AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looked down at her glass and a stilted silence hung between us, the heaviness of my father’s passing clinging to what had started as a light conversation.
Before I could think of a new topic, a busty hostess came to get us. She escorted us to our table, taking special care to hand me my menu, dipping low, her cleavage right in my face. “If you need anything, let me know,” she told me, her voice low and husky. “I’m Ana.”
I nodded curtly, not bothering with a reply. She flashed another smile and disappeared. Bennett was cracking up behind his menu and when he lifted his eyes, I shot him a warning look. He had a reputation for running his mouth, and I didn’t need him slipping up and saying something stupid. Not when I was already getting the sense I was on thin ice with the gorgeous blonde next to me.
“Ev, you’re gonna have to order for me,” Tori interjected, shifting the attention away from the flirtatious hostess. “You know what I like.”
I looked down at the menu and frowned when I found it was all in French. “You speak French?” I asked Everlie.
“Oui!” She replied, smiling at me. “I took it in high school and a year at community college. I’m by no means an expert, but I know how to order the good stuff.”
Good stuff. Her smile twisted my stomach into a knot. It was gorgeous, and made her delicate features bright and illuminated. My eyes fixated on her lips, full but natural. The smile melted slowly as she shifted her attention back to the menu. Bennett slapped down his menu. “Well, hell, you can order for me too, then.”
Everlie and Tori laughed and exchanged an animated glance over the tops of their menus.
When the waitress came, Everlie ordered a dish for each person, as well as some appetizers for the table. I couldn’t stop staring at her lips long enough to argue that I wanted to order for myself, and once she started rattling off the order in rapid, fluent French, I was completely mesmerized and dropped all objections, listening to her beautiful words.
What I’d originally imagined as a fairly straight forward, hook up with a Vegas party girl was turning into quite a different game and the longer it went on, the more unsure I was of my strategy.
Chapter Five
Everlie
The blind date was turning out to be opposite of what I’d expected in so many ways. As we all ate our meals—which were all to die for delish—conversation flowed easily between the four of us at the table, and covered several different topics. Tori and Bennett did most of the talking, with Ryker and me interjecting every few minutes to give an opinion or joke about something. We went through three bottles of very fancy wine over the course of the meal, and though I rarely drank, I found myself reaching for more than one refill—which Ryker poured for me. By the time the chocolate soufflés arrived to the table, I was warm and fuzzy, smiling, laughing and having a better time than I’d ever expected.
After we’d all but licked clean our soufflé dishes, Tori and I excused ourselves to the ladies room while Bennett and Ryker sorted out the check.
“Okay! Admit it, Missy!” Tori said, pointing her finger at my reflection in the mirror. “You like him!”
I laughed, too happy to argue that I really didn’t know him well enough to make that determination. “He’s not bad.”
She laughed and washed her hands in the marble sink. “Where are you guys gonna go next?” She asked, drying her hands on a thick white towel. I gawked at her, unsure of what she meant. She dropped the used towel into the bin provided, and stared at me. “Oh, come on Ev, you didn’t think we’d foursome around town tonight did you?”
“I didn’t—I don’t know. Where are you going?”
She smiled. “Wherever Bennett wants. My panties are wet, girl! He can take me anywhere he wants as long as he promises to fuck me good and nasty once we get there!”
My cheeks went red, and then even redder as an older woman harrumphed her way through our conversation on her way out of the restroom. “Tori!” I hissed.
She just laughed even harder. “You better make a plan fast, Ev. Ryker isn’t ready for the night to be over, I’ll tell ya that much.”
She didn’t wait for me to decide, and pushed out of the restroom, obviously eager to get back to Bennett so they could run off to wherever they were going. I got back to the table and they were already standing up. “—all right, man, see ya later,” Bennett said to Ryker. He looked up at my approach and held out a hand, “It was nice to meet you Everlie. You take good care of my boy here, all right?”
I shook his hand. He smiled and Tori gave me a small finger wave as he led her outside.
Leaving Ryker and me alone.
He stood from his seat, pocketed his wallet and turned to me.
“Thank you for dinner, that was amazing,” I said, looking down at the black folder that contained the signed receipt. “I’ve been dying to come here since they opened.”
“You’re very welcome. I don’t know about you, but I need to walk off that food.” His dark eyes searched mine, waiting for my answer.
My desire to go home and slip into yoga pants faded away as he reached out and took a hold of my hand. “Come on, Everlie, be my escort.” My eyes darted to his again, his suggestive words rattling through me. He laughed—the sound deep and velvety soft. “You know what I mean.”
“Right,” I smiled, but a part of me was beginning to wonder if his choice of words hadn’t been a slip at all. I let him lead me away from the table, and as we walked, he rested his large, firm hand on the small of my back, guiding my steps as we made our way back to the front doors. The hostess that had flirted with Ryker while seating us was there, staring at him as though I didn’t even exist. She hurried around the hostess station to prop open the door, her big boobs jiggling with her high-heeled jog.
“Good evening,” she purred, giving Ryker dark, bedroom eyes, and a full pout of her too plump lips.
