NAOMI'S POV
"This is not a date, George," I repeat myself for the hundredth time to my supposed ex.
Bianca said this was a bad idea. Going out with George to this fancy ass restaurant was a bad idea. Throughout this week, George was always at my house asking for forgiveness even when I already told him I forgave him. He wanted us to be friends and I agreed. George wasn't all that bad. I don't even remember the time George hurt me. The only problem in our relationship was his parents, throwing it at my face that I wasn't good enough for their son. And aside from his annoying parents, George was great. And when he suggested we become friends, I just thought “Why not?"
Bianca thought it was a bad idea. She thought that was George’s sick way of getting me back. No matter how sweet he can be sometimes, I’m never getting back with George. Our relationship didn’t turn out great, and hell will freeze over if I take him back.
Not gonna happen.
Almost three days ago, George showed up at my apartment asking if I would love to have dinner with him. I turned down the proposal at first, and then I just thought it wasn't a big deal. It was just dinner.
"You remember what Dua Lipa sang about, right?" Bianca had asked early this morning when I told her about George asking me if I could go get dinner with him this evening.
"Really, Bianca? You want to remind me of Dua Lipa's New Rules?" I playfully glared at her.
"She said, ‘Don't be his friend, you're only gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.' It's a guy thing when their ex is proving stubborn and refusing to get back with them." Bianca emphasized.
"I'm not waking up in George's bed because I decided to have dinner with him. It's just dinner and he's still a good guy."
"He's your ex." Bianca pointed out.
"I know that."
I didn't get the whole ordeal of people thinking about the worst when you decide to be friends with your ex. I believe as long as your ex didn't hurt you in any way and you guys ended things in a good way, then there's nothing wrong in being friends as long as both parties respect each other's boundaries.
"I know this is not a date, Naomi,” George says with a smile. I nod in understanding.
George pulls his car to a stop outside an expensive Italian restaurant and there is this part of me scolding me about going to have dinner with my ex because we just recently became friends. I push the thought to the back of my head as George holds the door for me. I get down from his expensive car and he shuts the door.
The car reminds me of someone I've successfully blocked out of my mind. Killian Black. The man who did weird things to my body with just his words. It has been a week since I last saw him and for some reason, he had stopped coming to his club. I was relieved at first, but later I was worried. Thinking my unexplainable behavior chased him away.
Why do I even care? And why for Pete's sake am I thinking about him as George escorts me inside this restaurant? When we were dating, George knew how to treat me to dinner. Taking me to expensive restaurants and hotels just to impress me. Little did he know I didn't care about money or fancy things. He was a good friend, but he failed at the 'boyfriend department' and I know he knew that. He failed to stand up for me when his parents thought I wasn't good enough. He failed me when he went behind my back to go out on dates with different women just to please his parents, and later he would stop by my apartment and talk to me about the dates and how he wished it was me instead.
He was sweet, but a complete coward. He cared too much about his parents and their opinion and that just broke us apart. So going out with him for dinner right now just seems to bring back memories I've chucked away for a long time. Right now, all I care about is getting a job and staying away from men like Killian Black, even if my body screams 'Liar' each time he is next to me.
A lady greets us by the door as she walks us to our table. George pulls out a seat for me, always has been a gentleman. I smile at him and tell him a little "Thank you." He smiles in return and sits down opposite me.
I scan the restaurant if it's any familiar at all and that's when I see him. The attractive, and yet mysterious Killian Black. Our eyes lock at once, and he's as surprised as I am.
"Shit." I cuss under my breath and look away.
Why's he everywhere that I go?
Is this fate's own way of playing a sick game with me?
The minute I decided to stay away, and thankfully, I succeeded, he was just going to show up with his beautiful gray eyes and annoying look that just pisses me off the more I stare at him. I steal a glance at him but look away the minute the other man he's with turns to look at me.
