Page 32 of I Want You

“We’ll have a lobster thermidor, and a platter. Bring some champagne.”

He nodded and headed off to fulfill the order, leaving us with an awkward silence.

“Relax, Mattie, we’re just talking.”

“We don’t tend to do much of that, Gen.”

She smirked at me, that glimmer in her eye that would get me into trouble if I weren’t careful.

“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to? Maybe that will calm you down.”

“Working on a product line inspired by the island,” I said. That instantly brought back memories to what we did on that island. I could feel the heat hit my cheeks and a familiar throbbing began down below.

“That sounds great.”

I nodded. “I’m experimenting with coconut and lime, some vanilla. Everytime I start to combine the scents, I get taken back.”

She smiled at me. “It was like a different world being on that island, I agree.”

I nodded in agreement. “It sure was. You could get lost in that world.”

An ice bucket came to the table on a stand, the label was all in French so I had no idea what it said. The waiter popped it and poured our glasses, leaving the ice bucket with us.

We chinked our glasses slightly and took a sip. The bubbles immediately went to my head as I put the glass down.

“Wow.”

Gen smiled as she sipped again and put hers down on the table. “Let’s talk.”

“I know what you’re going to say, that I’m a coward blah, blah, blah—”

“Actually, I don’t think that about you,” she said, cutting me off. “You were scared of what everyone was going to think but, trust me, you shouldn’t care what they think of you. It will only bring you down.”

“Easier said than done,” I told her. Gen nodded as if she understood. I wondered if she had ever been uneasy, she was always just so done up and knew what she wanted. She had the kind of confidence I had only ever dreamed of.

Our dinner came not long after and I marveled at the amount of food in front of us.

“Have you tried oysters before?” she asked me, lifting one up from the platter.

“No.”

“You know they’re an aphrodisiac.”

Just the word had a thrill shoot down my back, goosebumps appearing on my forearms.

“This isn’t counterproductive to what we need to talk about.”

“So speak,” she said, sucking the oyster into her mouth. The sucking sound had my body thrumming with electricity. She licked her lips afterward, putting the shell down on the side of the platter before she picked up another. This time she did it slowly, keeping her eyes on me as I watched her pay particular attention to the oyster I desperately wished she was paying to me.

“Gen…ah—”

She put the shell down again and turned to the lobster, shelling out some of the meat onto a fork and holding it out for me to taste. For some reason, I bent forward and took what she was offering out to me. The sweet taste of the lobster combined with the richness of the sauce, a concoction of brandy and something else I couldn’t put my finger on, had me all but moaning. Gen could see I was enjoying it, and she smiled at me as I dug my fork into the lobster shell and ate some more.

“I’ve never had lobster like this,” I told her. “This is incredible.”

Gen nodded. “Have an oyster.”

Did I dare?

---