Page 17 of F Buddy

I’d thought ahead and let the driver know where we wanted to go before I picked her up. Luckily, it was late enough that traffic wasn’t too heavy, but not too late to take her out to eat.

About twenty minutes later, the taxi came to a stop. I already had the money waiting in my hand, along with a generous tip, and I paid the driver, then opened the door. I slid outside and held my hand to help Scarlett out.

We stood outside a popular Italian restaurant. I’d thought about where to take her, torn between several places. This was somewhere I’d come before. The food was good, and the prices were reasonable. It wasn’t a place I took my dates too often, which was good for me because it would ruin the night if I kept getting knowing looks from the staff as they served us. It had happened enough times to be annoying, but most of the time I didn’t bother to change my routine over a little annoyance.

Scarlett was a little better than that. I planned on taking her home with me, but she was a friend first.

“I’ve heard of this place,” she told me as she stood beside me. “I’ve never been before.”

“I’m assuming you like Italian?”

I was pretty sure she did. We’d gone out to an Italian restaurant with our friends sometime before.

“It’s fine,” she said, as I expected.

She slid her arm back into mine as we walked to the door. We stopped at the podium where a host waited, and I gave her the name I’d reserved our table under.

“Right this way, sir.”

Lucky for me, they took late reservations. I’d called after I talked to Scarlett, and it was enough time for a table to be clear. It was rare to find it empty this time at night, so I was glad I’d thought ahead, especially when we walked in and I saw there wasn’t another free table on the way to ours. That would have been embarrassing.

We were seated at a small table for two and given menus.

“A server will be with you soon,” the man told us with a slight bow, then left us alone.

“It’s as beautiful inside as it is out,” she muttered, looking around.

I glanced around, knowing what she meant. It was relatively small and decorated in varying shades of brown, only it looked warm and cozy. It was popular with families and couples alike. I just enjoyed the food, but I’d heard people compliment the atmosphere of the room plenty of times.

Then I aimed a smile at Scarlett. “I could say the same about you,” I said casually. “Beautiful.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know, if you keep saying that, I’m going to start thinking you don’t mean it.”

“But why?” I asked in mock surprise. “I call it as I see it, is there something wrong with that?”

“Not really. I’m starting to realize it’s just you, and you love to speak your mind, don’t you?”

I hummed and glanced down at the menu. “You could say that.”

It was one way of putting it, but I wondered what she thought of me. Suddenly, I was a little paranoid, and it left me somewhat confused. Then I internally shook my head and decided I was thinking too much. But my eyes slid up to Scarlett, to find her looking through her menu, and I lost myself in staring at her again.

As if she felt my gaze, she looked up and smiled. “Do you know what you’re getting?”

I shrugged. The menu was more of a shield for me than anything. “I’ve been here before, so yes. Have you decided?”

She pursed her lips and nodded, her eyes suddenly sharpening on me. I wondered if I’d said anything wrong, but then I got it before she opened her mouth and asked, “So you’ve been here before, huh?”

There was something in her voice, I wasn’t sure just what it was, but it was simple enough to guess. I smirked.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous?” I teased.

She arched an eyebrow. “Who’s jealous? Is there anything wrong with wanting to know if you bring all your hookups here?”

I was tempted to mess with her a little, play on whatever emotion it was she was feeling. I had to remind myself again that this was Scarlett, not another of my conquests.

“I don’t,” I answered honestly.

She was openly surprised. “You don’t?”