She continued to give Ivan quick looks, as if she couldn’t bear to stare at him. Ivan noticed that a lot from girls as a teenager. They were hesitant to gaze into his eyes sometimes, while others seemed hypnotized by them. But Derrick had used the eyes much more than Ivan had.

Ivan asked her, “Do you have a problem staring right at the camera on photo shoots?”

She flashed a look at him again and stared a little longer. “No, why?”

He said, “You just seem to be a little jumpy around me, that’s all.”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

“Maybe what? Maybe you’re nervous around me?”

She smiled again and remained silent. Her elusiveness reminded him of Lucina. Only Lucina was much better at it. She was elusive in a grown woman’s way. When Ivan thought about it, he realized that he had never even gone to a movie with Lucina before.

How the hell did we manage never to do that? he questioned. At least once or twice. They had surely been around each other enough.

Ivan bought the tickets, popcorn, nachos with cheese, and two medium drinks. Then they chose seats in the middle of the theater to watch the extralong movie. And before it was over, Ivan began to stroke Jacari’s long hair with his left hand. It ran halfway down her back, and he couldn’t help himself. But instead of thinking about the young model while he did it, he thought more about being back home in San Diego and going after his real prize.

I just need to go at her hard and tell her how it is, man, he told himself. This shit has gone on between us long enough.

As Ivan continued to stroke her hair, Jacari found herself stimulated by it. So she placed her right hand on his thigh. There was an enticing comfort, having Ivan David so far away from San Diego with her. She had often stared at his pictures on the IDPromotions .com website and wondered about him. Now they were together in New York in a dark theater. And it felt romantic.

I’m not supposed to feel this way, she told herself. But it feels good. I want to be with him.

Instead of an undesirable photographer, an obnoxious businessman, or an ego-tripping ball player, all of whom had lusted to have her company after many fashion shows, Ivan David was someone Jacari felt a warm affinity for. She was impressed with his ability to make local dreams come true with his website. He was a young and touchable power broker on the rise. And even though they had just met in person, she felt much closer to him than to any New York celebrity.

No one has to know if we do anything, she told herself. We’re all the way in New York.