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“I haven’t, but since I’m in the mindset of trying new things lately—” He reached across the table and took my beer, lifting it to his lips.
He placed them exactly where my mouth was and dragged the tip of his tongue along the rim before taking a sip of his own. Fuck, this man was incredibly hot. I couldn’t help but stare at his mouth as it pressed against the glass, caressing the rim. I bit down on my bottom lip as he replaced the glass on the coaster and wiped the side of his mouth with his thumb.
Suddenly, I was no longer hungry for food.
“You’re right, it is delicious. I might have to order mine like that from now on.”
Our waitress interrupted our brief moment of flirtation and placed our plates of food on the table.
“Here is your burger and fries, and here are the buffalo wings. Can I get either of you anything else?” She asked with a smile.
“No, thanks.” Our voices rang in unison as we eyed each other, and the waitress took that as her queue to leave.
To avoid making eye contact with Atlas, I focused on my plate and started eating my order of wings. The wings were crispy and double-fried, just as I liked them, and the sauce was smooth, buttery, and spicy. I couldn't help but let out a low moan after biting into a flat wing, leaning back, and licking the sauce from my lips. The spiciness was starting to turn them a slight shade of pink.
Atlas chuckled, and I snapped out of my food-induced haze to look up at him. He gave me a smug smile as he took a bite of his burger and then placed it back onto his plate.
“Nice to see you feel comfortable enough around me to eat like a man.” His tone was dripping amusement, and suddenly I felt self-conscious. I looked down briefly, noticing my hands were covered in sauce, and I probably looked like a starved, rabid animal from the mess—but I was so hungry, and the wings were so good.
Why am I suddenly caring if he judges my appearance?
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t.
Damnit.
I tried to turn the situation around and be as seductive as possible instead—to brush off the hint of embarrassment that threatened to show on my face—and slowly dipped my fingers into my mouth, sucking off every last drop of sauce.
Pulling my thumb out of my mouth with an audible “pop,” my eyes met his.
“I just couldn’t help myself. This sauce tastes just like heaven.” I emphasized the word to remind him of last night. His eyes and nostrils flared slightly, and I knew I had gotten to him just as he had gotten to me.
“Careful, I may be a nice guy right now, but I can change that very quickly for you.” His voice dripped honey as he took another pull from his beer. He had me lusting over him before this meal, and now I was becoming starved for more. I was tempted to bring him back to my place for some more fun.
We talked for what felt like another two hours after finishing our food.
He told me about how he moved here about three weeks ago and hadn’t taken the time to see the city aside from his morning runs around the neighborhood where he lived—which turned out wasn’t too far from me. He still never told me what he did for work, just that he worked in an office around the corner. I didn’t press any further; it wasn’t any of my business what he did for work, just like mine wasn’t any of his.
When we decided to leave the bar, I reached to take the bill, but his reflexes were faster than mine.
“I won’t let you pay for our lunch date.” He grinned as he pulled out his wallet, placing his card on top of the bill. The waitress promptly ran it and returned with a pen for him to sign.
“This wasn’t a date; I never agreed to those terms. This was just… lunch. A date would imply that I was interested in you.” I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Keep telling yourself that you’re not, and see where it gets you.” He raised a dark brow, signed the check, and placed it back down on the table. Atlas is very different from the men of my past, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing.
He stood and held his hand out to me.
“Shall we?”
“What? You’re going to walk me home now?” I laughed, taking his hand and standing up from my seat.
“No, I’m going to walk you out like the gentleman that I am. I have to return back to the office, so even though I’d love to find out where you live and entertain you more, that will have to wait until next time.” He winked and escorted me out of the bar.
Parting ways at the corner, I couldn’t help but wonder why I found myself wanting him even more than I did last night—and if I was enjoying it more than I should.
I wanted to take him home.