Great. I'm not surprised he's talking about me to the other man. I don't wanna be here. This is uncomfortable for me. Even though we're a few tables apart, I can still feel that familiar weird tension between us.
What happened to the pep talk I gave myself a week ago about staying away from my boss?
It worked for nearly a week. I mean, I successfully got him out of my head after I got off the sexual repression I’d been holding in. I didn't completely get him out of my head though. There were times I thought about him, and that's because I worked for his club. Other than that, I have completely stopped thinking about him and his sweet words. His deep, husky voice. His dirty talk, and every other perverted thing that surrounds Killian Black.
I have even successfully told myself that I was different from every other woman and I was not gonna fall for his sweet, sleek lines. For a while, I believed it, but seeing him again after a week looking so damn irresistible and sexy as hell, I'm doubting myself again.
Killian Black is good-looking, and he's attractive, but he's not the man I want to be with. I know that for a fact, but my body just seems to think otherwise and I hate that. Maybe getting off with a vibrator wasn't enough, I need to really get off. And the only way to do that is with a man and I don't want that. After George, I told myself I needed to get a good job, put my life right on track, and maybe settle down with a good guy. Someone who is going to treat me well and love me, definitely not Killian Black. He's the guy that just wants to play, reasons why I need to stay away from him. I'm not the girl who wants to play and sleep with anything that bats their lashes at her.
If I'm going to have sex again with anyone, it has to be because I truly like him and he likes me too. Not a guy who wants my body and isn't willing to keep me. And I know for a fact Killian Black isn't willing to keep anyone, and maybe if he's willing, it's definitely not me. I've seen the different women he's been with through magazines and business gossip sites. The women are mostly models and television personnel, and I'm pretty aware he dated three popular Hollywood actresses.
Definitely not my type anyway.
Liar
I groan, loudly, obviously, because that seems to snap George from his menu scanning.
"Are you okay?" He asks genuinely.
I sigh and nod.
"You don't like this restaurant? We could leave if you want us to." George says, leaning back on his seat and watching me.
Leaving the restaurant won't be a bad idea, but I don't want to put George through that stress. He'd booked a table in this restaurant because of me.
I give him a small smile and shake my head. "I'm fine. Don't know what to order." I lie, biting my lip and breathing silently through my mouth at Killian's heated gaze on my body.
And why the fuck is he so invested in me? Always staring at me whenever he gets the chance, not really caring he's becoming creepy.
"I could order for you if you want." He suggested.
"It's fine. I'm just gonna go through the menu again." I give him another small smile as I stare down at the food section.
"Okay."
After a long silence of me staring at nothing in this menu, I sigh and drop it on the table.
"Seen what you will order?" George asks with a small smile. I nod.
He calls the waitress over and I take that as a distraction to stare at Killian Black who's already staring at me, waiting for me to just tilt my head to the corner a little so I can lock eyes with him. I draw in a deep breath, hating myself for feeling this way with just his eyes on me. I'm not gonna deny that the way Killian looks at me, no man has ever looked at me like that, including George who happens to be sitting right in front of me while I stare at my boss.
The waitress standing right in front of me, blocking my view from my perverted, annoyingly attractive boss, makes me scowl and look at her.
"What are you ordering?" She asks as she gives me a polite smile.
I cuss in my head for scowling at her. She is only doing her job while I shamelessly gawk at the owner of the club I work for.
"The chicken parmesan parmigiana." I shrug. It's an Italian restaurant and I don't know what the parmigiana stands for.
Maybe the Italian name for chicken parmesan, obviously.
The waitress writes it down and asks. "Will that be all?"
"Yeah. And water."
She nods and scurries away. So, I'm thinking George already ordered before this waitress blocked my view of my boss.
Interesting.
"So, how have you been?" George asks, getting rid of the awkward silence between us.
It's awkward because I still can't grasp the fact that I'm out here eating dinner with George after I told him it was over months ago.
I shrug a shoulder before answering. "Good. Still job hunting." I say.
