Chapter 13
Date Two
Chapter Thirteen
Ella
“So that’s when I told him he had three cavities,” Everett laughs. It’s my sign to join in.
“Wow, funny,” I say, despite not finding the joke the least bit humorous.
I’ll be honest, I think I might be a bit too picky.
Everett is attractive, tall, and an established dentist. He has no kids, has never been married, and is a genuine gentleman.
However, he has the personality of a glass of tap water.
Or maybe I should say a glass of water that’s soaking a pair of dentures because everything in his life revolves around teeth.
Every joke is about teeth; every conversation is about teeth. Hell, even his necktie has teeth on it.
On paper, Everett is top-tier, but in reality, I’m absolutely miserable.
“So, Ella, tell me more about your business?”
Finally, I get a chance to talk about myself. That hasn’t happened all night. It’s not like he’s clogged the conversation talking about him either; he’s just been talking.
“It’s not exactly a business. I just make custom-order pastries and cakes on demand. It’s nothing major, but I love baking. I always have, ever since I was a little girl.”
Everett smiles, showing off his perfect teeth. That’s one thing this man can take pride in. He has the most gorgeous set of teeth.
“Hey, anytime you’re doing something you love, it’s important. Besides, I’m all for your business.” He leans forward as if he’s going to tell me a secret. “The more sweets your customers eat, the more of a chance they will need me.” He winks jokingly.
Why am I not surprised he found a way to bring this conversation back to teeth?
“What about your boys?” Everett asks as he takes a sip of his water. “You have two, right?”
“Yes. Fifteen and ten. They are good kids.”
“Do they have a regular dentist they see? You know, childhood dental care is very important. A lot of problems I see in adults could’ve been taken care of when they were younger.” He chuckles, placing his glass back on the table. “You know, I had a patient that...”
I tuned him out, and I don’t feel bad for doing it. It’s not like he wanted my input. When he gets into story mode, he never leaves an opening for me to respond. He genuinely just wants me to listen.
My phone goes off in my lap. I try to be a polite date by not having my phone out on the table, but in case things get weird, I keep it near me.
Looking down at the screen, I see it’s a message from Mitch.
Mitchie: How’s the dentist date going? Has he offered any free cleanings yet?
I bite into my bottom lip to keep from laughing. Glancing back up at Everett, I notice he is still deep in his story about built-up tartar he had to scrape off.
Looking back at my phone, I quickly sent Mitch a reply.
Me: Horrible.
His reply came just as quickly as mine.
Mitchie: Are you safe? Is he being an asshole?
Once again, I’m reminded of how good of a man Mitchell is. His eagerness to protect me is always enduring.
Me: No. BORING!
“And that’s when I found out that he’d never seen a dentist. Not once.”
I tune back into Everett’s story. He didn’t laugh this time, so I guess I shouldn’t either.
“Wow, that’s interesting.” Clearly, this man isn’t good at reading between the lines, because if he did, he would be able to hear the dryness in my tone.
“I have a pretty interesting job,” he says with a smile. “So many people pay thousands of dollars for plastic surgery, not knowing that a simple teeth cleaning or straightening can get them further in life. Your smile is the most important thing you own.”
“Of course.”
“I had a patient once....”
Please, for the love of all things good, can a meteor fly through the ceiling and smash me down right here.
After another fifteen minutes, I was ready to pull my eyeballs out of my head. I thought when they brought the food out, Everett would take a break from his dental stories, but I was so wrong.
“I’d never seen a tooth with so much decay. I asked the patient if I could keep it for research, and they said I could.”
I stare down at my tiny portion of salmon over a bed of green lentils, wondering if I could fake an emergency. Suddenly, the valet came to the table. Both Everett and I looked up at him.
“Excuse me,” the young man says. “There is an issue outside.”
Everett looks at me confused before glancing back at the boy.
“What kind of issue?”
The kid looks nervous. He leans down as if he’s trying to keep the conversation between us.
“Your car is being towed.”
Everett jumps up so quickly that he knocks his chair to the ground. He doesn’t even say anything to me before rushing out of the restaurant. I sit in my seat, staring at his back.
“What the heck?”
The young valet shrugs at my question before following Everett out. I’m not sure if I should follow or not. Everett and I didn’t ride together. We both agreed to park down the block and were going to walk to the art exhibit. Now I’m assuming Everett must have had his car valeted.
I was so distracted trying to think of my next move that I didn’t notice my company until they picked up Everett’s fallen seat and sat down. The moment I spotted Mitch’s devious smile, I knew he was behind this.
