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He nods, walking ahead of me before he pulls the door open for me. I catch a whiff of his cologne and the scent is pungent. It's so strong, I can almost taste it. I'm not a fan of the smell of patchouli and I smell hints of it. I step to the side as Griffin walks in and heads to the hostess to give her his name. For the sake of my nose, I keep a healthy distance.
She finds Griffin's name, grabs two menus, and motions for us to follow her to a table. She seats us at a booth on the far side of the restaurant. I slide into my seat, sitting across from Griffin. The hostess disappears with the promise that our server will be with us soon.
"This place is nice," Griffin comments as he glances around the room before picking up his menu. "It seems like they have a lot of options for food too."
I nod. "It's not always easy to find vegetarian options."
Griffin raises an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you were a vegetarian."
I stare at him for a moment as he directs his attention back to the menu. I've been a vegetarian since middle school. Given the fact that we aren't strangers, he should remember this. Disappointment settles deep inside my bones. He begins to ramble on about the different food options and I'm still flabbergasted at the fact that he really forgot something like that.
Leo remembered.
Our server appears at the table and I smile at her, trying to push the uncomfortable feelings away as she tells us about the different specials. Griffin and I both order a drink and he orders an appetizer, but I don't hear what he orders.
"So, how was the competition in Orchid City?" Griffin asks me after our server disappears. He looks up from his menu as if he's momentarily interested.
"It went really well. Leo and I came in first."
Griffin's nostrils flare and he half grunts. He's acting differently than he has before. Typically, he was pleasant and easygoing. The mere mention of Leo has Griffin bristling.
"You deserve an award just for the fact that you can tolerate spending that much time with him."
His words almost feel like a slap in the face. I tilt my head to the side, feeling the uncomfortableness spreading through my body. Irritation pricks my skin and I feel offended.
Our server returns with our drinks. I smile and thank her, just as Griffin does. He takes a sip of his and I don't touch mine. I look at him again as she leaves us once more.
"What does that mean?"
Griffin's eyebrows pull together as he swallows the liquid and sets his glass down. His face relaxes and he waves his hand dismissively. "Look at how abrasive he was when he interrupted our last date. He acted like he was entitled to your time. Like him talking to you was more important than us spending time together."
A date?
I don't bother correcting him.
"Yes, it was rude of him, but it was also something we did need to talk about," I argue, struggling to keep the bite from my tone.
Griffin laughs and rolls his eyes. "Come on, Ari. He's an asshole and you know it."
I don't like the way he's talking about Leo. He's not wrong. Leo can be an asshole and has a cold exterior. That doesn't mean Griffin gets to sit here and talk badly about him to me. Leo is my partner, he's someone I care about, someone I will protect. My lips are set in a straight line and the anger radiates from my body in waves as I glare at Griffin.
"What?" he questions me, his eyebrows pulling together. "You don't think he's an asshole after the way he acted that night?"
Our server shows back up with a plate of food. It looks like bruschetta, but there's something that resembles pieces of bacon on the top. The server tells us that she'll be right back to get our order for our food. Griffin picks up one of the small pieces of bread and takes a bite before leveling his gaze back on mine.
"You don't know Leo," I tell Griffin, half feeling defeated and tired, but also extremely angry at the audacity of this man.
"I don't need to know him to be able to see how he is," he counters before pointing at the plate. "Aren't you going to eat any of these?"
I tilt my head to the side. "Is that bacon?"
His face transforms as realization sets in. His eyes widen slightly, his mouth forming an O. "Shit, I didn't even think about it." He drops his gaze down to the plate.
He didn't even think about it. He didn't fucking think I wouldn't want any of it because it has meat in it when I literally reminded him that I don't eat meat two seconds before he ordered.
"I think I'm going to go."
His head snaps up. "What?"
