College Try

Part Five

Raven pitched forward, smirking as she took a sip of her wine. "Color me surprised, I didn't know Damian Wayne had a sweet tooth."

He lifted an eyebrow and shoved another bite of the chocolate torte in his mouth, never breaking eye-contact with her. Heat crawled up her neck, but she couldn't look away from him. Raven tried not to focus on the way his tongue slid along his full lips, making sure he didn't waste a crumb. It was a tease of power, and he knew it would burn her. Heat coiled in the pit of her stomach, and Raven tore her eyes away from him, giving him that small concession to save her sanity. The last thing she needed was to have inconvenient feelings for Damian Wayne.

"Jealous?" Damian picked up a bite of torte and held his fork out to her. "You can ask for some."

Raven reached for the fork, but he pulled it out of her reach and leveled a stare at her. Oh. He... wanted to feed her? That was a step into an area she had never considered before. Raven glanced around the restaurant, realizing that there was more than one cell phone lifted, taking pictures of the two of them. One of the many hazards of being in public with a Wayne. Her stomach twisted and she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Finally, she leaned forward and opened her mouth.

Damian grinned and ate the bite himself, never looking away from her.

"Jerk." She pursed her lips, but couldn't stop the twitch of a smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. God, he was infuriating sometimes. With no decorum whatsoever, she reached across the table and grabbed the torte from in front of Damian, taking a bite herself.

He laughed and leaned back in his chair watching her as if she completely fascinated him. But, more likely, he was trying to find something to tease her about. A soft silence settled between them before he filled it, tapping his fingers on the tablecloth. "So... after dinner, did you want to walk down by the bay?"

Raven picked up her head, her fork hanging out of her mouth as she blinked. What? The soft, silky torte turned to ash in her mouth and she forced herself to swallow. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Take a walk by the bay together." Damian shrugged and tried to look unaffected, but she swore she could see the tips of his ears turn pink. "We're still on a date, and you paid a thousand dollars for this. So... you might as well take advantage of it. Get your money's worth."

"Oh. Ah... I... sure?" If he had asked her this same question yesterday, she would have pulled out a whole ledger filled with reasons why this wasn't a date and why they shouldn't do date things. But, right now, Raven couldn't think of a reason not to walk with him. They were sort of friends, she didn't have anything else to do tonight. And... she was finding she didn't mind his company all that much. In fact, she might have actually started to like him a little. It only took four damn years. Her toes curled in Donna's shoes and she shifted, taking another bite of the torte as she tried to look unaffected. "I guess. Sure. It's a nice night for it."

Damian motioned for the waiter and paid the bill, while Raven kept watching him from under her lowered lashes. Jesus, he was handsome. Although she would rather eat crow than admit that out loud. Candlelight slid over his olive skin, casting curious shadows bathing him in mystery. Her stomach twisted as her eyes traced the stern line of his jaw and his full, decadent lips. Lips she wouldn't mind giving a test kiss too. Just to see if they were really as soft as they looked. Not because she liked him like that. No. Of course not. This was Damian Wayne, her arch rival for the better part of four years, not some boy she happened to have a crush on.

She left a few bites of the torte for him and pushed the plate back to his side of the table. "I'll need to text Donna and let her know I'll be a bit later than eleven."