I have applied and submitted my résumé to different companies that I'm aware of having vacancies, but none of them has called me in for an interview. I don't know what's happening with my life right now. I'm broke and I badly want to quit my job at Club K even if it pays a lot. The customers are just becoming disgusting every single day. I've talked to Preston about it and he's been trying to stop these customers from stepping foot into his cousin's club again and it's working.
"Damn, I'm sorry about the job hunting. I…" George trails off. He's speechless. Of course, he is. I've talked to him about getting me a job in his father's company when we were still together but it was shit. He gave me an excuse for his father being against the idea of having me in his company.
Who exactly did I offend? Why this bad luck about getting a job? I have a good GPA and it's just annoying that my good certificate hasn't been put to use since I graduated college two years ago. Two freaking years ago.
"It's okay. I get it, your father didn't want me in his company. I'm cool with that."
"It's not that. It's just…" He trails off again.
I smile. Despite being 27 and somewhat independent, George still acts like a child. With his parents telling him what to do and what not to do.
"How have you been? How's work? How's life?"
George takes a moment with himself before answering. He's not fine. I can tell. His parents have probably started forcing him to go out with rich, strange, spoiled girls with daddy issues.
"Good. I'm fine." He answers after a long minute. "I'm really happy you decided to have dinner with me this evening."
"We're friends," I say. He winces visibly at the word ‘Friends’ and nods.
"I've been meaning to ask…" He trails off again, rubbing his hand on his nape like a shy high school dork.
I smile at the thought.
"How did you know Killian Black?"
Okay. I didn't expect this question and he noticed that too, because of my surprised expression.
"I mean, the other day at Bart's, when we… you know… having a conversation. He seemed to step in."
"You mean when you were forcing yourself on me?" I ask him instead. He has apologized countless times because of that and I've forgiven him, so I guess it was unreasonable I had to bring it up again.
"I'm really sorry about that, Naomi. I was drunk. You know I would never force myself on you." He gives the same excuse again. I nod.
"Well, he's my boss, and I know you know I worked in his club."
"Right. I know that. I wasn't expecting you two to know each other. Like, know each other."
"He visits his club, George, literally every Friday to drink with his friends. So, there's a possibility he knows me."
"Yeah. You're sexy as hell in that waitress outfit." He mutters silently and sighs.
Um… hello? Is that jealousy I smell?
"Anyways, never mind. I was only surprised, that's all. What's up with Charlie? I really miss that little man." George states.
I give him a forced smile and say. "He's fine. Really."
This whole conversation is awkward. This is fucking awkward. Maybe I shouldn't have gone out with George to have dinner because this is fucking weird. The conversation is beyond weird because there's still that tension between us. It feels like there's still something left we haven't said to each other and I feel like George feels the same. He obviously has a lot to say to me and I don't want to hear it. I need something to distract myself.
Where the hell is the waitress and the food?
"Maybe I shouldn't say this because it's over between us, but I'm still going to say this…" Okay, great, here it comes. Same shit that he's been saying to me since I broke up with him.
"You don't want to ruin this, George. We couldn't work out and you know it. And this, whatever this is…" I say, referring to this dinner. "...is us trying to build a friendship and I really appreciate your effort, George, seriously. Talking about us and our relationship won't cut it."
He sighs, eyes staring at mine as he licks his lips and briefly looks away.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for treating you badly. For not standing up for you when my parents said those bad things was really cowardice of me. I should have fought for you, but I didn't and I hate myself for that." He says and sighs. "And I'm really happy you gave me a chance to work on this friendship thing with me. I'm grateful and I promise I'm not gonna make it awkward as we go on. I promise you, Naomi." George says.
I smile and nod. I risk a glance at Killian and he's smiling at what the other man says. The man sitting opposite him. They look almost alike, maybe his relative or something. He casts his eyes on me and I look away.
I clear my throat. "Thanks. I'm going to use the restroom, I'll be back." I say to George and stand up.
