by Vixen Kane
Shaking my head, I tug open the door and step over the threshold into the dimly lit restaurant. Instantly, the delicious smells assail me and my stomach grumbles, causing me to smile.
“Damn. You’re beautiful.”
My head snaps to the right at the sound of that deep voice. Ice blue eyes stare back at me for a minute before traveling the length of my body, down to my cherry red toes peeking out of the matching heels and back up to lock onto my face.
“Stunning.”
Heat creeps into my cheeks, and I imagine they quickly match the color of my toes. While I try to wrap my head around the compliment just given, I take a moment to look at the sight before me. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was an incredible one.
“You clean up pretty well, Seth.”
He throws his head back and laughs, and in that few seconds, I can almost pretend he’s not a total asshole. Almost, but not quite. He’s still the same guy who humiliated me in high school and as recent as a little over a week ago at that party. I need to remember that.
“What’s so funny?” My head dips as anger replaces anything I’d already been feeling. He’s laughing at me, showing his true colors.
“Nothing,” he says when he sobers. He must sense my irritation because he’s suddenly serious. I feel his fingers under my chin as he tips it up, forcing me to peer into his eyes. “You were late.”
“I didn’t even want to come,” I snap, incredibly frustrated at his back and forth attitude.
His jaw clenches and ticks before he speaks. “You sure about that?” His pupils dilate as he asks, and his meaning becomes clear.
I slap his hand away from my chin and try to step past him, but he grabs my arm and spins me around, almost causing me to topple in these stupid heels.
“Easy now.” He wraps an arm around my waist to steady me, and his touch scorches my skin, sending flames licking over me. My body tenses, trying to force the feeling away, infuse my veins with ice to counteract the heat.
Get a grip, Valerie Lynn.
He apparently feels confident that I’m not going to fall on my ass because he releases me and takes a step back. His gaze searches mine, for what I have no clue.
“What?” I ask when I can’t take his scrutiny any longer.
“You said you wanted a truce. This is just a dinner between friends. Do you hate me so much that we can’t even be friends?” His voice sounds genuine. Almost too genuine.
But I can’t help but wonder if he doesn’t have a point. Damn him for that.
“I guess I am a little hungry.” My stomach grumbles, giving credence to my statement.
He quirks an eyebrow. “A little?”
“Oh shut up.”
He laughs and just like that, my muscles begin to uncoil. Decision made, I walk past him toward the host stand.
“Where are you going?” Seth asks from behind me.
“I’m going to get us a table. If we’re going to be friends, you’re going to have to feed me,” I say glancing over my shoulder at him.
“Uh, Val?” He rubs the side of his nose before dropping his hand back to his side and stepping toward me. “We already have a table. At least, I hope we still do.”
“What do you mean?” My eyes narrow in confusion.
“Well, when you walked in, I was getting ready to leave. You were late.” He shrugs. “I had a reservation for eight. This isn’t the kinda place you just walk in and expect to get a table, ya know?”
Guilt infuses my system, but I tamp it down. I refuse to let him make me feel guilty about anything after the crap he’s put me through.
“Can I help you?” A familiar female voice asks, and when I look toward the source, my heart drops. “Well, well, if it isn’t the dud roommate?” Kristie, Lexie’s one time party buddy sneers at me before turning her attention to Seth. “And Seth Carnes?” Her eyebrows raise, and an amused grin covers her face. “You’re with her?”
I feel tears burning at the back of my eyes, but before they can fall, Seth surprises me.
“Now, Kristie, there’s no need to be jealous.” Seth’s arm comes around my shoulders, and he gives a gentle squeeze. “Some women deserve to be wined and dined, and some, well, don’t.”
I keep my head bowed but raise my eyes at the vehemence in his voice. It’s tinged with more mocking than I can ever remember hearing. And I’m talking about the guy who took pictures of me after sex with my high school boyfriend, and then mocked us by uploading it for the world to see.
“But I’m… she’s… bastard!” Kristie’s fists are at her sides and her cheeks now match my pretty painted toes.
A gentleman walks up behind her, breaking some of the thick tension.
“Is there a problem here?” His name tag says his name is Charles and has the title of Fine Dining Manager.
“Actually, sir, ye—”
“No, sir, no problem.” I shake my head and step forward, out of Seth’s hold. “We, uh, were just hoping that our reservation was still available. Unfortunately, I was late, but it’s our, um, anniversary, and we’ve always talked about coming here and well, my… boyfriend just wanted this night to be extra special.”
Where the hell had all that come from?
“Oh, how lovely.” Charles clasps his hands and smiles at us. “I truly hope that it wasn’t something serious.”
“Serious?” I ask.
“To be late?” He looks me up and down before looking to Seth. Charles clears his throat and quickly turns his attention to picking up menus. “Please, follow me.”
“Of course.” I turn to follow the manager and run smack into Seth’s brick wall of a chest. Tipping my head back, I can't decipher the look on his face. His jaw is once again tense and ticking.
“Oh, and Kristie? We will discuss this later,” Charles throws over his shoulder with a smug smile.
“Yes, sir.” Kristie dips her head but not before she gives me a death glare and mumbles, “bitch.”
