Page 29 of The Blackmail of Denise Randall

He blinks a couple of times and then lays his fork down. “I’m so sorry. How have you been getting out all this time?”

“I know how to use a door! Any halfway decent guy would’ve opened it for me. Aren’t we supposed to be on a date?”

He releases a light chuckle. “Supposed to be? Honey, you haven’t acted like we’re on a date, so why should I?”

“Oh,” I let out a humorless laugh, “so that’s it. Alright, alright. Fair is fair.”

“Besides, aren’t you still considering this as punishment? So if you want to complete your sentence, you need to do the time. My ex will pop up in a little bit and I expect you to make her jealous.”

“Do you still want to be with her?”

“No.”

“Then why do you care?”

“Revenge.”

“Shouldn’t you be above that?”

“I should.” He goes back to eating his salad and then pauses again. “Aren’t you going to order?”

I grit my teeth and smile. Our waitress returns and I order a grilled Mediterranean chicken with steamed vegetables and a glass of water.

We sit there in silence. Once my chicken arrives along with his steak and baked potato, we continue to eat in silence.

Our server comes back and asks if we’d like any dessert. He orders a brownie delight with ice cream. When she looks to me, I shake my head.

“You don’t eat dessert or you don’t have room?”

“It’s too late for any dessert.”

“You’re kidding? You’re worried about your weight? Your waist is the size of my leg.”

I roll my eyes. We continue to not speak. Five minutes later, our perky waitress brings his dessert. He nods and smiles a polite thank you. As she walks away, he looks up and I notice his eyes grow wide and his nostrils flare. Through gritted teeth, he tells me to sit on his side. When I don’t move immediately, he growls. “Now Denise.”

I stare at him blank-faced. “Don’t think you’re going to boss me around. Ask nicely and I might.”

His chest puffs out as he takes a deep controlling breath. I patiently wait for him to gather himself. Dropping his fork, he curls his hands into fists and sits them on the table. “Denise,” he strains, “would you please come sit over here next to me?”

I look around to find a group of women standing in the entry way of the restaurant. Looking back at him, I smile and say sweetly, “Sure, Keaton. I’d be happy to.” I rise and slide into his side of the booth. “No need to beg me.”

His body stiffens and then he bites his bottom lip as he chuckles to himself. He throws an arm around me and tries to feed me a spoonful of ice cream and brownie. I clamp my lips together. He raises his eyebrows and tilts his head.

“Now it’s time to start being a couple,” he says through a wide fake smile.

I part my lips and wait for the cold metal of the spoon to land against my tongue. When I close my lips, sweet, warm, rich dark chocolate mixed with cold sweet vanilla ice cream tantalizes my taste buds. Despite myself, I close my eyes and moan. When I open them, I find his burning as they intently watch me. He slides closer and opens his mouth to speak, but we’re interrupted by a throat being cleared.

We both turn our heads to find a voluptuous, stunning red head. Before he even speaks, I know it’s her. This must be his ex. She does look vaguely familiar. Her skimpy, skin tight black dress shows off how fit she is. She has shiny copper hair with heavy smoky eye shadow and red lipstick that accents her thin lips, making them seductive, even with the scowl on her porcelain face.

“Hello Charlee.”

She smacks her lips and crosses her arms. “Keaton. I came over to see if you’ll be home later tonight. I think I’ve left something. In your bedroom.”

Keaton places his hand on my knee and begins to slowly slide it up my thigh. I push it away as I force a smile on my face. I tilt my head and in a sugary sweet voice respond, “I think he’s staying at my place tonight.”

“You think he is? As in, you’re not sure?” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and smiles at me. In a patronizing voice, she says, “It is a school night.”

I smirk at her and narrow my eyes. “Mmmm. He is.”

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