He nods as I walk away, ignoring my boss's eyes on my body as I pass his peripheral. I look for the restroom and enter inside. I wanted to be alone, that's the reason I excused myself. I'm exhausted, tired, and pissed at nothing in particular, and my boss's constant stares at me are making me feel weird. Making me think about these weird thoughts and I don't like that.
The fact that he's staring at me the way no other man has ever stared at me before shouldn't make me have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I feel like a high school junior who got noticed by the school's jock for the first time.
Ew. Gross.
"Should I be worried you're the one stalking me now?" A familiar voice makes me twirl around at once.
Killian Black in all his glory. God, he looks insanely more attractive than the last time I saw him a week ago. He's dressed in his usual expensive work clothes. A dark blue suit and he looks delicious.
"The last time I checked, I was the one with the perverted look. What has happened to you princess?" He asks, with a sly smirk as he locks the restroom door.
"What are you doing? This is the female's restroom."
"I'm having alone time with you." He whispers as he approaches me.
I sigh and look back at the mirror, with my reflection staring back at me. Killian Black stands next to me, taking his time to stare at me like it's the first time we're meeting.
"You look good." He says, staring at me through the big mirror in front of us.
I turn my head to the side and our eyes meet. I lick my bottom lip and look away. His gray eyes are darker today, with a little touch of blue.
Strange.
"You said he was your ex," Killian says at once.
"Pardon?" I turn around to fully look at him this time, with my body facing his.
I try to ignore the whiff of his cologne that's clouded my head. Killian looks down at me, a mix of gray and blue eyes watching me.
"The guy you're here with. You said he was your ex." He says.
Are we back to this now? My boss being nosy about the men I hang out with.
"Why do you even care?" I ask, annoyed as I look away.
"I don't."
"Then, stop asking."
"Why?" He asks.
He's annoyingly close now, and I can feel his expensive pants touching my bare legs.
"Why do you need to stop asking me about the men I hang out with?" I ask and cross my arms as I turn to face him.
He's facing me too, with a stoic expression on his face and his hands buried in his pockets. His eyes take me in, eyeing my dress as he brings his gaze to my eyes.
"This is crazy. You're my boss, Killian Black, and the men I go out with are none of your concern. Why do you care?"
He doesn't answer immediately. Our eyes are still locked, with his beautiful gray eyes staring into mine. The more I stare at him, the more I know why women barely say no to him. But I'm not like the women he's been with before. Even if I'm, I'm not gonna give him the impression that he can easily get what he wants.
Not gonna happen.
"I don't care, Naomi."
"And yet, here you're trying to be nosy and digging about my personal life," I tell him, not daring to look away from this eye contest.
Killian sighs, bringing out his right hand from inside his pocket as he runs it over his hair.
"What do I have to do?" He asks all of a sudden. He sounds tired, probably because he's just retiring from today's work. Or he's tired of my constant rejection.
"What?" I am confused right now.
Killian takes a step closer, holding my hand that's firmly crossed over my chest and pulling at it so it's dropped to my sides.
"What do I have to do to make you mine, Naomi?" He whispers. His voice is deep and smooth and filled with a hunger that sends an electric feeling down my spine and straight to my core.
Hunger for what? Me?
I'm tongue–tied as I stare at him with a slightly open mouth. We're both quiet as we stare at each other, letting our eyes do the talking instead of our mouths.
I didn't expect my boss, Killian Black, to ask me what he had to do to make me his in a restroom. So I just stare at him, speechless, and surprised.
"Tell me, Naomi. Do I have to be friends with you, buy you dinner in an expensive restaurant so you can give me a chance?"
A chance? A chance to do what? A chance to fuck me? Or a chance to let him play with me like his toy?
God, he sounds like the complete asshole that he is. An arrogant, rich asshole.
"I'm not an easy lay, Mr. Black, and I'm sure as hell not willing to give you a chance to let you fuck me. You should check the next door." I say and take a step back as I turn around to leave.