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He licked his lips. "That's not at all what I'm saying." His gaze flickered back to mine. "You look good enough to eat."
I grinned. "Then let's go on our date so you can do just that, afterwards."
He kissed my cheek. "I look forward to it." We got into his car, and he started driving.
I tapped my fingers along to the quiet song of the radio. "Where are we going?"
"I thought we could get dinner. There's this new vegan restaurant that opened. I thought we could try it out."
I blinked in surprise. "We're going to a vegan restaurant?"
His gaze flickered at me. "I thought you might like it. Also, I've been having a hard time eating meat ever since you told me why you're vegan."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."
He chuckled. "You don't have to apologize. It hasn't been that bad."
"I'm happy to hear that."
We chatted as he drove. Meaningless conversations and comments about the various things we saw. Cars, buildings, people.
The restaurant wasn't that far away, and soon we were stepping out of the car and getting seated at a table. Alexander had rented out the whole place for the night. The staff were all standing around us, so for the most part we were alone.
A few minutes after we arrived, the waiter came to take our orders. I looked over the menu.
"I'll have a spicy Chinese eggplant with Szechuan sauce and a pomegranate margarita." The waiter jotted down my order and then glanced at Alexander.
He was still staring at the menu. "I've never tried vegan food before." He glanced at me. "Do you mind ordering for me?"
"Of course not. He'll have the coconut millet bowl with kabocha squash and a sagey gin gimlet."
The waiter nodded. "Alright. Your order will be ready in a few minutes."
I shivered from the cool air of the restaurant. My gaze fell to the table, and I fiddled with my fingers as something occurred to me. "This whole vegan thing doesn't bother you, does it?"
"Of course not. Why would it bother me?"
"My last boyfriend." I paused, regretting that I brought it up. I forced a smile onto my face and shook my head. "Never mind."
He placed my hand on top of my own and leaned in slightly. The warmth from his palm seeped into me and the slight chill I felt vanished.
"You can always talk to me. You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"
I nodded and then sighed. "It's just that, my last boyfriend always got upset whenever my veganism was brought up. He said it was stupid and he didn't see the point of it." I gestured around me. "And now you're eating at a vegan restaurant because of me and I just...I don't want you to feel like you have to do that."
"It doesn't bother me. I think it's admirable that your love for animals is so strong you restrain yourself from eating meat. Besides, I was the one that brought us here, so clearly I don't mind vegan food. Your ex sounds like an idiot. He also sounds like my brother."
I froze for a split second before letting out a stiff laugh. "I guess they're both idiots. Hey, Alexander. I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Well, the thing is," I sucked in a deep breath. I wanted to tell him about dating his brother. I should've done it, but I couldn't find the words. We'd known each other for weeks; I knew it would be weird if I told him now. Still, how long could I hope to keep it a secret?
"It's just that…" He was looking at me with rapt attention. His eyes were trained solely on me, and the words died in my throat. I didn't want to ruin this, our first date, by bringing up his brother. I shook my head. "The thing is I tried the coconut millet bowl once in college and I loved it. So, I hope you love it too."
It wasn't a lie. I really did try out the dish in my senior year of college.
"I'm sure I'll love it." His brows furrowed. "That's what you wanted to tell me? You're sure?"
