Page 28 of Fembot
“Later.” Lucky reached over and put his hand on Winston’s thigh.
“Lucky, I’m sorry I?—”
“We’ll talk about that later, Winnie. When we’re home.”
Winston bit his lip. “Where are we going?”
Lucky glanced at him and flashed him a grin. “We’re going on a date. We’ve never gone on one before. We always just hang out or fuck, or both, or neither. Or it’s a group of us. I want to take you out, Winnie. Just the two of us.” Lucky’s smile faded into something softer and far more serious. He glanced at Winston again and shot him another smile. “I’d have asked you properly, but someone’s been dodging me, so I took matters into my own hands.”
Winston put his hand on Lucky’s thigh. He took what felt like his first real breath in days and let it out slowly. He had so much to apologize for. For avoiding Lucky, for not talking to him. Forhiding from him and especially for the thoughts he was having about Calvin.
All of that could wait until they got home. This date was clearly important to Lucky, and Winston wanted to give him his full attention. Everything else could wait until later. The tension bled out of Winston the moment he chose to make Lucky and this date a priority. It wasn’t unusual for Winston to doubt every decision he made, but this one felt right.
“I hope this date includes food because I’m starving.”
“That’s our first stop.”
Winston looked out the window and realized they were pulling up in front of The Velvet Fork, one of Winston’s favorite places. It was a modest mom and pop-style place that had been open for generations. Though the decor had been updated, it wasn’t in the past decade, giving the restaurant a lived-in feeling. It was usually busy, a testament to the quality of the food and the service. Tonight, however, it looked like a ghost town.
“I don’t think they’re open, Lucky.”
Lucky put the car in park and grinned at him. “Or someone rented the whole place for a few hours to impress a guy. Wait there.”
Lucky got out of the car and jogged around to the passenger side. He opened the door with a flourish and held his hand out for Winston to take.
“This is too much.” Winston’s face split into a smile that stretched from ear to ear as he took Lucky’s hand.
“I am determined to woo you.” Lucky’s skin was impossibly soft and warm as he closed his hand around Winston’s and tugged him close. Winston found himself caught in Lucky’s gaze. Lucky never was good at hiding how he felt, not from Winston at least. Which was a large part of the reason he’d been avoiding him this week.
“Who says shit likewoo you?”
“People who are trying to woo someone and want them to know they’re being wooed because otherwise they might be a little dense.” Lucky led Winston into the restaurant, pulling the door open for him. “After you.”
“Lucien, darling, it’s so good to see you.” Florence, the owner of the restaurant and long-time family friend of Lucky’s, glided over to them. She reminded Winston of a fairy, the way she moved with a grace that seemed supernatural. And the fact that she was the only one who got away with using Lucky’s real name. “And Winston. Oh, it’s so good to see you.”
Florence brushed a kiss against Lucky’s cheek, then Winston’s.
“You don’t eat enough,” she said to Winston as she ushered them to their table.
Florence had given them the best spot in the house, a table for two in front of the fireplace. It was far enough from the kitchen that they couldn’t hear most of the kitchen noise and away from the bathrooms. It was one of those tables you booked if you really wanted to impress someone.
Lucky pulled Winston’s chair out for him the way a gentleman would. Winston’s stupid little heart soaked up the attention.
“The appetizers will be out in a few minutes. Carla is your server tonight, and she’ll be out with drinks shortly. Enjoy your evening.” Florence beamed at them like a proud auntie might before she excused herself and disappeared.
Winston turned to Lucky, who seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for Winston’s reaction. He reached across the table, held out his empty hand, and waited. A sense of peace, of absolute rightness settled in Winston when Lucky took his hand.
“Thank you. This is amazing. It’s way over the top, but I love it.” Winston smiled. “The whole restaurant, really?”
“I wanted to have you all to myself.”
Guilt kicked Winston in the stomach. It was times like this that he wished Lucky didn’t know him as well as he did or that he was better able to hide his reactions, because Lucky furrowed his brow.
“Winston, what’s going on? Level with me. I know I said we’d wait until we got home, but I think maybe we should have this talk now. Why have you been avoiding me this week?”
Carla appeared then with two drinks and a plate of appetizers. The benefit to coming here was that they knew all of Winston’s favorites and had brought him the sweet tea he liked, and they’d made a sample platter of his favorite appetizers. Fried zucchini fingers and mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce to dip them in took up half the plate, and the other was dedicated to fries and crunchy coated chicken wings.
When she excused herself, Lucky looked at Winston expectantly. Clearly there was no getting out of this conversation. Winston gulped down half his drink to fortify himself.
