“I’ve told you.”
“Yeah. You like my lips and my breasts. So do plenty of other men, and sexy lips and big tits aren’t that hard to find.”
“I won’t deny that those are fine features of yours, but I also told you the thing I like most about you. Your need for control.”
She takes a sip of water and sets her glass down harshly. “So I’m a game. If I give you control, you win. Is that it?”
How wrong she is. I don’t play games. I’ve made that clear to her. But this isn’t a conversation to have in a restaurant. I can see how she might perceive some of what’s between us as a game. Soon, though, she’ll see it’s something much more exciting than any game.
“If you give me control,” I say, “we both win.”
“And how long do you expect this arrangement to last?” she asks. “Until you get tired of me?”
This time, I can’t hold back my chuckle. “As long as you want it to.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Why is that?”
She huffs softly. “Because you can have anyone. You’ll get tired of me long before I get tired of you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’ll see.”
The waiter brings our meals, and she stares at the coq au vin on her plate.
A minute passes. Then another.
I take a bite of my sole and swallow. “Nothing to say? That’s not like you.” I know how to break the ice. I rise and lay my napkin across the back of my chair. I remove my phone from my pocket, crouch down next to her, and snap a selfie of us. “What the hell? Let’s get them talking.”
“You’re Instagramming?”
“Kay will have the whole city talking about us within a day anyway, so why not? You’re not embarrassed to be seen with me, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then there’s no problem that I can see.” I edit the photo slightly to adjust the lighting and then post it.
Her phone dings in her purse.
“Tagged you,” I say.
She pulls out her phone.
“You should make your profile public,” I say.
“Why?”
“Because my followers will want to know you.”
“I’m a private person, Braden.”
“Not anymore.”
I hope she understands the truth of those words. If she wants to “date” me, she’s going to be in the public eye. Kay Brown accosting her at her workplace is clear evidence of the situation.