Page 45 of The Suite Life
‘This one next, I reckon,’ I say to Donnie as I pile my spoon high.
‘Let me at it,’ he replies, swooping in with his cutlery. ‘Did they let you do this with the starters and the mains too?’
‘I wish,’ I reply. ‘Maybe tomorrow.’
Donnie laughs.
‘Well, you always know where I am, if you need any help eating,’ he says.
‘It’s the one thing I’ve never had any issues with,’ I point out. ‘But it’s fun to have a partner in crime.’
Trevor soon returns with two cups of tea.
Yep, something strange is definitely going on. But, whatever it is, I’m into it.
23
‘Does everyone always stare at you, wherever you go, or is it a Hawaii thing?’ Donnie jokes.
‘It’s very much a Hawaii thing,’ I reply with a laugh. ‘But I’m glad you see it too – I was starting to think I was imagining it.’
‘Oh, no, it’s definitely happening,’ Donnie says, whipping his head around just in time to catch a group of men staring over at me. They avert their gazes, in different directions, trying to pretend that they weren’t just looking over here.
We’re back in the golden VIP bar, and I’m definitely attracting an audience, I just have no idea why.
‘Honestly, you’d think they’d never seen a thirty-something spinster chain-drinking cocktails before,’ I joke, raising my eyebrows playfully. ‘Do I have something on my face?’
‘Not that I see,’ Donnie replies.
‘And we don’t have an Emperor’s New Clothes-type situation, where I’m actually naked, but think I’m fully clothed?’ I check.
‘Only if I can see the clothes too,’ he says with a laugh, his eyes meeting mine.
‘Then, honestly, I’m stumped,’ I confess, leaning back in my chair. ‘And frustrated that, whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be translating into wedding dates.’
‘I don’t know, I think you might be in luck,’ Donnie tells me, his gaze scanning the room. ‘I definitely keep seeing people giving you the eye.’
‘No one ever gives me the eye,’ I state firmly. ‘Unless “the eye” is what we’re calling strange, judgemental looks now.’
‘Compliments from the bar,’ a waiter says as he places two more cocktails down in front of us. As he sets my drink in front of me, he winks with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, leaving me as puzzled as I am amused.
‘Okay, so this is either like something out of a romantic comedy, or a horror movie, and I can’t quite be certain,’ I tell Donnie through a forced smile, keeping my lips still, like a ventriloquist, because you never know who is watching.
‘Which would you prefer?’ Donnie asks with a chuckle.
‘To watch or be in?’ I laugh. ‘Actually, it’s probably horror either way. I love horror movies, I watch them all the time, so I reckon I would be better equipped for dealing with one. If this were a romcom, and all these guys were lusting after me, then if I knew what I was doing, I’d be rolling around in the sand with one, not sitting here glaring back at them.’
Donnie snorts with laughter.
‘Fair enough,’ he says. ‘That’s another thing we have in common. I love horror movies.’
‘Really?’ I reply.
‘Really,’ he confirms with a grin.
‘The Shiningis my comfort movie,’ I tell him – for most people it’s usually something light, or something from their childhood, but not me, oh no.
‘And to probably every other man on the planet, that would be the biggest red flag,’ Donnie replies with a laugh. ‘But I’m so into it.’
