Say Please

Yep

Chan and I left without too much of a scene. I wandered to Bri—who was still sitting with the bartender—and let her know I was leaving. She glanced behind me and raised an eyebrow.

"With Chan?"

"Um," I chuckled, "yeah. I won the game and he wants to buy me a drink."

"I could've totally set you two up if you'd given me more time." Bri never turned down an opportunity to play matchmaker.

"Don't worry, I don't think you would've needed to."

"Well, text me whenever you make it home. I will murder him if he hurts you." She smiled and sent a glare Chan's way.

"Good luck with hot stuff here," I whispered to her before walking away.

We grabbed our things from the coat check and rode silently down the elevator to the bottom floor. The air was thick, so hot I felt like my clothes needed to be pried off me. Or maybe that was just because a gorgeous, Australian man was standing inches from me. I fidgeted with the zipper of my jacket in my hand. Chan was far too interested in some vein on his hand.

"So," he said as we exited the elevator, breaking the deafening silence between us. "Would you prefer somewhere we can eat as well or just a bar?" My stomach made the response for me, growling for something to mix the alcohol with.

"I could eat," I said simply.

"There's a really amazing wine bar a few blocks from here that has some small bites if you're up for a little walk." I nodded in agreement. Why not add wine to the list of spirits I was indulging in tonight?

"So are you going to tell me what your last dare was? I'm so curious," I asked as we strolled in the cool evening air.

"Maybe at some point," he teased. "Let's just say it's not something I wanted to do in front of a crowd."

"I mean, it couldn't be worse than showing everyone your deepest darkest sex position secrets, could it?" I laughed.

"I mean, no. But in a different way, this one I want to keep..." he glanced down at me with a new intensity in his gaze, "...private." Something about his stare made my stomach tighten and heat rise in my core once more.

I was glad to round the final corner to our next spot. I hoped that the intensity I felt wasn't one sided. A bright red, neon sign that read "Don't Wine" signaled we were at our destination.

"Isn't the name fun?" Chan grinned. "Or maybe it's just my kind of humor."

"No, it's great. Growing up I always wanted to open a pho place. And I wanted to name it 'Pho Q.'" My cheeks reddened at my stupid banter and I cursed to myself that I couldn't reverse. Thankfully, Chan appreciated the comment. His eyes crinkled as he let out a loud laugh.

"You know what the best thing about that is?" He questioned. "I literally had the same idea."

—

We were seated at a small booth near the front window. The cushion was a small quarter circle—small enough that our knees touched no matter what. I was both thankful and unnerved at that fact; I reveled any touch from Chan at this point, but I couldn't help the swarm of butterflies in my belly.

The sommelier came and introduced himself to us, explaining the wines they were featuring right now—not that it made any sense to me. Chan kindly took over and asked for a full tasting. Within minutes we were given a beautiful display of ten wines and a charcuterie fit for gods.

"This is amazing," I beamed. Chan picked up a Merlot sample—and I a Riesling.

"Cheers!" Our classes clinked. As I took a sip of my glass, he added, "to our first date." I stumbled internally, but managed to keep my cool, simply offering him a wink in return.