Page 94 of His Obsession

“No, but I’ve heard it’s delicious.” His eyes wandered down to my chest and back up to meet my gaze, slicking his lips with his tongue.

I chewed my lip, knowing what he was thinking.

I opened my mouth to ask him what he was having when the sommelier came back with a bottle of wine. The man rattled off the name of the wine and asked if this was what Alek had ordered.

When he nodded, he put the bottle on the table and opened it with a loudpop.

The man poured a small glass, and Alek swirled it around, put it to his nose, and took in its scent. I hadn't a clue what was going on here, but it mesmerized me, Alek knew what he was doing, and it showed. I wasn’t a girl that was picky about wines, I would drink it out of the box if it tasted good, and I had.

Alek gave the man a nod.

“Very good, sir,” said the man.

He tipped the bottle, and the deep red liquid poured from the spout, swirling in my glass. With a twist of his wrist, he stopped the flow, wiped the spout, and proceeded to the next glass. I had to remember that little move for pouring the next time I whipped out a bottle. I always had wine running down the side, wasting precious drops.

Placing the bottle on the table, the man shuffled away and left us to look over our menus.

“What just happened there? Why didn’t you drink it?” I leaned over the table, grabbing my glass of wine to taste.

“Wait…” Alek said, halting my glass from proceeding further to my lips. “Because it’s customary to take the first sip together with your guests. I’ll show you how to drink this wine properly.” He took his glass in his hand and swirled the liquid before bringing it up and looked at it.

I mimicked his actions and gave him a cross-eyed look of confusion. “What are we doing besides playing with our drinks?”

“When you swirl your wine, you are adding air to it, and it releases an aroma you wouldn’t get if you just swallowed it.”

“I thought you already smelled it? Is that what you did when he put it in the child-sized glass?” All of this was confusing to me.

He chuckled, “That was to make sure it wasn’t bad. Smell your wine.”

“This is weird, you know, they make wine for drinking, not sniffing.” I put my glass to my nose and inhaled. My eyes went wide as the rich aromas penetrated my senses.

“Au contraire, mon amour. What do you smell?” He stared at me, sitting on the edge of his seat with anticipation.

I put my glass down safely on the table and stared back at him. “I smelled… wood? Fruit and… something minty. Is that right?”

The waiter appeared at the table seemingly out of nowhere, placed a basket of fresh bread and oil, and asked if we were ready to order.

Alek put in my order and his of lasagna, then the waiter disappeared silently to the kitchen.

“So,” I repeated, “was I right?”

“Everyone smells different things or interprets them differently, but I smell what you do. Now, swish it in your mouth and pull it through your teeth.” He took a small sip of his wine and showed me what he meant.

“This is so silly,” I said, slightly embarrassed. I would have thought Alek was pulling my leg if I didn’t see another couple sitting further away from us doing something similar. Although, that man was making obnoxious slurping noises like a water bong. Not that I knew what a water bong sounded like.

I took a small sip of the wine and moved the liquid around with my tongue, and swallowed. The unpleasant pepper taste hit the back of my palate, and my face scrunched involuntarily. I shook my head and took a sip of my water. Alek laughed as he watched my reaction—that wasn’t the taste I was expecting.

“I’m sorry, that was awful.” I coughed and wiped my mouth.

Amusement touched his lips, and he took a sip of his wine. “Do you want something different?”

I felt sorry for complaining because I knew that it must have cost a fortune. “I’m good, I just wasn’t expecting that.” I took another sip, this one not as bad as the first, but still sucking all the moisture away. “I like when you laugh, I don’t get to hear it often,” I blurted.

Alek put his wineglass on the table and adjusted his lapel. “I have a reason to laugh now.”

Heat coated my cheeks, and I had to look away. I didn’t know what it was about him, but my face was in constant blush-mode, and I couldn’t wipe the permanent grin I had plastered on my face. “I’m glad to hear that.”

The silence between us became too much to bear. I hated those awkward feelings. It would make your mind race to find something to talk about until you got lost in your head and forgot all about the person you spoke to. “So, I’m sure you know everything about me, so tell me something about yourself that I don’t know.”