Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

Scheherazade couldn’t help but notice that they all looked Italian and were impeccably
dressed in white jackets and bow ties.
“Looks like we’re being joined by extras from a Fellini movie,” Scheherazade joked.
“Yes, La Dolce Vita. And right on time,” Carlton said. The men began setting up an
elaborate bar right in front of them, taking out a mixture of spirits, cocktail implements,
and glassware.
“Did you arrange this?” Scheherazade asked wide-eyed.
“Well, I couldn’t take you on a sweltering sunset hike and not provide you with sunset
drinks.”
Three of the men whipped out a bass, a saxophone, and a small drum set and began to
play a Miles Davis tune.
“Can I offer you a Negroni, signora?” the bartender said, handing Scheherazade a
highball glass filled with Campari, gin, and red vermouth over ice with an orange peel
elaborately curled over the rim.
“Grazie mille,” Scheherazade replied.
“Salute!” Carlton said, clinking her glass with his Negroni.
“How in the world did you know this was my favorite drink?” Scheherazade asked as
she sipped her aperitif.
“Um…I might have done some Instagram stalking.”
“But my Instagram account is locked.”
“Um…I might have been on Nick’s Instagram,” Carlton confessed.
Scheherazade laughed, utterly charmed.
Carlton looked in her eyes, and then glanced over her shoulder at her security guards
loitering at the end of the bridge. “Would it be crazy if I kissed you? I mean, would your
guards have me on the ground in under two seconds?”
“It would be crazy if you didn’t,” Scheherazade said, leaning in to kiss him.
After a long, lingering kiss, the two of them stood wrapped in each other’s arms in the
middle of the bridge, watching as the setting sun glimmered over the treetops, casting a
glow of flaming amber over the horizon.
—
It was almost seven thirty by the time Carlton pulled up to the driveway of
Scheherazade’s home. He didn’t want to drop her off just yet, and wished he could whisk
her off to dinner and spend the whole evening with her. But his sense of decorum took
over, and he wanted her to set the pace of how things should go.
Scheherazade smiled at him, and it was obvious that she didn’t want their date to end
just yet either. “Why don’t you come up? My parents usually have drinks around this
time.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.”