CHAPTER 10~ DINNER
1364 Words
The car stopped in front of a building, one that seemed far too pretty and luxurious to be a restaurant. He opened the back door and stepped outside, offering her his hand which she reluctantly took.
A pleased smile graced his lips as he helped her out, entangling her arm with his. “Sebastian, you can go for a spin, I’ll call you when we’re ready.”
“Alright sir.”
After the response from his driver, Julian led her inside and a waiter greeted them immediately. “Good evening, sir…I hope your day has been great and if not, I hope the food here will make it better. Let me take you to your table.”
He led them further inside, to the table in the very center of everything else. Before she could pull out a chair, Julian did so for her. “Sit.” He commanded, his voice low and his tone surprisingly gentle.
She eyed him warily, her orbs holding nothing but confusion. She didn’t understand it, just now back at her house, why’d he help her? Why’d he kiss her? And why did he bring her here? Why was he…acting like…acting as though he was a nice person?
She wanted to ask, but she didn’t question it…the waiter would hear; so instead, she sat down like he told her to.
He took a seat in front of her, and the waiter placed menus on the table, one before them both. “You can call me when you’ve decided on your order…”
And then he walked away, giving Larisa the space to squeak out her question.
She looked down at the menu and then up at him. “W-Why are we here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You said you didn’t have dinner, so we’re going to be having dinner now.”
“But why? Why do you care if I’ve eaten or not? Why are y-you acting so…so different?”
“Different?” He chuckled subtly. “I’ve always been a gentleman, it might not have seemed so from the start since I was anxious, but now that you’re completely in my grasp, and have nowhere to run to…I think I can relax. Take up the menu and look for something you’d want to eat.”
She hesitantly did so, skipping it open to peer at the first page. As she read, she realized that most if not all these foods were unfamiliar to her, and they were almost the same price as her rent. She couldn’t afford it.
Clamping the book shut, she kept her eyes down. “I…I’m not hungry…can I leave?”
“What is it? Is it because I brought you here wearing a pink pajama set? You don’t need to worry about that, it’s cute and furthermore, that’s why I reserved the whole restaurant. Or is it maybe because you don’t know what to pick? If it is, then don’t sweat it, little reporter, I can choose something for you.”
She shook her head, so quick that it hurt. “No, please…I just want to go.”
“Why?”
She sighed, finally looking into his blue eyes. “I cannot afford anything here.”
“Who said you were going to pay? I won’t add this to what you already owe me and since you seem confused, let me order something for you.”
Before she could protest, he held up his hand and the waiter came marching over, stopping between them with a pleasant smile and a small notebook in hand. “What would you like to order, sir?”
“Firstly, for her I’d like a plate of Taglioni and white truffles, and for myself, I’ll have Rossini.”
“Anything else, sir?”
“A bottle of wine, the finest you have.”
The waiter nodded. “Your orders will be coming right up…”
And then the waiter once again walked away, leaving Larisa alone in the presence of this man. His eyes kept assessing her; deeply…the blue in them seeming dark.
She was nervous; he was making her nervous, so instead of staring back at him, she looked down at the table. It was covered by a white tablecloth, and there was a scented candle, burning a beautiful and flowery fragrance from a small cup in the center of it. There was also silverware wrapped in paper towel on both his side of the table and hers…and on the other tables, there was absolutely nothing or no-one.
That made everything a lot worse, it made his presence even more prominent, because there was nobody to look at, but him.
“Why are your cheeks getting so red? Are you cold?”
The sound of his voice breaking through the silence almost frightened her. “No, I…I’m fine.”
“Larisa…” He sighed, sounding frustrated. “Look at me, you’re speaking to me, not the wall.”
Larisa didn’t turn her head immediately, but when she did, she kind of regretted it. He was staring at her again with those predatory eyes that she hated. “Are you cold?” He pressed.
“No.”
“Do you feel sick?”
“No…”
“Let me check something…” He eased out of his chair and leaned towards her, but before he could touch her, the waiter came back with a tray holding two glasses of water. “While you wait for your meals, here’s a glass of water. It’s almost ready.”
Julian eased back as the waiter placed the cups of water down, and Larisa immediately picked up hers, gulping it down before putting the cup back on the table.
He didn’t speak after that, and didn’t try to touch her again, even when their food arrived, it was quiet. She was scared to start eating, she wasn’t comfortable with accepting anything from him. But since he already ordered it, she awkwardly unfolded the fork from the napkin, dipping it into the plate of pasta.
It looked and smelled buttery, with the distinct scent of cheese. She hadn’t eaten anything like this before, but the scent and price were proof that it probably tasted exquisite.
Larisa rolled a bit of the spaghetti onto her fork, slowly bringing it to her mouth. The sauce drained onto her tongue, gracing it with an unfamiliar yet to die for taste.
“How is it?”
Her eyes snapped up at Julian, for a second there, she’d forgotten that her blackmailer/lifesaver was still here. She nodded her head. “It’s nice.”
“I’m glad…” He leaned towards her again, and despite leaning away, he still managed to reach her. His thumb slid against the corner of her lips and then he licked it, jotting back down in his seat. “It really is nice.”
He picked up his knife and fork, slicing at the meat in his plate and resting the severed piece on the edge of hers. “You’ll probably like this too.”
“No, I’m fine…you don’t have t~”
“It’s fine, Larisa.” He smiled, a breathtaking smile that had her getting all flustered again. Was this really the man who pointed a gun at her? Was he really the man who blackmailed her and took her virginity?
She didn’t understand what was going on here…but she knew…it didn’t matter if he saved her life just now, she knew she definitely still hated him for forcing her to have s*x with him when she was saving herself for a nice and decent man to call her husband…
And she hated that he was blackmailing her again…using the money he used to save her against her; cold and evil…he was not a nice man despite his pleasant smile.
As they continued to eat in silence, he opened up the wine bottle and poured a tiny amount in her glass, and more in his. Before she even took up her cup, he clinked his glass with hers. “Cheers to our future that are now entwined together forever.”
Forever…? Which demon in hell told him this entanglement would last forever?
- Writer
