Page 30 of Sweet Chaos
Dylan laughed so hard he was wheezing. “You’re killing me.”
“I’m pretty funny,” I agreed, smiling a little that I’d gotten a laugh out of him, my annoyance at that elevator stunt temporarily forgotten. “This doesn’t seem like your kind of place. I’m surprised you like a show with your dinner.”
“I don’t. But you do.”
Just then our server, a small, wiry guy with spiky black hair, stopped by our seats and gave us his whole spiel, explaining the menu and how the food is prepared and the portion sizes. Or he would have done that if Dylan hadn’t lost patience about two seconds into the poor guy’s explanation and cut him off.
“We know how it works.” Dylan nudged my arm. “What do you want?”
I always used to order the steak and shrimp combo, but this place was really expensive and way out of my budget so that wasn’t happening tonight. “I’ll just have dumplings.” I pointed to the appetizer on the menu and handed it back to the server with a smile to compensate for Dylan’s rudeness.
Dylan stared at me for a few long seconds, not even blinking, as if he was trying to read my mind. Satisfied with whatever he’d figured out, he turned to the server. “One steak. One steak and shrimp.” My brows rose in surprise, and he gave me a smug smile, like he knew that he’d guessed right. “I’ll have an Asahi beer.” He jerked his thumb at me. “Bring her a soda.”
A soda? He was treating me like a five-year-old. “Just the dumplings for me, please.”
Dylan sighed in exasperation. “Bring us what I ordered and the dumplings.” The poor guy. I continued to argue. Dylan looked like he wanted to gag me. The waiter’s eyes ping-ponged from me to Dylan who gave him a look that said,Are you seriously questioning me?
Having concluded that Dylan was in charge, our waiter scurried away to get our drinks. When he was out of earshot I turned to Dylan. “What the hell? You’re ordering for me now?”
“You’re worried about money. Don’t.”
“I can’t let you pay—”
“Stop being a pain in the ass. I’m not going to let you order fucking dumplings when you really want steak.”
The waiter returned with our drinks, and I smiled at him, theonlyperson who deserved my smile. After he was gone, I turned to Dylan again who was drinking his beer like the matter was settled because he’d said so. The last thing I needed in my life was a control freak. I’d been raised by one and had my fill of that, thank you very much.
“Why are we here? And don’t tell me it’s because you’re hungry.”
“I am hungry. I’m fucking starving.” His hand found its way to my thigh where he rested it as if it belonged there and then, more boldly, his hand ventured between my thighs. No way. We weren’t going there. I shoved his hand away. Undeterred, he whispered in my ear, “You could be my dessert.”
It was all about sex, wasn’t it? Every single thing he’d done was for one purpose only and the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. “Is that why you brought me to dinner? Is that why you’re doing all of this? The website, the birthday present, talking Remy into letting me have my own space in the shop for my designs… was that all so you could get me into bed?” My voice rose on every syllable, and I didn’t even care that we were in a restaurant or that people could overhear us. Dylan clenched his jaw and stared straight ahead, not even deigning to respond.
“God. How stupid am I?” I smacked myself on the forehead, trying to knock some sense into my thick skull. “It was, wasn’t it? Everything you did was because of sex.”
I grabbed my bag hanging on the back of the seat, and I hurried away, leaving him sitting there. I had enough problems without him further complicating my life. All because he wanted to get in my pants.
As I reached for the door, his hand clasped my wrist and he spun me around. “The fuck are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving. You said you weren’t playing games, but this feels like one big game. Find someone else to use as your plaything.” Fuming, I yanked my hand out of his grasp.
“Calm the fuck down.” He moved me away from the door to let another couple out. It was only then that it dawned on me. Anyone could see us together. This could easily get back to my parents or Sienna if someone recognized me and Dylan. The funny part was that it was the least of my worries right now.
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “What do you want from me, Dylan?”
He narrowed his eyes on me and clenched his jaw, the muscle in his cheek ticking. “I brought you to dinner because I’m hungry and you need to eat. The other shit… I did it because I want to help you out.”
“Why do you want to help me out?” I pressed.
“Because I can.”
I shook my head, not ready to let him off that easily. “That’s not a good enough answer. What’s therealreason?”
“The real reason, Scarlett? You want the truth?”
I nodded, my eyes darting to the door, ready to flee if he didn’t give me something real. Something honest. A reason to stay. We were at an impasse, his posture mirroring mine, arms crossed over his broad chest.
I was about to give up on him, seconds from walking out the door and calling a taxi when he finally spoke. “Everyone needs someone who believes in them. I believe in you and this was my way of showing you. Just like you always did for me, even when I didn’t deserve it. Even when I didn’t acknowledge it, I saw you, Scarlett. I always saw you.”
