Had her date upset her? Was she putting on a brave face?
The waitress moved toward the table, but where she’d been flirty with him, she kept her distance from John. Interesting.
Once she was done taking their orders, Nate signaled her over to him.
She came willingly.
Considering she wasn’t putting out any of the come-fuck-me vibes with John, he had to wonder what she knew.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“You know that guy over there having dinner with the brunette?”
She didn’t even look over her shoulder. “He’s a regular. He believes because he’s got money, he can have whatever he wants and treats us all like crap. Why?”
He smiled. “How would you like to make a bit of extra cash?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m not a whore.”
“Good. I don’t want your pussy. I want you to make their date the worst. Bring out everything wrong.”
He pulled out his stash of cash and slid it across for her.
“Fine.”
“Make it extra horrible. I will double it for you.”
She sashayed away and he watched the events of the night unfold.
****
Dates were supposed to be fun.
All the good books and the movies claimed they were fun. They were worth getting dressed up for.
First, the waitress started to hit on John as if she wasn’t there. She could handle that because the truth was, she’d still been reeling from her encounter with Nate. John treated the waitress like trash, talking down to her. Each second that passed, her nerves started to get wound tighter.
She had no idea what to say for fear of him going over the edge. She had never met anyone like him.
Their food was completely messed up. The pasta was horrible. The waitress spilled food down her dress and while John was trying to feel up the waitress, he tipped the red wine, destroying her dress, which had taken her four days to finish, learning lots of new skills in the process.
Just as John started screaming at the waitress, Nate appeared as if out of thin air.
“I think it’s time to call an end to this night, don’t you?” he asked.
“Who the hell are you?”
Nate had put a hand on the base of her back, and she loved his touch. Her body felt warm all over.
“I’m the guy who’s going to be taking her home.”
“Excuse me, but I don’t need you taking my dates home.” John reached out to grab her arm.
She pulled away, not liking how she felt around him. Her mother had always told her to trust her gut, and she should have listened. The date had gone horribly wrong, and with Nate here, interfering, she had a feeling he had something to do with it.
“I think it best I just go home.”
“It’s our fucking date, Lemon. You’re coming with me.”
He went to grab her arm again, and she flinched, which was unnecessary as he never got to touch her.
Nate intervened. Within seconds, he had John’s arm bent at an odd angle, with him over the table, screaming for help. Threatening to sue.
“Stop it,” she said. “Nate, stop.”
“Don’t you ever talk to a lady like that. Do you hear me?” he asked.
He let John go, and her date crumpled to the floor. She’d never seen Nate act like that.
If she hadn’t been paying attention to him, she would’ve missed the money he slid into the waitress’s hand. The wink he gave her.
All of her suspicions were confirmed. He’d helped to mess up her date, and now she was pissed.
Lemon didn’t fight him on the way toward the car, or even as he helped her inside. She swatted at his hand when he tried to secure her seat belt. There were some things she could do herself.
She was so pissed off at him.
Arms folded, she waited for him to talk as he pulled out of the restaurant. Nothing.
Gritting her teeth, she expected him to apologize or say and do something.
They got all the way home, and still, he didn’t say a single word. Lemon tried to remain calm. To keep her cool, but with each second that passed, she knew there was an explosion coming.
Nate brought the car to a stop, turned off the ignition, and leaned a little toward her. “Next time, vet your dates with a little more care. You’re welcome.”
He climbed out of the car.
At first, she wasn’t sure if she’d heard him correctly. Surely, she had to be losing her mind, but no, she’d heard him.
After opening the car door, she slid out and slammed the door closed with as much force as she could muster.
“Hey!”
He kept on walking but beeped his car closed. With him nearly to his door, she had no choice but to speed up to keep up with him.
“Don’t you dare close that door on me.” She pushed with all her might, stopping the door from closing.