came back.
It was a futile fight, because the next thing I knew, I felt something touching my face. When I opened my eyes, Rahm was kneeling beside the couch smiling at me.
“Can we go home now?” I asked in a groggy voice.
“Not just yet, beautiful. I just came up here to check on you.” He took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. “I should really invest in a nice blanket in case this happens again.” He kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll make this up to you, I promise.”
I made an approving little noise and yawned, snuggling under his jacket and falling back asleep to the lovely smell of his cologne. I don’t know how long I’d slept after that before he woke me up again.
“Honey, time to go home.” He pushed my hair back from my face as I opened my eyes.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
Rahm made a little face. “I’m not sure yet. We’ll see.” He gently took the jacket away and put it back on. “Anyway, we both need some sleep, since you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Not for long,” I interrupted as I put on my shoes.
“I know, but I still want to spend the day with you. I told them downstairs to call me only if it was an absolute emergency.” He put his arm around me as we walked out of his office.
Once we were in the car, I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “You do realize that this was our first real date,” I mumbled.
“I know,” he replied softly, “and I promise we’ll have an evening all to ourselves next time. I’ll shut off the phones, and we’ll stay in and do whatever you want. The world can go to hell that night.” He kissed my forehead. “As long as it’s just the two of us.”
“Sounds good to me.” I yawned again as we got out of the car and went back to his place. I was so tired I barely made it up the stairs, and the dress and everything else seemed to just fall to the floor with little effort. I climbed into bed and stretched out under the covers, and pretty soon Rahm turned out the light and joined me. I curled up with my head on his shoulder, and with a sleepy sigh and a goodnight kiss, I fell right to sleep. This may not have been a perfect date, but it was an unforgettable one.