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Talk about taking your fucking breath away.
“Is this outfit not okay?” she says, pulling me from my thoughts.
My eyes slowly scan her from head to toe as I take in every feature. Her thin dress straps expose her shoulders and collarbones that Ishould notwant to let my lips graze. Don’t get me started on the curvature of her breasts that I’m just craving to touch. The dress flows around her thighs like she’s ready for dancing around town.
I don’t miss the diamond on her finger that glistens in the city lights as she moves her hand. I never asked for the ring back after the night I gave it to her. I didn’t even know she kept it all this time until I asked her about it in the office.
“It’s fine,” I manage to choke out the lie so easily. It’s more than fine, it’s perfect. “Let’s go, we're going to be late.”
“Late?” she scoffs. “If the hostess knows you at all, she might keel over in shock when she sees you walk through the door this early.”
“Actually…” I shoot her a smug grin. “I have never been here before.”
“Great,” she says with an exaggerated eye roll. “So we know nothing about how good the food is here?”
“Oliver says it’s one of the best in the city.”
The hostess escorts us to a private booth in the back corner of the restaurant. I wanted a spot that wasn’t too intimate, and what do I get? A spot that’s the definition of intimate. It’s tucked into a small concave that has dim lighting and a U-shaped booth which forces us to sit next to each other and not across from each other.
Avery scoots into the booth first and I follow on the opposite side. The booth is small and our thighs almost brush against each other. I don’t miss the intoxicating smell of her after I slide into the booth. I can’t tell if it’s lavender or lilac, but, being so close to her, it takes over every bit of my senses.
“I thought this was supposed to be a simple dinner to lay down the groundwork?” she asks.
“It is. I didn’t expect this place to be so…”
“Romantic?” she finishes my sentence with a grin.
“I guess you can say that.”
“Hey.” She shrugs. “At least if anyone sees us here, we look like two love birds.”
Nerves shoot down my spine while an uneasy feeling churns in my gut.
Love.
That is not even close to what this is.
I wipe the palms of my hands on my pants because I can feel them getting clammy, when thankfully the waiter approaches to collect our drink orders. I go for my usual top shelf whiskey, and Avery goes for a glass of champagne. I could have sworn she was a tequila girl after our trip to the shore. Champagne seems to be her drink of choice after the charity event and now this.
“Alright, gummy bear.” Avery crosses her arms on the table and leans forward to engage in conversation. “Where should we start?”
“I’m going to ignore that god awful nickname you just gave me. Please for the love of all things… don’t use that in front of my boss.”
“Whatever floats your boat, honey bun.” She winks.
“How about we start with an appetizer?”
“That’s not where I was suggesting we start. I’m talking about this. Us.”
I clear my throat. “Right. Okay. Tell me about yourself. Other than your professional resume that I already know, or the fact that you have the attitude of a lonely cat lady.”
“I do not have the attitude of a cat lady,” she retorts. “And you’re one to talk. You act like someone pisses in your cheerios every morning.”
“This is going to work lovely.” I grin as I take a sip of whiskey that the waiter finally delivered.
“Okay, fine. I’ll start,” she says. “What do you do for fun?”
“It’s hard to have fun when you work as much as I do. But when I’m not working, I enjoy running.”
