Chapter 5
Elias pulled into the restaurant parking lot and found a spot.
It was one of his favorites, and he frequented it primarily for lunch.
The food was always delicious, and he always had a good experience there.
The downside was that they weren’t on any delivery apps, didn’t have online ordering options, and it was almost impossible to get through by phone during lunchtime because they stayed pretty busy.
He didn’t mind making the short drive. He minded less as he exited the car and saw the other person approaching the entrance.
“Fancy meeting you here, Amate.”
Eri raised a brow at him. “This is the second time in a week you’ve been somewhere I am. Are you following me?” she asked with a playful smile.
He knew she was referring to when they’d seen each other at Avian and Marco’s on Thursday. “Far from it. It’s fate. We should embrace it.”
“Should we now?”
“Absolutely. Have lunch with me,” Elias requested.
His original plan had been to go in and place his order to go, but he didn’t have anywhere to be, and he would much prefer lunch with her.
It would be the type of time he wanted to spend with her.
A setting where he asked for it, and she gave it because she wanted to, not because it was convenient.
They might have ended up in the same place coincidentally, but he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Bold of you to assume I’m not meeting someone,” she countered.
“No one ever gets what they want by not being bold.” And he knew she was aware of what he wanted.
“I suppose I have time for lunch with you.”
Elias contained an amused smile at the forced nonchalance in her voice. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter. They were lucky; a table was being cleared when they walked in, and no one was in front of them. He assumed most people got their orders to go.
Once seated with their menus, he leaned back in his chair and looked her over as she decided what she wanted.
She was fucking gorgeous, but she always was.
He knew it was a physical attraction that drew him to her, and all these months later, that was still a big part of the attraction, but he’d also gotten peeks into her personality when they all hung out.
He knew they would vibe well together when she stopped pretending, for whatever reason, that she didn’t like him.
When she looked up from her menu and caught him staring, he didn’t look away, and she said nothing, as he’d expected her to. Nor did she go back to looking at the menu. She held his gaze, and Elias couldn’t help but smirk as he realized what she was doing. It was cute.
“You see something you like, Amate?”
“Funny. I was about to ask you that,” Eri countered.
“I do. It’s such a beautiful sight.”
“Hello. Sorry for the wait. What can I get you to drink?” the server asked.
“A Coke, please,” Elias responded, eyes still on Eri.
She turned her gaze from him to the server as she ordered. “Lemonade, please.”
“I’ll get those right out to you,” they stated before leaving.
“That was kind of rude,” she said, putting her menu down.
“I said, please. Besides, there isn’t anything or anyone in this restaurant I’d rather look at.” Elias didn’t miss the blush that bloomed over cinnamon-colored cheeks but didn’t remark on it as he changed the subject. “Classes start back ton Monday, right?”
“Yes, but I don’t have class on Mondays. It feels weird that I’m excited for this semester to start.”
“It’s the anticipation since you graduate when it’s over.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Do you know what you want to do regarding going to work for someone else or starting your own business?”
“Working for someone else for a while would allow me to gain some experience and get my name out there, but starting my own business and freelancing would allow me to set my hours and take on projects I’m passionate about, but that requires having clients, and while I started building my portfolio and getting my name out there when the fall semester started, I don’t think I’ll be where I need to clientele wise after graduation. ”
“That might be true, but Albuquerque isn’t a small place. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of clients, and the possibilities are endless in the career you’ve chosen. I’m sure you’ll have people from all over the world reaching out for your expertise.”
“I don’t know about the world, but thanks for the confidence.”
The server returned with their drinks and took their orders.
“Have you started on your next bike?” Eri asked once they were alone again.
“I finished the design and sent it to the customer. If they like it, I’ll order whatever parts I don’t have and start next month. If they don’t, I’ll make some changes and go from there.”
She studied him momentarily. “Did you have trouble with the design, or is the client difficult?”
“Why do you ask?”
“It sounds like you don’t think they’ll like it. Almost like you’re dreading it if they don’t.”
She was correct. The design had given him an issue, and he could admit he wasn’t sure how the client would feel about it.
They’d given him free rein, but under a particular umbrella with a list of things they didn’t want.
Whenever that happened, it made coming up with a design for them more challenging because it would be easier at that point to tell him what they wanted when the no list was so extensive.
“The design was challenging. There were a lot of things they didn’t want. Most of which would normally be standard or pair well with one of the items on the yes side of the list. I had a hard time getting the creativity to speak to me.”
“I’m sure they’ll like it; if they don’t, you’ll figure it out. I’ve seen your work. So, I doubt a little creative block will stop you.”
They continued conversing through lunch, and an hour later, as they waited for the bill, Elias handed his phone to her. She raised a brow at him, and he leaned back in his seat.
“Let’s not pretend you don’t know why I’m asking for your number, and we can go through the motions of you pretending you don’t want to give it to me, you saying something slick that isn’t going to phase me, and me responding with some flirtatious comment, or we skip to the end where you put your number in any way. ”
Sure, Elias could have gotten her number from Avian or Nesiah.
He could have even asked for it earlier, but he wasn’t sure she would have given it to him then.
When she’d been keeping him further than arm’s length away.
She wasn’t doing that now. At least not to that extent, and it seemed like a good time to ask.
She glared at him but didn’t respond, returning the phone after putting her number in.
He paid for lunch, left a tip, and walked her to her car.
“This wasn’t horrible.”
He could tell that she was joking. “Then you shouldn’t have a problem with me taking you out again.”
“You didn’t take me this time. We bumped into each other.”
“Touché. I’ll remedy that soon.”
“Bold of you to assume I’ll let you.”
“Same response as before, Amate.”
She bit her lip. “Thank you for lunch.”
“You’re welcome.” He opened her car door for her. “Drive safely.”
Elias watched her pull out before going to his car and sliding behind the wheel.
He already knew where to take her on their first date, if he could call it that.
He’d keep the setting to something she was used to.
Elias wasn’t quite sure why he felt the need to do so, how he knew she would be more comfortable if he did, but his instincts seldom steered him wrong, and he’d allow them to lead him this time, too.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Eri hadn’t been expecting to see Elias when she decided on lunch.
She’d been calling the restaurant and couldn’t get through.
Which finally caused her to break down and drive there to place her to-go order.
She’d been craving their lasagna for the past couple of days.
She had planned to order it to go, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed having lunch with him.
As much as she put on airs and liked to pretend she didn’t enjoy being around him, she did.
He made her feel desired and at ease with little effort, and it had been a while since a man had done that.
It had been a while since she had felt what she did.
It didn’t matter how much she attempted to tell herself otherwise; she was as attracted to him as he was to her.
When he handed his phone to her, he’d been right; she was prepared to pretend like she didn’t know why he had, and possibly say something a little smart-alecky, but his calling her on it had her putting a pause to that.
Knowing that her attitude didn’t faze him, she typed her number into his phone—a number he still hadn’t used three days later, which irritated her.
Eri had decided not to dwell on it when she was getting ready for class that morning, but now that she was leaving her last class of the day, her mind drifted back to it.
Why ask for her number if he wasn’t going to use it?
Now, she wished she had given him an attitude and even made him wait and ask her again at a later date before she did.
She sighed as she walked through the quad.
That would have been childish, and to be honest, she only felt that way now because she’d expected him to text her that night or the following day, at least with as much as he flirted with her when they were around one another.
She felt slighted but had no idea why and knew it wasn’t fair of her to.
He had his own life, worked two jobs, and could have been busy.
Just because he popped into her mind at random times without permission didn’t mean she did into his.
“Hey, Eri, right?”