“So I don’t think it would be wise to mix my work life with my personal life.”
“So you consider me a part of your personal life,” he breathes, leaning in closer to me over the table. Here we go again.
A second later we’re interrupted by a blond waitress who asks, “You two ready to order?” and I have a feeling that the sultry note in her voice is for Ethan’s benefit. Is it wrong to be irritated by that?
Ethan nods toward me. “Tegan?” and I have to admit that I like his manners.
“I’ll have the cheeseburger with fries and a coke, and could I get extra pickles on the burger?”
“Sure,” replies the waitress, and I think I see her scowl at me for a second before she turns to Ethan to take his order.
“I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger, large fries, a side salad and a large coke.” Then he shuts his menu and hands it back to her, before saying, “Thanks.”
She smiles lazily and replies, “No problem, honey.” Then she saunters off with an over-emphasised swing of her ample hips.
I find myself staring at the golden flecks that shine through Ethan’s hair, when he catches me watching him he smiles and says, “I’m getting under your skin aren’t I?”
“Not particularly,” I lie with a casual shrug.
“Admit it, Tegan,” he says, in a voice so low it’s almost a whisper.
“There’s nothing to admit.”
“You can try to avoid it all you want, but we will be together, it’s inevitable.”
“So what are you now, a psychic?” What an idiotic thing to say. If I had any cool at all I would have come up with something suave to say like, nothing’s inevitable but death, honey.
“Nope,” he answers. “But there’s a tension between us, the kind of tension that always resolves itself in the most natural of ways.”
“Not interested,” I lie and avoid making eye contact with him for fear he’ll be able to read me.
“Why not? I can make you feel amazing, I can make you feel as beautiful as you are.”
My heart rate must surely be going a hundred miles an hour, but I struggle on. “Listen Ethan, it’s not that I’m not tempted, because we all know how attractive you are, and at any other time I’d probably be hopping straight into bed with you. But right now I’m not in a good place to be starting any kind of new relationship, short or long term. So will you please just stop…”
The honest truth comes spilling out before I can censor it. Without even realising, tears are streaming down my face and I frantically try to wipe them away with my hands.
A moment later Ethan has left his seat and come to sit in beside me, he puts an arm around me, pulls me into him and whispers in my ear, “dragostea mea”.
He takes the napkin from my place setting and uses it to wipe away my tears. I notice that he doesn’t throw the napkin away, but instead he folds it neatly in half and puts it in his pocket. My cheek rests against his shoulder.
He just sits there, holding me for a few minutes in silence, as the low chatter from the front of the restaurant flows over us.
Then he asks, “Are you feeling better now? I am sorry for pushing you.”
“That’s all right, you couldn’t have known that I’m a fragile fucking emotional wreck at the moment.”
“I don’t like upsetting you.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper.
He gives me one last look of reassurance and then returns to his seat, just as the waitress brings our food.
“So, do you mind me asking who the bastard was that broke your heart?”
I look at him a moment, chewing a neatly cut piece of burger, then answer, “Matthew.”
“You want me to hunt him down, teach him a lesson?”