“Mitchell Declan Miller, what did you do?” I laugh.
Mitch shrugs. “I told you I did a background check. It seems your dentist is very particular about where he parks his precious Porche. He’s raked up quite a few parking tickets.”
I shake my head before leaning back in my seat.
“You called a tow truck on him?”
He places his hand on his chest as if he’s offended. “I did no such thing. I just told a friend where his car was parked. They did the rest.”
I toss my head back and laugh. I’m going to send Devon his favorite pound cake for that. He was a lifesaver tonight.
Mitch looks down at my plate with a frown. “What the hell is that?”
Chuckling, I stab my fork into my salmon. “Pan seared salmon and lentils. What? You don’t think it looks good?”
“It looks like they are feeding a hamster. You’ll need twenty of those to get full.”
I drop my fork back down onto my plate and sighed. “Yeah, their portion sizes are insane.”
I appreciate fine dining as much as anyone else, but I can’t say it’s particularly my favorite. I’d much rather have a burger and fries from the greasy diner down the street.
“How about we ditch this place, and I take you to get some actual food?” Mitch uses the fork to pick up the piece of fish on Everett’s plate before dropping it back down.
“Mitch, I can’t just leave him. That’s rude.”
Mitch narrows his gaze at me. “You mean the douche that took off running down the street chasing his car. He has no plans of coming back.”
Color me shocked. I guess I can add my story of date abandonment to the collection with the other ladies of the book club. Taking my napkin out of my lap, I placed it down on top of my plate.
“I guess I have to pay for this dinner.” Looking at the food that we’ve barely touched, I grimace.
Mitch holds up a hand, getting the server's attention. “No, you’re not paying for this.”
The moment the server comes to the table, he hands her his card and tells her to settle us out.
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. I volunteered.”
Before I can form a better argument against him paying for this date, the server is back with his card and the bill for him to sign. Mitch quickly scribbled his name on the receipt before standing from his seat. He holds out a hand to me.
“Come on. Let me take you to get some proper food.”
The boys are with their dad, and the night is still young. You know what? Why the hell not? I place my hand in his and he helped me up from my seat. He led me out of the restaurant, and not once did he let my hand go.
My laughter burst out of me, startling a couple passing us. I mouthed an apology but continued to laugh.
“Why would you say that?” I admonish Mitch for making me laugh so loudly.
After stopping at a food truck to get some of the best burgers and fries I’ve ever had, Mitch took me to the botanical gardens. At the moment, we were walking through the topiary section.
“What? You can’t tell me that doesn’t look like a vagina. Look, that part right there is the clitoris.”
I cackle again because Mitch isn’t lying. The shrub indeed looks like a vagina all the way to the labia on both sides.
“Oh goodness, I can’t unsee it now.”
Mitch turns around in a circle. “I’m trying to see if I can find the matching shrubbery penis. Now it makes sense why you wanted to come to this freaky ass garden.”
I laugh again, followed by a snort. Mitch’s gaze locks onto mine before a smile lifts his cheeks.
“Damn, I love your laugh.”
His words immediately turned my laughter into a heated smile. I swear this man can say anything and it just does something to me.
I clear my throat, placing my attention back on the coochie bush.
“Andrew used to look at me crazy when I laughed. I always felt like he thought it was obnoxious.”
There is an awkward silence that shifts between us. I hate I brought his best friend up. I’ve done well to keep Mitch from being in the middle of our battle.
I opened my mouth to apologize, but his next words cut me off.
“He never was an expert judge of things of value.”
I cut my eyes over to Mitch and he’s staring at me. The look in his gaze is hard to read. However, it causes my stomach to flutter. I break eye contact first, glancing down at my feet.
“So,” I say, trying to change the subject. “What next? We’ve eaten, seen the garden, what do we do next?”
He rubs his chin. “What? You aren’t tired of my company yet?”
I chuckle. “Well, to be honest, this has been the best date I’ve been on in years, and it isn’t even an actual date.”
I love the smile that spreads across his face.
“Who says it isn’t an actual date?”
There go those damn butterflies. This time they flutter in my stomach for seconds before dropping lower. So low that moisture pools in my panties.
I play off the mood with a laugh. “Whatever, Mitch.”
There is a moment when he just looks at me. His gaze raking up and down my body, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. For those few seconds, my body comes alive. Eventually, a slow smile spread over his face, replacing the charged energy that was just lingering.
“Come on,” he says casually, like he didn’t just have my pussy throbbing. “I have one more place I want to take you.”