Page 116 of Shattered

She was surprised at the amount of bravery that flooded her system. “I’m glad you like them. I hope you plan on taking them off of me later.”

He growled in frustration as she turned to walk out the room.

*******

The car ride into town was torturous. They had rented an Uber, knowing they would all be far too wasted to safely drive back by the end of the night. Callum was quieter than normal. He kept his hand on Sam’s leg and each time she looked over at him, she found his gaze firmly planted on the apex of her thighs.

Maybe she did enjoy this teasing thing after all.

“Where are we eating?” Sam asked anyone in the van.

“S.N.O.B.” Drew quickly replied.

“We’re eating somewhere named snob?” She scrunched upher nose.

“It’s short for Slightly North of Broad,” Callum amended.

“What kind of food does it have?” Sam was surprised the question came out as smoothly as it did. With Drew in the front, and Micah and Kristin in the row behind them, it meant Callum was not so sneakily running his hand up her thigh and getting that much closer to where there was nothing butheron display.

“It’s fine dining. Takes weeks to get a reservation. I set this up the same night I booked our spot for the festival. I had a feeling we would need somewhere to celebrate.” Drew added with a smile.

That caused Sam to snap to attention. She tilted her head backward just enough to catch Kristin’s gaze.

Fine. Dining.

That was just another way to say expensive. That meant there were probably various utensils and glasses, and she was going to look like an idiot.

It was one thing to work at Topline where all she had to do was keep quiet, take orders and refill drinks. It was an entirely different thing to be on the opposite end of that scenario.

She felt her phone buzz just before the panic set in.

Kristin: Calm down. The boys are paying. It’s not like a five course meal kind of fine dining. Sit next to me. You will be fine.

Sam quickly hid the phone before Callum could read the message. In all honesty, he probably hadn’t even paid it any attention. He was too busy staring at the one place she desperately wanted him to be.

It was only a few short moments before they were getting out of the car and walking into the restaurant. It was definitely fine

dining and it was beautiful.

“What kind of stuff do they have on the menu?” Sam questioned Callum, but he just shrugged.

“They use fresh ingredients, so the menu frequently changes. Just depends on what they have that day.” He added without removing his gaze.

Sam nodded then took a breath. It was one ofthosekinds of restaurants.

It wasn’t a long wait, and by the time they were seated at a table, Sam was practically hyperventilating.

“Are you okay?” Callum questioned, whispering so only Sam could hear.

“Callum. I don’t think I can afford this,” Sam whispered back.

“In case you forget, the guy you’re dating just made an astronomical amount of money over the last few days, so you don’t need to worry about it. Let me spoil you a little bit.”

“The guy I’m dating?” Her eyebrows rose in surprise and the butterflies in her stomach were doing barrel rolls.

“Yes. The guy you’re dating.” All of a sudden, his rather cocky demeanor turned nervous, and she could tell he was worried he had crossed a line.

She leaned in then, a devilish smile playing on her lips and brushed her nose against his ear. “I wasn’t aware Drew and I were dating.”

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