“Not yet.” Logan pointed to the veggies. Jazz liked her veggies, but Zach waved him off and added the lobster tail to the steak. The woman preferred her meat.
“Boring.” Her amusement turned them both around, but she held a glass of water and drank it. “I can’t do the bottle trick if I’m stuck with water.”
Zach laughed. “You don’t need tricks.” They carried the plates back and set them up, taking their seats on either side of her. The romantic setting was unsettling. He preferred the diner or their own kitchen table. But Lagniappes served a purpose, too.
“Oh, sweet. I’ll be big as a barn when I’m done.” Not that it slowed her down from claiming her fork and knife. She cut into the steak, and Zach watched the knife in her right hand, cautious. It trembled. He flexed his fingers around the chilled beer bottle and ignored Logan’s kick under the table. They weren’t supposed to hover.
But he also didn’t want her hand to spasm, slip, and cut her.
When she lifted a piece to her mouth, he relaxed his vigilant watch and met Logan’s narrowed gaze. Her groan went straight to his cock, and he shifted his weight in the seat to ease the pressure on his balls.
“This is excellent. How did you get the owner to let us eat on a night when they’re closed?”
“We know people.” Logan grinned. Zach admired how easily Logan fell into this role. His relaxed posture and easy expressions belied the man who scowled and worried that she would say ‘no’ earlier.
“Yeah? You going to introduce me?” Jazz took a sip of water before transferring her attention to the lobster tail.
“Eventually. Damon’s out with his lady tonight, so he gave us run of the restaurant. I’m pretty sure he fixed most of the food, though.” He forced an exhale between his teeth and set to work on cutting his own meat. Across the table, Logan did the same. “We mentioned we wanted to do something special and take you out on a date, so he did us a solid.”
Her fork paused midway to her mouth. The hesitation lasted only a couple of seconds, but he noticed it all the same. “Okay, I’ll bite. Date?”
“You know, two or more getting together for a social event to explore the possibility of romance? Emphasis on the exploration aspect.”
Zach nearly choked on his beer at Logan’s amused delivery.
“I see, so your plan is to wine me, dine me, and sixty-nine me?” The challenge in her voice didn’t escape either of them. Logan sat forward and Zach’s cock stiffened enthusiastically. He could handle all of the above.
“Something like that.”
Way to vague that up, Logan.
“Interesting.” But she didn’t look at them, her concentration on her food as she cut another piece of steak. Worry nibbled along the back of Zach’s mind. Maybe Logan was right. Maybe she did want out.
“Not really. We’d do this for you every night, but you haven’t been ready.” Time to cut through the crap. “Or at least we didn’t think you were.”
“So why tonight? What made you decide that I was up for it tonight?” Jazz examined another bite. Her mild tone rang a warning bell in Zach’s mind. He glanced at Logan, but his friend stared at Jazz and didn’t see the question on his face.
“Because you seem to have the idiotic impression that this can’t work, and we’re not in a relationship for the long haul.”
Zach winced. Yeah, that’s gonna come back to bite us.
The setting, the food, even the way they were dressed, left her tingling in anticipation. It was hard to mistake the naked heat in Zach’s expression for anything but lust and affection. Logan’s casual touches, a brush of his thumb across her bare arm, and the stroke of his fingers at the nape of her neck as she sat down, intensified the emotions surging in her belly. Even the food tasted of seduction. She fully intended to broach the topic of their relationship, what she desired out of it, what she hoped, and how they could make it work. But the luxurious setting, the meal, and their formal dress threw her an unexpected curve ball.
She couldn’t bring herself to spoil their efforts. At least until Logan went on the offensive. Setting her fork and knife down, she dabbed at her mouth—careful to not remove the lipstick—and focused on the intensity blazing in Logan’s eyes.
“I’m sorry. My ‘what’ impression?” He deserved the opportunity to revise that statement.
“What Logan meant to say is, we’re concerned about where you believe this relationship between us is headed. We would like to have a chance to discuss it, over dinner.” Zach’s attempt at peacemaker might have worked, but Logan snorted.