Page 45 of Craving Paradise

I barely acknowledge what she says as Lauren’s distracting me. I notice her date has excused himself also. I get up and hastily take his spot.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“On a hideous date just like you.”

“Yours is sucking too?”

“Yep. Wanna ditch them?”

“Can we do it after dinner? I was kind of looking forward to having my steak.”

Damn her.

“My date is forcing me to have the vegetarian option because she doesn’t want to kiss dead animal breath at the end of the night.”

Lauren bursts out laughing at the absurdity.

“Wish I was lying.”

“My date hasn’t stopped talking about his ex, so that’s been fun.”

“That sucks. Wanna bail after dinner then?”

“Sure, I’m in.”

“Great, I’ll give you a sign, and then we will head out.”

Lauren nods. “Quick, your date is coming back,” she warns me.

I jump up and go to my table just as my date returns.

“Sorry about that,” Becky says, taking a seat before taking a sip of her drink.

Eventually, the food came for both of our tables, and we each struggled through until we were both finished. I look up to see Lauren eagerly waiting for my signal.

“Becky, I’m going to have to call it an early night. I’m sorry, but I have some work I need to catch up on.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.” She sighs disappointedly.

“I know, it really is.”

“Maybe we can do it another time?” she questions hopefully.

I nod my response which isn’t a yes or a no. I’m trying to be kind. We get up from our table and head out the door.

“Let me grab a taxi for you,” I offer Becky as I usher her toward the curb and hail one down.

“Thank you for a lovely night,” she says, staring up at me. I can see it on her face she is waiting for a kiss.

I lean in and press a kiss on her cheek. She looks disappointed when I pull away.

“Have a good night,” I tell her as she jumps into the taxi.

Phew. Thank goodness that’s over.

Moments later, Lauren comes out by herself.

“What happened to your date?”