He released an exaggerated sigh. “Crisis averted.”
The waiter brought our plates then set them in front of us. I ordered the lasagna and he had the chicken parmigiana.
“That looks good.” He eyed my plate.
I took a bite. “It is good.”
He grabbed his fork then immediately dug into my food. He looked me in the eye as he did it, giving me a playful look. “You’re right. Maybe I should have ordered that.”
I stuck my fork into his food and did the same thing. “Yours is good too.”
“I have an idea.” He pulled my plate closer to him. “Let’s split our plates.” He gave me half of his dinner then took half of mine. Then he pushed the plate back to me. “Problem solved.”
“Everyone wins.”
He ate slowly and didn’t inhale his food like most men I knew. He took breaks and sipped his wine.
“How was your day?” I asked.
“Good. But I kept getting distracted thinking about this date.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” The sincerity was in his eyes. “I was surprised when you asked me out.”
“You’ve never been asked out by a girl?”
He chuckled while looking down at his food. “No, I have. I just didn’t expect you to ask me out.”
“Why not?”
“Not sure,” he said. “I just didn’t expect it.”
I wondered if he got hit on all the time. With his looks and success, he must.
“I’m glad you did,” he said. “It’s sexy when a girl makes a move. It shows confidence—and confidence is a quality I look for.”
“It’s a little unorthodox, but I’ve never been traditional.”
“And I like that.” He drank his wine as he looked at me.
He stared at me a lot, but I liked it. He gave me his full attention and didn’t play games.
“I’m surprised you don’t have a girlfriend.”
“What makes you think I would?” he asked.
“You’re easy on the eyes and charming.”
“And easily bored.” He ate quietly and didn’t say anything more about the subject. Perhaps he had a bad breakup recently and didn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe he just didn’t have anything to say. “Where did you learn to bake?”
“My yaya.”
He stilled. “Your what? Sorry?”
“My yaya,” I said with a laugh. “It means grandmother in Greek.”
“Oh.” He nodded his head in understanding. “I see.”
“She taught me everything when I was young, and I just grew up on that knowledge. Now I make up a lot of my own recipes and do things my way. But she started it all.”
“Did she work in a bakery?”
“No. She just knows her way around the kitchen.”
“Very cool.” He finished his plate and left it on the table. He wiped it clean and finished his wine. “I’m pretty limited in my abilities. But I know how to order take out.”
“That’s a good skill to have.”
He smiled slightly.
“Will you excuse me?” I rose from the chair and set my napkin on the table.
“Sure.” He watched me walk away, his eyes drilling into my back.
After I did my business in the bathroom, I touched up my make up. My heart was racing because I really liked him. He had nice lips and a perfect body. But he was an interesting person too. He had a good balance of various qualities. And he was older. I liked older men. They were more mature than the guys I met at school.
And he was scorching hot.
After I gathered my bearings and headed back to the table, I saw Hawke talking to a woman. She looked his age, and she was pretty. She wore a tight dress with nude heels. Her hair was done in a classy way.
The closer I got, the more irritated I became. Judging the way she was leaning close to him and flashing him flirtatious smiles, she was either hitting on him or already knew him romantically.
I didn’t care, but it was pretty trashy to go after a guy who was clearly on a date. There were rules for that, especially between women.
When I reached the table, Hawke spoke. “It was nice seeing you, Jessica.” Hawke didn’t seem irritated she was there, but he didn’t seem particularly happy either.
She eyed me up and down quickly. The disappointment on her face told me she didn’t like me one bit even though I hadn’t said a word. “Call me.” She flipped her hair and walked away.
The fact Hawke didn’t introduce me told me he didn’t want to. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay.” I sat down and crossed my legs.
Hawke didn’t mention his friend or how he knew her.
And I didn’t ask.
The check sat at the edge of the table, and it was clear Hawke had already paid it. “I asked you out. Remember?”
That usual look of amusement came into his eyes. “I guess I’m traditional in some ways.”
“Well, I owe you next time.” I shouldn’t assume there would be a next time but it slipped out. It wasn’t common for me to find a guy I really liked. Hawke and I had a connection, and I knew it could go further if we took the time to cultivate it. But I had no idea if that feeling was mutual.
“We’ll see.” His eyes didn’t give his thoughts away like usual. “Ready to go?”