Seth finally relaxes and grips my hand to lead me toward the table that Charles is standing next to. Satisfaction at Kristie possibly getting in trouble has a smile blooming, and before I know it, my cheeks hurt.
“Boyfriend, huh?” Seth whispers in my ear as he pulls out my chair for me to sit.
“Old fuck buddy, huh?” I snap back.
Seth walks around to sit across from me. The pale blue linen tablecloth shifts as he sits, and I grip the edge to make sure it stays in place. There are two lit candles, along with a bottle of wine in a bucket of ice and two wine glasses, and I don’t want them to get broken. They look expensive. This whole place screams money and some of my fear and hesitation creeps back in.
“Val, neither of us are saints. It’s not like you’re a virgin.” I flinch at his words, but he’s right. “Besides, you and me, we’re just friends, so who I sleep with shouldn’t really matter, right?”
“Ri… right. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize.” He pulls the white linen napkin out of it’s silver ring and sets it in his lap before picking up the bottle of wine and holding it up for me to see. “Now, relax and enjoy.” He pours the wine into the crystal glass in front of me.
“Uh, Seth, I’m only nineteen,” I whisper, leaning over the table.
“Your point?”
“My point? I can’t drink that.” I point to the white bubbly liquid.
“Sure you can. You drank at the frat house.”
“That was… that was different.”
“Hmm. Is it?” He raises one eyebrow, and while I’m trying to figure out how the hell he can do that, he continues. “I thought you were trying to enjoy life. Be a real college student. Am I wrong?”
“Well, no.” How the hell could he possibly know that?
“It’s just that I’ve always known you as a goody two shoes, but at that party, I saw a different side of you. It, ah, doesn’t take a genius to figure out you’re trying to make the most of college life.” His answer to the unspoken question seems logical but t
he way he says it makes me wonder. About what, exactly, I don’t know.
“For your information, I didn’t have a choice but to be a ‘goody two shoes’, as you so bluntly put it. Not all of us are born with silver spoons in our mouths.”
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, Val. You’re liable to be disappointed.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh c’mon. A smart girl like you? Surely you don’t need me to spell it out for you?”
“I know that I’ve had to work hard for everything I’ve ever gotten. I’ve had to study for every ‘A’, cram for every exam, save every penny I could earn just so I could have a sliver of a chance of getting into college and paying for it.” I slam my mouth shut when I realize I’ve told him more than I’ve told most people.
“And you think that just because I have money means I didn’t have to work hard?”
“That’s not what I said. It’s just… some doors are automatically open to you while they aren’t to me.” I huff out a breath. “Look, I didn’t come here to argue with you.”
“Arguing isn’t exactly top on my list of fun things to do on a date either, but here we are.”
“I thought this wasn’t a date?” He said as much numerous times.
“You know what I mean.” He waves his hand in front of him, dismissing my question.
“Seth, you confuse the hell out of me.” I give him a bit of honesty, hoping it will pull some from him. Because one thing I know for sure, Seth Carnes is not an honest person, and I should not let myself be fooled by the fake charm.
“Val, you confuse the ever lovin’ fuck outta me, but I think that’s what I like about you.”
“As a friend?” I need to be sure.
“Sure. Friends.”
The waiter comes to our table, and I’m grateful for the interruption so I have time to clear my thoughts. Once our orders are placed, the waiter walks away, and the silence becomes deafening.
“So, what made you decide to be a social work major?” Seth’s question throws me off guard because I don’t remember telling him that but it’s not a hard question for me to answer, so I do.
“To help people.” I shrug and he remains quiet. “I didn’t exactly have the easiest childhood.” When he frowns, I rush to continue. “Don’t get me wrong, I had a happy childhood, for the most part. There wasn’t any abuse or neglect or anything like that. We just didn’t have a lot. Both my parents worked hard to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads, but it came at a price.”
“What was the price?”
“Time.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were always busy working. Running themselves ragged just so we could survive. They love me and I love them, but I always wished for more time with them as a kid.”
“Makes sense.” He stares into his wine glass for a minute. “Actually, I can relate.”
My head snaps up, and he has a faraway look on his face. “You can?”
“Sure. I have a sister. Did you know that?”
Well, of course I know that! I work with her.
“No, I didn’t,” I say.
“Yeah. Sarah. She’s autistic so requires a lot of my parents’ time and attention. Sometimes, growing up, it felt like I was an afterthought.”
I reach out and lay my hand over his on the table, needing to comfort. After working for his family for even a short time, I can totally see what he’s saying.
“Anyway, enough of that.” He clears his throat and changes the subject. “So, what happened between you and that douchebag?”
“Josh and I broke up after he started college. I was focused on earning Valedictorian and he wanted to, well, party.” I laugh a little at the irony of the situation. “We both had a lot of restrictions when we were in high school, and he sort of went wild when he left for college.”
“I can only imagine.” His tone carries some of the hatred he has for Josh. “He dumped you for a college chick?”
I flinch at the question. Does he really think I’m not good enough to hold on to a college guy? “Actually, I broke up with him.”
“Then you really are smart.” He lifts his glass to his lips to take a sip.
