Page 18 of Donut Disaster
Chapter 6
Mangias wasn’t the Italian restaurant in question after all. It turns out, Alex was meeting up with Jeremy and his girlfriend with two names at a place called Basta, nestled in the thorny, horny arms of Leeds. The establishment before us is a posh black brick building with windows painted black, and a gorgeous mahogany carved door stained ebony in keeping with the dark, seductive theme.
“Hey?” I knock Everett in the ribs with my elbow. “This place looks kind of decent.”
Everett sighs at the face of the building before pointing over to a small chalkboard sign outside.
Soup of the day: Tears of our Enemies.
“Welp. There goes that good time,” I say, picking up his hand. Everett is looking sharp tonight. Pinstriped suit, a silver tie that shines like chrome underneath the moonlight, and his shoes look extra shiny. “Hey, you’re looking exceptionally delicious. Are you trying to get on my nice list?” I give a sly wink as I smile up at him.
“I’m trying to get on yourtake me to bedlist.” His brows bounce just as Noah, Alex, and Lily trot our way.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Noah pulls me into a quick embrace. His cologne is thick, and he’s wearing a corduroy blazer with chinos and a baby blue dress shirt. He looks every bit the sexy detective, and my stomach bisects with heat. How I hate that my body can’t stop responding to him.
“Hey, Noah,” I say, dislodging from his grasp. “Hi, Alex. Thank you for letting us tag along.”
I look back at Lily and my mouth falls open. Lily Swanson is a gorgeous girl any day of the week, but tonight her long dark hair has been blown out to perfection, she has a moderate amount of cosmetics in which she rocks the red lipstick—a color I wish I could pull off daily—and she’s contoured, plucked, and highlighted herself to perfection. She’s donned a short black dress that melts over her skin—more of an idea of a dress than an actual accouterment—and she’s pressed her feet into sky-high heels. I can’t help but notice that her shoes are lined with tiny metal studs. Lily has a rocker chick vibe going on. If Naomi could only see her now, I’m sure she’d pluck off one of those spiked heels and use it to beat Lily with.
Watch out, Alex Fox. Lily Swanson came to play hardball tonight.
“Lily, you look great,” I say as I do a quick sweep of the vicinity for signs of Jeremy and Jessica Nicole. “Are we early?”
“Nope.” Alex opens the door. “They’re already inside waiting for us.”
The first thing we notice once we step through the threshold—more like demonic portal—is the fact it’s pitch-black inside. The logical side of me says they must be experiencing a power outage.
As the owner of a bakery, I can assure anyone there is no greater fear than that of having to throw out all of your refrigerated inventory. But the less pragmatic side of me, the one that is all too familiar with the seedy underpinnings of this not-so-great town, knows better. I bet this is not your run-of-the-mill blackout taking place. I’m betting this is the exact insanity we’ll be forced to deal with for the next hour or two.
A man with a giant glow stick in his hand crops up. “Welcome to Basta! Is this a first-time experience for you folks?” He holds the illuminated bat just under his chin, giving him a ghoulish appeal. I’m guessing that angle was chosen for just that purpose.
The entire lot of us rambles out several versions of yes, and Alex lets him know who we’re here to meet.
The waiter, clad in a tux from what I can tell, gladly holds up the luminescent device in his hands.
“Wonderful.” He projects his deep voice just enough, and something about this place is starting to give off a haunted mansion appeal. Let’s hopeweare not on the menu. “My name is Alfred. Let me explain how we do things around here. Basta is a tactical restaurant that doesn’t just serve food, we serve an experience.” Every restaurant in Leeds serves a dicey experience. Note to self: Never serve an experience to anyone. “The restaurant is mostly devoid of light, with the exception of the rare lightning storms that brighten the room every now and again in an effort to keep our customers oriented. All food is family style and, of course, the menus are illuminated. Follow me right this way.”
Everett takes up my right hand and Noah takes up my left. It’s so darn dark in here I doubt either one knows what the other is doing. I’d let go of one or both but, seeing that we’re all experiencing one big burst of night blindness, I think it’s best we hang onto one another for our own personal safety.
The scent of delicious garlic bread and rich, thick, sweetened tomato sauce beckons at my senses. I can hear the din of conversations and a light peppering of laughter as we navigate our way carefully through the dark maze. It’s a strange dizzying feeling when you take away any visual cues from the equation.
Alfred slowly holds his illuminated device over the rear of the round table, exposing the fact Jeremy and Jessica Nicole are already seated. Jeremy looks frighteningly just like Dr. Dawson in this dim light. It makes my stomach drop as if we were on some crazy supernatural roller coaster, and instead of having dinner with his brother we had crossed over to the other side to have dinner with the deceased himself.
Jessica Nicole gives a brisk wave and a wink. Her hair is wild and curly and looks to be up in one of those banana clips that my mother used to wear so faithfully way back when. Her glossy lips expand in a smile, and she pops a bubble just before Alfred moves his magic wand to the right, exposing yet a third familiar face.
“Cormack?” Her name jumps from my throat with surprise.
“That’s right, Lisa.” Cormack brays like a dolphin—her signature laugh. “You didn’t think I’d let the Big Boss out for a wild night without me, did you?”
Noah groans as we all take our seats, and as luck and Cormack’s barking orders would have it, Noah is staunchly seated to her left and I’m nestled between Noah and Everett. Lily looks as if she’s practically on top of Alex’s lap, and judging by the dimpled grin, he doesn’t mind one saucy Swanson bit.
Alfred doles out the menus and we quickly come up with a pasta and pizza extravaganza that would be satisfactory for any king with a midnight feast fetish. And as soon as Alfred collects the menus and leaves, we’re right back in the dark. You can’t even see those sexy bedroom eyes on your neighbor’s face.
I lean over to Everett. “I’m equally fascinated and ready to fall asleep.”
Everett grunts, “Why don’t you catch a nap? You’ll need the energy for what I have planned for you later.”
Noah leans in. “I was hoping you’d come over to my place after and we could watch a movie, Lot. Sorry, Everett, but it was your bright idea to have her explore her feelings for me.”