Page 111 of Deceit

“What’s wrong with Pokemon cards?” He narrows his eyes playfully at me, but in them, he’s interested to really know.

I grin and wag my fork at him. “So youarean attractive, down-low weirdo. I knew something had to be off with you.”

“My pickup lines didn’t hint on that?”

“I must’ve been blinded by your looks.”

“Don’t compliment me twice in one night. I might show up with a boombox outside your window next.”

I rest my chin in the palm of my hand. “I liked the one where you asked me if I ate raisins and how would I feel about a date, that was classic.”

He hides his smile behind his wine glass. “What can I say? You bring the cheesy out of me.”

I scoop up a mountain of mashed potatoes, suddenly hungry from them staring me in the face for over five minutes. “Do you have a book or something with dumb pickup lines?”

“Would you buy me one? I don’t want to run out.”

“It’s called Google,” I retort, attempting to lay off on the wry grinds.

When I think of him, all I recall most is how much he makes my cheeks hurt by the end of the night. How indeed, his goofy charm is legendary in its own right.

But the man can get away with anything. He’s a walking billboard of every woman’s fantasy of a hot guy who isn’t a complete dickhead.

“Reading a book is better,” he says as he chews. “Holding it and flipping through the pages.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Very good.” He goes back to his plate, cutting another slice off his filet mignon and taking his time with eating it. We’re at his favorite steakhouse, and everyone knows him here. He gets the same spot and dinner, except sometimes he says he likes to go out of the box and try something new.

However, he doesn’t want to feel like he’s missing out on his steak and bleu cheese sauce. He insists that it’s like cheating.

A waitress walks by with a steaming plate and Alexander flicks his attention to it. I notice his frown then remember him debating between marinated sea bass and the steak currently residing in front of him.

The poor man had a hell of a civil war playing out in his head over what course he wanted to eat.

“Alexander,” I coo, immediately gaining his regard. “You wanna get wild tonight?”

His chewing slows as he flicks his focus back to me. “Sweetheart, I’d do anything with you.”

I bite down on the inside of my lips and wave over our waitress. Luckily, she shows up in my line of sight, and when she arrives at our table, I give her a sweet smile because she might hate me after this.

It’s late, and she probably wishes to be done with her shift already.

“Can I help you, Miss?”

“Please, my boyfriend wants to try the miso-marinated sea bass, and can you bring me the lobster mac ’n cheese? I promise I’ll tip you well for a second dinner and being bothered with us.”

The young woman gives me a genuine grin back. “It’s not a problem. I’ll go put those in for you right away. Can I offer you refills?”

“Please, thank you so much.” She takes off, and I find Alexander staring at me like I just insulted or won him over with the food order.

Pulling his black napkin from his lap, he tosses it on the table and scoots out of his side of the booth. Rounding the table, he plops his ass next to me, and he reaches to cup my face.

He doesn’t say a word but pulls us together into a soft kiss that turns PG-13 when his tongue licks the seam of my mouth.

I allow him in, breathing in his expensive cologne of citrus and mint, something that isn’t too strong but fits him perfectly. The pad of his thumb grazes my cheek, and I forget about where we are for a brief moment.

“You called me your boyfriend,” he murmurs against the corner of my lips. “Is that what I am? Did I get upgraded?”

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