Page 27 of Desirous

She watches intently as I raise the glass to my lips and then set it back down on the table. Obviously disappointed, she grabs her water glass and raises it into the air to make a toast.

“We should have done this before we ate, but I forgot. Let’s toast to a lovely night.”

“Sounds good,” I say as I raise mine to clink off hers. “To a lovely night with a lovely lady.”

Emma eats up the compliment and takes a sip of her water as I slowly move my glass to my mouth again. I have no intention of drinking anything tonight after what Kane told me. Looking around for our server bringing our desserts, I don’t see her but I see my uncle standing across the dining room shaking his head.

I didn’t forget, for Christ’s sake. I just need to find a way to get this water tested to see what she or Randy put in it. Then a thought occurs to me. I’ll just take it to the kitchen and put it in a container I know is sterile. We have hundreds of little plastic ramekins for sauces to take out. I can just use one of them.

“Excuse me again. I’m so sorry. I swear my uncle looks like he’s having some kind of meltdown over there. I’ll be right back. While I’m near the kitchen, I’ll check on our desserts.”

I hurry away with my water glass before Emma can say a word. As I pass Kane on my way into the kitchen, he chuckles. “Planning on giving that to someone you don’t like?”

“No. I’m planning to get it tested to find out what the hell she put in my drink. I’m assuming she roofied it, but I want to get proof because I don’t think this is the first time she’s poisoned something. Last time it was food, though.”

I quickly find a ramekin and pour the water into it before walking back out to where Kane stands watching Emma and the table like a hawk. Handing him the container, I say, “I want you to put this in the office. I’ll get it tomorrow.”

He gives me a grin and walks away with what I’m hoping will be my proof that Emma’s the one who should be thrown off the reality show, not Kat. When I get back to the table with my new glass with fresh water, Cherise has just arrived with our desserts, thankfully. At least I can enjoy my chocolate cake without wondering if it’s been spiked.

“Sorry about that.” I tap the rim of my glass off hers and flash Emma a big smile. “To a lovely lady.”

She watches with wide eyes as I lift the glass to my lips and take a big drink of water. I’m barely able to contain my smile at her excitement that she thinks she just drugged me.

“I’m not really feeling like dessert right now. At least not this one,” she says with a giggle. “What do you say we have the server box these up and we can leave?”

I know what she’s doing. Roofies take effect pretty quickly, so she has less than a half hour to get me out of this restaurant before I start acting strange. Since two of my family members are nearby, she has to make sure we’re away from here if she’s going to get to take advantage of my impaired state.

She’s going to be disappointed when I don’t get confused and unable to function. That she thinks this is the way to get with a man amazes me. We’re usually pretty easy. You don’t have to drug us. You just have to offer us something we want.

Too bad for Emma that the only woman I want is Kat.

I wink and wave the server over to take care of our desserts as Emma stands to leave. “Someone’s in a big hurry,” I say jokingly.

Emma gives me a flirty smile before grabbing her purse. “I’ll be right back. I just want to visit the ladies’ room before we leave.”

Flashing her a big smile, I nod and then look over at Randy filming all of this. The son of a bitch probably knows exactly what Emma’s got planned and intends on getting every sick minute of it.

Into the camera, I say, “Who needs desserts when we have the rest of the night?”

Randy chuckles, the asshole. Sick fuck. Who thinks recording someone taking advantage of a person who’s been drugged is cool? The two of them are fucked up.

When Emma returns, I notice she’s fixed her makeup and lipstick. Nice that she bothered to get pretty to date rape me. Too bad she’s going to be disappointed.

“Ready?” she says eagerly.

Again, into the camera, I say, “I was born ready.”

I stand up to leave and think to myself I’ve finally found a way to be comfortable with being filmed constantly. It helps that I’m wise to what the two of them have planned.

We all pile into the limo, with Randy sitting in the back with us this time since he says he needs to make sure he gets every great moment, and as we wind through the streets of Tampa, I feel like an animal at the zoo with the way they’re watching me. By the time we reach Emma’s house, I’m still fully in control of my faculties, something that shocks both of them.

I quickly exit the limo and walk around to open her door, deciding that being a gentleman to my intended rapist is the best way to play this. She stares up at me in utter confusion as I escort her out of the car and up the sidewalk to her house.

“That was a nice time,” I say with a smile she should be sensing is far too smug right now. “I’m sorry about the craziness with my family, but they come with me as a package. See you at the studio tomorrow.”

Emma says nothing, no doubt stunned I’m still upright, as she stands holding her dessert box. When I lean down to give her a kiss, I see Randy a few feet away filming. He likely can’t understand why I’m not laid out in the back of the limo either.

“Good night, Emma.”

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