Kelsey turned towards me and raised her eyebrow.
"And you’re turning him down?" she asked, with an incredulous tone. "Um... why?"
"You know why,” I said without further comment.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m still going to the movie,” she informed me, hopping out of the car.
I guess I was too. At least Kelsey would be there for moral support. I jumped out of the car and quickly caught up to her.
We stepped inside and waited in line to gather our tickets. We had pre-ordered so we didn’t have to wait long, and once we had them in hand we headed over to the counter for refreshments.
"Well, it looks like you’re stocking me,” Aiden said as Kelsey and I neared his group.
He smiled at me and I tried to ignore the tingle along my spine.
"Shocking,” I mumbled.
I turned to greet his brothers. The girl with Travis I then recognized as the same that he had dated in high school. They had both been a few grades ahead of us. We greeted each other, and I was introduced to Logan’s date also, someone I had never met before.
"Why don't we all sit together?" Aiden suggested after we all loaded our arms with huge buckets of popcorn and soda's.
I had always been partial the chocolate malt candies and had a box stashed in my purse.
"Actually Kelsey and I were—” I began, only to be interrupted.
"That would be great!" Kelsey said. "Almost like a group date."
I glared at her and she flashed me a mischievous grin as we followed the group into the darkened theater. In all the shuffling for seats somehow the brothers each managed to get next to their dates, but since Aiden was the fifth wheel, he landed on the end. Of course Kelsey insisted on positioning me next to him. I glared at her once more as we all got settled.
"What?" she said while raising her eyebrow innocently as she nibbled on her popcorn. "I have to sit on the end in case I have to pee. You know how sensitive my bladder is."
I rolled my eyes and faced the screen.
"You look beautiful tonight," Aiden whispered in my ear as the previews began.
"You aren't supposed to talk during the movie,” I whispered back.
"The movie hasn't started yet,” he said.
"Shh," I replied.
We all settled in as the opening credits rolled and the movie started in earnest. I couldn’t help but find myself incredibly aware of his presence next to me even as I tried to stay engulfed in the plot.
His knee hovered about an inch away from mine, and his elbow grazed against my forearms as we had settled on the armrest. He offered me some of his popcorn, which I accepted laughing to myself about the irony of our situation.
Despite my protest we had still wound up together in a date like scenario, watching a movie and sharing popcorn in a darkened room. Out of my periphery I noticed that he sometimes glanced in my direction if something significant had happened on the screen, as if quietly assessing my reaction.
The sight of his tattooed arm so close to mine distracted me on some level. I had never seen him dressed casually since we had reconnected and I decided that I much preferred him in a suit, mainly because more of his skin was covered and therefore less distracting.
WAY less distracting.
His presence did nothing to calm my confusion. I had spent the last weeks building my resolve to bury the attraction that I felt for him and now it was all rushing back in.
I needed to bury it again.
I wondered if my body language betrayed my inner turmoil, because about two thirds of the way through the movie, having endured the achingly close presence of Aiden next to me and resolved not to do anything about it, he reached over and grazed the side of my bare knee with the back of his fingers.
I froze, mesmerized by his touch which had sent shivers through my entire being.
I took a sharp intake of breath that I hoped he didn’t notice. If he did he made no indication.
Luckily he didn’t but throughout the movie his fingers would continue to softly graze my knee.
Thankfully the movie finally ended a little while later, and Kelsey and I exited the row. Once out in the lobby, Aiden caught up with me, touching his hand on my elbow to get my attention.
I needed him to stop touching me.
It only made me more tempted.
"I wanted to let you know, I was able to reschedule the reservations since you couldn’t go out with me tonight like I had asked you to the other night,” he said speaking as matter of fact.
So now we were back to reservations.
"Okay," I answered.
I actually thought I had gotten out of this when I couldn’t reschedule the first time and hadn’t thought much about it since, but the butterflies in my stomach betrayed my feelings of hesitation.
"If you’re still up for it," he said.
"Are you trying to give me an out?" I asked.
"Of course not," he said. "If you wanted out, you'd find a way."
He vanished back with his brothers and their girlfriends.
Just what did he mean by that, I wondered.
We all said goodbye and parted ways.
"What was that all about?" Kelsey asked after we both closed our car doors. She had seen Aiden and I talking alone, I assumed.
"What was what all about?" I said.
She and I had decided to drive down the road to the health shake place. We had heard about it but neither of us had been since arriving in California.
"I heard him mention a date," Kelsey said.
"Yeah, the one that we had to cancel but it's not really a date,” I clarified.
"I don't know what your deal is,” she said. "Just admit that you like him and go from there."
I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's just see what happens. I don't want to jump the gun. Besides, my primary focus is work right now."
"Yeah, yeah," she said with a grin. "Whatever."
The following week passed without incident. Our activities at the firm had been relegated to learning what the partners did when not building cases. Filing paper work, updating information in various databases, and other general office work. We did spend a few hours each day reviewing the case so we would be ready when the court date arrived.
