21. Jonathan
Jonathan
I didn’t breathe.
I couldn’t until I realized she was laughing with the bartender. Upon seeing me, her smile morphed sheepishly. “H-hi, Jonathan,” she murmured.
“Hey, Lina,” I said.
“Where’s your date?” she asked, looking over her shoulder again to scan the restaurant.
I blinked slowly. “She left.”
Lina’s lips parted, about to say something when a man’s voice interrupted her.
“Hi, beautiful. Can I buy you a drink?” a stranger asked, walking up to her on the other side.
I saw the way Lina’s face crumpled in annoyance before she turned to look at him.
Her body was tense, but the man who called out to her didn’t seem to care.
He was all cocky grins, making sure to flash that thick, fancy watch slapped around his wrist by waving his hands around.
He looked like a dumb animal, gawking and standing closer than necessary.
I readied myself to step between the two of them if needed.
Irritation bubbled under my skin when he ignored my presence and continued to run his mouth, eyes only on her. The stranger clicked his tongue, like he was trying to calm the anxiety of a feral animal to get it to come to him. He asked, “You sure are a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”
The softness in Lina vanished with a tilt of her chin. She sharpened the corners of her lips and eyes. She stilled herself before striking.
“As you can see,” she said, placing a hand on my chest and brushing her fingers across my pecs down to my navel in a slow, suggestive slither. “I already have a tall drink of water right here.”
I almost shuddered beneath her touch. She looked over her shoulder at me, urging me to play my part. I placed my hand on her lower back, where it was all glitter and burning skin.
“I think she’s good, man,” I stated.
The man’s face grew red. “S-sorry about that,” he mumbled. “I didn’t realize you were with someone.”
Lina turned to lean into me, ignoring the man as he quickly walked back to wherever he had come from. Her lips were mere inches from my ear, and her warmth reached me with no effort at all. A mist of sweat dampened over my skin from her heat.
“Sorry about that,” she whispered and pulled away. “He’s been watching me all night from his table.”
I took the seat next to her and begrudgingly tugged my hand off her silky skin. I kept my arm draped across the back of her bar stool, keeping close in case another man decided to approach Lina.
“It’s alright,” I said.
Lina turned to me with a small smile. “Sorry about the misunderstanding earlier, by the way. I got confused for a moment.”
My cheeks heated up as I sat back in my chair. I asked the bartender for the dessert menu. He obliged quickly as Lina continued to watch me.
“Y-yeah, me too. I thought you were my date for a moment there.” Her eyes grew wide, as if I’d said the most insanely offensive profanity she’d ever heard. I quickly explained. “I was on a blind date.”
She perked up with raised brows. “You too?”
My brows crumpled together. “You were on a blind date too?”
“I was supposed to be on one, but my date never showed up.”
My mouth tugged into a grimace at that statement. “I’m sorry about that.”
Lina shrugged nonchalantly before eating a thinly sliced piece of pickled ginger. “I got free calamari and a delicious dinner out of it, so I can’t say I’m too disappointed. With or without a date, I’m perfectly fine.”
I hummed. “I’m assuming you’d been putting off dating for a while, and someone close to you insisted you start again.”
Her cheeks flushed bright red. In a hushed tone only I could hear, she said, “It was supposed to be the first date I’d ever been on.”
Now, I wasn’t expecting that. In high school, I knew she was never romantically involved with anyone. But I assumed she’d at least date in college or pharmacy school, so the fact that she never did feel so foreign to me.
“You’ve never dated before?” I asked, mouth agape.
“No. No one was ever interested,” she replied, before sipping her water.
My brows dropped, and I sighed. “That’s bullshit, and you know it, Lina.”
“I’m serious, Jonathan.” She shrugged.
I tipped my head to the side and eyed her from head to waist. Anyone with a pair of eyes would know that Lina Lee is objectively attractive.
She had large, hooded eyes that caught the light in the room, and a pair of pink, pouty lips.
This wasn’t to mention her tiny waist and slim hips.
She was intelligent and beautiful—frosty exterior and all.
There was no way someone out there wasn’t hopelessly in love with her .
. . unless it was her iciness that kept them at bay.
She built her life up and did what she could to support her family. She had honed herself to perfection over years of dedication. She had done something I wasn’t sure I would be able to do myself, given her circumstances. She was fucking admirable, and so damn sexy for the strength she carried.
I leaned into her, letting my lips fall right above the nape of her neck. “I’d be interested,” I breathed softly to coax a response from her.
Her reaction was minuscule—a slight shift in her posture and a tiny flicker of emotion under the currents of her inky-black eyes. Then, she smirked slyly.
“You can’t handle me, Jonathan Lo,” she murmured. “I suggest you try to reach for that in your dreams instead.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Well, you’re not wrong. I dreamed about you once. To my horror, we kissed in it, and I woke up furious.”
She raised her brows at me and then sighed. She leaned back against her bar stool, glancing at her phone. “Stop playing games. It’s late, and don’t you have a ‘girlfriend’ to take home or something?”
