“It’s okay, Emmy, open the door. He is not going to eat you,” Diana said, rolling her eyes. I narrowed my eyes. Surely August was a bad influence on her. She was cockier and mouthier. Or maybe August just brought out who she really was.
Nodding frantically, I took a deep breath and proceeded to open the door. Reed was standing right in front of me, wearing a denim shirt and jeans. All black. And a red jacket, matching my attire.
His hair was messy and tousled as usual, and he wore the most beautiful smile on his face as he looked at me.
Honestly, I was starstruck by how captivating he looked. My heart thudded, and my hands shook in anticipation as he too looked at me from head to toe.
I bit my lip and tried not to shy away as he looked at me because his eyes had the direct hotline with my overbeating heart.
I was kind of jealous as well. He could look devilishly handsome just in few minutes, and here I was, spending the whole day doing everything and still not feeling ready to match him.
I looked above only to see him already looking at me with an emotion I couldn’t decipher. A small, loving smile played on his lips, and his eyes held so many emotions. He stepped forward and took my hand in his. Leaning down, he whispered into my ears, “You are looking beautiful.” And I almost melted at his words. His lips brushed my ear, sending a current to the forbidden areas of my body.
Get it together, Emmy.
We left soon, and once we were out of the house, Reed guided me to his car. The one I drove. She was a sexy beast.
He opened the door for me before jogging to his side of the car. I smiled.
“So, where are we going?” I asked as soon he pushed the pedal for the gas.
“Somewhere,” he answered cheekily.
“Where somewhere?” I tried to play along. I don’t know what happened to the old Reed, but I was surely falling for this new one.
“Somewhere, somewhere,” he replied, and this time, he looked at me. His eyes darkened, and his jaw ticked. Grumpy Reed was not far away.
“Will you please wear your seatbelt?” he said in a dangerously low tone. I smiled sheepishly and did what he told me. Jeez, possessive, huh?
We drove in silence before he took my hand in his, intertwining them together. He squeezed my hand and proceeded to drive with the other hand. There was no doubt that a sweet, simple gesture was enough to make me smile for the whole journey.
“You got to be kidding me?” I gasped. My eyes widened as I took in the building in front of me.
Reed had brought me to a restaurant, and I could already tell it was an expensive one. The whole place was just wow. He threw the keys in the direction of the valet. He took my hand again, and we walked together towards the door.
“Reservation under the name of Xander,” he said in a commanding tone, and the manager visibly flinched. He had the same effect on humans, also.
“This way, sir.” Reed, like the true gentleman he was trying to be today, pulled my chair first. I blushed and muttered a low thank you.
This time a waitress arrived with the menu and a notepad to write our orders. Her eyes widened when she saw Reed. He didn’t acknowledge her, much to my inner satisfaction. His eyes were trained on me.
“What will you like to eat, sir?” She emphasized the ‘sir.’ Reed didn’t look at her this time, and I felt bad for the poor girl. He finally pitied her and looked in her direction. Meanwhile, I looked around at my surroundings, and one thing was clear: this restaurant was expensive.
Reed soon dismissed her, and the girl sprinted back, not before fluttering her eyelashes for way too long in his direction.
She returned with something in two glasses and smiled this time in my direction as if she hadn’t realized I was also there when she was shamelessly drooling over my mate.
“Chinese or Mexican?” he asked, looking from the menu to directly at me. The waitress was eagerly waiting for us to decide.
“How about you?” I thought internally. Reed immediately looked at me, and I swore I saw a ghost of a smile on his face. Fuck, I have to remember that he could read my thoughts now.
I was sure my face matched the color of the red liquid the girl had brought. I picked up my glass and took a sip from it. It melted on my tongue, and I almost moaned at the taste of it.
“Mexican will do.” He dismissed the girl. The waitress stormed off in the other direction, but this time she didn’t flutter her eyelashes. Maybe she didn’t like to be ignored. I drank half of my drink.
“You like it?” he asked, looking at my reaction.
“I love it. What is this?” He smiled.
“Rye, vermouth, sherry, and a splash of Brenet-Franca,” he said, taking a sip from his glass. I nodded in appreciation before we were served our order.
We sat there, eating, laughing, like two young people, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
“I know you have questions which I intend to answer. I want to know you, and you to know me. I know your talisman is helping but still, let’s play twenty questions; all are yours,” he said, and there was a ghost of a smile on his face when he mentioned the talisman.
Is he for real? Like seriously, since when he was so…generous on sharing information.
“Why a sudden change of heart? Not that I am complaining. I liked old, cold, grumpy Reed.” There it was: the only question that was bugging me the whole day.
Reed chuckled loudly, and my stomach dipped at his voice. He had been laughing a lot lately, and every second was a moment to savor.
“Old, cold, grumpy, huh?” he asked and started laughing again. I was happy I was the reason behind his smile, even if he was laughing at my expense. I pouted and glared at him. He stopped, noticing my glare.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I told you earlier at the coffee shop, I would like to give this ‘mateship’ a shot, and the other night seeing you crying for me, seeing my past in the vision, something inside me stirred for the first time, Esma,” he said, and his honesty stunned me. Now, I lacked words. How could he say something like this and still think it wouldn't affect me?
“You already knew I was broken, yet you were looking for ways to fix it,” he said and touched my hand. The instant his hand touched mine, sparks erupted so loudly they resembled my erratic beating heart. I nodded, and he visibly relaxed. “Ask away,” he said and smiled his slow, sexy panty-dropping smile only reserved for me.
“Nah, I will save my nineteen questions for later,” I said and smiled. He mirrored mine, but there was a glint of amusement in his eyes. The same spark which I saw in the eyes of the boy of my vision.
Our bill arrived not much later. I haltingly took out my credit card from my wallet and put it on the table.
Shaking his head, he pushed the card back and insisted on paying himself. “Please, Reed, I want to pay,” I said, hoping he would understand.
“No, I asked you out on the date. I will pay.” When he saw my expression, he further continued and placed his hand on mine.
“Also, this is the least I could do for what I have done to you. Take it as my apology?” he asked, and my heart skipped a beat at his words. A few more words like this, and I could already die for him.
“Thank you for the lovely dinner,” I said once we were leaving the restaurant. The valet asked him for the number, and he only stared at him challengingly until the poor man got scared and ran to bring his car. I was trying hard not to laugh had at his misery.
“Who said the night is over?” Reed opened the door once again for me. “I want you to see one more place.” He closed the door securely and gestured me to wear the seatbelt.
“Will you tell me if I asked where we are going?” I asked, fluttering my eyes in his direction innocently. He chuckled and shook his head.
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said and pretended he was thinking of something. “I don’t know if someone asked me nicely,” he said and winked at me. He leaned in to whisper in my ear and brushed his lips against my ear as he spoke.
“Or maybe a kiss can do the job.” I gasped before I could stop myself, and my face burned in embarrassment. I hate how easily he could make me blush.
He chuckled in his deep voice, and I turned redder, if possible.
“You have all the colors of the wind,” he said and smiled adorably before putting his foot on the gas pedal, the engine roaring to life.