Chapter 9 #2
He filled my glass and then his as I continued to eat. I didn’t notice the man walking up until he was on the steps of the gazebo, balancing a tray.
“Good evening, Miss Iris. I’m Chef Antonio. I will be your chef and server for the evening.”
“Nice to meet you.” I greeted him once my mouth was clear of food.
“You must be a special lady with the way this one over here has carried on about this dinner.”
“Oh, wow. We doing it like that?” Sawyer asked, shaking his head.
“He’s been impossible the entire time after he came to me and begged me to do this.”
“I didn’t beg. I asked for a favor.”
“He begged.” Antonio rebutted.
“I didn’t beg. I negotiated.”
“He begged, but I see why. You’re a doll.” Chef Antonio winked.
Their exchange made me giggle. It felt good to giggle. “Thank you.”
“And I wasn’t impossible,” Sawyer added.
“He rejected four menus. I’m a celebrity chef. I worked with the best of the best. I shouldn’t have to haggle about my dinner choices.”
“I told you that I wanted it to be perfect,” Sawyer mentioned.
“See, he likes you, doll face.” Antonio smirked, picking up our salad plates before turning and disappearing into the growing darkness.
“He gon’ get his self fucked up with all that flirting.”
“I thought you said it was nothing,” I teased.
“It was little to nothing.” Sawyer shrugged, drinking from his water glass. “I told you this is our first date.”
“So, this is really a date?”
“At least I was hoping it was,” he said, lifting his eyes to meet mine.
That made me smile. How was he big but so adorable? “Me too.”
Sawyer removed the cover from my plate and put it aside before doing the same for his own. Once again, I wasted no time digging in. No matter how down and depressed I got, my appetite was never affected. If anything, I ate more than ever.
The way the tender filet mignon melted in my mouth almost made me moan. Buttery poached lobster, steamed asparagus, and garlic whipped potatoes were a perfect combination.
“This is amazing, Sawyer,” I said, finally looking up from my meal. “I see why you begged Chef Antonio to cook for us tonight.”
“I didn’t beg, woman.” He grinned.
“Either way, thank you. Tell him that he did a great job.”
“I’m not telling him anything. He already has a big enough head. You wouldn’t imagine how many times I’ve had to hear him name drop about who he used to cook for before we hired him.”
“He has the right to brag.”
“I agree, but I’m not telling him that.”
I laughed. “So how long have you been in this business?”
“The casino? It’s been open about six or seven years now,” he stated between bites.
“I mean security.”
“Oh, forever, I guess. It’s part of my family’s business. I branched out on my own when I was old enough to make those kinds of decisions. I know a little bit about wanting to distance yourself from family.”
“Man, listen,” I said, shaking my head.
“I want to know you, Z, but I’m not even sure what kinds of questions are safe to ask. You said you worked as a seamstress. Is that a family business?”
“I wish. I met the owner of the boutique I worked at through her family business, though. My family isn’t exactly into legal activities. That’s what I want to get away from.”
“I get that one hundred percent. What’s your favorite movie?”
“The Temptations.”
“Girl, what you know about The Temptations?”
I shrugged. “I probably can recite it word for word.”
“We’ll have to watch it. What’s your favorite food?”
“Fried chicken. I’m a simple foodie.”
“Foodie?” He frowned.
“A person who has a particular interest in food. You didn’t think I got these hips, thighs, and belly from drinking water, did you?”
“I like all of it, so whatever you’re doing to maintain it, keep up the good work. Don’t let nobody in the world tell you that you’re not fine as fuck.”
“I’m not insecure about my body. I admit it took some getting used to. I went through a dark time and gained a lot of weight over the course of a couple of years. My dad is more worried about it than I’ve ever been.”
“Well, your new man is going to make sure you stay well fed.”
His comment made me smirk. “My new man, huh?”
“I see your ears work.”
“Aren’t we cocky?”
“I have the right to be. I told you I’m going to put in the work to earn my title. You just come along for the ride.”
“I hear you,” I said, dipping a forkful of my lobster in the buttery sauce.
We enjoyed the rest of our meal over casual conversation about our favorite books, one place we wanted to go that we’d never visited, and the most embarrassing moment from high school.
His favorite book was Lord of the Flies.
He mentioned that he wanted to take a trip to New Zealand of all places.
I told him that I wanted to go to Italy, and he said he’d actually been a few times.
