***
For the next thirty minutes, I actively try to ignore the fact he is here, even though I can hear the cackle of his date every fifteen seconds.
I eat my meal, which by all accounts is delicious, but I can feel his gaze on the back of my neck. His presence is so large it fills the entire room.
Ryan is a nice man, he’s even decent company, so I do feel some sense of guilt that my attention is pulled so blatantly elsewhere.
“Would you like to take a walk after this? It’s a nice night out, and I’d like to continue the evening… if you’re willing?”
You owe him that, Pipes. He’s a sweetheart.
“Sure. Let me just run to the ladies’ room and I’ll meet you out front.”
Nathanial
“Do they have pasta here? I’ve been eating nothing but pasta lately. My personal trainer says that’s the latest thing. The pasta diet.” Courtney, my companion for the evening, says as she leans in to look at the menu in front of me, rather than the one in front of her.
It’s a calculated move to press her tits against my arm, as if I don’t already know she’s a sure thing.
“Seems counterintuitive.” My ears are tuned to what she’s saying, but my eyes are trained on the stunning beauty on the other side of the restaurant.
I know I shouldn’t have come here tonight. I know that being here, using what I overheard to my advantage, could be described as… insane… but I’m only human.
She intrigues me, and hearing she was going on a date tonight lit an unknown fire inside of me.
The dress she’s wearing is classy, but sexy at the same time, revealing a part of her body I’ve never seen before. I had no idea she had a tattoo. Seeing the brightly colored ink on her skin is a revelation, and I know I want to see if she has more that I can’t see.
I shouldn’t have touched her while I was behind her, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was a moth and her skin was a flame.
“There’s something about the carbs combined with an intense workout regimen that is supposed to work wonders,” Courtney continues. “I trust the professional.” She leans in closer to me and places a hand on my thigh. “You seem tense, baby.”
“Don’t call me that. You know I hate that pet name bullshit.”
She scoffs, “You’re lucky I like you. You’re an asshole sometimes.”
“So I’ve been told, yet here you are, dining on a good meal, drinking expensive alcohol, and likely coming on my cock later, so from where I’m sitting, you have nothing to complain about.”
She has some smart-ass remark to that, but I don’t even hear it. My attention is completely on the dark-haired beauty across the room.
When I saw the server bring over that mediocre bottle of red wine, there was no hesitation. I sent over a glass of Macallan 18 because if there is one alcohol Piper despises, it’s red wine. She’s a whiskey girl. How could he not know that by looking at her? She’s so much richer than a basic, dry wine.
“Hello? Earth to Nathan.” Courtney snaps her fingers then waves toward me. “I’ve been talking to you for a solid two minutes.”
“Don’t call me, Nathan. No one calls me that. Ever,” I snap.
“Jesus. I’m sorry. You’re high-strung today. You need to lighten up.”
“I’m well on my way.” I hold up my glass of whiskey.
“Speaking of, who is that girl you walked over to talk to?”
“My administrative assistant. I wanted to say hello.” It’s not technically untrue. I just leave out the portion about wanting to scope her date out.
“She’s pretty.”
Pretty. Jesus. That word isn’t even good enough to describe what Piper Kingston is.
She’s a pain in my ass, but I’m completely captivated by her, and when she receives her drink and turns around to meet my eyes, I know, even as fucked up as it is, I want her.
***
The rest of my meal is eaten in complete distraction. I’m conversing with Courtney, of course, even though she’s laughing at everything I say as if I’m a fucking comedian, but my eyes won’t stop moving across the restaurant.
Who is this Ryan asshole; who somehow thought he was good enough to be in her presence? And picking a place like NoMad means he was trying really hard to impress her. I don’t think this is something that would impress her. She’s simple, easy, in the best way.
“Have you been up to your house in the Hamptons yet this year? You’ve told me how beautiful it is, but you have yet to take me,” she pouts, trying to be whiny, but it’s mostly annoying.
“Uh huh. Yes,” I answer, without even hearing the question in its entirety, I’m too distracted by the fact that Piper is standing now, and I’m finally able to get a full look at her.
She’s fucking incredible.
She passes by my table, keeping her eyes trained on the ground as she walks back toward the bathrooms.
“I need a moment. Restroom. I’ll meet you back here then we can get going.”
I place my napkin on the table, buttoning my suit coat when I stand, and I follow in her footsteps.
My pace is much slower than it normally would be. I don’t want to seem as if I’m chasing after her, even though I suppose I am.
When I turn the corner into the corridor that houses the restrooms, she is nowhere in sight. I have to assume she has already slipped into the ladies’ room.
The hallway is long and sparsely lit. The walls are a blood red with black crown molding stretching from one end of the hall to the other, directly in the middle of walls. Perfectly placed so I’m able to run my hand down the smooth wood as I step closer and closer to doors at the end.
I’m not even sure why I am compelled to follow her back here. My body is working of its own volition, and I am completely at its mercy.
I pause about twenty feet away from the door. I don’t want to startle her. I just want to see her, and I want to know more about this man she’s with.
I lean my right shoulder against the wall, crossing one foot over the other and shove my hands into my pockets.
I don’t have to wait long. Light slices through the darkness when she opens the door and pauses, staring directly at me.
“Why are you following me?” she asks, but there isn’t fear in her voice. It’s mostly curiosity.
“Did you enjoy your drink? Macallan 18 is a nice bottle. I thought you would enjoy it instead. Kudos on not making a face when you were drinking that wine.”
“I like red wine, thank you very much.”
“Liar.”
She takes a step toward me, and the door I didn’t realize she was still holding open swings closed, shadowing us in near darkness once again.
“Shouldn’t you get back to your… friend? She seemed to be very interested in what you had to say out there.”
“Paying that much attention to my date, are you?” I tilt my head and grin.
“She seems very… equipped.”
“She is… very much so… but she lacks, what’s the word? Substance.”
“You don’t strike me as the type who looks for substance in his companions for Friday evenings.”