“Wow,” he said, when I stopped. “You are beautiful.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Thank you.”
He took my hand, led me to his SUV and held the door open for me. He was going all out tonight.
“Do you like French food?” he asked, as he started driving.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had it.”
He smiled. “You’re in for a treat then.
Less than thirty-minutes later, we pulled up in front of a restaurant called La Crêperie. We were greeted by an older gentleman and shown to our table. This was the kind of place that had dim lighting and tables far enough away from each other that ensured privacy.
Our waiter brought water and the wine list. Anthony ordered us each a glass of wine
“You know I’m not old enough to drink,” I said, after the waiter left.
“Don’t worry. They’ll bend the rules a little here for me.”
I didn’t want to be impressed, but I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t. It was amazing what money allowed people to do. When I opened the menu, I realized most of it was in French.
“Um, Anthony, I can’t read French.”
“The descriptions are in English, but if you like, I can order for you.”
“Sure, I’m not picky and I’ll try anything once. Do you speak French?”
“Je parle assez pour m’en sortir.”
I grinned. “What does that mean?”
“It means, I speak enough to get by. Our company has a lot of dealings with France, so dad insisted I learn French in school.”
“Do you speak any other languages?”
“Mostly just Spanish and French. I can understand a little bit of German, but not enough to really make a difference. We have a couple of full-time translators that work for us.”
“Wow. I speak almost fluent Spanish, but that’s it.”
“That’s better than most people.”
The waiter came back with our wine.
“Are you ready to order sir?”
“Yes. We’ll both have the Faisan Champignons.”
“Very good sir. Will that be all?”
“Yes, for now.”
The waiter nodded and left. I had no idea what Anthony had ordered but it sounded good.
“What did you order?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said, with a wink.
“Good thing I like surprises.”
We talked about nothing in particular for the next while. It wasn’t awkward like yesterday, which I was grateful for. When our food came it looked more like a work of art than a meal, and it smelled incredible.
“This looks like chicken, are you going to tell me what I’m about to eat?”
“Not yet. Taste it first.”
I cut a small piece and put it in my mouth. The taste was incredible. It was rich with a mix of flavors that I couldn’t quite identify.
“This is amazing. What is it?”
“Pheasant stuffed with mushrooms. And if you think this is good, make sure you leave room for dessert.”
“I definitely will.”
I finished most of my meal, both wanting to eat it all and be able to try some dessert. Eventually the waiter came back to take our plates and leave the dessert menu. I didn’t even look at it.
“Surprise me. Dinner was phenomenal so I’m letting you choose the dessert too.”
“I think you’ll love the Gâteau de Caramel Salé,” he said.
“Sounds sexy. What is it?”
He picked up the menu and read me the description. “Flourless chocolate cake, crispy caramel streusel, salted caramel crémeaux, milk chocolate mousse, and a chocolate glaze.”
“That sounds like heaven on a plate,” I said.
“I thought you’d like it.”
The waiter came back, and Anthony ordered the dessert. When it came, I had to take a picture of it.
“It’s almost too pretty to eat, almost,” I said, and took a bite. “Oh my God! This is so good!”
Anthony chuckled at my enthusiasm. “I’ll get you one every day if you’d like.”
“I’m going to have to swim extra laps as it is after eating this meal. If I had this every day, I wouldn’t be able to dive.”
I only ate a quarter of the desert and had them box up the rest. Anthony paid for our meal and then we went back to his place. As soon as he closed the door and turned around, I undid the zipper on my dress and let it fall to the floor.
The look on his face was what I needed right now. It had been a week since we’d had sex and after tonight, I was more than ready to get that part of our relationship started again.
“I don’t have a lot of self-control right now,” he said, stalking towards me.
“Good, I don’t want you to,” I said.
Turning towards the bedroom I could feel his gaze on me. This was going to be the perfect end to a great day.
****
Bodie
I was sitting on the couch in our dorm, trying to figure out what to do for the night when my phone dinged. It was a text from Major with a picture attached.
Major: Just thought you’d like to see what you’re missing out on tonight
The picture was Karma in a short black dress looking as hot as I’d ever seen her.
Me: Why’d you send me that?
Major: Because I think you really like Karma and should do something about it
Major: Also, because I’m a dick
Me: At least that part is true
Me: Also, fuck off
After I saved the picture to my phone, I called Tiffany.
“Hey,” she said, when she answered. “What’s up?”
“Are you busy?”
“I’m actually getting ready for a date,” she told me.
I have to say I was a little shocked. “What’s his name and where did you meet him?” I asked.
She laughed. “He’s a customer at the coffee shop and his name is Troy.”
“Where is he taking you?”
Tiffany laughed again. “You sound like my dad.”
“Someone has to watch out for you.”
“I’ll tell you what, if I need rescuing, I’ll text you, okay?”
“Okay. And I want a full recap in the morning while I eat a muffin that you’re going to make me.”
“Fair enough. I gotta go.”
“Have fun.”
I hung up. Major and Kayleigh were out for the night. Karma was obviously on a date. Zach and Chad were probably going to a party. Even Tiffany had a date. And here I was sitting alone on my couch on a Saturday while at college. What the hell had happened to me?
Looking at my phone I went back to Major’s text, ‘I think you really like Karma and should do something about it’. Since she was dating Anthony, it didn’t really matter if I liked her, she was currently off limits. That got me thinking about Anthony. I knew there was something up with that guy, I just couldn’t figure it out. And the whole carjacking thing a few weeks ago was really suspicious to me. I decided to do some digging on Anthony Pagano, so I went to my laptop and started searching.
It was two in the morning when I finally gave up trying to get something on Anthony. I was good at finding things, but it seemed like there was nothing to find. Either that was true, or he had covered his tracks really well.