Page 59 of The Need to Know

He laughed at me like I was the most adorable thing in the world, and the sight of him amused caused me to lighten up and laugh too.

That was kinda our thing, if we had a thing. Simple was enough.

“You like Dellucci’s?” Ezekiel asked once we were done with our lunch and were served Paisley’s steak to go.

“Love Dellucci’s,” I declared. “I will try to sneak back here very soon.”

Ezekiel stood from the table and held his arms out, as if offended. “Like I’m not your key to get in.”

I swiped up one of the complementary sticks of gum from the table and walked by him, acting like I wasn’t fazed at the thought of him. “But that would mean I gotta like you to come back with you.”

Ezekiel eyed our surroundings. “You lucky we in public.”

He was even cuter when he was annoyed.

I passed him the carryout container. “I’m going to wash my hands while you pay.”

“All right.”

I went over to the women’s restroom and freshened up in the mirror, checking my teeth to make sure no food was stuck in between any. When all was clear, I decided to be juvenile and snapped a quick selfie to post to my Instagram story. In the mirror, I was glowing and flushed, mesmerized after being wined and dined. I was positively happy, and while the world didn’t need to know, I still felt like sharing it on my story.

God, you’re cheesy, Nas!

So what, I decided as I shoved my phone into my pocket and walked out the restroom with my head held high.

Right outside, waiting against the wall in the hallway that led to the restrooms, was Ezekiel. He was posted up, checking something on his phone, chewing his gum. He wasn’t the only one fixated on the act of eating. I liked watching his mouth at work.

He looked up and spotted me, going and putting his cell phone away as he pushed off the wall.

A teen girl and a man came past us, the girl slipped into the women’s restroom as the man headed into the men’s room. Out on the floor, waiters and waitresses were going back and forth from the kitchen. People were leaving and coming. Dellucci’s didn’t just stop because we had finished our lunch.

I approached Ezekiel, eyeing him suspiciously. He was just too perfect to be true. “Before we go any further, you’re not into that tying people up and throwing away the key type of shit, are you?”

Ezekiel was taken aback. “Nah, I was hoping you’d be the one to tie me up.”

I burst into an easy laugh, calming down. “I’m just saying, tell me now so I can at least have time to contemplate it.”

Ezekiel arched a brow. “So, if I said yes, you’d let me tie you up?”

I opened my mouth and shut it. “I mean… I don’t know you, and that type of stuff requires major trust.”

“So? You’re getting to know me.”

True. “You’re cute, but I’m not seeing it.”

“Sometimes we let the idea of fear keep us from truly knowing our limits,” Ezekiel said.

The door to the men’s room opened and one after the other, two men stepped out.

I stepped back and let them pass us before getting back to Ezekiel. “I guess you have a point.”

The women’s restroom opened and the teen girl came by us next, not without shooting us weird looks for probably hovering around.

Ezekiel wasn’t paying them any attention.

In between the women’s room and the men’s room, was a marble fountain. Ezekiel set the carryout container there on the ledge of the fountain before standing to his full height.

“Okay.” He looked around before pushing up his shirt sleeves and surveying our settings. Soon, he backed me up against the nearest wall, going and taking my wrists and pinning them behind me. “How’s that feel?”