My brain is back online enough to pull her chair out for her, and she meets the gesture with a mildly surprised, “Oh, thank you.”
Then I go and ruin the effect of being smooth by bumping into the table with my hip as I sit down, knocking over one of the empty wine glasses. “Shit, sorry!”
Ruby rights her glass. “At least it didn’t have anything in it.”
“True.” I smile back at her as best I can, hating how my cheeks burn. At least my beard should hide some of the flush.
The host abandons us to our fate, telling us the waiter will be with us in a moment.
Ruby shrugs off her fuzzy jacket and I pray that the waiter comes soon because my throat feels like the desert.
Don’t look at her breasts.
My gaze drops despite my mental efforts, and I yank it away as fast as I can before she notices.
Fucking hell, she has perfect tits. Was that a tattoo?
Don’t look at them again!
“Welcome to Parlor!”
The waiter’s deep voice startles me out of my plight, and I look up from where I absolutely was looking at Ruby’s cleavage again to see a reedy, handsome beta smiling at us.
“My name is Jay, and I’ll be your server tonight. Have you dined with us before?”
Ruby smiles politely back at him, shaking her head. “No, but I’ve heard great things.”
The waiter glances at me for a split second before rightfully turning his focus back to the gorgeous omega across from me, and I mumble a gravelly “same.”
“You picked a perfect night to come. We have some really great Valentine’s Day specials. Are we celebrating something tonight?”
Tension suffuses my body at the innocuous question. Should I tell him it’s a blind date? Say that we’re a scent match, but I don’t think I’ll get another date because I’m a sweaty, mute mess.
“Delicious food, I hope,” Ruby replies with another one of her teasing, sexy laughs.
The waiter’s attention shifts even more to my date now that he knows I’m no one special to her. “I’m sure we can do that,” he says with a wink.
My alpha has the sudden urge to strangle him for flirting, but all I do is clear my throat. He doesn’t pay me any mind, rattling off an interminable list of specials and pointing out their extensive wine selection.
Ruby orders a glass of merlot, giving me a questioning look. “Unless you want to split a bottle of something?”
“No.” The word comes out harsh and awkward and I clear my throat again. “Sorry, thank you for asking, but I’m good with water.”
“Then just the glass,” Ruby says brightly to the waiter, who heads off to get our drinks.
“It’s not because I’m cheap,” I blurt.
Ruby blinks at me, her dark eyelashes distracting me as they brush against her cheeks. “What?”
“I didn’t want to split a bottle because I’m sober. Not because it’s too expensive and I’m trying to be stingy. Please get whatever you want.”
“Oh!” Understanding washes over her face. “I didn’t think that. But that’s good to know.”
She glances at the wine glass I knocked over earlier, then back up to me. “Would you prefer I didn’t drink? Because I’m going to be honest with you, I had a horrible experience on the walk here and I’d really like something to take the edge off so I don’t ruin our date.”
My alpha goes on high alert at the mention of her being distressed. “Of course, it won’t bother me at all. Are you alright?” An idiotic part of me wants to get out of my chair and go over to check her to make sure she’s not injured. I settle for a frown.
“Yeah.” She pauses, then reconsiders, shaking her head. “Actually, not really. But I’m not going to let it ruin things. It’s not your fault that some alphas are real pieces of shit.”
