I have one new text—from Trey.
Trey: Looking forward to tonight.
Walker: Me too. How fancy is this place?
Trey: I will be wearing a tie. You don’t have to.
That just means I’ll be agonizing over what to wear for the next several hours. Can’t let 007 show me up too much.
I’m glad I don’t have any messages from Curtis. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t call the police. Or call me, at least to leave a bunch of drunkenly rude and sexually aggressive voicemails after the work thing he was supposed to have last night. Wouldn’t be the first time he drunk-dialed me. I liked the aggressive side of Curtis, just not the asshole car salesman side that accompanied it.
I’m more excited for my date with Trey than I think I ever was while dating Curtis. Trey is just so… polished and commanding. And not in that jackass do as I say sort of way that Curtis always defaulted to. More theyes,please, Daddy, tell me what to do.
Oh God! I really need to stop thinking like that or I will blurt it out again. But if ever there was someone I could call Daddy, it would be a chivalrous shining knight like Trey. Even if he is clearly way too good for me and out of my league.
Chapter five
TREY
On time for me is fifteen minutes early, so I am pleasantly surprised when Walker strolls in only five minutes after I claimed our table. I stand as the waitress brings him over. I am wearing a gray suit tonight with a pale teal shirt and floral-patterned tie. Nothing too fancy. I wondered whether Walker would follow my lead, and I am also pleasantly surprised to see that he has, although not identically.
There is a push and pull to his outfit of choice, both following and rebelling in one fell swoop. He is wearing a white button-down and burgundy tie, but in lieu of a suit, he chose khaki-colored slacks and a navy cardigan sweater. Veryhello, Doctor,with his sleeves rolled up and his smile sunny with excitement and visible nerves.
I want to wrap that tie around his eyes and tell him to open up and take what I give him.
“Well now, doesn’t the jeans and T-shirt wearing doctor clean up nice.” I grasp Walker’s arm and pull him close for a swift kiss above his healing cut, right where I kissed it when he called me Daddy. “I’ll take that Jasmine ’75 now,” I tell the waitress as we sit. I can tell Walker is surprised I went for an immediate display of affection. Catching him off guard is proving far too much fun. “Might I suggest their custom Old Fashioned? Highly recommended.”
The waitress points to it on the drink menu in front of Walker. “Suntory whiskey, and with our own syrup and bitters recipes.”
“Sounds great,” Walker agrees.
“Those will be out shortly,” she says. “I’ll give you two a few minutes to look over the rest of the menu.”
“Thank you,” I say.
As soon as she is gone, Walker leans over the table. “How did you know my go-to drink anywhere new is an Old Fashioned?”
“You have an air of classic taste about you, Walker.” I keep one eye on him even while beginning to peruse the dinner menu. I already know what I want to order, but it aids in seeming nonchalant. “Someone who recognizes quality when it’s in front of them. Plus, it’s a difficult drink to screw up, even with specialty ingredients, so it’s a surefire gauge of a restaurant’s quality. I bet you always start with an Old Fashioned and rank your favorite bars and restaurants on how well they make one.”
“I do.” Walker’s nerves ease away, and he rests his elbows on the table, fingers laced. “There you go being observant again. Although whether I can recognize quality is up for debate. Bad judge of character, remember?”
“That’s right. So how bad do you think you’ve been with me?”
He chuckles a little. “Time will tell. You really get paid to go to interesting places like this and write about them, huh?” He starts to peruse the menu too.
“I do. And don’t forget, dinner’s on me.”
“I thought dinner was on Manifest Ventures.”
“Too true. But you are still welcome to splurge.”
“I might have to just to find out what your, um… price might be in exchange.”
Oh, I am liking our rapport even more than the first time.
“I have to admit,” Walker continues, “I looked up some of your articles online. You’re quite the writer. You even mention if you’re at a place with company, like on a date. Does that mean you’ll be mentioning me in your write-up of this place?”
“I promise I’ll only include the good things, like how the dim lighting makes your gray eyes take on the colors around them. With the fairy lights draping from the ceiling, your eyes look like they’re swirled with silver and gold.”
