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“Wow,” I can’t help saying quietly at the opulence of this place.
Dim lighting and well-spread-out tables that, with the design of the room, all seem to have some privacy to them. The way the architecture and accessories are placed, you aren’t sitting on top of the diner next to you, but somehow wouldn’t feel enclosed in a small space either. A combination of half-walls, plants, and sculptures is very clever. The décor is all cream but in different shades, which helps with the feeling of openness, even though the lighting makes it soft and intimate.
All the floor staff are dressed impeccably in gray-and-cream outfits. All the women have their hair pulled up in tight buns on the top of their heads, or if they have short hair, it is slicked back and clean-looking. Same for the men, even the buns for the couple I spy with the trendy man bun.
“Good evening, Mr. Lonigan, how are you and your guest tonight? May I take your coat, madam?” The hostess motions toward me. Oh, yes, right, my coat. I was too busy checking everything out that I forgot about it.
“Yes, thank you.” Undoing the belt, I start to slip it off as Chase is answering her question.
“We’re fantastic, thank you, Rossana. This is my date Natalie’s first time in…” His voice trails off and I turn back to look at him, checking he’s okay.
“Jesus, Nat, you trying to kill me?” The look on his face is one of total shock and hunger at the same time. I’m not going to lie, I thought it would be Jordan looking at me like that, but for once the feeling of someone else paying me this kind of attention is kind of nice.
“Pick your bottom lip up, Chase, it’s just a dress.” And that’s the kind of relationship we have. Nothing is ever too serious, and part of me is enjoying the relaxation I’m starting to feel around him.
“A very sexy dress at that. My appetite just increased dramatically.” His hand again finds its place on the dip in my lower back, but this time, it’s skin on skin, and there is a little zing that I wasn’t expecting. Not at all.
The hostess now showing us to our table, I’m not hearing a word she and Chase are saying. My head is still in shock at the feelings that are running through my body. Where the hell have they come from? It’s totally throwing me, but in a nice way.
Seated and trying to settle the little buzz I have going on, I finally realize that Chase is just sitting staring at me.
Seeing he has my attention now, he asks something that has obviously been bothering him.
“Was that dress for him to make him mad, or can I hang onto the sliver of hope that you dressed like that for me?” My first instinct is to tell him why I packed the dress, but in the moment, part of me knows I wanted Chase to see me like this too. I decide to be as honest as I can.
“Both.” I pick up my menu so I have something to occupy my shaking hands.
“I can work with that.” His voice is far more serious than I’ve heard from him.
The waiter is now at his side and asking about drinks. I’m lost in the words on the menu that are all blending into each other.
“Nat?” Chase’s voice brings me back into the room. I look up from the menu to see him grinning. He knows he’s affecting me and it’s like he is cheering himself on in this two-man race.
“How hungry are you?” he asks.
Before my brain kicks into gear, the words come out that have my cheeks burning, with what I’m not sure. Is it embarrassment or sexual frustration that he seems to be drawing out of me? “Ravenous,” I say with a little confidence I never knew I had.
“You and me both, beautiful, you and me both.” His pupils are dilated, and he is solely focused on me. And I kind of like it.
“Then let’s eat,” I murmur.
“Oh, I intend to.” There’s one thing Chase has in abundance and that’s confidence. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never been afraid to show me.
I need to pull my flirting back a bit, otherwise he will just keep pushing it to the next level with ease, and I’m not sure how to even handle that. I’m still navigating this change in my head, one that I always said I would never let happen.
Placing our order for food and sipping on the red wine that Chase ordered, the night settles into a good rhythm. I catch up on what his family is doing with themselves. I’ve never met them, yet I feel like I know them from all the talks we’ve shared over the years. Chase wants to know all the happenings in Xavier’s and my world, the business and asking about Zara and her big break in New York. He makes me promise I will take him to see her dance and meet her properly. They’ve spoken a few times on the phone when he has called me in the car on speaker and she’s been there too.
Dinner is as expected, an experience out of this world. I was so rattled when we first got here that Chase just ordered for me, and the moans that come out of my mouth with each mouthful are ridiculous. I know when I stand up the tightness of my dress is going to show the fullness of my stomach for all to see.
Conversation has slowed a little as we both sit here in a food coma. After asking if I would like dessert, Chase waves down the waiter and asks for the bill to be brought to the table, and as I would expect, he places his black Amex card, the same as Jordan’s, into the folder.
I’m not sure how many glasses of wine I’ve had as Chase kept topping up my glass up, but between us, we’ve drunk a bottle. It’s just enough to give me a nice buzz that I’m feeling as he helps me into my jacket at the front door. I see his car is waiting for us at the curbside.
After spending the few hours with him, he let the cockiness fall and the kind and gentle guy I met that first night has had me smiling and laughing all through dinner.
Opening the car door for me, he looks at me with hopeful eyes.
“Can I take you for a nightcap? I’m not ready for tonight to end yet.” And to be honest, I’m not either.
