“Is that really the best you can do?” he asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Let's just say I'm not convinced you're actually thinking about movies.”
“I'm not…” I barely manage to get it out. I clear my throat. I take a bite of my dinner and wash it down with the last of my tequila. This has to be enough time to come up with some kind of articulate response. I can't let him think I want to see him naked. Even if I do.
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” he says. “But I have a special soft spot for Law and Order.”
“Really?”
“It's the reason I became a lawyer. That and my father made it clear he'd never speak to me again if I didn't go to law school.” He shakes his head. “Fuck, I guess it's Lawrence family drama night.”
“Really? I thought it was interrogate Alyssa night.”
He smiles. “Have you seen it?”
“I'm an unemployed actor. What do you think I do all afternoon?”
“Then you know it's brilliant. The cops figure out who did it. But the lawyers figure out why they did it.”
“Why he did it,” I correct him.
“Miss Summers,” he says. “This is a friendly dinner. But if you're going to correct my grammar, I don't know if I'll be able to keep things platonic.”
Is he kidding or is he really going to… Jesus. I shouldn’t even entertain the thought of Luke making the next move. Kissing me. Or touching me. Or pushing me against the wall and sliding his hand between my legs.
Fuck. I need to get ahold of myself.
“Your turn,” he says. “What's your favorite movie?”
“You're going to make fun of me.”
“I'm going to make fun of you no matter what.”
“It used to be Casablanca, but…”
“You realized it's bullshit?”
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“What's so great about putting duty before love?”
“Better to let the Germans win World War Two?”
“Say you're Victor Laszlo. Do you really want your wife to stay with you because the other man convinces her it's the right thing to do?”
“No,” I say.
“Exactly. You want her to stay with you because she loves you more. Because she wants you more. What good is it being with someone if you're the second choice?”
“So you think they'd be better off if she stayed with Rick?”
“No,” he says. “Rick doesn't respect her. He patronizes her like she's some child who doesn't understand morality.”
“Or maybe he helps her see the light.”
“No. He decides she should do the 'right thing.' That isn't love.”