Page 17 of Need (Men of Inked Sinners #3)
“Looks good, doesn’t it?” Lulu asks as the woman sets menus down on either side of the table at the booth.
“I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I smelled everything.”
Lulu slides into the booth, and I give her a chin lift, wanting her to move over. “I want to sit next to you.”
Her eyebrows rise in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. Didn’t any asshole before me sit next to you?”
The hostess giggles. “Men,” she whispers, shaking her head as she starts to walk away from us.
“Well, no, but my dad does that with my mom.”
“Well, I do that too. I don’t want to be across the table. I want to be next to the woman I’m spending the day with.”
She scoots over a few more inches, making room for me. “I like that,” she says with a small smile. “But only if I get to eat off your plate.”
“You can eat anything you want.”
She leans over, bringing her mouth close to my ear. “Even you?”
My dick stiffens in my pants, and I growl, wishing we were anywhere except here. “Behave, Lou, or lunch is going to be much quicker than you’d like.”
She pulls back and smiles at me, her cheeks pink. “I know what I want for dessert.”
“What?” I ask.
“You,” she says as she picks up the menu, not looking at me when she says the words.
“Eat fast,” I tell her.
“No. I’m going to take my time. Good things come to those who wait.”
“An idiot came up with that.” I groan, shifting in my seat, hoping my cock decides to behave for the next few hours.
I scan the menu at her side, wanting to order a little of everything. Not only did I sleep like shit last night, but I barely had time to eat anything decent.
“I want to get a few apps with my noodles.”
“Good plan. I want some of this too,” I tell her, pointing at words I have no idea how to pronounce.
She reads where I point. “That sounds delicious. ”
“Everything on here does.”
I’m not an uncultured guy, but some of the words are beyond my scope. I know my limits, and anything besides English has always been a struggle. I don’t know why I don’t bother sounding out the words, but I always figure it’s better not to try than to fuck shit up.
“Do you like boba?”
“Boba like Star Wars ?”
She turns her gaze toward me, and her eyebrows furrow as her nose wrinkles. “What?”
“Boba Fett. You know, from Star Wars .”
“I’ve never watched it.”
It’s my turn for my eyebrows to rise. “How is that possible?”
“Girl house.”
“Sad,” I whisper, unable to imagine never having watched Star Wars in my entire life.
“We watched love stories and princesses.”
“There’s a princess in Star Wars.”
“Does she wear a gown and a crown?”
I search my memory, flipping through the vast number of scenes. “Nope.”
“Then it’s a no for me.”
“You wanna watch it?”
She stares at me and sighs. “Do I have to?”
“No.”
“Then, no.”
I chuckle .
The woman has no problem telling me what she likes and doesn’t. I love the fact that she won’t do something because I want her to. She sticks to her guns, and that’s more than I can say about most people.
“You want to watch one of my favorite movies with me?”
“Is there a princess in it?”
“Yes.”
“Does she have a sword or use a weapon?”
“No, but she has a crown and a beautiful gown.”
“Is there a prince?”
“Yes, and a happily ever after.”
“Does he use a sword?”
“No.”
I wince. “I’d watch paint dry with you if it made you happy.”
“I promise you’ll like it.”
The only thing I’ll like is spending time with Lulu. I know the movie will be shit, but I’ll trudge through it if it makes her happy and gets me closer to her.
“You want to watch it tonight?” I ask her.
“I can’t. I’m doing something with Zoey later, but I’m free tomorrow.”
“What are you two up to?”
“Nothing, really. Girl stuff.”
That’s all she needs to say for me to know I’m not invited, and I don’t want to be. I have no idea what two sisters do together, but I imagine nail polish and gossip will be involved. “Another night, then.”
“Another night,” she says, bumping me with her shoulder as the waitress moves to our table.
“Welcome. Can I get you two something to drink?”
“I’ll take a water,” I say.
“Matcha.”
“Got it. Be right back.”
“What the hell is matcha?”
“It’s a green tea that’s finely ground.”
“So why not just ask for green tea?”
“It’s different from green tea.”
“You just said it’s green tea. How’s green tea different from green tea?”
Lulu chuckles softly and places her hand on my arm. “You’re too much sometimes.”
“I know, but, Lulu…”
She turns that pretty gaze to me. “Yeah?”
“Why is shit so confusing and complicated?”
Her smile is soft and sweet. “Sometimes things are until they’re right in front of you. You’ll understand when you see it and taste it.”
This conversation reminds me of relationships and women.
They’re complicated and confusing. Feelings get jumbled in a hurry.
From the outside, what Lulu and I have going doesn’t make sense.
We’re total opposites, but being on the inside, I understand how we work.
We get each other, and what we don’t get, we appreciate without trying to change the other person.
And when the matcha arrives, it doesn’t make me understand any better.
It is green and tea but tastes like shit and doesn’t remind me a damn bit of the regular green tea you get in those little paper bags to dip in hot water. It tastes like dirt, and I don’t know how she can enjoy drinking it.
Her taste in everything isn’t all that bad since she likes me, but I know, from this moment on, she can never pick my drinks for me for the rest of my life.