Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elle
I decided for dinner that I would wait outside the restaurant rather that inside like I had done at the coffee shop just in case Rhett stood me up again. I didn't want to look like a loser twice in one week.
Thankfully I had nothing to worry about because he showed up a solid ten minutes before my proposed five-thirty meetup time.
How did I know he was ten minutes early?
Because my overly anxious self was fifteen minutes early just as I had to be for everything in my life.
"Hey!" Rhett walked straight up to me, and with one hand on my hip, he placed a kiss on my cheek. "You're early."
"Hey yourself, and so are you." My cheeks heated up right where his lips had brushed, but there was no way for me to hide it. Not when the sun was still shining. Damn springtime. At least in the winter, the early setting of the sun would've helped.
"It's a force of habit." He shrugged. "Shall we go in?"
All I could do was manage to nod my head when he was this close. I needed to get my shit together and remember we were just friends, and for the sake of my heart, it had to stay that way.
With one hand on my lower back, Rhett guided me into the small restaurant.
"Table for two?" the hostess asked as we walked up to the little desk just inside the place.
"Yes, please." Rhett smiled at the older woman who had stars in her eyes when she looked at him. "A booth if you have one available."
"Of course." She gathered the menus and two rolls of silverware from a basket. "Right this way."
We maneuvered our way through the half-empty dining room. Mondays didn't appear to be typically busy, which was good, considering I hadn't even thought to make a reservation.
The booth the hostess brought us to was across the restaurant and situated between two other empty booths.
I was barely able to focus on the older woman as she told us about the drink and dinner specials for the night.
My mind was too focused on the gentlemanly qualities Rhett possessed.
From him allowing me to walk ahead of him to the way he helped me into the booth before sliding into his own side.
Everything about his actions was a huge contradiction to the man he tried to sell me the first night we met.
It wasn't until the hostess walked away that I managed to find my voice again.
"I hope you don't mind Italian. This was the first restaurant that popped into my head when you agreed.
" I fiddled with opening my roll of silverware.
"And it also might be my favorite." I didn't know why I was so nervous.
I had gone out on dozens of dates in the past, and never had they made me so anxious.
Not that what we were doing could be qualified as a date.
Just friends, I reminded myself.
"I eat pretty much anything, but Italian tends to be a favorite of mine." Rhett appeared genuine in his response and not at all like most of the guys I'd met over the years.
Before I could answer, the waitress approached the table and asked what we wanted to drink. I ordered a glass of red wine that I knew paired well with my favorite dish while Rhett ordered a Boston beer.
Rhett waited until after the waitress had left to cross his arms on the table and said to me, "You ordered wine this time and not a beer."
I chuckled at his non question but answered it anyway. "Fried food equals beer. Pasta means wine."
Rhett nodded like it made perfect sense, and then out of the blue, he changed the subject. "So tell me more about this science teacher who makes your life more difficult."
All the tension in my body suddenly disappeared as I threw my head back and laughed loud enough that several people turned their heads. "I wouldn't say Molly makes my life more difficult but certainly more entertaining."
"But she's the one who forced you to go out?"
I smiled at the defensive edge in his tone. "Forced is a strong word. Coerced is more like it."
It was Rhett's turn to laugh, although he was not nearly as rambunctious as I was. "I don't know how that's any better."
I was able to hold back another snort. "You might be right, but the truth is I let her talk me into it. She was right at the time. I'm too much of a homebody, and I need to let my hair down every now and then."
"I have to disagree," he continued on when I gave him a questioning look. "You should never have to change for anyone." I smiled at his sweet sentiment.
"But then I never would've met you."
"You're right. I take it all back. Sometimes change is good."
I shook my head. "Just like that you change your mind."
Rhett merely shrugged. "You just reminded me that it's a good thing we met."
I didn't get a chance to respond to that because the waitress came back to the table with our drinks and to take our order. Rhett motioned for me to go first, and I ordered my usual. Without even looking at the menu, he ordered the same.
"What if there was something else you would've liked?" I asked when the waitress stepped away. "You didn't even glance at the menu."
"I didn't have to look. I trust your taste."
If he kept saying things like that, I was going to spend the whole meal blushing. At least inside the restaurant, it was dim enough that there was a good possibility I could hide it.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject. "So I know I asked you earlier, but how's the shoulder feeling after your training today."
As if to prove that he was good, Rhett rotated it around. "Feels great." His words said one thing and even his actions, but his eyes told the real story. He was in pain but hiding it well.
"Do you do that a lot?" I called him out.
"Do what?"
"Hide how you really feel? I can understand doing it in front of your teammates, but you don't need to do it with me."
Rhett's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. Not enough that it would be noticeable to anyone who wasn't explicitly looking for it. "Force of habit I guess."
"So what's the truth?"
"It hurts a little, but for the most part, I'm able to push away the pain and forget it exists."
I didn't like that answer one bit. No one should ever have to act like something didn't hurt when in fact it did.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You already did." Rhett winked, and I rolled my eyes. Then he motioned for me to continue.
"Why do you do it?"
"Do what, exactly?"
I think he knew what I was asking, but since he wanted to play dumb, I would spell it out for him.
"Pretend like what you feel doesn't matter?"
If I thought there was pain in his eyes before, it was nothing like what I was seeing now. Torment didn't even begin to describe the look he was giving me.
"Because it doesn't. I've done a lot of bad things in my life, and this is just one of the many penances I owe."
I had no idea what he had done to make him think that, but now wasn't the time to push. Not when they were bringing our food out, and the hostess was seating someone next to us.
But just because I was dropping it now didn't mean I didn't have the intention of exorcising those demons from his mind in the future.