CHAPTER FIVE

Jamie had taken her to a five-star restaurant and the second she stepped into the building; Phoebe thanked the Heavens that her friends had dolled her up. Not only were they in one of the most expensive restaurants in history, all eyes were in them, first him and then her…but stayed longer on her. Like they were assessing her. Phoebe held her head high and stamped down the self-consciousness. She looked good. She knew she looked good. The burgundy dress Cindy had been so generous to lend her hugged her torso, making her cleavage more pronounced and it flared from the top of her hip down to mid-thigh. And then the nude heels made her legs look like they went on forever, she looked like freshly baked cookies. She looked good enough to eat.

The restaurant was very elegant, it boasted gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and somehow managed to merge modern day with retro. It was classy. The second they stepped in, a waiter immediately walked over to them and after greeting them, requested they followed him. He led them up the stair to the tables upstairs.

From their table, Phoebe could see the beautiful light and fountains she had spotted on their way there, it was really beautiful because, from their view, the moon and the stars merged with the lights. It was beautiful.

"I suppose you like it?"

"Yes. Yes, I love it. It's so beautiful. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, love. For all we know, I might be a serial killer, the type that takes their prey on expensive dates and then kills them. Phoebe held her hand over her mouth and laughed, she was going to make a sharp retort to what he had said but was interrupted by the waiter.

"Excuse me, are you ready to order?"

"No, not yet. just get us a bottle of your finest white wine."

"Of course, will that be all?"

Jamie nodded and waved his hand dismissively, his eyes on Phoebe. She looked beautiful, too beautiful. He hadn't missed the way everyone was staring at him when he stepped in with her.

"Oh, you trying to get me drunk already, Jamie?" Jamie felt panicked for a second until he caught the mischievous glint in her eyes, she was just messing with him.

"Maybe, maybe not. But if it gets you to tell me everything about yourself and then throw in a goodnight kiss, why not?"

"If you want to know about me, you could just ask me. It's what normal people do." Jamie again spotted that glint in her eye; he was loving this side of Phoebe. He would take her on a million dates if this was how it will be.

"Okay, Phoebe. Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

Jamie paused because the waiter had arrived with their wine, they waited as he popped the bottle and poured drinks into their glasses. Jamie asked him to drop the bottle when he wanted to leave with it.

"Well, let's start with the basics. What's your full name, your favorite hobby, your favorite colors, food, school…? You know, the basics."

Phoebe picked up her glass, holding it at the stem. She took a sip and closed her eyes as the liquid went down her throat. That was good stuff. But then, she didn't expect anything less from a man who owns a five-star club, a McLaurin, and an Aston Martin.

"Okay. I'm Phoebe Whitman. I am 22 and a student at UCB, studying art. I am an only child; I don't think I have a favorite color though I favor black and um…I guess that's all."

"That's all? You're not hiding any dirty little secrets no one knows about…"

"Um…yeah, there's this one thing I missed out."

"Spill…"

"You sure you want to hear it?"

"C'mon, don't do that. Tell me."

"Okay, you asked for it. I've dated three guys before and lost my virginity to the second. I broke up with the third guy before I got admitted into UCB. He was going to Colorado and I didn't see the sense of us still dating, I don't believe in the long distance at all…"

"It's okay, I believe I've heard enough…"

Phoebe held in her laughter. Jamie had veins sticking out on his head and the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fist made her know that he was angry. Though in all honesty, Phoebe didn't think that he had any reason to be angry, they had only just met.

"Oh…"

"You hungry? Should we order now?"

"Yes. I hope the food is very good, I would hate to add you to the list of dates who took me to restaurants with crappy food."

Phoebe had her eyes lowered when she said this so Jamie couldn't tell if she was kidding or if she was serious. He had been here before and he knew that they had good food. They weren't five-star for nothing, but as he waved the waiter over and scanned the menu, he found he was beginning to feel hot around the collar, he was beginning to feel nervous. A series of questions began to go through his mind.

What if she had allergies?

What is she hated Italian? Which is what they served. All they served.

What if she didn't like the smell of the food?

Or the way it looked?

Jamie stopped himself and a slight frown marred his features. Why was he so obsessed over what she thought about the food? He was one of the most feared men in America, he had brought several women here before and they had never complained about the food. But then, if they had any issues, they wouldn't have complained anyway. Everyone was scared of him. All except her, because she didn't know who he was.

Jamie found that he liked that, he liked that she didn't know him, that she wasn't scared of him. And he wanted to keep it that way. She would be his, either by hook or by crook.

"Jamie!"

"Sir!"

Jamie snapped out of his reverie to see two concerned faces staring at him. Phoebe reached out her hand and took his.

"Are you okay, Jamie?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be, when I have the most beautiful woman sitting in front of me?"

Phoebe blushed but still held on to his hand, he took advantage and grabbed them with both hands, rubbing it and placing kisses on it. He was interrupted by the waiter clearing his throat, Phoebe turned a crimson shade of red and pulled her hands from his. She risked taking a look at the waiter and he winked at her. Phoebe laughed and that didn't sit well with Jamie.

"If you're done flirting with my date, maybe you can take our order?"

"Sorry about that, sir. What would you be ordering?"

"I'll take number two and she'll be having number four."

"Dessert?"

"No. do you want any, Phoebe?"

"No."

The waiter left their table and Phoebe still kept her gaze kept away from him.

"Phoebe."

Silence.

"Phoebe, is something wrong?"

Silence. Jamie sighed and shifted in his seat.

"Phoebe, c'mon, talk to me. You were happy and having fun a few seconds ago. What happened? Did I do something?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you did."

"Okay, what is my offense?"

"Why did you order for me? And why were you mean to the waiter?"

"I ordered for you because you haven't been here before and I know you don't know the food here, so I ordered what I know is the best dish."

Phoebe felt her shoulders relax, she didn't like when her dates were ordered for her, it was a red flag for her. It usually turned out to mean they were controlling and can get aggressive. After all, once bitten, twice shy. She immediately brushed down the memories and looked at Jamie.

"Okay. And the waiter? Did it say somewhere on the menu 'be mean to all waiters, they deserve it?"

"They should have, he winked at you, he was flirting with you. And he didn't even mind that I was sitting right across from you."

"No, he wasn't. He was just being nice and you are jealous. I don't like jealous people; they freak me out."

Jamie grimaced and took a deep breath; things were getting out of control. He didn't mean to offend her but looks like he only made things worse.

"Phoebe, look at me." Phoebe was tempted to obey his command and turn her head but she was stubborn and didn't do well with following commands.

Jamie took a deep breath. All his life he was used to giving orders and having people fall over themselves to follow them. In the last three seconds, he had had to remind himself that she wasn't any of his employees or his soldiers. He lowered his voice to the barest minimum and appealed to her again.

"Phoebe, c'mon. I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Okay?"

Phoebe lifted her head and smiled. That was all she wanted to hear from him.

"Okay." Just then, the waiter appeared with their food and disappeared as soon as possible. Jamie refilled their glasses and raised his.

"To the most beautiful woman in the room, and more beautiful nights like this."

Phoebe hesitated for a second before she smiled and raised her glass too, clinking it with his.

"Cheers"

They drank their wine and thankfully, the rest of the dinner went by without any hitch.