It started raining, soft paters gently hitting the window panes. Yet, in the middle of the restaurant, Zayn and Rina were untouched. The rain ushered them into their third course, a light meal of chocolate pudding that melted in Rina’s mouth the moment she placed it on her tongue.
Zayn watched when she rolled her head back as the taste buds burst with richness and texture. He swallowed when his eyes met her nape, tender and elegant, like a swine. She had on small pearls his favorite piece of jewelry.
If Zayn didn’t know any better, he would have thought Rina was trying to seduce him.
When she returned her head straight up, she met his eyes, brown fierceness that made Zayn release a deep breath. This was becoming too much trouble for him. The more he tried to avoid it, the more it smacked him in the face, forcing him to stare in that direction, to be painstakingly aware of every moment.
Pulling his eyes from hers, Zayn continued with the rest of her face. Her pointy nose was built on her face without a second thought, as it was a striking feature, perfect for her. And her lips. Goddamn! Those lips.
“Hang on,” Zayn muttered, leaning over the table with a napkin he retrieved from his pocket. Gently, he wiped off the smudge of chocolate just under her lips, maybe taking longer than necessary just because it was hard pulling away.
But when he did, Rina was a bright shade of red. She tried to mask it with a loud and awkward cough, diving for the glass of water when there was absolutely no need for it.
“My assistant told me you called,” Zayn continued, following his trend of jumping on something like it was a spinoff from a previous conversation. “Were you going to tell me you wanted to meet for dinner?”
“No” Rina’s response was too quick. She cleared her throat and tried again. “No. I was just calling to check up on you.”
“Of course. It totally wasn’t because you were excited about how the day had gone and needed to share it with someone.”
“I could have done that with Joel.” Rina didn’t mean it as a strike. It was the first thing that came to her mind in disputing Zayn’s claim, but it had a whole different reaction to him. His hands folded in fists on the table. This time, Rina saw it.
“I know you don’t like him, but he is no harm. I promise.” She had no idea why she was trying to placate him. He still had that look on so Rina swiftly changed the topic.
“You got a new assistant,” she muttered. “She sounded pretty nice.”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I don’t chat with my assistants since I have had a couple in the space of three months. They are either too slow or overly rude. I bet this one isn’t going to last as well.”
Rina was sure it had everything to do with working with someone as domineering and bossy as Zayn, but the last thing she could do was point it out. And that wasn’t even the point of the whole conversation.
“She said you weren’t in the office,” Rina continued. “But in the note you left me earlier today, you said the reason you weren’t able to come with me was because you had something to attend to at the office. You didn’t go there at all.”
Zayn angled his head, contemplating if telling her where he’d been was worth it. Making the decision on the basis that some things were better kept for later, he sighed.
“You have my personal number now,” he nudged to her phone sitting on the table next to her purse. “You can reach me there when next you want to talk to me.”
It wasn’t the answer to the question, but Zayn said it with an air of finality, killing whatever Rina was about to say. Getting the message at once, she went back to her dessert, savoring the taste.
They talked about random stuff for the next couple of minutes, mundane things that Zayn thought made Rina’s eyes glow in the dim lights. He had dangerous thoughts when his eyes slid to the tiny straps of her dress, so he made do with the bodice, engraving every part of her into memory.
While Rina felt her muscles relax, every part of Zayn was on fire. He tried not to think about how huge and empty the restaurant was, and everything to do with the time they had left. The candles on the table danced in her eyes, making them look ethereal.
She must have said something, as even if Zayn saw her lips move, he’d been so focused on her that he’d missed it.
“Zayn?”
He leaned back as casually as possible, giving nothing away. “Sorry. I must have zoned out. What were you saying?”
“I think it’s time to go home,” Rina repeated, knowing he hadn’t zoned off. Almost all through the night, she’d caught him watching her on so many occasions that she stopped keeping count. She felt great underneath his gaze like she was the sexiest person walking the end. Rina knew when his eyes stopped on her straps because she had felt the weirdest yet strong emotions there.
She had imagined his finger trailing a curve down her shoulder blades, pushing the strap out of the way. When she shook it out of her head, Rina realized she’d been biting her lips and he’d been watching her all the while.
But the next second, Zayn had acted like that moment hadn’t happened. Grabbing her purse from the table, as well as the bouquet, Zayn walked around and led the way out of the room, with Rina following closely behind.
The minute he stepped outside, his men flanked them with umbrellas, getting them into his car. Zayn dismissed them, asking to drive Rina home himself. Although he had nothing more to say for now, Zayn didn’t want the night to end.
It was a very questionable want, but tonight, Zayn wasn’t going to think too much about it. Tomorrow was enough time for that.