Desiree looked at Jake suggestively again and went to put in our order. Her ass wiggled as she walked away, and I felt more insecure by the second. For the record, the heels I was wearing were of absolutely no help in this situation.
Jake was looking down at a dessert menu, bobbing his head to the song the band was playing. Probably sensing the tension in the air, Ryan and Tarah just looked at each other.
I couldn’t stand it any longer and chimed in with, “What the hell did I order anyway?”
Everyone started laughing in unison.
“Nina, hope you like egg lemon and rice soup and spinach pie,” Ryan said.
Actually, given my recent loss of appetite, that actually sounded horrible.
“Yum,” I said sarcastically.
Jake then kicked my leg playfully under the table, and I kicked him back. We kept taking turns doing this, and at one point, he locked my feet in with his so that I couldn’t kick him anymore. It was a strange way of making contact, but I delighted in it.
My attention then turned to a family who had just been seated at the table across from ours. The little girl was rocking back and forth and seemed very agitated. I noticed Jake wave at them.
“Hey, Jake,” the girl’s mother called out.
He got up from our table to go over to them and knelt down by the girl’s seat, getting in her face to garner her attention. “Hey, Marina.”
The girl, who looked about eight or nine, didn’t say anything and started to cry.
“She’s having a bad night,” Marina’s father said.
Jake snapped his fingers and said, “Wait. I have something for her. I almost forgot.” He then ran out of the restaurant to head upstairs to our apartment.
I turned to Ryan. “What’s up with Jake and the little girl?”
“That’s Telly’s sister Georgette’s daughter, Marina. They’re in here a lot. She has autism, so she doesn’t really talk.”
“I see,” I said, trying not to stare too much at the beautiful girl with short brown ringlets framing her face. She was starting to hum loudly, as her mother tried to console her.
Jake walked back into the restaurant holding the collection of pinwheels I had first noticed the night I snuck into his bedroom. I couldn’t help but smile.
He knelt down next to the girl again and handed the whole bunch to her. “Marina…look. I remembered you had one of these the last time you were in here, and you really liked it. Every time I pass by someone selling them now, I have to get one for you,” he said.
Marina took the four pinwheels and lined them up on the table. One by one, she lifted each and blew on it, laughing hysterically each time it spun around. The joy in her eyes made me forget about my earlier brooding and put a smile on my face.
“I figured that would put you in a better mood,” he said to her as he stood up.
The girl’s mother beamed at Jake. “Honey, you are so sweet. Thank you. We’ll actually be able to have a peaceful dinner now.”
“Don’t worry about it. It was my pleasure,” he said, before returning to our table.
Jake didn’t seem to notice the look on my face of complete awe, as it dawned on me that he was really just as beautiful on the inside as he was gorgeous on the outside. “That was so sweet that you actually collected those for her. I had noticed them in your room,” I said.
“And you thought I was just a fucking weirdo?”
“Well, you are still a weirdo, but…” I scrunched my nose at him jokingly.
Tarah echoed my earlier sentiment. “Yeah, man…seriously. Look at her. She is totally content now.”
Jake looked over at the little girl as he spoke. “Cedric, my brother-in-law, has a sister who’s autistic. When I first spotted Marina, her mannerisms reminded me so much of Callie. It was crazy, and I just knew. It’s like they’re locked inside their bodies, but there is so much in there waiting to come out. You just have to know which keys to use to unlock it.”
The four of us continued to look over at Marina playing with the pinwheels until Desiree approached with a tray full of food. As she placed the hot plates onto the table, her eyes were placed firmly on Jake. God, I may have been obvious in my checking him out at times, but she was flirting relentlessly, and I immediately hated her for it. It didn’t help that she was absolutely gorgeous. Jake, on the other hand, dug right into his food and didn’t seem affected by her one way or the other. I suppose he was probably used to girls throwing themselves at him.
After we finished eating, a group of people in the corner started dancing in a circle to the Greek band’s music. Desiree came by to clear our plates and glared at me. I wondered if it was because she was jealous. Jake and I had been joking around flirtatiously all night and she constantly looked in our direction, even when she was serving other customers.