Chapter 8 #2
I want to indulge in all kinds of dirty nasty pornographic things whilst looking at his dimple.
The server comes back to clear the table and set the rest of our dinner, baked fish, marinated chicken skewers, and couscous salad complemented with fresh pita bread.
Everything looks so good except for one thing. I cringe internally hoping no one notices but Ryan, he does notice every minute thing about me.
That dimple is going to be the death of me.
Ryan picks the plate of baked fish. It’s a whole fish with the head and the tail intact.
Ryan rotates it toward him so that the head is not in my line of sight.
The fish now looks at Ryan instead of me.
I can’t have my dinner staring at me when I am eating it.
I am fussy when it comes to seafood. I won’t eat shrimp unless they are completely shelled.
I can’t eat whole crabs either, unless my dad plates the meat separately for me.
I can’t deal with scales, bones, or skin on my plate either.
“Thanks. I don’t like the—”
“You don’t like skin and bones, Ishika. You don’t like the ugly and crude. You wish to stay free from the undesirable and gross parts. You opt for the neat and elegant because that’s what you’re accustomed to. Nothing wrong with that.”
He finishes my lines for me. His words float between us.
Somehow his words bother me. They pinch and bruise something deep that makes me question if there is more to the meaning behind what he said.
“Open,” he says, offering me a fork of sweet fish, all bones and skin removed. When I go to take the fork from his hands he holds my wrist, stopping me. The fork touches my lips.
Surely, his words aren’t observations. I can handle ugly, can’t I?
“Don’t overthink everything, Ishika. We are here to have a good time. That’s all.” His thumb traces the skin on my wrist and his gaze stops at my mouth.
My lips part, I take in the forkful of fish meat and immediately float in a cloud of food orgasm. So good that I let out a moan.
“I’ll feed you for the rest of my life simply to watch you make those sexy moaning sounds.” He smirks.
God, he is relentless with his flirting.
“Really?”
“Really. I got the visual of a nun gone rogue the other day and now with the sound effects, this job has perks, baby,” he teases.
I pinch my lips, trying to suppress my smile. Looking down at the food before us, I smirk reaching for my plate.
“Not the olive again,” Ryan warns.
This time I pick up a piece of romaine lettuce and flick it at him.
It hits his chin and falls on the table.
His hand travels from my wrist to my palm, his calloused thumb pad swirls on my open hand.
As if he is writing an invisible message in a secret language of finger strokes on the center of my palm.
“You’re very beautiful, Ishika Fernandes,” he whispers as if it was meant to be only for his ears.
My lashes lower without my consent and I feel the butterflies in my stomach. And when he is about to withdraw his hand, my fingers latch on to his.
“And you are very handsome, Ryan Harper,” I whisper back. I mean every word of it.
We hold each other’s gaze. For a minute the world around us blurs and it’s just him and me. Then, the asshole ruins it all with his infuriating dimpled grin.
“And this is how it’s done. Flirting 101. See you didn’t even know you were flirting. You are such a natural.”
“That’s not flirting,” I defend myself.
“Yes, it is. Now eat. We’ll schedule more lessons the next time.”
He’s giving me flirting lessons and I am… Arrhh! Why did I have to be so stupid to think we shared a moment?
I am so tempted to dump the fish on his head at this point. Instead, I stab the feta cheese aggressively with my fork.
I don’t need his fucking lessons.
Coldhearted jerk!
“Ishika!” someone calls my name. I turn to find Brent and his friends heading toward us. Dread takes me over in an instant. Brent towers me. And it’s worse that his dickhead friends are with him. He looks at Ryan and his expression fills with disgust.
“What’s he doing here?” Brent charges at me.
“I’m spending some quality time with my girl,” Ryan says, leaning back into his chair, very relaxed. “I had forgotten how you always had learning difficulties as a child. Is that an existing issue still? This is a restaurant, Brent, people eat here.”
My girl!
Ryan called me his girl.
I know it’s probably to piss Brent off, but the adrenaline rush that charges up my body when I hear him say it makes me delirious.
“Is this true? Sadie mentioned that you two were dating,” Brent asks me.
“Yeah.” I extend my arm and hold on to Ryan’s hand for support. He gives my hand a squeeze and I smile back at him. “We decided to take the leap and see where this journey takes us to.”
Brent looks jealous and upset. “Great! Let’s celebrate then,” Brent says, looking at Ryan. This is what I wanted; Brent spotting me with another man and getting possessive. But now that Brent is here, I am irritated by his presence.
I wanted to spend time with Ryan today and I was having such a great time until Brent interrupted us.
I know all of Brent’s friends, we used to roam in the same circles.
The boys pull the adjacent tables and chairs together and what was a table for two is now a table of eight.
Brent talks to the servers. More plates of food pile on the table.
More drinks and clinking of glasses follow, the peaceful music mutes as the loud voices of Brent and his friends fill the space.
There is too much chaos. Ryan watches me closely as I try to talk to Brent but he ignores me.
I am pissed that Brent came here unannounced and highjacked my time with Ryan. I hate that Ryan might think I went behind his back and invited Brent.
“Brent…” I try again.
“Relax, Ishy. We’re just bonding. Aren’t we, Ryan?”
Ryan doesn’t reply back, his tight jaw tells it all. This table is turning into a war zone of testosterone.
“So what’s new, Harper? Heard you work in the auto shop these days. That’s a level up from dishwashing boy, isn’t it? You must be really proud of your achievements.”
“Yes, I’m very proud. Definitely better than depending on Papa for pocket money,” Ryan replies.
