Page 99 of Rage

"The beef bourguignon for me please. And I'd also like a glass of water."

He holds out a hand, and I pass him my menu. He hands them to our server once he's finished tapping Erich's choice into his tablet. With a brief nod, he spins on his heels and walks away.

Once we're alone at our table, Erich stretches his arm across the surface and takes my hand in his again. "Tell me about yourself, Calista. What brings you here? What do you do? All of the good first date stuff," he asks, the corner of his mouth tipping up in a smirk.

"Well, I'm twenty-two, but I'll be twenty-three in a few weeks. I graduate from Paramount University tomorrow. I’m majoring in business law, and have a love-hate relationship with my dual majors. I was raised by my mom, at least, until she passed from lung cancer in 2014, which is when my father took over and enrolled me in prep school." I roll my eyes, and Erich chuckles. "To this day, we still don't see eye to eye. He made it very clear that a child, even a teenager, was an inconvenience. And he did as little as possible, aside from throwing money at me from the day I moved into his house until the time I moved onto Paramount's campus."

"What does your father do?" Erich picks up a slice of bread and spreads some herbed butter on top of it, one handed, before taking a bite. I reach for the basket and grab a slice for myself, doing the same.

"He's a patent attorney. His grandfather started a law firm and it's stayed in the family ever since. Father wanted me to go into law, but I had no desire to go to school for that long. So we agreed on business law. I'm expected to join his firm this fall, but ugh."

"So, some minor daddy issues then," he says with a laugh. I roll my eyes again. "Something like that, I guess. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with me. What about you? Tell me all the fun first date stuff about yourself, Erich."

I catch the tail end of what I think is a rumbly growl when I say his name, he clearly likes it. I smile to myself and file that information away for later use.

"I just turned forty-seven. I have a son, but we haven't spoken in almost ten years. He's a piece of work who took after his mom. When we divorced, he believed the lies she spoon-fed him about me, and decided that he didn't need a dad anymore." It's his turn to roll his eyes.

"So, I have daddy issues, and you have parental alienation syndrome. We sound like a match made in hell." Erich lets out a belly laugh, and it makes my belly feel all warm and fuzzy. Just then, the server returns with the bottle of wine, and two glasses. He places both glasses down on the table and opens the bottle, holding it out for Erich to inspect. My date looks over the label, and seemingly pleased, nods once to the server. He fills each glass halfway, before placing the open bottle on the table between us and walking away.

Erich is still holding my hand on the table, and his thumb strokes my knuckles as he picks up his wine glass with his other hand. I reach for my own, and we clink our glasses together. "To first dates and our complementing issues." He winks at me before taking a sip of his wine, and I feel my cheeks redden a bit as I take a sip from my own glass. The zesty, fruity flavors of the pinot grigio hit my tongue, and it's lovely. It's just acidic enough to have a bit of a bite, but not overly acidic like a lot of white wines.

"So, Erich. What do you do?" I question as I return my glass to the table.

He hesitates for a second before answering, "I own a realty and home rehab company. I started it in the early two-thousands with a friend. We started out buying abandoned homes all over the state. Within ten years, business picked up thanks to the rise in those house flipping shows and we expanded several times. Now I own seven offices in different counties all over Indiana. We're about to open three more within the next year. That's what tonight's dinner was supposed to be about." The way his tone shifts tells me that he has no desire to sit through a meeting of any type.

"That sounds incredible. Why were you so eager to skip the meeting?" I pick up another slice of bread, and before I can putbutter on it, Erich does it for me. I give him a smile as a thank you before taking a bite of the delicious, crusty bread.

"I never wanted to get this big. I started the company because I love the physicality of flipping houses. I also love being able to take a run down house and turn it into a home for someone who needs it. I don't get to do any of that anymore. Now it's all meetings, and conversations about the bottom line." He shakes his head in disgust, and scoffs. "Every now and then I ditch the suit and show up at one of our rehabs to pitch in. My crews love those days. But they happen far too infrequently for my liking."

"So older, good looking, and enjoys getting his hands dirty. Good to know." It's my turn to wink, and I do so in the most exaggerated manner possible. I pop my mouth and left eye wide open at the same time that I blink with my right eye, and I'm rewarded with Erich's deep laughter. Rather than warming my insides, this time, it causes my panties to dampen.

Before he has a chance to respond, our server returns to the side of our table. In his hands is a large round tray, full of our food as well as a pitcher of water, two empty glasses, and my small bowl of lemons. Erich finally releases my hand, and I drop it into my lap. The server shifts the tray to his left hand, and uses his right to place every item onto our table, one at a time.

"If there's nothing else I can get for the two of you," the server looks between us, "enjoy your meal." He spins on his heel and walks away again.

Chapter Five

Calista

Iunroll my silverware, and place my cloth napkin into my lap before picking up my soup spoon. I dip it into my bowl and bring a spoonful of the broth up to my lips, blowing gently. The flavors of salty seafood hit my tongue, and a soft moan escapes my throat.

Immediately, a spoon clatters across the table. My eyes, which had fluttered closed as the broth slid down my throat, open. I glance at Erich, who's stock-still. He barely appears to be breathing, and his pupils have expanded enough that the gray-blue irises can barely be seen, despite the brightly lit restaurant.

"Are you alright, Erich?" I lower my spoon to my bowl, my brows furrowing in concern.

He clears his throat as he pours himself a glass of water. He lifts the cup, and takes several long drinks of water before responding to me. "My apologies, beautiful. You caught me off guard. It's been… Well it's been a long time since I last heard a woman make that sound in person. You caught me off guard." It's his turn to blush, and it's both endearing and sexy. I find myself wanting to make him blush more.

"How long is a long time?" I ask, genuinely curious. While I've played with guys before killing them, I haven't actually hadsex yet. But the man seated across from me is gorgeous, and I can't imagine him going more than a few days without sex.

"Honestly? Since about a year after my divorce. I tried dating someone, but it didn't work out. She hated that I preferred to get my hands dirty over sitting in meetings all day. And I'm not really the type of guy to sleep around just for the sake of getting my dick wet. Sex means something to me. You know?" He blushes again, but maintains eye contact with me.

"A man with morals. I like that. While we're being honest," I take a deep breath, hold it in for a few seconds, then release it before speaking again. "I'm still a virgin myself." I shrug a single shoulder just as Erich's mouth drops open.

"How is a smart, clever, beautiful woman like you even single?" He takes a drink of his wine, and I scoff.

"I'm about to get real deep. Like, probably too deep for a first date. But fuck it. When I was a teenager, puberty was not kind to me. I was short, overweight, required to keep my hair chin length, and wore thick glasses. And don't get me started on the acne. I was just lucky that I never needed braces too. Pair my good grades with all of that, and I was the social outcast in my prep school."

His eyebrows pull together as he tries to picture me as a teenager. "That's not how you look now. What changed?"

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