Page 58 of The Unseen

The restaurant is the perfect setting for a first date. We’re on the patio, a miracle in itself given that we’re in Washington State, but they have heaters on now that there’s a chill in the air.

The string lights twinkle above us, creating a night sky usually unseen in the cloudy Seattle night. She has my jacket around her shoulders and is eating a chicken burger with wholegrain mustard mayo, lettuce that came from my indoor farm, and a wholemeal bun where the wheat was grown in the field down the road from Olivia’s house.

This is why I chose Harvest for tonight. I knew Olivia would love that they knew exactly where all their ingredients came from, and it meant I got to try out some of my products in actual meals. It also helped that when I was sneakingaround her house the other night, the menu was open on her laptop. But hey, why spoil the magic by telling her where I get my intel?

However, my chicken with brown rice and sesame broccolini is coming up short on a few key ingredients.

I push my fork around the plate as Olivia peers over the top of her burger.

The lines around her eyes deepen, and she turns away to focus on something else, pressing her lips together.

“Are you laughing at me, Miss Daniels?”

“Absolutely not,” she snorts. “I just never thought I’d see the day when you’d be eating a grilled eggplant salad.”

“Is that what this is? It’s very...squidgy.” A bit of eggplant flops back onto the plate with a squelch, and my stomach heaves a little.

Pull it together, man.

I shovel some in my mouth.What the living fuck?My tongue pulls to the back of my mouth, trying to escape the slimy invasion that's now resting on my tastebuds.

Olivia is watching me intently as she takes another humungous bite of her burger, looking very fucking pleased with herself.

“Definitely not chicken.” I retch. “Where’s my meat?”

She laughs, and bits of burger spray out of her mouth. Good. We can both be disgusting.

“Oh my god.” Tears pool in the corners of her eyes. “If you don’t know where your meat is by now, I’d suggest you go see a doctor.”

I grab the underside of her chair and drag it closer to me. The wooden legs screech across the stone floor, and neighboring tables turn to us.

I lean my arm on the back of her chair, and as my lips brush the shell of her ear, I place my right hand on her knee, lifting the fabric of her dress a few inches so I can squeeze her smooth skin.

“I can assure you, no doctor visits are necessary, Olivia.”

“Austin!” she hisses, pulling the fabric down and over my hand so no one can see.

I lean down to take a bite of her burger before she has a chance to stop me. “Yeah, that’s fucking chicken,” I say, licking my lips.

The old lady at the table nearby tuts before focusing back on her dinner. Her sour expression suggests she, too, was mistakenly given the eggplant salad.

“You’ve got no manners,” she whispers as I lean back in my chair.

“I don’t think you want a man with manners, Olivia.”

“Oh, is this where you tell me what I do want instead, and it just happens to be all of your qualities?”

“You want a man who takes what he wants. Because that’s what you do. You’re a woman of action, and you want to see that reflected in your partner...whoever you choose,” I add with a wink.

“I’m still not convinced by this.” She circles her finger in the air from my head to my chest and back again.

Oh, a challenge. What a chore that must be for some people.“I told you I’m patient, Killer. Are you nearly done? We have a quick stop on the way home.”

Yeah, I said home.That little basement is my new registered address.

“How was your chicken, sir?” the waiter emerges from the shadows like a fucking jack-in-the-box. Olivia loses it, and starts laughing embarrassingly loud.

“Apologies, George. Miss Daniels here had an edible before we arrived, so she’s a little out of sorts right now.”

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