Twice. Well, technically three times.
Oh my God.
Did I accidentally ask him out on a date?
I bit my lip, looking at my phone. I couldn't ask. It was going to sound silly. I sounded childish even in my mind. It was dinner. That was all.
The mid-June weather was pretty hot, so I put on a red dress that looked great on my body and molded to my shape. It had short sleeves and a V-neckline. It wasn't deep, but enough to be enticing, which was not the point for dinner between friends, but hey, I liked the dress, so I was going to wear it.
I paired it with black heels that made my legs look longer and were pretty comfortable to walk in. Unfortunately, I couldn’t walk in sky-high heels without getting blisters or losing my balance. A two-inch heel was all I could do, but I rocked it.
Once I was done, I calmed down somewhat. I still had fifteen minutes until I had to be at the restaurant, and it was five minutes away. I couldn't believe Dylan had gotten Dad's medicine. Who did that? He was unbelievable. And not for me, I reminded myself. I couldn't want him. There was no possible way this could end well. But I did want Dylan in my life as a friend. He was a great guy, which wasn't such a stretch considering he was related to Isabelle. But I knew some people made great friends, just not great boyfriends. So I had to make sure that the lines weren't blurring.
I shoved my phone and wallet in a tiny black purse before stepping out. There was no elevator since I lived in a converted townhouse and I guess they never thought to put one in. I practically jumped down the flight of stairs. Smiling, I went outside. I loved Bay Ridge. I did feel like I was living in a small town, and the community feeling was strong around here. There were plenty of parks and beautiful architecture. My favorite street was Doctor’s Row that boasted homes in the renaissance revival style.
I strolled to the restaurant, knowing I was going to be there before Dylan. To my astonishment, he was already pacing out front.
"Hey, you're here early." I walked right up to him. He leaned in to kiss my cheek. The skin-on-skin contact singed me. He smelled delicious, like soap and nothing else, and his five-o’clock shadow gently grazed my skin. I felt his hand on my waist as his lips touched my cheek, and I was already on fire.
Holy shit!
When he pulled back, I sighed deeply. I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to be able to keep from checking him out. But as long as I kept my hands and lips off him, I was okay.
We went inside and quickly found a small table by the window. Dylan held out a chair for me as I sat down.
"Here you go with that gentleman streak again.”
“I do what I can.” He winked, sitting down across from me. The menu was already on the table. It was a simple sheet of paper with a plastic cover.
"This is all they have," I said, pointing to it. "They don't have many options, but they have incredible dishes. I recommend tuna sushi and even sashimi. They fly it in from Japan, and it's exquisite. It's the best I've eaten. I don't even know why this place isn't more famous."
Dylan scrutinized the menu, then looked up at me. "You know this place, so order whatever you think is best. I eat anything."
"Okay."
We called the waiter, and I ordered the large platter to share. It had something from everything. We also ordered wine.
Once the waiter left, I felt a bit nervous. This felt more and more like a date. It's not a date. It's not a date, I repeated in my mind, but it wasn't helping. The way he was looking at me wasn't either. He was drinking me up and making no secret of it. And I didn't have it in me to chastise him again about it. It wasn’t like it helped when I did it last time. If anything, it seemed to make us even more aware of the tension between us.
“Before I forget, here is the medicine.” He took it from his suit jacket pocket, sliding it to me over the table.
I tucked it carefully in my bag.
"Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing.”
“Dylan—"
“I mean it. It's nothing I wouldn't do for my parents."
I simply melted. "Do you see them often?"
"They come to the city a few times a year, especially since Josie had Sophie."
"Oh, I met Josie. She's so lovely.”
“Josie isn’t training at the gym, though, right? I would have known."
"No. no. She came once after Isabelle finished her practice, but I think she might join us soon. She said she likes the idea of a personal trainer. She says it increases the odds of her showing up if she knows she has an appointment. I think that's why most people want a personal trainer."
Dylan chuckled. "Well, I didn't. I have no problem showing up. I just want a perfect excuse to spend time with you."
I blushed, looking at the table. Yeah, if I thought I was tongue-tied before, after that my mind was completely blank, but my pulse sped up. I felt it in my chest and my neck.
"So you were saying about your parents?" I said, trying to steer us back to a safe topic of discussion.
He smiled knowingly, clearly seeing through my ruse. "Yes. I wish they came more often, but I honestly think if they weren't so set in their ways, they'd move here. Especially since all their children live in New York. They've always wanted grandchildren to spoil. And now they have Sophie. She is going to be one spoiled little girl," he said. "Josie keeps telling us all to stop buying stuff or they're going to need a bigger house."
Well, well. For someone who had sworn off love, he adored children.
I'm telling myself what I want to hear, and that never leads anywhere good.
Luckily, before I could fantasize about what a little boy would look like with Dylan's eyes and my hair, the waiter came with our platter of sushi.
“This is why I like sushi so much. It’s so fast.”
He looked at the platter, nodding appreciatively. "This looks great. I haven’t eaten sushi in a while. Last time, I got food poisoning. I’ve been avoiding it since.”
"Why didn't you say any of that when I told you to come to a sushi place?" I asked, mystified.
"Again, because I wanted to spend time with you."
I didn’t say anything, just took a bite of the sushi. “How did you get the medicine?” I asked.
“I know a few people in the pharma industry and asked them for favors.”
“Hmm... I remember Isabelle told me once that you don’t like doing that.”
He looked at me in surprise. “It’s true. But you’re an exception. I can’t wait until Isabelle hears about it.”
“Why?”
“She’s already giving me so much shit about taking the puppy home.”
The corners of my mouth twitched. “Well, it was unexpected.”
“You make me do unexpected things.” His gaze was so intense that I couldn’t keep eye contact for too long, so I glanced at the sushi platter again. I asked him more about his family as we cleared the platter, and we ended up talking about Isabelle.
“When are they moving to the new place?” I asked.
“Next week or the one after that. They’re not sure.”
“Brayden’s still on tour now, right?”
“Yes. It’s a bit hard for Isabelle, coordinating everything by herself.” He sounded concerned.