Page 4 of Where There's A Will
“Sorry, no.” I attempted a smile. “I think my…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word ‘boyfriend’ any longer. “Date isn’t feeling too well. He headed to the restrooms a while back and I haven’t seen him since.”
There was a flicker in her eyes and I wondered whether she’d seen the evidence for herself. Her boss and myex-boyfriend.
“Okay. I’ll come back in five?” Her tone rose in question. “See how you’re getting on?”
“Sure. Oh, wait.” I waved the shot glass at her. “Can I get another one of these in the meantime?”
She took the glass from me and nodded, no doubt identifying the drink from the gold flecks floating around in the bottom.
I was going to regret this in the morning, although probably not quite as much as Hugo was going to.
While I waited for her to come back, I perused the menu, my mouth watering at all the wonderful things on there. All the things I’d never got a chance to have before. Until now.
A grin crept over my face as I realised what I was about to do.
It took a few minutes for the waitress to come back. She was eager to take the order now. She’d want to turn over this table several times in order to make any money, and I was damn sure she was going to.
So, I did it.
I ordered.
I ordered every damn thing I’d ever thought I might like.
I ordered all the things I’d ever worried about being too expensive, including a bottle of Pinot Noir.
Diligently, the waitress jotted everything on her little pad, barely batting an eyelid.
And then I ordered dessert.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, but she didn’t say a word.
“Could you pack it all to go?” I asked, as I drained the third shot, a triumphant smile on my face.
“Er, okay, but…” She frowned and glanced nervously over her shoulder. “Didn’t you want to wait for your date? Make sure he’s happy with your choices?”
“Oh, he’ll be happy with his choices,” I assured her. “There’s no need to wait for him to come back. He’s got a tab going from the bar? You can charge it to that.” Feeling as if I were being a little mean, I dipped into my purse and found a twenty. It wasn’t her fault Hugo was a douche. “Thank you,” I said as I pressed it into her hand.
Her confused face melted into a smile as she tucked the note into the pocket of her uniform. “That’s kind of you. I’ll get this takeout sorted as soon as I can.”
She walked away purposefully in the direction of the kitchen. I hoped she would make good on her promise quickly. I was starving.
While I waited for the food to arrive, I called an Uber, asking for a pick-up. I couldn’t wait to get out of the place, and back to my apartment. There was a bottle of wine waiting in the refrigerator with my name on it.
It was around fifteen minutes later the waitress came back with my order. As she placed it on the table, Hugo finally returned and dropped into the chair opposite mine. He looked a little dishevelled, the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, and he ran a hand through his hair. Normally the action would endear him to me, but after what I’d seen him doing not half an hour earlier, I found it annoying.
“Sorry, babe, I had to take a call.”
My eyes fell to the table where his phone had been the whole time he’d been in the bathroom. “Really? They called the restaurant?”
His eyes followed mine and his hand froze in mid-air. “Um, I…” It was then he clocked the takeout bags on the table. “What’s this?” he asked, clearly confused. He looked between me and the waitress, who simply shrugged her shoulders at him before glancing in my direction.
I forced a smile, bolstered by the three shots on an empty stomach. “Dinner. Dessert. And leftovers. This makes for the perfect breakup binge.” I pushed my chair back as I stood up, hearing it bang on the floor behind me as it fell.
Hugo blinked a few times, his face reddening as he registered what I’d said.
I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I saw, Hugo. I saw everything.”
His face flushed as he realised he’d been caught out. “Montana, I…”
