“Tell me,” she said, forcing aside her pointless new found desires. “What is it you want from Sasha?” There was no point in falling for this man. He was way out of her reach. So, she decided to ignore her own blossoming interest and get straight to the point.
His striking blue eyes settled on her face. “Before I begin, if I may say,” he spoke rather boldly. “That you’re quite beautiful, Ms. Amber.” He waited for her reaction to his confession. He remained steadfast in his confident air, sweeping her up swiftly with his idealistic nature.
Thrown off by the unexpected compliment, she smiled shyly. A rush of butterflies nervously fluttered around her stomach, poking and tickling her nerves. She knew she was pretty but she preferred not to think of herself as so. She had large bright brown eyes and soft alluring plump lips. Her bronze skin almost glowed, caressing her luscious curves that showed plainly on her petite frame.
“Thank you,” was all she could say. She couldn’t make herself look in his eyes anymore, afraid that they would betray the attraction she so delicately hid.
It was with relief when she noticed their waiter had arrived with the wine, distracting her. He set two glasses before them, a towel in one hand, and proceeded to pour. Twisting the bottle after each glass so as not to spill the red liquid on the table, he inquired. “Would you two like some more time to decide?”
Both Amber and Charles nodded at the same time, dismissing the waiter for another few minutes.
Charles took a sip of wine, letting the flavor settle in his mouth before washing it down. The warmth hugged his throat satisfyingly. “Let me see,” he contemplated aloud, as if deep in thought. “I believe it was back in 2001 that I met Lieutenant Williams.” His aura redirected itself to a more somber approach. “We were both pretty much boys then, fresh out of high school and looking for something more to do with our lives. Upon joining the Marine Core, we were shipped out to basic, and that’s where I met Williams.” He combed his fingers through his neat hair.
“After the terrorist attack, Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced, and we were both shipped out together. I don’t know how he did it, but our platoon was out patrolling one night when he sensed something off about the area. None of us felt it, but he refused to budge as the rest of our platoon continued on. He grabbed hold of me and kept me back saying he had really bad feelings.” His eyes darkened and his voice faltered.
“Our commanding officer was threatening us if we didn’t follow orders … so I finally told him he was crazy and kept going. If he hadn’t held me back for that single minute, we would’ve been dead.” His tone dropped before continuing. “I was thrown back from the blast when one of our men stepped on a land mine. They were everywhere. Three soldiers died that night, five were injured including myself, and Williams stayed with me plugging the artery in my leg so I wouldn’t bleed out.”
“Oh,” She soberly remarked. Memories of Russell flooded her brain and the thought of how tragic it was to lose someone so remarkable drove out any other feelings from her. She waited, unable to find the right words. Eventually, she said, “So, he saved your life.”
“Yes,” Charles confirmed. “And I feel I owe him something in return. I want to see to it that his family is well taken care of.”
“Wow, really,” she gasped, half surprised as reality came rushing back. “I’m sure Sasha can manage…” Her voice trailed as the memory of her crying friend reiterated in her mind. “What she needs is emotional support.”
He agreed and nodded his head. “Which will come from you,” he understood now the depth of their relationship. “But I want to help any way I can.”
The waiter arrived once more to take their orders. Charles ordered first, his palate clearly aimed for the Le Gigot d'Agneau Pascal. The tender lamb was highly esteemed in this particular restaurant.
When the waiter turned to Amber, she fumbled with the menu momentarily, and then gave up. “I can’t read this,” she sighed. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”
Charles chuckled under his breath, clearly amused. “Do you like lamb?” He hesitated before dismissing the waiter.
She loved lamb. Enthusiastically, she nodded to the waiter, happy that it wasn’t something weird like snails. She knew in France they ate those slimy little crawly things. It wasn’t in her best interest to embarrass herself in front of him because she couldn’t down them.
“You haven’t touched your wine.” He tapped the full glass before her. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”