August 2009

Reservations were set for dinner with JAG Man on Thursday night.

“Where are we going?” I asked him enthusiastically.

“A new steakhouse in town,” he replied.

“Hmm…Bourbon?”

“Newer,” he informed me.

“BLT Steak?”

“Newer. I don’t think you’ll guess it,” he teased, knowing that I hate surprises.

After we hung up, it hit me. The new W Hotel had a Jean-Georges restaurant, the J&G Steakhouse, inside! Nice one, JAG Man! Despite his hectic schedule and aloof demeanor, he still knew how to woo a girl!

I could tell just how much I was looking forward to our date by how much thought I gave to the outfit that I would wear. I wanted to have the right blend of sexy and professional. I decided on a black pencil skirt from We One You Two and a fuchsia ruffled top from Nido.

On Thursday evening, JAG Man picked me up at my door. He was impeccably dressed in a designer suit and looked as handsome as ever. When we arrived at the W, we were seated at a romantic table by the window with a view of the Treasury Building. The dinner was very good, the service was great, and the conversation with JAG Man was even greater than great. We talked a lot about our career paths and what brought us to DC. As it turned out, we both arrived in town in 1993 for internships. I joked that I was glad that we didn’t meet back then since I was in a much different place. (That was code for “we would have had a one-night stand and never seen each other again.”)

As JAG Man and I enjoyed our steaks, I noticed a striking black man walk into the restaurant. I smiled when I realized that it was Oscar, a guy with whom I had gone to law school. Oscar and I went out on two dates in 1997, but didn’t do anything more than snuggle. He was a gentleman, and back then, I only wanted the Bad Boys.

Over the years, I would run into Oscar from time-to-time. Once in a while, we exchanged contact information, but when I e-mailed him last, he never wrote me back. I had thought of walking across the restaurant to say hello to Oscar, but I decided not to. I didn’t want to leave my date with JAG Man nor interrupt Oscar’s date.

After dinner, I stepped out to the ‘loo and ran into Balducci’s Boy in the lobby. Balducci’s Boy and I had met last year at a supermarket. He wasn’t necessarily my type (late 40s and white), but I did like the fact that he was a lobbyist with contagious energy. For a couple of months, we had tried to meet for coffee, but our schedules never meshed. I chalked it up to a blend of bad timing and lack of interest on both of our parts. Balducci’s Boy was talking to a girl so I didn’t want to mess up his game and proceeded downstairs. (It’s worth noting that had I been alone or with a friend, I would have made a point to say hello to both Oscar and Balducci’s Boy. But, I was out with JAG Man and just wanted to focus on him.)

At the end of the meal, JAG Man asked if I would like to go up on the rooftop to have a drink. The view from the top of the hotel is one of the best in the city, and the W made great use of the space. We stood by the railing, enjoying the perfect weather and view. JAG Man took my hand in his, and a few minutes later, he placed his lips on mine. After some more kisses, he suggested that we head back to my place.

On the walk back to Foggy Bottom, we heard a lot of noise coming from behind the Old Executive Office Building. I thought it might be coming from The Exchange. (The Exchange is a GWU bar that I used to frequent in 1995-96. It also was the place where GWU Boy first introduced me to Baseball Boy.) JAG Man wanted to see what was going on so we heading down G Street. Sure enough, there was a Kickball Happy Hour taking place on The Exchange’s patio. I saw a tall black man working the door, and quickly excused myself from JAG Man for a minute before exclaiming,

“Gus!!!”

Now, Gus was UConn Boy’s best friend. (UConn Boy was my first serious relationship out of college. He and I broke up when I found out that he had lied to me about his cocaine habit. To make him as mad as he had made me, I started sleeping with UConn Boy’s dealer and several of his friends, including Gus. I’m not saying that was a smart response; I’m just being honest.)

I hadn’t seen Gus in at least 10 years, although we had recently reconnected via Facebook.

“Wow! Long time no see!” he said as we hugged.

“I know! It has been too long, but luckily, DC is a small town,” I commented as we laughed.

“I was just talking about you,” he told me.

“You were? With whom?” I asked.

“UConn Boy. You know him. He’s not on Facebook, but wanted to check it out. When I told him that you were on there, he wanted to see your pictures.”

“Ahh! Cool. Tell him hello for me,” I replied. (There was a time when the mere mention of UConn Boy’s name would have sent me into a tizzy. But, thankfully, that was a long time ago.)

Gus and I caught up for a few minutes before I said goodbye. It was great running into him, but I was ready to head home with JAG Man. There were other things on my agenda for that night!

To be continued…