“I’m not a dick,” Max replied. “I’ve noticed Nina saves the lethal stuff for bitches and dicks. Me, even pissed, she’s tame.”
My eyes narrowed on him and I asked, “Tame?”
Max’s eyes came to me and he murmured, “Honey, with me, your claws are like a kitten’s.”
Mindy giggled. Brody chuckled. My eyes narrowed further and our appetizers arrived.
* * * * *
I’d finished martini number two and was enjoying the final sips of the glass of full-bodied, delightful red wine I had with my now consumed, utterly delicious steak, its accompanying sautéed mushrooms and loaded baked potato after an individual, baked camembert, my appetizer, which was superb when our next incident hit.
Shauna.
Brody spoke first and he did it the instant his eyes hit her standing at the end of the table.
“Seriously?” he asked disbelievingly.
She ignored him and everyone else. She only had eyes for Max.
“Max, can we talk a second?” she asked politely, her voice unlike it was the night of the buffalo burgers. It was lower, sultry, cajoling.
“Nope,” Max replied curtly and I noted happily he was immune to her sultry cajoling.
She leaned in and said softly, “Honey, please.”
I was, unfortunately, even though Max asked me to be careful, slightly inebriated. Therefore when she called Max “honey”, I was not in any shape to fully consider my response as in, perhaps not have one at all.
Instead, my happiness about Max’s immunity to Shauna melted clean away, my back went ramrod straight, I looked at Mindy and I asked loudly, “Did she just call Max ‘honey’ in front of me?”
“Fuck,” Max muttered and his arm wound around my waist, pulling my lower body tight to his.
“I think she did,” Mindy whispered, her face again pale and she was watching me closely likely uncertain whether to jump across the table and hold me down or jump into the fray with me.
I looked at Shauna and told her, “You just called Max ‘honey’.”
“I’m sorry, Nina, this’ll only take a minute,” Shauna said, having decided that she was not a cold, heartless, cheating, she bitch from hell but, tonight, she was sugar sweet on the surface, however still unsuccessfully hiding the heartless, cheating, she bitch from hell she was to her core.
“No, it won’t take a minute, Shauna, because in one second you’re going to walk away.”
“Nina, honey,” Max murmured.
I threw out a hand my eyes glued to Shauna and declared grandly, “I got this.”
Max’s arm tightened and he said, “Shauna, Nina’s unpredictable when riled. Do yourself a favor, take off.”
“Max, seriously, this is important,” Shauna replied.
“Let’s go back to you calling Max ‘honey’,” I suggested.
“Nina, again, sorry but I really need a word with Max,” Shauna pushed.
“I might have been willing to allow that had you not called him ‘honey’ right… in… front… of… me. Now you’ll get one over my cold, dead body,” I retorted.
“Baby, calm down,” Max said on another squeeze.
“It slipped, habit,” Shauna said, the ice queen frosting her features for a second before she could hide it, her words meant to remind me she’d enjoyed Max, even if just for awhile then she fought it back and said, again low and fake sweet, “Sorry, really.”
“Apology accepted,” I declared magnanimously. “Now please, we’re nearing dessert, the best part of the meal. Don’t ruin it.”