“They’re also our fourth course, apparently,” added Ryder. “Well, I guess for me it’ll be my fifth course.”
“Huh?” I asked.
A smile played on the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, my first course was that blueberry pie you tossed in my face.”
My eyes got wide.Oh God, he does remember.It was too late to duck under the table. He’d already seen me since we’d been hanging out for a while now.What the hell do I do?Where was a dumpster or a lake when I needed it? Maybe there was a lobster tank somewhere around here…
“Did you really think I didn’t see you? You know there was a window in the door, right?”
I could feel the heat rushing to my face. There was no escaping this awkward conversation. “I’msosorry.”
“I know. I could feel your remorse. Especially when you laughed and ran away.”
Was he mad? Shit, he was mad. “I’m so so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It was actually kind of cute.”
Cute? I didn’t want him to think I was cute. I wanted him to think I was a sex goddess. Raven Black the seductress. “You can throw a pie in my face if it makes you feel better.” Great, that was super sexy. Not.
He laughed.
“I’ll just stand there and take it, I swear.”
“Oh, I know you will, baby.” He leaned forward slightly. “But it’s not going to involve a blueberry pie.”
Holy shit.I crossed my legs under the table. He was staring at me so intently. What did he mean by that? Was he going to take me back to a sex dungeon? Was he going to bend me right over this table in front of all these people? Maybe they were Society members. The guy at the table next to us was wearing a black watch. But no one else was. And the Society had just been shut down by the FBI. Or maybe he just meant the pie would be lemon meringue instead of blueberry.
“Don’t turn around,” said Ryder. His playful smile was gone. “But a Gestapo agent just walked in.”
“Gestapo?!” I whispered yelled. “Now Nazis are chasing us too? I thought it was just the FBI?”
“Right. I meant FBI. I always get those two mixed up.”
Was that some sort of weird political commentary about the FBI being a bunch of Nazis? If so, I might have finally met someone as strange as me. I started to turn around to get a look.
He grabbed my hand. “I said don’t look.”
Oops.But it was really hard not to look when he specifically told me I couldn’t. I wanted to see what he thought a Nazi looked like. Probably bald and fat. Or would they have Hitler-staches?!
“I’m going to pretend to go to the bathroom. In twenty seconds, calmly put your napkin on the table and meet me at the kitchen doors. Just do as I say and everything will be fine.”
Fine?“Don’t leave me out here.”
“I’m not leaving you. I promise.” His thumb slowly ran down my palm as he stood up. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Of course he thought everything would be fine! He was leaving me as bait!
Stalker Problems - Chapter 19 - Holy Meaty Goodness
Tuesday – April 11, 2023
I’d hardly processed Ryder’s escape instructions when he calmly walked away.
Oh my God, he left me.Why hadn’t he let me disappear first like a freaking gentleman? I counted down from twenty, trying not to completely freak out. But I panicked and jumped from ten to one and threw my napkin on the table. I rushed to the kitchen, not doing anything calmly at all. And I was both relieved and a little surprised that Ryder was standing there waiting for me. He hadn’t left me as bait for the FBI. We were in this craziness together.
Ryder grabbed my arm and pulled me through the swinging doors. We nearly knocked a platter out of a waiter’s hand.
“May I help you?” asked the waiter with more than a hint of sass in his voice. God, he was just like that rude barista at the smoothie shop I hated. To clarify, I’m saying that I hated both the barista and the smoothie shop. The barista for the sass and always writing “Ass” on my cup. And the smoothie shop itself for selling disgusting smoothie flavors.
