“From your boyfriend?”
I nodded.
“He’s one lucky guy. Do you think he’d mind if I took you to lunch?”
“He’s the jealous type, but I can keep a secret.”
Devin smiled and set the flowers on my desk then pulled me toward him “Then you shouldn’t mention this either,” he said as he leaned in to kiss me. It was simple at first, but my arms wrapped around his neck and at the same time we had the desire for more. His lips began to massage my lips and explore my mouth as I did the same.
“Wow, you two need to get a room,” Shelly said, clearing her throat.
Devin and I sprung apart and looked sheepishly at Shelly.
“Let me get my stuff and we can leave,” I said then bent down to grab my purse.
“Take as much time as you need,” Shelly said with a grin on her face. I knew what she meant but I decided to ignore the comment and took Devin’s hand and led the way out of the building.
“Sorry we got caught,” Devin said after we pulled out of the parking lot.
“I don’t care. I’m glad she could see how happy I am.” I would have said ‘with you’ but I didn’t want Devin to truly know how I felt about him. We were supposed to be in a fake relationship, not a real one. When Devin didn’t respond, I asked, “So where are we going?”
“To the Thai restaurant you like so much.”
“I love that place,” I said
“You love any restaurant,” he said with a smile.
“This is true, but the Thai place is especially good. And I am craving some good pineapple fried rice.”
We arrived at the restaurant, a very low key place—sit where ever you want, fraternize with the waiters—very friendly. We sat in one of the corner booths, not like they were especially busy at that time, but still, it’s always nice to have some privacy. Not that I thought we would be doing anything where privacy would be needed, nor did I even want to do something that would require privacy. Okay, maybe I did a little.
“Can I get you anything to start?” the waiter asked.
“Just water for me. Him as well,” I told him, knowing Devin only ordered water at any restaurant.
The waiter nodded and walked away.
“Do you know what you want?”
Devin looked down at me—did I forget to mention we sat next to each other—and smiled. “What I want isn’t on this menu.”
I blushed, knowing exactly what he was implying. Before I could respond, the waiter came back with the water. “Are you ready to order?”
“Curry chicken for me and for this one pineapple fried rice,” Devin said, pointing to me.
The waiter nodded and smiled. “You must really know one another if you are ordering for each other. That’s good—a couple with the obvious attraction and mutual care I see—according to my culture's folklore it means your love can stand the test of time.”
I grinned, trying to hold back the laughter until the waiter left.
Devin turned to me. “Did you hear? We’ll be the ones that stands the test of time.” He chuckled and that’s when I lost it. I covered my mouth to try and contain the laughter but it wasn’t working.
“I love your laugh.” Devin smiled.
I sobered. “You’ve always made fun of my laugh.”
“Yes, but that was because I liked to tease you. You were so easy to rile up.”
I shook my head. “What else have you teased me about and secretly liked?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever teased you for it, but I think your button nose is cute.” He tapped it gently with his index finger.
I smiled. “What else?”
“I always have liked your smile. And now I like these lips,” he said, touching them. He lowered his head and kissed me and I responded.
Before we went any further, Devin pulled away right as the waiter walked up.
The waiter smiled broadly as he set our food down. “Do you need anything else?”
“Not now. We’ll let you know if we do need something.” Devin smiled tightly and we watched as the waiter walked away. “Sometimes they are just a little too friendly.”
“Seriously. We’ll just have to get used to it. I’m not giving up one of my favorite restaurants because the waiters get too personal.”
“Well, they do have good food. I can’t argue with that,” he said as I took my fork and stole some of his chicken. “You aren’t even going to ask anymore?”
“We’re dating. It’s a given that I’m allowed to share your food.”
Devin raised his eyebrows then proceeded to do the same with my fried rice.
“If you’re going to pilfer some of the rice, you at least have to get the right proportion of veggies and rice and pineapple.” I loaded up my fork with the perfect bite and then lifted it toward Devin. “Here.”