Page 24 of Surviving Slater

The usual crowd was watching TV. There was some big football game on. Sin was supporting the one team and Matthew was supporting the opposite side. Needless to say, there had been a lot of yelling.

Sin's team won and Matthew was now sulking. Taylor had watched with them but she had no interest in it.

I put my earrings on, when I heard the knock at the door. Looking down at my watch, I knew it was Steven. He was always so punctual. It was one of the things I liked about him.

"Beautiful," he murmured when I rushed to open the door for him. The others had been too wrapped up in arguing a penalty that had given Sin's team the win.

I smiled as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against my cheek.

"It takes hours to look like this," I teased. He shook his head.

"You look beautiful all the time."

He was a charmer, and I liked it. I wanted someone to make me feel better and to give my ego a boost.

The noise coming from the living room went still as I went to get my handbag.

Sin watched Steven with restraint as he greeted everyone. He got no response from Sin. I understood why Sin felt the way he did about Steven but I wasn't going to allow anything to ruin my evening. I was sealing the deal tonight. There would be no more stupid feelings for Slater. After tonight I wouldn't care.

It didn't help that when I thought about sex, the person I was locked in an embrace with wasn't Steven. It was Slater. With his lips trailing kisses lightly across my skin.

Stop it, I told myself to shake the images of me getting hot and heavy with the guy who wasn't my date.

"You ready?" Steven asked me.

"Yes," I said before looking back at Taylor. "I'll be back later."

"Enjoy," she said with a wink before I left with Steven.

I had already had the lecture from Matthew, who'd been playing the role of the older brother. Sin hadn't said much but I already knew his stance.

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking at the streetlights as he drove.

"There's a cozy pizza place I know of. It makes the best pizzas around."

That's exactly what I wanted. He reached over and took my hand in his. The action was unexpected and I looked down at his hand that held mine.

Affection wasn't sex. This wasn't part of the deal. I couldn't exactly pull my hand from his so in my mind I tried to rationalize why he was being affectionate. Maybe this was part of his ploy to get me into bed. He didn't know it was pretty much guaranteed.

The warmth of his hand on mine irritated me, so by the time we got to the restaurant I was relieved to be able to untangle my hand from his.

The pizza place was small and quaint. Inside, there was dim lighting that set the mood for a romantic date—a date I was still determined would end in Steven staying overnight.

We were shown to a table with two chairs in one corner. The waitress took our drinks order before leaving us to mull over the menu.

"So what do you think?" he asked, reaching for my hands across the table.

Really, did he have to be so clingy? I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something to him about it.

"It's really nice," I said, allowing myself to scan it. It had way too many decorations on the walls for my liking but the smell wafting through the kitchen doors held promise.

The waitress returned with our drinks and we ordered some starters.

I was getting more irritated by the minute. Without him realizing it, I managed to slide my hand back and I hid it under the table. My eyes watched some of the couples nearby holding hands and leaning in to kiss briefly.

"What's on your mind?" Steven asked. I smiled at him, trying to hide my thoughts.

"Not much, it's been a busy week."