Page 63 of From That Moment
“I guess this doesn’t count as the pact then.”
“We can make it count if that will appease your pact gods. And, frankly, I don’t want to think about you going on another date while you’re on a date with me. Call me a caveman.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she said with a laugh.
“Plus, the girls already know we’re on a date, so there’s no going back now.”
“Macon knows, too. And if the girls know, so does Cross. And I’m sure Nate found out from one of the brothers or Arden.”
“Maybe. It does sound like a very complicated web.”
“Or perhaps it’s because we have some great friends and family who care about us, who happen to know we’re out together. And now we don’t have to talk about them. We can order a very nice steak, and maybe a lobster, and split it to make our version of surf and turf, and then enjoy our date.”
“I’m sold. But if you order your steak well-done, it’s over.”
“How dare you desecrate a cow like that?”
She laughed again, and when the waiter came back, we placed our order, and I leaned forward, looking at her.
She was beautiful, and I loved that she never toned it down, never hid her beauty. Only she didn’t always vamp it up, at least at work.
I understood why she didn’t, considering that Benji and the rest were jerks about it.
I liked that she had gone all out for our date, with the smoky eye and all the other stuff that women did.
When the meals came, we split them up, and I groaned at the first bite.
“You’re pretty much going to have to roll me out of here.”
“Can we roll each other? Is that possible? Oh my God, I forgot about the warmed butter. I forgot what spice they add to it. It’s perfect.”
“Then the other butter that they have too for the steak? I think my arteries are clogging just talking about it, but I don’t care. Is it okay if we don’t talk much while we eat?”
“It’s fine. We already talked enough. Dig in.”
We laughed, and still talked, but about nothing too important.
We didn’t need to talk about our pasts, though I didn’t have one worth noting. I was an open book, but I knew Paris had a past. I wasn’t going to pry. At least, not yet. That’s not what first dates were for.
By the time we finished dessert because, of course, we had to share some tiramisu, I was so full I wasn’t sure I could fit into my car.
“That was so amazing,” Paris said, rubbing her belly over her dress.
“Hell yeah, it was. I’m about to have to undo the top button of my pants, though.”
I laughed when she blushed again and stopped rubbing her stomach.
“I guess the whole acting sexy or whatever thing on a date probably doesn’t include eating your weight in lobster and steak.”
“It could. I mean, we already know each other, at least well enough. We’re past some of the weird and awkward firsts. At least the ones that you had on your blind dates.”
“Nothing can be worse than those blind dates,” Paris said.
“That is true. I mean, although the waitress did check you out, I wasn’t going to invite her along for a threesome.”
“Good, because then I’d have to hurt you, and that’s a whole thing I wasn’t in the mood to deal with.”
I shook my head as we made our way back to her place.