“I’m sure you could hold your own, but what kind of knight in shining armor would I be if I didn’t escort you?” I offer my arm. “Shall we?”
Olivia’s grin brightens as she slides her hand into the crook of my elbow. I lead the way to the other side of campus, and there are several restaurants to choose from. I’m hoping she likes Mexican food since there’s a little taqueria not too far from here. It’s casual, but the food is incredible.
“So, what’ll it be? Tacos or lattes?” I ask, glancing down at her as we walk. My heart thunders in my chest being this close to her, and I hope she doesn’t notice. “Whatever you’re in the mood for, that’s where we’ll go. I can eat later if you only want to get coffee.”
“I’m not that hungry, but nachos sound great. Want to split an order?”
“You can have your own.” I huff a small laugh. “And since we’ve established I don’t know how to flirt with you, let me be perfectly clear—thisisa date.”
She chews on her lip and sighs, “If this doesn’t go as swimmingly as you hoped, are you going to be weird about it in class?”
“Oh, I’ll make it extra weird.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Olivia jests with a sweet smile that meets her eyes. I can’t help returning it.
We make our way to the taqueria that’s still open, and while the restaurant is still a little busy, we’re able to place our order after only three other customers. Even with her salivating over a plate of enchiladas someone else got, she still insists on sharing the nachos instead of getting her own.
We’re able to snag an available table for two, and while it’s great for conversation, I hate how I can’t sit beside her. I pull a chip full of cheese and meat, then dip it in a little extra guacamole. She does the same but uses her plastic fork to add salsa. I lift my chip in a cheers, and she blushes a little as she taps hers against mine. I love how it doesn’t take much to make her cheeks flush.
As she bites into the nacho, a soft moan escapes her, and while she doesn’t seem to notice, my cock certainly does. Like a fucking creep, I can’t stop staring at her rosy lips. Of course now all I can think about is how if I kissed her right now, my own lips might turn a little pink from whatever lipstick she’s wearing. She’d look just as beautiful if it was smeared a little. Everyone would know she’s mine.
I brush the thought away. I need to take my time with her… and stop staring. I can’t. It’s painful to look away.
Olivia was a little hesitant about coming tonight, and I find myself a bit too curious about why. After a few chips, that curiosity gets the best of me. “We may not know each other well, but I like to think I’m pretty good at reading people. Why were you so worried about dinner?”
She scrunches her nose. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Sorry. If you really don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”
“No, no, it’s okay.” After blowing out a long breath, she asks, “Promise you won’t judge me?”
“I can’t promise that without hearing it, but I’ll definitely try.”
“Fair enough.” She takes a brief moment to collect her thoughts before beginning. “The last dinner date I went on, he took me to a nice Italian restaurant. Dinner was great, and I thought we really connected. He ordered a bottle of wine, apps… the works. Honestly, I felt a little spoiled even though I only had a small piece of bruschetta and one glass of wine. I don’t usually go to fancy restaurants. He ordered a steak, and I had pasta. I hate wasting food and like to order things that I can take half to go for lunch the next day. Pasta is always a great option for that.”
Despite the fact that it’s killing me hearing her talk about another date, I agree, “True. Honestly, that’s really smart. When I make dinner, it’s just for myself, and I always make two or three portions so I have leftovers.”
“Exactly! I meal prep for the week, and when I go out with my girlfriends, I usually find something that will stretch for at least two days.”
“So, did he steal your leftovers?”
“No.” Olivia lets out a full laugh, and it has to be the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard in my life. “When the bill came, he asked to split it down the middle. I normally wouldn’t mind, but it really wasn’t in my budget to pay for half with the steak and the expensive wine he ordered. I’ve always been frugal. Hell, I survived off ramen made in my coffee pot my freshman year. I’m budget-conscious. The only thing I splurge on is my vanilla caramel latte once a week. I didn’t need a fancy dinner if he alsocouldn’t afford it. If I had known he wanted to split the check, I would’ve asked that we go somewhere else when he suggested the place.”
“What’s his name?” I seethe, unable to help feeling a little protective.
“Down, tiger,” she teases, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her sparkling honey-brown ones. “He’s long gone, moved on to some other woman to take advantage of. But it gets worse. He started the pat-down in search of his wallet.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. I had to pay for the whole thing. Then he wanted to share a cab or rideshare to get home, but I took the subway. I had to use my credit card to pay for dinner, and it took me over two months to pay it off. There was no way I could also spring for a rideshare too.”
“For the record, my family would disown me if they found out I didn’t take care of my date.”
“Oh, sorry! I don’t think you’d do anything like that,” she rushes out. “But I have a little bit of leftover trauma from it. Coffee just always feels safe, but… so does this.”
“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She offers me a wry smile. “You should.”