The waiter brings our meals, and when mine is set in front of me, my eyes narrow. “This, uh, isn’t what I ordered.”
“It’s the chicken alfredo, ma’am. Is it not to your liking?” The waiter looks like he wants to bolt, clearly not comfortable with unhappy customers.
“Yes, I ordered the chicken alfredo but this is… a chicken toe and ten noodles.”
Seth snorts at my comment and the waiter starts to grab my plate. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I’ll pass on your displeasure to the chef.”
“No, no. It’s fine.” Seth’s voice stops him from walking away. “My friend was just teasing. She didn’t mean any harm.”
What the hell?
Didn’t mean any harm? Of course I did! I’m starving and I don’t have to pay, so I expect a meal, not a sample. But I also don’t want to cause a scene.
“Ma’am?” The waiter looks at me expectantly.
“It looks delicious. Please tell the chef I said so.” I smile when the plate is once again in front of me.
“Can I get you two anything else?”
“No, thank you.” Seth’s manners are impeccable, at least to anyone other than me, and not at all what I expect out of him.
When the waiter walks away, I pick up my knife and fork to cut into the tiny piece of chicken, and when the meat hits my tongue, flavor explodes in my mouth, causing a moan to tear out of me and my eyes to slide closed.
“Good?” My eyes rush open at his question and a blush creeps up my neck.
“Yes. Very good.” I wipe the corners of my mouth with my napkin, trying to hide some of the embarrassment. When I feel more in control, I place the napkin in my lap and ask, “How’s yours?”
“Very good,” he says around a bite of steak. Maybe his manners aren’t so impeccable.
The next few minutes are spent in silence, my mind racing with numerous questions. I spit out the one that is bugging me the most.
“Why is Lexie pushing us together?”
“What?” His hand freezes, a bite of pasta primavera balanced on the fork tines.
“You heard me. Why was Lexie so pushy trying to get me to agree to this dinner? It just doesn’t add up for me.”
I genuinely want to hear his answer, so I wait out a very uncomfortable few minutes of silence. The emotions that cross Seth’s features have me drawing in a deep breath.
“I honestly don’t know, Val. Lexie’s been to a few parties, and I think she just realizes I’m not such a bad guy.”
The breath I drew in and held rushes past my lips. When I smile, his posture relaxes, and I feel silly for even asking. For thinking Lexie may have ulterior motives. Or that Seth might.
“I gotta admit, you aren’t quite the total asshole I pegged you for.” I pray that admission isn’t a huge mistake.
“Really?” Seth’s smile grows, and the dimple I noticed the other day forms, giving him an almost boyish look.
“I mean, aside from the shit you pulled in high school—”
“I really am sorry about that, Valerie.”
My breath hitches at the way he says my name. “You called me Valerie.”
“Yeah, so?”
“You’ve always called me Val. Like you’re taunting me or something.”
“I’m sorry if that’s how it made you feel. ‘Val’ seems to suit you.”
“I never used to like being called ‘Val’. It always made me feel stupid. Like people who called me that don’t take me seriously enough to use my full name.”
“And now?”
“It’s not so bad,” I say and shrug.
We both return to our meals, too hungry, or too weirded out by the whole evening, to talk further. When our plates are clear and our wine glasses empty, I realize that I’m beginning to feel the effect
s of the alcohol. At some point, Seth had poured me two more glasses but I’d barely noticed because I’d actually been enjoying myself.
Once the check is paid, Seth stands and comes around the table to pull out my chair. When I stand, I sway slightly but Seth steadies me with a hand on the small of my back.
“I think I should call a cab. I don’t want to drive home like this.” My words aren’t slurring, which is a good sign, but the last thing I need is a DUI to get me kicked out of school.
“I can drive you back to the dorm.” Seth steers me toward the door, and when we step outside, the cool night air feels good on my flushed skin.
“No. No, I don’t want to be any trouble.”
“Val, it’s no problem. I’m heading back to the frat house and pass the campus. Besides, what are friends for?” There’s that damn dimple again.
“Right. Friends.” I don’t know when it happened, but at some point during dinner, I’d forgotten this wasn’t a date. Sure, I’d spent so much energy trying to keep my distance, but there’s something about Seth Carnes that lures me in. Against my better judgement. “Fine. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He points down the street. “I’m parked down the block. Let’s go.”
He opens the car door for me before circling around to the driver’s side and climbing in. The leather of the seat is cold on the backs of my thighs and I shiver. Rather than comment, he turns the heater on, and I quickly warm up.
Campus isn’t more than a few miles away, and when he pulls up in front of my building, I’m almost sorry the night is over. When he parks the car, I open the door and climb out and turn back toward the car. I bend over to thank Seth for dinner, but he isn’t there. A hand on the small of my back causes me to jump, and I let out a squeal and whirl around, putting my hand to my chest.
“You scared the shit out of me!” I smack his chest, and he catches my hand.
“I didn’t mean to.” He holds my hand against his pecs, and I can feel his heart beating rapidly.
Oh God. Is he going to kiss me?
“Despite the bumpy start, I really did have a nice time, Valerie.”