She nodded, glancing at me unwillingly. “And you, ma’am?”
The word ma’am came out rude and sarcastically. “Strawberry margarita with crushed ice. Also, I’d prefer top shelf tequila, none of the cheap stuff.” I beamed at her, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Her eyes narrowed just enough for me to notice and I placed a fist beneath my chin, still looking at her.
“Mmm-hmm.” She took off in an instant, zip lining toward the bar and requesting our first round of drinks. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder at me before snatching her gaze away.
“She’s fucking kidding, right?” I looked at Max, huffing a laugh.
He shrugged. “I suppose some women can’t help it.”
“Yeah, well, she’s just rude.”
“I can agree with that. You’re different, rude in your own way.” He smirked, most likely at the immaturity of it.
I blew his comment off, shaking my head and sitting up. “It’s clear that this is supposed to be intimate time shared between two people. She shouldn’t be trying to ruin that.”
“Hold on. So you’re actually calling this a date?” His eyes widened with amusement.
“No,” I corrected him quickly. “I just mean…well, if I saw a guy dressed like you at a table with a girl dressed like me, I would assume it’s a date and I definitely wouldn’t flirt with the guy.”
“Shannon,” Max murmured, and as he did, the waitress was back at our table with our drinks, placing them on the table. “It’s girls like her—the girls who constantly seek drama and attention—that I don’t care to make time for. Do you want me to prove just how little her comment meant to me, and how much more this night spent with you does?”
I cocked a brow and the waitress stepped back, fiddling with the napkins in her apron. She was listening, exactly what Max wanted. “How?” I whispered, hesitant.
His head moved to a slight tilt and, after taking a sip of his drink, he turned toward the waitress and said, “Listen, Janelle, my lady doesn’t like the fact that you’re flirting with me on our date. Now, considering I’ve wanted this night to happen for quite a while now, I think it’s best if you just stick with doing your job, and keep things professional. The last thing I want is for her to be upset with me by the end of the night. I have way too much planned for us after we leave this place and I simply can’t allow you to ruin that for me.”
The waitress’ bright brown eyes expanded beneath the dim lights and her throat bobbed. I drew in a shocked breath, my eyes just as wide as hers.
Did he really just say that to her? And did he really just call me his lady?
“I…understand,” the waitress said, avoiding his eyes. “Can I start you two with an appetizer or would you like to go straight into dinner?”
She was embarrassed. I could tell by the flushed look on her face and the way sweat prickled at her hairline. Max, as if nothing had ever happened, ordered what he wanted to eat and since he was taking the moment lightly, I did as well. I wasn’t expecting an apology from her. It would’ve just made things even more embarrassing for her.
Believe me, dinner was unbelievably awkward every time she came back to the table to check on us, pretending to be in a cheery mood. She wasn’t quite sure how to handle us anymore, but I couldn’t fight off the smile that lingered on my lips when I looked at Max.
Max turned a girl down for me. Not that she was ugly or anything—she was very pretty actually—but he did it for me.
“That was so mean by the way,” I whispered to him after we finished dinner.
“It wasn’t mean. It was the truth and sometimes truth hurts.” He reached across the table to grab my hand, using his other to scoop up some of the icing that fell off my carrot cake.
Using the finger with the icing on the tip, he brought it to my lips and I smirked. Some competitive part of me wanted him to know I wasn’t just some boring girl. I had to keep him guessing throughout the night, so I spread my lips apart and sucked the icing off his finger until every drop of sweetness was gone. As I did, his eyes pooled with heat and desire.
“Goddamn,” he breathed, slowly pulling his finger away.
I licked my lips before picking up my drink and taking a small sip, trying so hard not to smile.
“I hope you realize that just made me want to fuck the shit out of you.” His eyes were still heated.
I smiled. “I know. That was the plan.”
“No,” he continued in a murmur, “I don’t think you understand how hard it’s going to be for me to hold back, Shannon.”