Cory. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll take a dirty martini,” he answered. “And a glass of water.”
“Sounds good, guys. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” She emphasized the words “right back,” and Emily wondered if she had meant it as a warning, made in the hopes of not interrupting them again.
Cory looked at her and grinned. “Should we look at the menu?”
“Yeah, maybe.” At the rate the night was going, it was going to take an act of genius for her to read and understand what was on it.
Emily plucked a menu up from the table and tried to concentrate on what to order for dinner. With his free hand, Cory picked up the other menu, still keeping one hand on her shoulder. He brushed his fingers back and forth against her skin with a feather-light touch while he read.
Forcing herself to focus on the menu, Emily scanned the entree choices and stopped when she got to the pasta. Cheese ravioli with marinara sauce, she thought. Minimal mess and no offending ingredients.
She looked up from her menu to see Cory watching her. “What?” she asked, wondering if their earlier kisses had smudged lipstick across her face, or if her hair had somehow been knocked askew.
He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “Just wanted to do that.”
“They’re going to kick us out if we keep this up,” she warned him, even though she found herself enjoying every second of his attention.
“I’ll take my chances. I just think it would be fun to be that couple tonight.”
She considered his words. Really, she’d never been part of “that” couple, the ones who were all over each other and not afraid to show the world just how attracted to one another they were. In fact, she’d probably asked a teenager or two to knock it off when they were standing in front of her at concerts.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, when she closed her menu.
“Ravioli, if I can hold you off for long enough to eat it.”
“I can’t make any promises.” He grinned at her again.
Danielle returned to take their order. The second she left, Cory leaned closer to Emily.
“You’re going to do this for as long as I let you, aren’t you?” she asked, moving her face just out of his reach and bringing her glass to her lips.
“Without question.” He moved his hand to rest it on her leg.
“So I was thinking,” she started, shifting in her chair to gently nudge his hand away. He took the hint and raised his arm up to rest it on the table.
“I’m going to have to step it up a little if you’re still thinking.”
“You’re doing just fine,” she assured him. “So fine, in fact, I think we should give poor Danielle a break and not have her catch us in the act again when she comes back with our food.”
“You’re so considerate. I like that. I’ll play, for a few minutes at least.”
She laughed at him. “This is a lot different than last weekend.”
“Yeah, we talked and stuff, didn’t we? What was all that about?” He returned to playing with her bracelet.
“We talked until I found out you were a singer,” she reminded him.
“Hmm, you’re right. And then I had to defend my honor.”
She chuckled. “Consider it defended, at least for now. But you never did tell me how long you’ve been doing this for.”
“Doing what for? Dating?” His forehead crinkled.
“That one you can keep to yourself. I meant singing. Did you always have a band, or had you planned an entirely different life?”
He sat back in his chair. “I think my family planned a different life for me. I went to college for a year, but I’ve been singing in bands since I was sixteen. I formed Blistering Twilight with a few buddies during our senior year of high school. It was after my first year of college that things began taking off. We got signed, spent a few months in the studio, and were lucky enough to spend the next year on the road. And now...” He stopped, shrugged, and took a drink from his glass.
“Now you’re on a date with a writer who shut you down when she found out you were in a band.”
“Now I’m on a date with a beautiful woman who knows her own mind and can put me in my place,” he corrected her. “You get asked out a lot, don’t you?”
“Is there a good answer to that question?” She tilted her head to look