Like when he led me out of the warehouse, he takes my hand again, but this time, there is no voice in my head telling me to get away. Instead, my mind is silent as he approaches the desk at the front of the restaurant, which happens to be manned by the waitress from my last dinner here.
“Hi, could I get the name of your reservation?”
Darcy gives her his name, and she looks up the booking. Her smile freezes on her face as her gaze lands on me, and it takes a second, but recognition sparks. Her eyes flick up to Darcy, then back to me, a question filling them. As subtly as I can manage, I nod.
The girl’s smile softens, and she gathers up two menus. “If you’ll follow me?”
We follow her inside, where she thankfully seats us at a different table from last time, tucked into the corner of the room. She places the menus in front of us, then uses the jug of water on the table to fill up two glasses.
“Do you need a minute with the menus?” she asks when she is done, her hands hovering over her apron where her order pad is.
Before Darcy can answer, I cut him off. “Actually, that banquet I had the last time I was here, does that come for two?”
The waitress grins. “Yes, it does.”
Picking up my menu, I offer it back to her. “Excellent. We’ll get that, thank you.”
Without a word, Darcy offers the girl his menu as well.
Once she is gone, it’s just the two of us, sitting across from each other. Darcy has a huge-ass grin on his face, which he tries to cover up by rubbing his hand over his scruffy beard.
He picks up his glass of water and brings it to his mouth. “So fucking proud.”
Chapter 44
Emery
EyesOnYou:Will you be going live tonight?
Their message must have come through when Darcy and I were finishing up at the Thai Orchid, but I’d left my phone in my bag, which I’d left in the car. And when I think back on it, I haven’t checked my phone since before I arrived at the warehouse.
There are a few other notifications—a few messages from Oakley, a single message from Will, comments on the study notes document, and a few alerts from SugarLife—but none of them really interest me. But that one message from EyesOnYou has my stomach lurching. I’m almost an hour late for our usual time.
I finish climbing the stairs up to my dorm, with an overfilled bag of takeout containers, and unlock the door as I bite my lip. I’m not really up for a public live tonight; my emotions are still all over the place, and I have zero motivation to study.
Really, all I want to do is get ready for bed and go to sleep.
Will they be disappointed? The lurching turns to a cramp.
Maybe if I’m open and honest, they’ll understand?
The dorm is dark when I walk in. Frowning, I scan the space but don’t see Xavier anywhere. Usually he is home by now.
There is a small strip of light coming from under Oakley’s door, and I can hear quiet music, so obviously she is home. Not really wanting to get into a conversation, I quietly deal with the leftovers, and the entire time, my mind replays the dinner and how we actually sat there in silence, sampling four hundred dollars’ worth of food.
Sure, there was prolonged eye contact here and there, but beyond him saying he was proud of me—which I can now admit did make me feel a little good at the time—neither of us said a single fucking word. And it wasn’t even awkward.
And then, instead of a cab, he drove me home. In silence.
He didn’t even try to hug me goodbye. He merely watched from where he lounged against the outside of his car from the parking lot as I walked to the door of my building.
Walking away without a word was weird and uncomfortable, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
With everything now in the fridge, I hightail it into my room and close the door behind me. Dumping my backpack on thefloor by my desk, I spot another fucking gift and note next to the polka dot box. With a sigh, I pick up fancy envelope and the note, then plonk down on my bed, phone in my other hand.
The first envelope feels thick and a little fancy. Unfolding the sheet of paper that’s inside, I crinkle my nose—a gift certificate for a day spa. I flip the card over, looking for more details, but there are none. Just a prepaid amount with a blank date.
Maybe the note will hold more information.
