Chapter 206

Judy’s POV

Marcus left to fetch our order, and I stared at Gavin with my mouth hanging open. Never had I imagined that Gavin Landry would be ordering such food, especially on a date. He sat back in the booth, and I could feel his eyes on me, assessing my every facial movement.

“Why are we here?” I finally asked him after what felt like an eternity of silence.

He raised his brows at me as I met his eyes; I had been dying to know why he wanted to go out with me so badly; what any of this was even about it. Why we were at my favorite restaurant and ordering greasy food that I couldn’t imagine him putting in his mouth? Food that I was convinced he’d never touched a day in his life.

“Is there a rule that we can’t have dinner together?” He asked. “I don’t remember stating otherwise.”

I narrowed my eyes at him; I hated the effect he had on me. I hated that he was finding humor in my unease.

“You know what I mean,” I murmur, my brows knitting together. “Why did you ask me out? And why are we at my favorite restaurant.”

He studied me for what felt like a long while and during that time, I could hardly breathe. His eyes poured into mine as if he were searching for the same answers to my questions. His expression was sober, and his eyes were dark as he analyzed me. He finally opened his mouth to speak, and his response was something I wasn’t expecting.

“Because you make me curious,” he told me.

I tilted my head at his response.

“I make you curious?” I asked him, not sure what he meant. “How so?”

“We’ve had a sexual relationship for a while, but we’ve never really gotten to know one another,” he explained. “Is it a problem that I want to know who I’m sleeping with?”

I nibbled on my lower lip and the darkening of his eyes made me remember his earlier words about bending me over the table and taking me right here and now. My cheeks immediately flushed, and I turned away, releasing my lip from between my teeth.

“So, you thought taking me to my favorite restaurant was a way to get to know me better?” I asked him, my voice coming out much softer than I intended.

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning the side of my face. I could feel his eyes on me even though I was refusing to look at him.

“Yes,” he finally replied. “I wanted to know what kind of foods you enjoy… where you like going… the kind of environment you are most comfortable in.”

I nodded; my eyes fixed on the table in front of me.

“I see,” I said softly.

“Is that a problem?” He asked; he didn’t sound upset or offended; he sounded genuinely curious. “Have I gone too far?”

There was a hint of vulnerability in his tone, and I quickly looked up at him to see that vulnerability flash through his eyes. For a second, my heart fluttered. He was actually worried about something.

“Too far?” I asked, needing clarification on what he meant.

“I asked my assistant to find out what kind of things you enjoy and places you like to go,” he admitted. “Was that too far of me? Do you feel as if I violated something?”

I blushed.

He actually asked his assistant to do a background check on me.

I shook my head feeling a small smile tug at the corner of my lips.

“No,” I reply. “It wasn’t too far. It’s kind of sweet that you care enough to find out something about me.”

He was about to reply, or so I think he was, but Marcus returned with our root beer floats and our appetizers. It smelled heavenly and my stomach was growling hungrily.

“Is there anything else I can get you before your main courses arrive?” He asked, staring between the two of us.

“Just our wine,” Gavin reminded him, making his eyes widen.

“Oh, Goddess. I am so sorry. I will get that right away,” Marcus all but stammered as he hurried away to grab the wine.

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me.

“Do we really need the wine?” I asked. “The poor guy looked like he was about to have a heart attack.”

“We didn’t need the wine, no. But it wouldn’t be a true Gavin Landry date without it,” he told me, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

He unfolded his napkin and placed it delicately on his lap as if he were at a fine dining restaurant, and it made me chuckle.

He placed a few pretzel bites and mozzarella balls on his small appetizer plate, and I watched him, waiting for his reaction as he started to cut into the pretzel bite with his fork and knife. He paused when he saw my eyes were on him the entire time. I was stifling a laugh because I had never seen someone eat those with a fork and knife before.

“Am I doing something wrong?” He asked.

Without thinking, I picked up a mozzarella ball off his plate with my fingers and dipped it in the sauce before popping it into my mouth with a grin. His eyes narrowed as he watched me take another and also pop it into my mouth. I chuckled at his awestruck expression.

To my surprise, he placed his fork and knife down and tentatively picked up a mozzarella ball with his fingers. I watched him as he brought it to his lips and popped it into his mouth, mimicking my movements like he was learning to eat finger food for the first time in his life.

I suppressed another laugh, clearing my throat to mask it. He glanced at me and smirked as he pizza up a pretzel bite, dipped it in the mustard sauce, and ate that as well.

“Do you like it?” I asked him.

He chewed slowly as he analyzed the flavor.

“It’s different than what I’m used to,” he admitted. “But it’s not bad.”

I smiled as I too ate at the pretzels. I grabbed the root beer float and took a sip, moaning at the delicious taste. His right brown went up immediately at the sound of my moan, his dark eyes following my every movement.

He took a sip of his root beer float and the surprise that was on his face made me nearly choke with laughter.

The waiter returned with our wine and then a few minutes later, he came back with our food.

“Do I eat this with my fingers too?” Gavin asked.

I glanced at him and saw that he was gesturing towards the pulled pork sandwich.

“It’s a sandwich,” I laugh. “Of course, you are supposed to eat it with your fingers. It’s nasty and greasy but so good.”

The alcohol from the root beer float and wine combined was loosening me up and making me say and do things in front of him I wouldn’t normally do, like be a slob. I grabbed the sandwich, watching as the juices dripped onto my plate before taking a giant bite. I knew it was all over my face and the startled look on my face confirmed that very thing.

He grabbed his sandwich as well and took a bite out of it; I waited for his reaction, and I saw his eye flashing dangerously. A low growl escaped his throat as he took an even bigger bite. It was like a child discovering something delicious for the first time; I also think the alcohol was loosening him up a little as well.

I snorted at the sight of him, unable to contain my laughter. His smirk grew into a full-grown smile and to my surprise, he started laughing. We must have looked like a couple of lunatics, laughing with pulled pork sauce all over our faces. I think this is the first time we actually laughed together, and it honestly felt amazing.

We continued to eat and drink until we were both stuffed.

“Is there anything more I can get for you, Alpha?” Marcus asked as the wait staff took away our plates and cups.

“I think we are all set,” Gavin replied.

Once the bill was paid we left the restaurant. I started towards the car, but Gavin took my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction. It was nearing 7 pm and the sun was now officially setting in the background.

“What are you doing? The car is this way,” I told him, walking with him as he held my hand a bit tighter.

“Yes,” he replied simply without giving me much more explanation. “You didn’t think dinner was all I had planned, did you?”

I raised my brows but didn’t ask any further questions as we continued to walk.

We walked for a few more minutes and soon we were surrounded by a crowd that were all heading towards the entrance of the fair. My eyes grew wide when I realized we were also heading towards the entrance, I looked up at him, shocked beyond belief as excitement bubbled inside of me.

I grabbed his arm with my free hand, stopping him for a minute. He frowned as he looked down at me but when he saw my expression, he smirked.

“Are… are you taking me to the fair right now?” I asked him, my tone breathless and filled with wonder.

He winked at me and entwined his fingers with mine.

“I was serious when I said I wanted to do things you enjoy,” he replied. “So, let’s go have some fun, shall we?”