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Looking back over to Captain, I see the woman edging closer to him. This time I see her not-so-accidentally brush against him, and he turns around to look at her. I’m too far away to see what she says, but she leans in and touches his arm. I feel myself growl low in my chest as a territorial wave hits me. Who does this bitch think she is? Captain says something and turns back around, ignoring her, and it eases some of my anger.
I open my mouth to say something else to Patrick, but I see the woman take her phone out and point it at Captain’s ass. Fiery anger rises up my neck as I see her snap a picture of his butt.
“Oh, hell no.” I stand up out of my chair so fast, it hits the wall. Captain turns to look at me when he hears the noise, and concern is etched all over his face.
The woman isn’t paying attention, and I stomp over to where she’s standing. Before she can look up, I snatch the phone out of her hand. She turns to me, a mix of anger and embarrassment on her pinched face.
“What do you think you—”
“You shut the fuck up,” I say, cutting her off. The room goes silent, and I can feel eyes on us. “I saw you snap a picture of my man’s ass. Number one, nobody messes with what’s mine. Number two, how dare you? If you were a man and this was a woman, imagine how this would play out. You’d be called a pervert and I’d get the cops involved. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t give you the right to objectify someone or take their picture without their consent. Have some respect, and don’t be an asshole. Especially when their fiancée is standing ten feet away.” I smash the phone down on the tile floor and watch it shatter into a thousand pieces.
“You owe me a phone!” the woman screams, but nobody backs her up. She’s alone in this, and she knows it.
“I don’t owe you shit. You took a picture of my man, I took your phone. We’re even. But I suggest you get your ass out of here before I want to get more than even.”
I put my hands on my hips, waiting for her to make a move. She looks around for half a second, then decides to leave. I stand there making sure she stays gone, and I feel Captain’s big hands come around my waist.
“Fiancée?” he asks, and I wave my hand like I’m batting the word away. “And here I thought you liked objectifying me,” he says, so low only I can hear him.
Seeing the show is over, the restaurant’s patrons go back to what they were doing. I turn in Captain’s arms and smile up at him.
“Only I get to treat you like a piece of meat. Now get me a sandwich. I’m starving.”
He squeezes my ass and laughs before he lets me go, and I walk back over to where Patrick is sitting.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to cause a scene,” I say, shrugging.
He laughs a little and shakes his head. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we were kids, you used to get so pissed off when people would touch your things. I understood it, though, because neither of us had much. So what we did have was precious. I guess it’s that way with you still.”
I give him a half smile, thinking he’s right. “Yeah, I guess so. And I do love that man.” I glance over and see Captain wink at me, and I feel the love in my chest.
By the time our food is ready and the three of us start eating, we’re through the small talk of introductions and what we’re doing now.
“So what happened with your mom and dad?” Patrick asks, looking over at Captain and then back at me. He’s is trying to gauge what Captain knows, and I appreciate him protecting that.
“She passed away. He split,” I answer, trying to sum it up as quickly and painlessly as possible. I don’t want to go into any more detail than necessary. Patrick was a part of that life, but it was a long time ago, and I don’t really want to dig it up.
“Sorry to hear about that.”
We tiptoe around the bad times in our lives, trying to focus on the good. We tell Captain stories about growing up, and talking about it brings some of the better memories back to the front of my mind. The more we talk, the happier I am that Captain came and that we did this. It lets him see another part of me, and it reminds me that I’m not all doom and gloom. There are pieces of me that are still good and bright. Just like the pieces he’s given me.
