I don’t want to go out on a fucking date. An impulsive and spiteful decision is biting me in the ass right now. I lost all sense of confidence in this plan about three hours ago when I was trying to find something to wear.
But I feel like I have something to prove to myself.
Now, I’m walking up to Allesandro’s in a pair of black jeans and flowy, sleeveless, maroon shirt with my hair in a ponytail and no makeup. The lack of effort is blinding, but it feels like a test. If Tyler can’t handle me like this, then he can’t handle me at all. Because this is technically dressed up for me, even if it is a shallow attempt.
Screw Arlo for making me feel like I need to go out of my comfort zone just to prove something to both of us.
The closer I get to the front doors, the more I want to turn right around and ditch Tyler.
“Rina.” His voice pulls me out of my musings.
“Tyler, hey.” I stop in front of him. He’s dressed in dark jeans, a blue polo shirt, and a blazer. His blond hair is perfectly coiffed, like it was at the coffee shop.Jeez, he’slike a Ken doll.
“You look sexy as hell.” He smirks, and I can’t hold back the eye roll. He actively chose sexy, not beautiful or gorgeous, to describe me on the first date. I don’t have high hopes for the rest of this evening.
“You ready to go inside?” I deflect.
“Absolutely.” He puts his hand on my lower back and leads me in, and I’m glad he can’t see the cringe on my face.
God, this was a terrible idea.The instant regret pisses me off. This was supposed to be my “fuck you” to Arlo, and I can’t even do that right. It’s becoming very clear to me that I’ve never actually worked through my feelings for the man. I just ignored everything to do with him and moved on like it didn’t bother me. It was mostly because of the responsibility I felt for Willow and Lennox, but it’s very clear I haven’t worked through things as well as I thought I had.
“Reservation. Roberts,” he throws out to the host without a please, thank you, or hello.
Off to a wonderful start.
“Of course, right this way.” The host throws a look my way, and I nod in acknowledgment. Her subtle warning makes me both annoyed and thankful for the unspoken girl code.
We get seated easily, Tyler pulling up the menu to cover his face, so I do the same. I’m not even looking at the menu. I’m thinking about how to get out of this situation. Suddenly uncomfortable, I have this off feeling about Tyler I can’t quite place. He hasn’t done anything wrong, per se, but his charisma from the coffee shop doesn’t seem to be here today.
“I can’t believe what they charge for steaks at restaurants nowadays. It’s highway robbery,” he says with disgust.
Definitely time for an exit strategy.
“Yeah, it’s a high-end product, though,” I mumble.
“Well, I won’t be supporting that. Maybe the chicken,” he ponders.
Who the hell suggests a steakhouse only to boycott ordering actual steak? You can bet my ass is ordering the largest steak I can out of spite now.
A shadow falls over the table, and I put my menu down, excited to piss off Tyler and order a steak, when I see it isn’t a server.
It’s Arlo fucking Steel.
“Can we get a bottle of the Zapata Malbec? And for my entrée, I’ll have the roast chicken with a Caesar salad.” Tyler doesn’t even look at the man as he orders, and I sit there in shock, mouth open and everything. It’s when Tyler hands Arlo the menu that the giggles start.
What an actual shitshow. My date, however horrible he is, is handing my ex-husband a menu and treating him like a server. Arlo’s entire body is clenched tight. I can see the tick in his stubbled jaw as he stares down Tyler.
“Rina, can I talk to you for a moment?” Arlo grits out.
My laughter gains more traction at how ridiculous this all is. Tyler finally takes a look at Arlo and arches his eyebrow.
“Is there a problem?”
“There will be if Rina doesn’t come with me,” Arlo says, and my laughter stops at once.
How dare he come in here and order me around? How the fuck did he even find me?
“We’re on a date, so you can talk to her later,” Tyler says before going back to ignoring him.