My confidence level increased as the days passed and I found myself interacting comfortably with the other partners. I was starting to like it at Mahoney and Klein, which added to my frustration at my increased attraction to Aiden.
At least the two of us managed to behave professionally while at work.
He reduced his flirtation and I warmed some of my professional distance. He didn’t mention anything about our date, except to confirm with me the day of, that Sunday.
The night before court. We had spent the last two days going over the case again with the partners.
"What time is he picking you up?" Kelsey asked from her curled up perch on the couch.
"Seven I think. That's in, what, about half an hour,” I said as I emerged from the hallway.
She whistled as I spun to let her look over my outfit. I had gone out and bought the perfect little black dress, fitted knee length, and accented with rhinestone earrings and my small black clutch purse. I made a mental note to take it to my grave that I had bought a new dress for this date.
It’s not a date, I reminded myself.
"I feel like I’m playing dress up,” I said.
"Well, you look amazing,” Kelsey said.
"It's not too much?" I asked.
She shook her head in earnest. I stepped back to the bathroom to check my make up one last time. I had pulled my hair up and back, in a high bun and I nervously fiddled with the small rhinestone charm resting at the base of my neck.
The doorbell rang, and I opted to wait a few minutes to make my entrance. I was able to hear them talking in the other room.
Kelsey welcomed him in and said I should be out in a few minutes. I took a breath. "It's just Aiden," I whispered to my image
in the mirror. “It’s just Aiden.”
I opened the door and walked down the hallway, stepping into the living room. Instantly, I saw him gaze me up and down with a look of disbelief.
I probably looked tons better not wearing my work dresses that went well below my knee.
"Wow,” he said, clearing his throat.
I laughed under my breath.
“She’s fuckin gorgeous, huh,” Kelsey spat out.
He looked good also, wearing a suit jacket and a small black tie, he looked a little bit more formal than I was accustomed to in the office. In one hand he held a single long stemmed red rose. Almost as if he had forgotten he had it, he looked down at the rose and then handed it over to me.
"This is for you," he said.
He was trying hard to get me to cave to him.
"Thanks."
We were acting like a couple of awkward teenagers. I took the rose and found a suitable vase in the kitchen, placing it on the counter top through the pass through window.
"You ready?" I asked, smoothing the skirt of my dress.
"Yep."
He extended his arm to me and I tentatively tucked my hand into his elbow, noticing once more the flexing bicep beneath the sleeve
Was he going to act like a gentleman all night? It just made it seem…cheesy…and that he was trying too hard.
"Have fun," Kelsey said, leaning on the wall with her arms crossed. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Not happening.
Otherwise we would be sleeping together before the date.
He opened the car door for me, a move that I have never seen from him, at least not towards me.
"So just so we are clear," I said with a playful smile. "This isn't a date. Not a real one."
"So you say," he insisted as the car pulled out of the parking lot. "But you’re still going to get the full Aiden Player date treatment."
"Oh, so I get the 'date' treatment?" I said raising my eyebrows. "Does that mean I get all the perks that the girls in high school did back when you had the reputation of your last name?"
He flashed me a grin and said, "I guess you'll find out. Won't you."
I laughed, and had to admit to myself that it felt pretty good to be out with him. It had been hard to separate our current circumstances to our past friendship. I decided that at least for tonight, I would not be so hard on him.
A few minutes later we arrived at the restaurant, an opulent location with bright lights reflecting from the crystal chandeliers that I could see through the open front door. I felt a bit taken aback by the posh appearance of the other guests, but I took comfort in the fact that Aiden and I had both dressed the part. At least to outward appearances we looked like we fit in.
The Maitre D', a stuffy looking older man who looked as if he had spent more time on his mustache than I had on my entire outfit, asked our last name and a sharply dressed server led us to our reserved table. I tried not to feel self-conscious as we walked through surrounded by white table cloths and gleaming crystal. We were seated next to the large window overlooking the beach. I had never felt so spoiled.
By anyone.
"This is beautiful," I whispered to Aiden as the server filled out glasses with the white wine that had been preordered to our table. We both smiled politely as the waiter explained the vintage of the wine.
"You may start out with an Aperitif, in order to cleanse your palate before the appetizers,” he explained in a calm voice.
I couldn’t help but feel as if even the servers were looking down on us. This one looked as if he had just stepped out of a magazine.
"That would be fine," Aiden said. "The house special."
The server nodded and exited.
I leaned forward so only Aiden could hear me. "What's an aperitif?" I asked.
He whispered his reply. "I have no idea."
"I didn’t know that there was an extra course before the appetizers,” I said.
We both erupted into suppressed chuckles, trying not to draw the attention of the upper crust society folk that surrounded us.
"I'm just going with it. I didn’t realize this place was so ritzy. But order what you want definitely,” he said.
We looked at the menu which seemed to be written in French and there were no prices listed.
"Can you read this?" I asked, trying not to burst into further laughter.
"You may have to order for me." His answer came in with the bewildered look on his face.