“Some of us need to invest time studying for the greater good of mankind. Besides my family, and Ishy’s too, have generations of scholars and academia.
I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand.
Did Ishy tell you she is going to the same dental school I am?
She’ll be working under me this time next year,” Brent says, giving me a wink.
The boys all laugh at the sexual innuendo except Ryan.
“Actually, that’s not true, Brent. The shadowing in the clinic with seniors and faculty, that doesn’t start until third year and by then you will graduate. I won’t be working under anybody, just to be perfectly clear,” I say firmly.
Brent looks surprised that I corrected him and that pisses me off even more. Did he think he could get away talking shit about me in front of his friends? Working under him, my ass.
“There you go. Ishika cleared your misconceptions. Don’t assume things, Brent,” Ryan retorts, and I glare at him. Why can’t he be the bigger man and walk away?
I have had it with these two.
“You know what, I have to go. Brent, thanks for ruining my night.”
Amid Brent’s and his friend’s protests, I get up, planning to march out of the place but Ryan stands up and holds my arm.
“Let me pay the check and I’ll drop you home,” he says softly.
I nod because this is not his fight. I want him far away from Brent. He reaches for his pocket and then frowns. His eyes become alert as he digs into his pockets trying to locate something. He begins moving his chair and searching for something on the floor.
“You looking for somethin’ dishwasher boy?” Brent asks
Ryan ignores the jab. “My wallet. I can’t find it.” His eyes hunt frantically and all of a sudden, everyone at our table except for Brent is searching for Ryan’s wallet.
“Come on, Harper. This is the cheapest stunt you pulled to date. You take a girl out and you don’t even have the decency to pay for the food.
You never planned on paying, did you? You didn’t lose your wallet, you never brought it with you to begin with.
Save those few dollars, Harper. Give it to your junkie mother, she can use it to buy her next fix,” Brent goads.
What the hell!
A commotion breaks out as Ryan jumps toward Brent, smashing his knuckles to his face. Brent recovers quick and headbutts him, making him jerk back. When Ryan charges on Brent again, Richard and three others collectively have to hold Ryan back. He still manages to push forward and kick a chair.
“Out! Get out! Take this outside or I’m calling the cops,” the restaurant manager, an elderly man, shouts.
“Outside. Now,” Ryan calls out to Brent and they head out of the door.
Walking over to the counter, I offer to pay the check first and then stop this stupid brawl.
“Don’t worry about it,” the manager assures me.
“But nobody paid.”
“I’m Tony. Ryan’s Dad was my good friend. I owed the man a lot more than just money. Ryan is like family.”
I thank him and then hurriedly step outside. I am upset that Brent took over my date with Ryan. But I am more upset with Ryan for falling prey to his crap. Why did Ryan take the bait?
I hear a row of insults as Brent and Ryan yell at each other.
By the time I get to the parking lot where the group is gathered, Ryan and Brent are engaged in a shoulder lock.
With his foot, Ryan kicks at Brent’s shin, knocking Brent down on the ground, his fist meeting Brent’s jaw making it bleed.
As he is about to hit Brent again, two of Brent’s friends hold Ryan back.
Brent gets up and punches Ryan in his stomach twice.
“Stop it, you two,” I scream, trying to get them to stop.
“Leave Ishika alone. I don’t want you anywhere near her.” Brent spits blood on the ground.
Reaching Brent, I place my hand on his arm breaking his eye contact with Ryan.
“Brent, stop it. I don’t want you to interfere when it’s not your business.”
“But it is my business, Ishika. It is when you make a wrong choice. You’re important to me and this asshole knows that.
He’s using you to get to me. Haven’t you heard?
He’s like his father. A freak, mentally unstable, and a criminal.
Did you know how Ryan’s father stole from his own business, from his own family.
Did you know his dad jumped off a building just because he didn’t want to go to jail?
You still want to be with this loser? Hell no! ”
My hand flies to my mouth, horror seeps into my blood. My eyes chase Ryan to ask him why he is not denying Brent’s allegations.
Ryan’s face is blank, his eyes have a faraway look, and his chest rises and falls as if he is living through the tragedy of his father’s death once again.
“Ryan,” I call his name. But he is shutting me out.
“You don’t know him well enough to date him. Is he another one of your charity projects? Like the losers you used to date, to make them feel better about themselves. Let me tell you Ryan Harper is not worth the time. Get in the car, Ishika. I’ll drop you home,” Brent says.
I can’t look away. “Ryan…I.” I take a step toward him but he backtracks.
“You should go,” Ryan says with a stern edge in his voice. His eyes hold an emptiness that I can’t explain. I watch him turn and head back inside the restaurant. He is giving up, he is not going to explain or defend himself.
I let Brent wrap his arms around me and take me to his car. I sit down in the passenger seat as I hear him tell me he is going to say goodnight to his friends and then drop me home.
I sit back stunned, my head reeling with what Brent disclosed about Ryan’s father. Did his father really jump off a building? Brent wouldn’t make up lies like that.
Why didn’t Owen ever talk about his father? Why didn’t I know Ryan and Owen were brothers? Why was Owen living with his uncle? So many questions unanswered.
While I am lost in my own confused theories about Ryan’s life, I catch the flicker of movement in the side mirror of Brent’s car.
Brent along with Richard and a few others are standing under a streetlight in the parking lot.
Richard hands Brent something, their shared laugh is ugly, giving each other fist bumps.
Brent aims and throws something into the bushes.
Then they part ways and Brent walks over to his car and gets in.
A riot of emotions washes over me as I come to terms with what I witnessed. I feel nauseous piecing together a puzzle.