It was our first date, on a New York City spring afternoon, at an al fresco dining table perched high above Second Avenue, when I saw Brian’s jaw go slack, his handsome firefighter’s profile tightening as he scanned the crowded bar scene. “Crystal, the first thing I want you to do any time you’re in a crowded place is find the spot where you can exit easiest—not the emergency exit,” he told me.
He wore an inexplicable look of concern on his face as he pointed out a corner of the balcony (not the fire escape) that I never would have noticed. From that terrace, he said, we could access the scaffolding of the building next door and climb down to the sidewalk.