I hated how he looked so composed when I was about to combust in my seat, but I couldn't help but imagine what he was saying. One of those surfaces was this very counter; if I leaned in, I could get my first kiss right here and now. I looked at his lips and involuntarily bit mine, imagining him doing it to me.
"My turn," he said, bringing me back to planet earth. "Would you let me?"
I didn't hesitate. "Yes."
He smiled and removed his arms from the counter to stand up straight. "Good to know."
I was speechless as I watched him walk to the door to let someone in, wondering why I hadn't heard anything. Probably because I was too busy thinking about kissing the hottest man I had ever met. I waited while Michael and the waiter set up our dinner table and only joined him when we were alone again.
He held the chair out for me, and I sat down first, smiling at the feast set before us. It was much more than two people could finish, but I was determined to at least try a little bit of everything because everything looked so good.
"You are not allergic to anything, are you?"
"Does that count as question three? And no, nothing. If I am, we'll find out tonight."
“I’m not sure if mouth-to-mouth resuscitation works on allergies, and it’s the only first aid skill I have,” he replied, making me laugh.
“Somehow, I doubt that. You look like one of those annoyingly good at everything people.”
“You’re right. I’m pretty much perfect.”
I shook my head and started preparing my plate. “You are terrible at being humble.”
“I hate it when people pretend to be modest.”
I usually preferred to eat in silence, but with Michael, I just wanted to keep on hearing his voice and know more about him.
“What else do you hate?”
He took some time to answer as he finished his bite of food. “Long donuts, public gyms, and liars.”
“That’s a mixed bag,” I laughed with a shake of my head. “What do you have against long donuts?”
“Ring donuts are better.” I laughed again, and he pointed to my plate. “What model eats as many carbs as you do?”
“One who is hungry and has a high metabolism. My turn.”
He distracted me as he took a sip of wine, drawing my attention to his lips.
“What’s your favorite dessert?” I finally asked, earning a smile from him.
“Thinking about dessert already? We haven’t even gone through the second course yet.”
“Just answer the question.”
“I can’t decide between tiramisu and good old-fashioned chocolate cake.”
“Chocolate cake? Look at you, being ordinary like the rest of us,” I teased.
“My turn. Can you let down your hair?”
I was surprised by the question, which was more of a request. I had met a few jerks in my life who had asked me if the curtain matched the drapes, a usual but creepy fascination with my red hair. But the way Michael asked me and the look in his eyes made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. My red hair was the only thing I had inherited from my mother, with my sister being the lucky one to inherit her looks. I had grown up loving my hair because my mother had it too, and she looked like a princess, but my reality hadn’t been the same. I had been teased relentlessly growing up, and when I became an adult, most of the comments from guys were just the usual stupid and lewd one-liners.
I put my fork down and reached for the few pins in my hair, pulling them out and letting my hair down. “Not sure I should be doing this at the dinner table, but as you wish.”
He chuckled and reached for his wine again. “We can do whatever we want, even eat naked.”
This man would be my death before the night ended, but I had already decided. Just for tonight, I was going to be the confident vixen and enjoy our time together. Michael reminded me of the arrogant Alpha type I usually avoided in favor of the sweet, nerdy guys, but he made me feel so sexy and excited for what was to come. I genuinely enjoyed his company, and this sexy banter between us was hot.