Chapter 9: The confrontation

When Julio finally left, Justin took his seat across Luna. He sat and stared at her for several seconds without saying a word. Luna stared right back at him, determined to not be the first one to break.

She knew Justin well enough to know that their little staring game was just that to Justin, a game. And he would take great pleasure in winning it over her.

Slowly, his gaze raked over Luna, just like hers had when he first came in. Tortuously, his eyes traveled from her head, down to her belly, where it dipped to her center.

Heat pooled there as Justin’s eyes came back to hers. His were darker and more dangerous as he stared deliberately into her eyes.

“Red had always been your color,” he finally said.

Luna’s pulse jumped, and scrambled at the intimacy of Justin’s low tone.

“I know,” she said, pleased to hear her voice coming out strong with no tremble. “I’m surprised you noticed though,” she added.

“I notice a lot more than you think,” Justin said, his gaze still fixed on Luna’s face.

Luna’s pulse scrambled again, this time at Justin’s words. What did he mean by that? Was he saying he had actually felt something for her six years ago? No, no, it couldn’t be. He couldn’t have. If he had, he wouldn’t have been so cold to her towards the end. No, he couldn’t have been that cruel.

Luna shook her head, trying to clear off the intrusive thoughts. She couldn’t dwell on the past now. She needed to be fully focused on the present to get through the dinner with Justin. Because, by God, she would not let him have the upper hand this time, Luna vowed silently to herself.

Normal people would look at them and see two people having a simple dinner, but Luna saw what they were doing for what it was. It wasn’t a simple dinner, it was war. It was one of the little battles she would have to win to be victorious in the mental war she was in now that Justin was back in her life.

Luna shifted in her seat, squaring her shoulders as she met Justin’s gaze head-on.

“I came here to eat,” she said simply, eyebrows raised meaningfully.

The corner of Justin’s lips tipped up a little, amusement glittered in his black eyes. He raised a finger and a waiter came rushing forward to the table, a pad and pen in hand, poised to take their order.

“After you,” he said to Luna.

Luna gave him a dry look, to show him she wasn’t the least bit moved by his power construct. And then she turned her head to smile warmly up at the waiter, she gave him her order, deliberately infusing warmth and playfulness in her tone.

“You got all that?” she asked him when she was done.

The waiter, a pasty-faced, twenty-ish years old kid, nodded his head and mumbled some unintelligible agreement under his breath. Luna could tell she had flustered him with her attention. A warm feeling passed through her at his innocence. She smiled, this time genuinely, and not for Justin’s effort.

“Thank you, honey,” she said to the waiter, who nodded again, gave Justin one terrified glance, before finally leaving the table.

Luna looked at Justin briefly, she cleared her throat and arranged her napkin on her lap.

A few seconds of silence passed.

“What was that?” Justin finally asked.

Luna continued to arrange the napkin on her lap.

“What was what?” Luna asked back, not lifting her head up.

“That little flirting thing you just did with the waiter,” Justin clarified.

“Oh, so you do know what it was,” Luna said, finally bringing her face up to look at Justin. She gave him a bored look.

“You don’t do that in front of me,” he said, his eyes steady on hers. There was something dangerous in them too.

Though Luna’s heart tripped a little at the look in Justin’s eyes, hers remained steady on him.

“And you do not get to tell me what to do,” she returned evenly. “We’re not married anymore, which means I don’t have to give a damn about what you like or don’t like. I’ll talk to whoever I damn well please, and I’ll flirt if I want to.”

“The waiter is a little beyond you though, don’t you think?” Justin said. “After all, you are a self-made woman now, you’ve risen up in the ranks.”

The sneer Justin gave her after talking grated on Luna’s patience more than his biting words. Resentment bubbled inside Luna, she leaned forward across the table to look directly into Justin’s eyes. She wanted there to be no misinterpretation of her words.

“I’d rather marry a waiter like him than even glance at the likes of you, ever again in my lifetime,” she said, her words cold and clear.

Something dark and dangerous flashed in Justin’s eyes. He gripped Luna’s wrist on the table, leaning towards her too, just as she did him. Their faces were now closer to each other, Luna could feel Justin’s breath on her face. She could see the blackness in Justin’s eyes, like a swirling pool of sin.

“You didn’t think so six years ago,” Justin said tauntingly.

“I didn’t know better six years ago,” Luna returned. “Believe me, if I did, I would have run the other way as fast as I could.”

Justin’s hand tightened on Luna’s slightly.

“Am I really that much of a bad memory?” he asked, anger swirling in that dark pool in his eyes. “Do you really hate me that much?”

Even though something twisted in Luna’s heart at Justin’s question, she jerked her hand from his grip and stood up abruptly.

“My problem with your kind is that you’re drunk with power, and you ruin people’s lives with it, she said, looking down at Justin. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

Luna turned and walked out of the restaurant.