make out. The driver nodded, granting the request, and started the engine. Seconds later, the helicopter was rising high over the city. The Arizona skyline lit up with a smattering of stars that seemed to shine just for them, and the sky stretched on in the distance, going up, up, up. Emily leaned forward to get a better view out the side window and felt Tariq’s hand touch her arm to steady her balance. The sensation felt nice. In fact, much to her surprise, the whole experience did.
The tour of the city lasted around fifteen minutes or so before they began their descent onto the rooftop of a skyscraper. As they came closer, Emily could make out that they would be landing on the rooftop of one of the city’s most famous hotels, The Lambeth.
Her eyes sparkled as Tariq helped her out of the chopper and began to walk her over to the rooftop dining area. “A round of drinks to break the ice?” he suggested, lowering his hand down to the small of her back.
“Sure,” she followed. “But just so you know: much as I like the pomp and ceremony, I’d have been happy with a two-dollar ice cream cone.”
Stifling a chuckle, Tariq raised his brows. “Is that so.”
The rooftop bar was bustling, with patrons at tables and dancing on the tiki-lit dance floor. Emily watched in wonder at the couples around her engaged in first-date behavior; flirting, giggling and using their moves and their words carefully. She beamed as Tariq pulled her chair out for her and took a seat across from her at a high-top table.
With a simple raise of his hand, Tariq called the waitress over to the table. “Scotch. Neat, please,” he said easily. “And for the lady?”
Emily skimmed the drink menu, unsure of what to get until a waiter walked past carrying a drink ready to serve the table next to them.
“One of those!” she exclaimed, pointing to the drink in question. While she couldn’t be sure what the cocktail contained, it was clear from its bright, layered colors it was fruity. A gradient of red, orange and yellow topped off with a maraschino cherry and a paper umbrella was, to her, basically the perfect drink.
“One Malibu sunrise, coming up!” the waitress said cheerily.
“Scotch, neat?” Emily teased as she watched the waitress leave. “Hello, mister big shot! I didn’t know I was sitting with my ninety-year-old grandfather.”
“Who told?” Tariq said with a wink. “And what about you, did you pick the most stereotypical girly drink you could find, or does your instinct for overpriced fruit punch come naturally?”
She grinned and leaned in. “Just a happy coincidence,” she whispered. This date thing was kind of fun.
The waitress returned with their drinks and suddenly Emily felt shy again. She took a sip of her drink—a larger chug than she meant to, really. Tariq watched her with amused eyes but said nothing.
“So,” Emily began again, finding strength in liquid courage. “Do you do this often?”
“Buy women at auction?” he asked, shaking his head slowly. “Not too much, no.”
“Go on extravagant dates, I meant.”
“Does date night with Tuna count?”
“Okay…” She blinked, a wry smile creeping at her lips. “Not sure how one dates a fish.”
“With difficulty, I’d imagine.” He shrugged. “I meant my cat, actually.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “You’re a cat guy?”
“Well, I don’t watch kitten videos before bed or anything, but Tuna has my back.”
Emily looked suddenly serious and set her glass back on the table; staring intensely at Tariq. “You wouldn’t lie to a girl, would you?”
“Never.”
The two exchanged a flirtatious glance and continued talking about the night, the beautiful hotel bar, their love for charitable work, and other mundane facets of small talk that never really let the other know deep or important details about the person they were sitting across from. Emily may not have learned his most cherished childhood memory, but she could already tell she liked him.
The Sheikh had a way about him that put her at ease all while feeling incredibly charmed and attended to. Nobody had ever made her feel like that. Usually, she was a nervous wreck on dates, but here she felt like she could be sexy, intelligent.
“So,” she said, tapping her fingertips against her glass. “I should thank you for donating at our fundraiser. Not to mention saving me from the other suitors.”
“Saving you?” he repeated. “I like the way that sounds. Makes me sound like a superhero.”
“Well you did fly me onto a rooftop immediately