the room to grab his keys, allowing me a good look at him. He’s wearing a white button down, and gray slacks. Together we look like we planned our outfits to match and I secretly loved that people will assume we were together.
Like we were here for some sort of wedding festivities. Or our wedding.
I head out the door, him following close enough behind me to smell the cologne he always wears and suddenly I feel the need to have that smell ingrained in my skin.
“Hi! I’m Cassandra and I’ll be taking care of y’all tonight. Is this your first time dining with us?” A woman who looks to be about mid-thirties with brown hair and blue eyes that seem to stare at my stepfather a bit too long approaches our table after we’ve been seated. I’ve never felt what I can only assume to be some sort of territoriality over a guy before and the feeling is unnerving.
We take our seats after Dominic pulls out my chair for me and my stomach flips at the chivalrous gesture. Our table is outside in an area closest to the beach and the sounds of the waves and the smell of the salt in the air are serving as some weird aphrodisiac I can’t ignore.
“I’ve been here, but umm,” Dominic points at me, his eyes dancing down the V of my dress for the third time tonight. At least the third time that I’ve noticed. “She has not.” A smile pulls at my lips as he usually refers to me as his daughter when we are out together. But for some reason tonight, from the hostess to the maître-d and now this waitress, he had not.
“Lovely. Welcome back, sir, and we are pleased to have you joining us, ma’am.” She nods at me and I smile in response. “I’ll be back momentarily to grab your drink orders!”
“This place is nice.” The ambiance is chill but still somewhat sophisticated. Like a bohemian speakeasy complete with candles and low lighting causing an amber glow to bounce off of the beige walls that I can see from my seat due to the open-air seating.
Dominic leans back in his chair, stretching his lean legs under the table; one brushes against my leg and it’s as if he doesn’t seem to notice how much this innocent touch affects me. “I thought you’d like it. Do you know what you might like?”
“Everything looks great. I’m not sure.”
“Get whatever you want. Try it all. Whatever you don’t eat we can bring back. Or…do you want me to pick something out for you?”
The thought of him ordering for me seems so…sexy, and I can’t ignore the feeling that it is something he’s done for women he’s dated in the past.
Fuck. Like my mother. I squeeze my eyes together trying to put those thoughts out of my head.
What am I doing? I look down at my dress, wondering why in the world I’d chosen the tiniest and sexiest dress I owned to go out to dinner with my fucking stepfather.
“I’ll…I’ll be right back,” I say without answering his question and proceed towards the bathroom. I sensed some eyes on me as I proceeded through the restaurant earlier, but now without Dominic behind me, I feel completely on display. I spy nods of approval from men, and glares of annoyance from the women they’re with as I make my way to the bathroom. I’m used to attention from high school boys and the occasional man here and there, but it was never anything like this. I feel powerful and sexy. Maybe I’d feel more nervous under their eyes if I were here alone or under the influence, but being here with Dominic makes me feel safe.
“Excuse me, Miss.” I hear just as I begin to push my way into the bathroom. I turn my head and spot who I assume to be a waiter based on the clothes that matched all of the other waitstaff. He looks like he’s probably about my age or a little bit older, with sandy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes and a tan that could only be brought on by spending every day in the sun. “First, I have to ask…before I say anything. How old are you?”
A laugh escapes my lips at his carefulness not to hit on an underage girl. “I admire that, but don’t worry, I’m eighteen.”
He lets out a breath of relief and nods. “I just had to tell you; you are