Love Is Ǝvil

61 Remember Me? I'm Low Down and I'm Shifty!

Above the door of the old villa the date stood proudly: since 1848. That was a damn long time ago. A balcony gave shade, its ornate rail in the green color of old bronze and the windows on the fourth floor glistened in the sun. Once this must have been a jewel in a family's estate, a villa close to the Mississippi. Today it was just a restaurant.

As his gaze connected with Nicolas's, Marshall shrugged.

Nicolas raised his eyebrows skeptically. »Fancy.«

Stepping inside the restaurant was like stepping into another time when wealth had been shown by ornate detail, shiny crystals and gold accents. As they followed a waiter deeper inside, the opulence was everywhere. Tables and chairs had their wood carved into intricate floral patterns, oil paintings of landscapes and people in uniforms and elaborate dresses hung on the walls, from the chandeliers above light emanated through shimmering crystals, the table cloths were embroidered with delicate scenery and the high doors between the rooms had more embellishments carved into them. Timeless elegance was still dated.

The waiter led them into a private room, a small space for only three tables. In here all this abundance was overbearing. Nervous and uncomfortable Marshall sat down, Nicolas opposite. The waiter lit the candle in the middle of the table and handed them the menus printed in cursive-like letters that Marshall could swear looked as if it was handwritten. Maybe it was? With a quill and some real ink, he wouldn't even be surprised. As the waiter excused himself and gave them time to decide on their order, he closed the door and only the low hum of a string quartet was audible in the room. Canned tunes or were there real people playing somewhere in this house?

The skeptical look on Nicolas's face intensified as his gaze went over the room examining the decorations and watching a different time unfold in front of them. »This is ... very French«, he finally concluded. His simple outfit of a black t-shirt and olive green cargo pants looked comically out of place in here.

Bitch, this kitsch is kill- Marshall's equally simple combination of white t-shirt, black hoodie and dark jeans didn't fit either. »It's private«, he signed back. Privacy was at the top of his priorities, especially when he was on a date with his boyfriend. That didn't need to be known to the public. A soft buzz in his pants, his cell phone notifying him of a new message.

»Sure, private ...«, Nicolas didn't seem convinced. He leaned forward and looked more closely at the candle in the middle of the table. His eyebrows were drawn into a frown. »There's a baby on the candle. A naked baby.«

»What?«, Marshall leaned forward himself and turned the candle around to see better. Indeed, a chubby baby was outlined with a gold trim in the wax of the candle. Why? »Weird.«

A short puff and Nicolas blew out the candle. Taking it from their table, he walked it over to one of the guestless tables in this room. He was not having it.

Marshall risked a glimpse to his phone, curious who messaged him. Paul and Tracy knew not to send anything if it wasn't important. The lock screen read Worick's name. Huh?

Sitting back down, Nicolas signed: »I'm not looking at a naked baby while I eat.«

Marshall could only nod in agreement, he was totally fine with this move. Why was Worick sending him a text? Since the accidental flirt and the night Marshall had bailed on, they had only exchanged a handful of meaningless messages.

»Something happened?«, Nicolas asked with a short gesture to Marshall's side where his phone slipped back into his jeans pocket.

He shook his head. »Nah, just a friend texting a stupid joke. It's not even funny.« Marshall opened the menu but the wavy letters made it hard to read, the French names of the dishes didn't help matters. »It's on me, so you can order whatever you want, no worries.« A spendy date won't- He expected to pay way too much for way too little. It was one of those places that didn't bother to put the prices on the menu. If you had to think about money, you shouldn't be here, evidently.