Memory

Chapter 15

Jennifer P.O.V

The waitress approached us sometime later, pulled out her pen and notepad, and asked us what we wanted to order.

"Yes, I would like to have the USDA prime hanger steak, and for my lovely date, she'll have the shrimp and gnocchi," he said, reaching over for my menu and sitting it on top of his.

"Good choices, sir, what would you two like to drink"?

"Hmm, we'll have a bottle of Santa Ema, and that'll be all," he said, handing her the menus.

"Excellent, sir. The chef will prepare your meals shortly".

The waitress walked away, and I expected it to be silent since we talked about the basics on the way here, but David had other plans.

"So," he paused, placing his arms on the table, intertwining his fingers, while resting his chin on his hands. "We talked about work and my car the whole ride here, but I want to get to know Jennifer. I already know enough about Ms.Gonzalez," he chuckled.

"Nothing is exciting about me, but feel free to ask anything. I'm an open book," I replied, hoping I wouldn't bore him to death.

"I highly doubt that, everyone has that fun mystery side. They just have to be around the right person to unlock it."

I blushed, a bit embarrassed that his compliment affected me so much.

Am I really that used to insults? Whenever David compliments me, I react like a schoolgirl trapped in the boys' locker room. 

"Okay, then, let's test that doubt. Ask me whatever question you want, no matter how embarrassing it may be." I smirked, feeling this pop of confidence come out of nowhere.

Where did that come from?

"Ok, challenge accepted, but only one on condition."

"That condition would be?" I asked, placing my hands on the table and intertwining them.

"You have to do the same with me."

I was hesitant at first because I was scared I would get carried away and ask some.... inappropriate questions, but I did say no matter how embarrassing it was, so he might expect questions like that.

"Ok, deal".

The questions weren't as bad as I assumed. They were just the standard questions you usually ask.

Favorite color, more details about my hobbies, food, shows, and favorite tv shows or movies.

"Well, my favorite colors are pink, orange, and white. Besides singing and grading papers, I like to write songs, read, and binge-watch TV whenever I get the chance. As for food, I would say I love to eat egg, sausage, and cheese sandwiches, Casado, Arroz Con Pollo, and Ceviche. And for what I like to watch, I pause, thinking about my top three favorite shows: "I love to watch The Tutor, Vampire Diaries, and Reign."

"Okay, okay. Well, for me, my favorite colors are brown and black. If I'm not at home or at the studio painting, I'm at the gym boxing with my best friend Jackson."

Well, that explains his humongous biceps.

"For my favorite foods, I like steak, hamburgers, and Chifrijo, and lastly, for my favorite shows, it would be Blue Bloods, orange is the new black, and hells Kitchen."

The waitress then returned, placing two wine glasses on the table and the wine bucket in the middle of the table.

"So I take it you're a big fan of romance and drama," he said, opening the wine bottle and pouring himself a glass.

"Of course, I adore romance, it's beautiful to see two people fall deeply in love with each other, but a romance series is only good in my eyes when it has that perfect amount of drama in it," I gleam reminiscing on that exciting feeling I get whenever I read or watch a good romance series.

"Passionate, I see. Ok, now, what made you want to become a music teacher? I sort of have a hint because you like to write songs, but why teach kids, why not college-level?"

Because Nicolas would lose his mind If he knew I was with too many men who could potentially replace him.

I considered telling him the truth, but bringing up Nicolas before almost ruined the entire mood.

At the same time, though, lying on the first date isn't the best idea either.

"I hate to bring him up again, but I don't want to lie on our first date either," I said, fidgeting with my hands. "Initially, I didn't want to become a music teacher but a songwriter. I love to write songs that hold meaningful and beautiful stories behind them. I think I write pretty good songs, so I was going to attempt to become a songwriter for music artists some years ago, but Nicolas told me my songs were tasteless, dull, and amateurish. He also said if I were to submit any songs to the companies, I would just waste my time. I, unfortunately, believed him back then. Since I still wanted a career involving music, I went toward teaching. Now yes, college level was my first choice. But as you may have guessed, Nicolas didn't want me surrounded by young men who could potentially steal me from him, so I went for the elementary level. He was more calm-minded with me only seeing adults a couple of times a day rather than most of the day".

I expected David to be vexed or even aggravated, but instead, he looked sympathetic.

"I didn't think it was humanly possible to hate a man as much as I do this Nicolas character, but after that, I despise him. You never put down your wife like that. There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism, but to say it's tasteless takes it too far."

"Yeah, he criticizes everything I do, so I'm pretty used to it now." I chuckle but quickly stop, seeing as David isn't finding my "joke" funny. "Sorry, that was inappropriate. How about we continue talking about each other rather than him?"

"Yeah," he replied dryly.

Excellent, I've now entirely ruined the date.

"Is something wrong?"

Of course, something is wrong. I keep bringing up my husband while on a date.

"Yeah," he rubs a hand through his beard, "I hate hearing that a beautiful, intelligent, and unique woman like yourself is getting treated like trash. It goes against all my morals, but I want to show you how a woman is supposed to be treated. A woman like you should be worshiped instead of being treated so horribly".

"You've already shown me how a woman is supposed to get treated tonight. What more could you possibly do?"

He took hold of both my hands, looking me right in my eyes, and said. "Jeni, a nice dinner date is only the beginning of what I plan to show you."