I checked the time, too. “First of all, it’s only ten. Second, that wasn’t my girlfriend. She was a blind date my mom convinced me to meet. And you? What about the ‘boyfriend’ who never showed up?” I shook my head, drinking my glass of iced water.
“His grandma tripped and fell down the stairs,” she answered. “She’s at the hospital right now.”
I blew out a long breath, feeling awful for even asking. “That’s horrible. I hope she’ll be fine.”
“Me too. He felt bad, but I told him it was fine and not to worry about making up for it. Family always comes first.”
I nodded slowly. “Always.” We sat there, the silence dangling over us for a moment. “If you don’t mind me asking—”
“If it’s you, I always mind,” she quipped with a tiny smile. I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. Lina’s smile broadened, and I felt my heart flutter. “What was your question, Jonathan?”
“If you haven’t dated before, what encouraged you to go on a blind date now?” I asked.
“My best friend, Mary, convinced me. I’m not sure how she was able to do it, but she was able to get a reservation here for the date. But now she feels bad I’m sitting here alone.”
Lina stared at the thinly sliced pickled ginger she had left on her plate. She didn’t say it, but the slight curve of her lips gave her away. She wasn’t devastated. But she was disappointed, even if it was just for a moment.
“You’re not entirely alone for the night.”
“No, I’m not.” She glanced at me. Although she wasn’t smiling, her expression softened. “Thank you for being here with me.”
I smiled softly at her. “You’re welcome.”
As a server walked past by, Lina quickly flagged her down. “Excuse me, may I get the bill, please?”
Before the woman could speak up, I interjected with a chuckle. “Actually, I already paid.”
“What?” A violent, blood-red blush crept up her face.
“I paid when I spoke to the hostess before coming to the bar.” I stood up and looked at her. “You ready to go?”
She stood up as well. I grabbed the coat hanging on the back of her seat. “You didn’t have to. I was perfectly capable of paying for myself.”
I scoffed, holding her jacket wide open to put on her. “Lina, can’t you ever be on the receiving end of a kind act?”
She turned her back to me, presenting the expanse of her beautiful, gold-speckled muscles to me.
My hand itched to let go of her coat, to trace the lines of her back with my fingertips up and down each sexy slope and dip of her evident strength.
Up close, it mesmerized me more than I’d like to admit.
“Oh, so now you’re kind to me? I thought that you were doing your obligatory duties as my manager.” When I didn’t respond, Lina looked up at me. “Jonathan?”
I stared down at her, noticing why she looked different tonight. “You got a haircut.”
Lina tore her eyes away from mine as I wrapped her coat around her. “O-oh, no. Not really. I only got a trim.”
“It looks nice.” I motioned for her to head out first; she glided past me readily. “Did you get a rideshare here?”
She looked over her shoulder at me with brows crumpled together. “I did. Why?”
“I’ll take you home.”
Lina didn’t say anything as we walked outside. I handed the valet the ticket stub to my car keys. The guy tried his hardest not to make a face at me. He’d seen me out here with Michelle earlier, and now I’m with Lina.
When he left, Lina let out a small, amused laugh. “He thinks you’re two-timing.”
“I’m not, and you know it.”
She raised her brow at me, letting her gaze caress me in one smooth swipe from head to toe. “Do I? I’ll admit, you do look like the type to fuck around.”
“You’re not wrong. I do fuck around. However, fucking with other people’s feelings isn’t my hobby.” I handed her an irritated smile. “I like honesty, and you—of all people—should be aware of that.”
Lina nodded slowly. “Of course. How could I forget? You told me you never liked me and didn’t look forward to working with me.”
The smile that hung on my lips softened. “And now I’m taking you home.”
She shook her head gently as she crossed her arms across her chest. Tipping her head slightly, she said, “Only if I let you.”
“You’re going to want to come with me.” My tone was certain.
“Why? Because it’s also now your duty to make sure I arrive home safely?”
“Because I’m going to go grab some tacos and agua fresca.” I grinned. “I doubt you’re full with how pretentiously tiny the portion sizes are here.”
The corners of Lina’s mouth quirked. “Why, Dr. Lo, I didn’t think you could be so generous. I suppose that makes sense, with that nice, shiny car you drive and the high-quality clothes you wear.”
I laughed. “Come on, Lina. I know you’re still hungry after eating two rolls of sushi and two plates of nigiri. I ate more than you did and my stomach’s still growling.”
“Were you watching me?” she asked, cheeks flaring.
I quickly put my hands up in the air in defense with a grin so wide my cheeks ached. “No. But I am allowed to look at what bill I’m paying for.”
She parted her pretty, glossy lips to respond as the valet pulled up in my Mercedes-Benz coupe. I grinned, walked over to the passenger’s side, and opened the door for her. “Well?”
“You’re lucky I love tacos,” she murmured as she walked over to me.
I noticed the slight limp in her walk and the small sigh of relief she let out when she took her seat in my car. I glanced quickly at her red, slightly swollen feet before closing the door. Once I adjusted the seat backward, we were well on our way to my favorite taco truck.