The Sassy Submissive

Ch. 18 - Angel Can't Help But Tease Master Adam

Adam was in a damned good mood and it had nothing to do with the fantastic food he was eating. Well, maybe something to do with it. But it had a lot more to do with his current company. Taking her out of the house for dinner while her housemates looked at him with something approaching awe—even Q—had done wonders for him. While part of him still struggled with the whole three male housemates thing, he was working on that.

The little speech she'd given him back at her place hadn't been at all what he'd expected. After all, he'd gone there half thinking maybe she was a little bit of a crazy drama queen, but it turned out she had real reasons for calling things to a halt the way she had. They'd both made assumptions rather than talking things out, something he'd meant to fix even before they had their scene last night but they hadn't gotten the chance. Because he'd been dense enough to stay away and keep talking to Laurie without thinking about how Angel might interpret that, and because he hadn't clarified with Angel exactly what he wanted their relationship to be, she'd ended up feeling insecure and rejected.

Well he could definitely fix that over dinner tonight because every minute he was spending with her was making him want to spend even more time with her.

She was bouncy entertainment outside of the club. While he'd gotten a glimpse of that when they'd been decorating for the Valentine's Day party, it became even more apparent when they were in the car. She laughed at signs containing puns, giggled at funny bumper stickers she read out loud, danced to the songs on the radio she particularly liked and sang under her breath. As if he hadn't already heard her singing when he'd been at her house.

While she'd never make a living with her voice, it was still a nice one to listen to. The only time she seemed self-conscious was when she'd catch him watching her dance or bounce. Then she'd blush, giggle, and say she was sorry.

"Don't apologize," he said, shaking his head. "It's cute."

Some girls didn't like to be called cute. Most guys too. Adam wasn't too fond of it himself. But Angel just beamed at him like he'd told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It took her a few minutes to get lost enough in the music and then she was bouncing again.

Once they'd gotten to the restaurant it had been surprisingly full—surprising until he remembered it was Valentine's Day weekend. Fortunately, it was still early in the evening and Angel knew the hostess, so they'd managed to get a seat. Turned out she knew the waitress too, who had immediately come over with a plate of piping hot fresh bread, the kind which had obviously been made at the restaurant rather than ordered in. It was filled with herbs and spices and had a cheesy crust.

And the way he and Angel were both going at it, they were going to have to ask for some more.

"Did you use to work here?" he asked, after a third server stopped by their table to say hello.

"No, Q did. He was a bartender here. Eventually he cut back to weekends and now he just comes in occasionally if he needs extra money or if someone needs a shift covered."

"Oh... I didn't realize restaurants allowed things like that."

"Normally they don't, but Q's uncle bought into the restaurant a couple of years ago and he's now married to one of the other owners," Angel said, grinning. "So we still come here all the time."

Their server, a peppy blonde, appeared with a plate piled high with fried food in her hand, setting it down on the table even though they hadn't ordered anything.

"From Cara," she said, before briskly stepping off again.

"I love this place," Angel said with a dreamy sigh, reaching out to snatch one of the little morsels off the top of the pile and dunk it in the creamy looking sauce. She glanced at Adam. "Fried artichoke hearts. I always order them, so now they just bring them to me without asking."