I glanced around at the other patrons. The plates looked like small bizarre art projects that may have represented food to someone who had only read about it in an encyclopedia. When the server returned with our aperitif I was pleased to discover that he presented us with what looked like tiny wine glasses no larger than a shot glass.
"Have you decided on your order?" The waiter asked in a soft spoken tone.
My guess was that they behaved with an air of servitude to make the money set feel better about themselves. I panicked a bit thinking that we had no idea what the menu said, but to my surprise Aiden closed his menu with a flourish and spoke with confidence.
"Do you have any chef recommendations?" he said, matching the tone of the other patron.
I lifted my napkin to hide the smirk on my face that I had difficulty suppressing as I watched his performance.
"But of course," the server said. "For our appetizer we can bring you the fromage with caviar, served alongside our toasted baguette. Tonight’s entrees include your choice of the Chef's special Cordon Bleu, or the Steak tartar." He nodded when he finished speaking.
"We will have one of the appetizers that you described, and the lady and I will both have the steak." Aiden sounded as if he had been to this kind of restaurant for all of his life.
"Thank you sir,” the server said as he took our menus.
Once he had left I looked down at the small glass in front of me. "What is this supposed to do?" I asked.
Aiden answered in an effected French accent. "It is the aperitif to cleanse our palate, so as to better taste the eloquent combinations of flavours that are to be presented to us."
I snickered and picked up the tiny glass. "Do we sip it or just shoot it?" I wondered.
"Is it booze?" Aiden said. "I say we shoot it."
"Okay, I guess." I touched the edge of the glass to my lips.
"Bottoms up," he said, lifting his glass to his mouth and then threw his head back in the classic college student method.
I followed suit finding the liquid refreshing and smooth on my tongue. I also noticed some of the other patrons around us giving us a side glance. It was then that I noticed one of the other women across the restaurant sipping delicately on her small glass. Oh well.
"What did we get as an appetizer?" I asked.
"I have no idea. Whatever the guy said,” he answered as we both suppressed laughter once more.
The evening continued and I felt quite at ease with him. We were both pleasantly surprised to find the appetizers consisted of toasted bread and a nice cheese spread alongside the caviar, which I had never had before. I found the taste wonderful, clear and smooth with hind of saltiness. When the entrees arrived however, we were both surprised to find a small dome of something pink, surrounded by a green garnish, and some water crackers.
"I thought we ordered the steak,” I said.
"I think we did," he answered, peering down at his plate.
"Wait," I said. "Did he say steak tartare?"
"Yeah, why?" Aiden asked.
"Aiden, this is raw meat."
I watched him peer down at the presentation on his plate with serious consideration as he realized my statement was true. Once more we both erupted into laughter.
"Oh, wow,” he said. "Well, I hope this doesn’t ruin your night."
"Of course not," I said. "I'm having fun." He looked relieved at my words. "So what do you say, should we give it a try?"
"Might as well,” he said.
I picked up a morsel with my
fork and placed it on my tongue. The taste wasn’t unpleasant and I nodded towards Aiden.
"Not bad," I said.
He tried a bite and agreed.
"Though I will say that the food is not bad here, I think we can both agree on one thing."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Next time we are going back to that oyster bar."
"Definitely." I nodded.
I took another sip of wine, having lost count how many glasses I had already had. We finished our meal, continuing to enjoy ourselves and making quiet fun of the upper crust patronage of the restaurant.
We decided to walk down by the beach for a bit, but as we stepped off the patio onto the sand by foot twisted just a bit causing me to tumble. Aiden caught me by the elbows which prevented me from falling all the way to the ground.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, thanks,” I said, pulling myself away from him although hesitantly as I enjoyed the feeling of securing in his steady touch.
"I might be a bit tipsier than I realized,” I explained.
"I have an idea,” he said. "My apartment isn't far from here, just about a ten minutes’ walk if we stay along the shore. Why don't we go there and have a night cap. Then we'll call it an evening."
"That sounds great,” I said.
I kicked off my shoes and we walked along the sand. I enjoyed the feeling of the sand through my toes and every once in a while a bold wave would wash close to us enough that I could dip my bare toes in. Aiden still wore his shoes and stayed well away from the salt water.
The night air was warm, but the breeze of the ocean did much to add to the magic of the night. Within about ten minutes we arrived at his apartment. His porch looked out over the water, and I find myself amazed at how nice the place is once we stepped inside, with an off-white plush carpet and sleek, modern furniture.
How the hell could afford this place?
"How long have you lived here?" I asked.
"I got this place while I was still in school so I guess a couple of years,” he said.
"How on earth did you afford to find a place like this as a student?!" I asked.
"I had a bunch of roommates at first," he said as handed me a glass of scotch over ice. "We wanted to live by the water, so we agreed that we would bunk up. You should have seen the place. Each of us pretty much lived in the corner. But all we did was sleep here, so it made little difference. We spent most of our time out on the water if we were here. They all moved out one by one over time. About six months ago the last one moved out and it was just me then. I figured I would keep it since I could afford to with the new job."
Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) Page 7