Sweet Consumption

Chapter 13

        When we arrive at the restaurant after a nice long drive to downtown, I stand in the entrance in awe at not only the beauty of the place, but the spectacular view. We are in one of downtown's fancier restaurants on the top floor of a hotel. Half of the restaurant is covered by floor to ceiling windows, giving us a beautiful view of the city. I hope I can take my gaze off of the splendor of the city long enough to sit down and eat. 

The manager that greets us doesn't falter at all when he sees Collin, which I find impressive. Of course, with a restaurant like this, he’s probably used to seeing celebrities all the time. He's very gracious to Collin for choosing his restaurant and is very accommodating when Collin mentions that we will be adding two guests to our reservation. 

He leads us to a back corner of the restaurant that is flanked by two large windows, giving us an unobstructed view of the city. 

"Do you like it?" Collin leans over and asks after our waiter has given him the rundown on the menu and wine recommendations. 

"It's beautiful," I breathe, unable to take my eyes off the sparkling landscape below.

"It certainly is," Collin whispers into my ear. I blush and glance over at him to see his eyes gazing at me in appreciation. They make a slow perusal over my face and continue down what he can see of my body above the table. I blush even further as I think of the car ride over here. Since Sasha and John were in the front, we were left in the back. A divider was up between the front and back seats, leaving us completely alone. We continued where we left off in the apartment and I would swear steam was coming out of the car when we finally got out. 

I turn my attention back across the table and notice John and Sasha speaking softly to each other. I really hope this works out for both of them. Sasha is such a headstrong person and from what I know of John, he seems the type to be able to handle her and, more importantly, make her happy.

I feel a penetrating stare from the seat next to me, so I direct my attention to Collin, who is giving me a soft expression. He quickly averts his gaze and suddenly seems fascinated with the menu.

"What are you thinking?" I ask, my pulse in my throat. I was never very good at reading people, but the look he just gave me hinted at something more than simple attraction. 

His eyes shift to me, but he doesn't answer. "What would you like to eat?" he asks instead. 

I decide to leave it for now and grab my own menu. I've never been to a restaurant of this caliber before, so I'm not quite sure what to order. Everything sounds delicious, but the prices are a little higher than I'm used to. I know Collin will pay, but I can't help but feel a little guilty at getting something expensive. 

I finally decide to choose something in the middle price range and after the waiter brings us our wine and takes our order, Collin raises his glass. "A toast. To the luckiest men in the room. You both look absolutely beautiful tonight," Collin declares and gazes over at me with a soft smile. 

He clinks his glass with John and then they clink ours. I take a small sip of the wine and sigh in pleasure. Collin took the recommendation of the in-house sommelier and he couldn't have been more spot on. The wine is very smooth and instantly warms my body, calming the jittery nerves.