“You’ll keep me warm,” I said. “Won’t you?”
He nodded and left the bottle on the counter to take my coat from me. I let him wrap me in it, and I tied it closed as we made our way out of the apartment.
In the car, I wasn’t sure what to make of his mood. Last night, he’d objected to me climbing into his bed, but it hadn’t taken him seconds to give in. Fucking me didn’t mean he’d forgotten, though.
“I can’t be in a relationship with someone who won’t talk to me,”he’d said.“I can’t always be the one doing all the work.”
Desperate to cut through the silence, I asked, “Did you have a good day?”
“Not particularly.”
I didn’t want to stare at him as he drove in the dark, so I focused my gaze ahead of us. “Gretchen’s was interesting last night.”
“How so?”
“We gossiped, mostly about you.” I smiled. “We had dinner and drinks, then went out. But Gretchen had Greg there, and it was weird to have our roles reversed. Usually I’m the one with someone by my side.”
“Someone meaning a man.”
I nodded and glanced at my hands. “I missed you.”
He slid his hand along the curve of the steering wheel. “Can’t say that doesn’t make me a little happy to hear.”
“I saw Brian, too,” I added. “Just so you know.”
“Brian?” he repeated. “Ayers?”
“He’d invited you and me to this art thing at a bar, so I took the girls instead. He and I talked for a while.”
“I see.” David looked out his window. “How’re Greg and Gretchen getting on?”
“Really well.”
“Do you think they’re a good match?” he asked.
I frowned.Yes. Does he not think so? They definitely had been in college. “I think so,” I said.
“And what about us?” he asked. “Are we a good match?”
I was thankful he couldn’t see my face. The tension in the car thickened as the question hung in the air. “Of course we are,” I said softly. I continued to look at anything but him while he stared out the windshield. He hadn’t looked at me once since the apartment.
Thankfully, we arrived at the restaurant within minutes.
Inside, at the hostess stand, he said, “Reservation for Dylan, two.”
As the hostess led us to our table, David’s hand covered mine, warm and protective.
The dim corner where she sat David and me was almost as dark as the night outside with only a couple sconces on the wall and a flickering candle in the middle of the table.
As I untied my coat, David’s hands rested on my shoulders from behind. His fingers brushed the back of my neck. I paused, waiting as he seemed to hesitate. He removed the coat, handed it to the hostess, and pulled out my chair for me.
He surveyed our surroundings as he rounded the table to his seat. “Everyone here is looking at you,” he remarked with a frown, scanning the room behind me as he scooted his chair under the table.
I followed his gaze. I didn’t see anyone looking at me, but Ididcatch a pair of big, bright female eyes focused on him. I pursed my lips and stared at the woman until she noticed and sheepishly glanced away.
David ordered a bottle of something before I even noticed the waiter. I didn’t catch the order because he’d made it in French.
I folded my hands in my lap. David’s unreadable eyes fixed on me.
