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“Y- yeah! We’re here to eat.” Barry found his voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Me? I heard about this place and wanted to try it out.” Misty’s lips stuck out in a pout as she gave Barry a pitiful look. “Unfortunately, I had no one to come with me, so I had to come alone.”
Misty was undeniably attractive. Her orange pixie-cut, plump small-featured face, and petite boyish form were appealing, especially to those who preferred the androgynous forever-young aesthetic.
However, what caught Xolani’s attention was Misty’s outfit. Misty was wearing a white bandeau dress that exposed her shoulders, and clung to her stick-thin form like a second skin. It stopped high above her thighs, threatening to expose her lady-bits if she breathed the wrong way.
In some other context, the dress might’ve made sense, but not in this one. They’d all just come from work. There was no way Misty had gone to work in that dress; so when had she changed. And why? If she was just coming to a try out this restaurant alone as she claimed, then why even bother changing?
Unless she was hunting!
And if she was hunting… who was she hunting?
“I’m so glad to find you here,” Misty added with a smile aimed at Barry and Barry alone. She squeezed his shoulder again.
“Uh… uh… Us too.” Barry’s wide-eyed glance swept to Xolani. It seemed like he was asking her for help with the situation.
Meanwhile, Xolani was still transfixed on that hand. How long was this heifer going to keep touching Barry? And why wasn’t he shaking her off?
“You don’t mind if I sit with you, right?” Misty didn’t even glance at Xolani. Her question was just for Barry. She gave him her best ‘woe is me’ impression. “I don’t want to eat alone.”
He stuttered, “Uh… umm…”
“Thank you.” Misty took his hesitance for acceptance. Quickly, she pulled a seat from a nearby table and set it right between Barry and Xolani, but much closer to Barry. She raised her hand and called out, “Waiter!”
Seconds later, a server appeared beside her.
“Bring another glass,” Misty ordered. “And another bottle of the same wine. Also, I’ll have the same thing he’s eating.” She pointed at Barry.
She didn’t even know what Barry had ordered, but that’s what she wanted.
If Xolani’s blood was water, it would be boiling right now. How she kept a leash on her temper was a wonder that only the gods could explain.
The server hurried off, and Misty turned her attention back to the tense couple. Cheerfully, she asked, “Soooo… details, details, details. Why are you two here together?”
Even though Xolani hadn’t spoken since the entrance of the woman, she noticed everything. She noticed that Barry hadn’t moved his chair away from Misty’s. She noticed that even though Misty was acting cheerful, her smile didn’t even reach her eyes. Every time Misty glanced at Xolani, that gaze got icier.
“Umm…” Barry stuttered while looking at Xolani as if waiting for her to answer the question.
Xolani forced a smile and finally spoke, “We heard about the place too and wanted to try it.”
“Really?” Misty’s gaze swept between them. Her lips were smiling but her eyes were shooting darts as she asked, “Just you two.”
“Yup.” Xolani popped the p at the end of the word. “Just us two.”
“Don’t tell me.” Misty’s cheeriness sounded even more forced as she pointed at both of them in quick succession. “Is there something going on between you?”
Barry chose this moment to speak up. “No, no, no. Nothing’s going on between us. We’re just friends. Just friends.”
The rage that swept through Xolani at his fast response was as immediate as it was intense. Just friends? Why was he so desperate to let Misty know that he was available?
Even so, Xolani kept smiling as she agreed, “Like he said, Just friends.”
Misty’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she clapped. “That’s great.”
Yup, it’s great for you and Barry. Xolani’s fury leapt like wildfire consuming dry hay.
The server brought the wine and wineglass that Misty had ordered. Another server appeared right behind the first with their food. For Xolani, they brought grilled shrimp with a spring vegetable salad and sweet corn coulis. The server set identical plates of steak, roasted potatoes and long beans before Barry and Misty.
