A smile beamed across Ryan’s face at the small joke. “Nikki … I like it. It fits you!”
“Fits me, huh? Why do you say that?” Nikki remembered how she had played hardball a little with Ryan at the wedding, and she decided to continue with some light interrogating to make him have to play catch a little. She recalled how Ryan seemed to like that.
“I dunno – it just seems to fit your personality. Kinda fun and confident, I guess.”
“Wow. You can really read me that quickly, huh?”
“Maybe I’m actually just hoping that you’re fun and confident.” Ryan’s own confidence shone through with that remark. But, still, his confidence was not cockiness, and that was a rare trait in Nikki’s experience.
Nikki got back on track with her usual system of interviews. She picked up the menu, pretending to have to look at it before she ordered her dinner. This was all part of her act. She knew what she was going to order already.
“Have you ever eaten here?” She asked while eyeing the menu.
“No – but I find the name ironic. Maybe fate will play a role in our first date…”
Ryan had stolen her usual joke, but it wasn’t the first time that had happened to her before. And she actually preferred men to mention it first – it showed what was really on their mind. A flirty sense of humor. Check.
But then he asked something which, surprisingly, she’d never been asked before: “Have you?”
“… have I, what?”
“Have you eaten here before?”
“…yeah, sometimes. I live close by and drop in when the mood strikes.” She intentionally shifted away from the question about how often she frequented here, by focusing again on the menu. “Want a suggestion on the menu?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Nikki looked up from her menu to see that Ryan was no longer looking at it. Instead, he had put it down and was staring directly at her with his dark but deep eyes, waiting for her food recommendation. Again, his confidence stood out, leaving Nikki somewhat flustered.
“Well, what type of diet do you have?” She asked.
“I’ll eat anything.”
“Anything?”
“Really – anything.”
“Prove it.” She taunted back, again giving him the thrill of the chase.
“Well, I once lived in Jackson, Wyoming and hunted a buffalo the size of a small car. Have you ever eaten buffalo tongue cooked rare? I tell you what - if you can eat that, then you can eat anything.”
A hunter. Dark. Strong build. Confident. Sense of flirty humor. Arrived early. Ryan was checking so many boxes. He was checking boxes in Nikki’s mind which she never thought any guy would ever check.
“Like I said – prove it, then.” She cracked a smile to continue to provoke him as she stared confidently right into Ryan’s eyes. Now that she knew he was a hunter, this trait of how he sought out a chase made all the more sense.
“Got any ideas?”
Nikki looked up at Joey Fate just down the aisle and nodded for him to come to their table to take their order. “Hey there. Can I get you something to drink to start off?” Joey asked.
“We’ll skip right to dinner,” Nikki said with a smirk to her waiter-friend. Joey could tell something was different than usual with Nikki on tonight’s date.
“Ryan here will get the aged Hakarl with Shiokara on the side.” Nikki’s smirking continued as she looked to Joey.
“Are you sure …” Joey trailed off.
“Yep,” Ryan chimed in cluelessly. “If she orders it, then that’s what I’ll have.”
Joey put his distinguished demeanor aside for just a second, allowing his New York personality to show: “Did you lose a bet, man?” He asked Ryan.
“Nope. No bet.” Ryan smiled.
“And for you, Nikki?” Joey hadn’t resumed his distinguished façade yet, so he accidentally let it slip that he knew her name.
Nikki also picked up on this but tried to ignore it by ordering her meal. By now, Joey knew exactly what she was going to order, and Nikki knew that he did. So, Nikki just tried to look like the elegant chef by coyly ordering: “I’ll take the chef’s omakase.”
Joey was caught off guard for a moment, before he responded, “Yes, ‘mam,” and retreated back to the kitchen.
“Wow, that sounds fancy. What is it?” Ryan asked.
“Oh, you’ll see.” She teased. Really, Nikki knew that omakase meant ‘I’ll leave it up to the chef to decide.’ And since Joey knew what she always ordered, this was her fancy way of ordering her usual thing – just with an impressive-sounding name. Lemon rice salad. There was no way to make it sound any fancier, so ‘omakase’ was the way that she ordered it. And her attempt to sound affluent worked.
“Wow,” Ryan said, “you’re much more than someone who waits at weddings.”
“…is that a compliment or insult…” Nikki pressed while grinning.
“It’s a way of saying that you surprise me.” Ryan’s way of not directly answering her question again showed his prowess for having fun with the situation. But Nikki knew that she had to test his ability to still answer questions directly rather than always trying to play some game of cat-and-mouse. So, her interview questioning persisted.
“So, tell me, what is it that you do?”
“I’m a candlemaker.”
“No you’re not.” Nikki was immediately surprised – for two reasons, actually. First, she was surprised that he actually had the ability to put his hunting-persona aside to be direct with his answer. This surprised Nikki, and also impressed her. But second, she was even more surprised by his answer. “I mean … are you really?”
“Yep.” His simple response was met with a down-to-earth smile – the first actual time he’d shown his real personality to Nikki so far. It showed that, perhaps, his confidence was an initial barrier. But he still held the personable traits needed for a deeper, two-way relationship.
This glimpse of Ryan’s true personality made Nikki just sit and smile for what felt like too long before she responded. “I’ve never met a candlemaker. How…” She trailed off, realizing that her next question was about to be one that could be seen as rude.
But Ryan caught on quickly and relieved her of feeling awkward: “…how do I make enough off of candles to live in New York City?”
“It’s just that…” Nikki began to explain, “I’ve just never met a candlemaker to know how the business works.”
Ryan gave another smile – a look of understanding toward her. But then he reached his hand across the table to grasp onto hers. Nikki loved it. She felt his strong hands and immediately believed he was a candlemaker. But on top of that, the confidence he had to bridge the table between them which separated their worlds was easily overcome by his gesture to place his hand on hers. He then looked her straight in the eyes as he spoke, his dark handsome stare immediately luring in Nikki.
“Look, I’ll tell you about it a little – but I’d rather talk about you or things other than what I do for a living. Besides, it’d be easiest if I just show you what I do - next time.”