I howled laughing as he told me a story about him running into the wrong locker room in the middle of football practice and getting beat down by the whole cheerleading squad.
It felt freeing to have a good laugh. Sawyer was so animated with his storytelling that I could almost see him cowering on the floor as he tried to explain himself to those girls.
I just knew they weren’t hearing it, because I wasn’t even sure if I believed him, and it had been over twenty years, according to him.
“So how old are you? I feel like a tramp for not having asked all these basic questions before I opened my legs for you.”
“I’m thirty-five. It’s cool. I have that effect on women,” he teased.
“Oh, wow, you’re old as hell, a womanizer, and a wannabe comedian.”
He chuckled. “No, you didn’t just call me old.”
“Don’t worry. You’re a handsome old man.”
“I am not old, lady.”
“You’re right, but I definitely didn’t think you were almost forty.”
“I am not almost forty.”
“If we round up, you are.”
“We’re not rounding.” He shook his head.
“OK, handsome old man.”
“I’ll show you an old man,” he said, standing and moving around to sit next to me.
“How do you plan on doing that?” I quizzed, excited about the possibilities.
“OK, you two lovebirds. Our final course is dessert,” Chef Antonio announced as he stepped up on the gazebo.
I laughed when Sawyer’s head fell back between his shoulders. When he lifted his head, he scoffed. “Perfect timing.”
“As usual,” Antonio replied, oblivious to whatever he’d interrupted.
Since we were sitting on the same side now, he placed wooden heart-shaped boards in front of where we were. There were chocolate covered strawberries, mini chocolate cheesecakes, and pink macarons on each of them.
“There’s no way you knew I loved macarons.”
“You’re right. I didn’t know what you would like actually.”
“He’s right. He made me bring a variety.”
“Damn, do you tell everything?” Sawyer asked, shaking his head.
“Just the good stuff,” Antonio replied, making me laugh.
“Well thank you both. This is perfect,” I commented.
“I’ll leave you two to it. No more interruptions,” Antonio said, dismissing himself.
Once he was gone, I picked up a strawberry and took a bite.
Somehow, they were filled with cheesecake.
Remnants of the filling clung to the corner of my mouth.
Before I could reach for a napkin, Sawyer reached out and swept his thumb across it, slowing down as he gently brushed my bottom lip.
When I looked at him, he was licking his lips.
“I’ve been trying hard as hell not to kiss those pretty lips. This being our first date and all.”
“So, you don’t kiss on the first date?”
“Oh, I’m a slut. I put out on the first date and everything. I want to be respectful to my date, though. I don’t want you to think this is all about sex.”
His response made me laugh before settling into a smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. How is your mental?”
“It’s better. I think going off my meds cold turkey triggered something. I’ve been taking antidepressants for the past few years, and they work well enough, considering.”
“Considering what?”
“Considering what a shit show my life is.” I sighed.
“What made you quit your meds?”
“You know that feeling when you feel so much better that you think you’re good?
I had a moment of that. Things were going a little too good.
I should have known better. Right in the midst of all that, I got some horrible news.
A switch somewhere inside of me flipped, and I fell even further than where I started.
I started back taking the meds after a few weeks, but that seemed to make my symptoms worse.
I was having so many side effects that I quit them again. ”
“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m sorry that I keep dumping my shit on you.”
“Can I ask you to do something?” he asked, covering one of my hands with his as it rested on my lap.
“What is it?”
“If you start feeling hopeless again, will you talk to someone? It doesn’t have to be me. There’s a hotline. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it before, but it’s 988. Can you promise me that you’ll do that before you make any permanent decisions?”
“I will.” I nodded.
“Do I need to write the number down for you? It’s simple enough, but in the fog of depression, our memory tends to get short. Trust me. I know.”
“I can remember it, and I promise I will try calling first if it comes down to that again.”
“Thank you,” he said, pulling my hand to his lips and kissing the back of it.
Grabbing the collar of his shirt, I pulled him in for a kiss. Forget all that first date stuff. We’d already had sex. There was no use in the formalities now. A sexy grin covered his lips as I pulled back out of the kiss.
“Look at my sweet thing being all naughty.”
I rolled my eyes playfully, blushing at his statement. “Does being on a first date mean we can’t have sex?” I asked, looking away shyly. Being with him felt so good that I couldn’t wait for round two. Well, it would be round three, technically, but whatever. I wanted more.
“Yes, it does. I’m a gentleman.”
“Aww, man.”