Life after you

Chapter 2 - Mandatory friday night dinner

Ainsley

Riley drove us and texted furiously with the hostess, apparently an old university buddy, to get us a table at Yakuza, the hottest sushi place downtown. Our "little" city compared nothing to the rest of the world, but Lisbon was huge in diversity, and there were more nationalities here than anywhere else in the country. She finally got us a table in the middle section, and we went inside. At this point, I was having second thoughts, wondering if it wouldn't have been better to just stay at home and order some take-out. It was too late now.

 - "Okay babe, let's just order a veggie combo and some salmon Temaki's. Yeah?" - Riley asked.

- "Yeah. I want some miso soup first, tho" - I told her, without looking at the menu.

We ordered our food and suddenly I felt nervous. I needed a smoke. 

 - "Hey Riles" - She looked up from her phone at me - "I'm gonna go outside, ok?"

 - "God, A. Already with the smoking?" - She snorted - "That shit will kill you, you know." - It wasn't a question. I nodded and sighed of boredom before leaving the room. I stepped outside and felt instantly better, as I felt the cold night air hug me. There was just something about being outside at night that always made me feel better. Like it was healing, somehow. I grabbed a cigarette from my purse and lit it, instantly feeling the smoke calm me as I inhaled the first drag. It was like breathing again, which I thought was ironic, so I smiled to myself.

 - "That good, huh?" - I heard a low, raspy voice say next to me. I looked right and saw I was suddenly not alone anymore. The hot stranger that asked for directions earlier was looking at me, with a crooked smile on his face. Fuck me, if that isn't the first sign of trouble. A fucking crooked smile, in all it's hotness. 

 - "Hum, I guess." - I said nervously. What was he doing here? - "You eating dinner here?"

 - "Uh, yeah. Mandatory friday night dinner." - He said dismissively

Mandatory? At Yakuza? What the actual fuck? This place is great, and kind of expensive...

 - "Really." I said flatly

 - "Yeah, pretty much" He looked bored. "I saw you inside."

 - "And you came here to talk to me...?" I was incredulous. What was this? And what did he want?

 - "Yeah, introduce myself." - He turned to face me, and took another step until he was right in front of me, extending his hand. - "Ethan." He said. I squeezed his hand, being careful to give him a good amount of strength, but not too much. I was always careful about that, since my father told me when I was 7 that people judge you from that simple gesture, as weak or strong. He squeezed back and the right side of his mouth turned up a bit. Like this amused him.

 - "What?" - I asked, suddenly more annoyed than I should be from his reaction. He furrowed his brows, confused. - "Do I amuse you?" I explained. Totally aware of the harsh tone in my voice as I said it. 

 - "Oh, not at all." - He relaxed a bit, but didn't let go of my hand - "You have a strong handshake."

Great. I am an idiot. An embarassed idiot.

 - "Oh, sorry. I'm Ainsley" - I leaned against the wall and took another drag of my almost finished  cigarette, reclaiming my hand.

 - "Ainsley." He repeated. 

- "Do you want one?" I asked, gesturing at the cigarette. He was looking right at my eyes. Like he could see something. Shit. He was looking at them like he could see me. 

- "No" - He said, not leaving my eyes. He took another step, and I could now feel his presence. Actually feel it, like he was now in my space. My bubble. The cigarette was completely ash now, and I didn't want to move, or it would fall. I met his gaze this time. Wow. Those eyes were too green, if that is even a thing. He had a "Fuck me" gaze, but also all knowing. It scared me and I looked away, dropping the cigarette but onto the floor next to his classic black vans. 

 - "I should..." - I started to say, but didn't move. I looked up at him again - "Go."

 - "Yeah." - He said. - "Wait. Do you feel lucky?" - He asked, narrowing his eyes at me

 - "Actually..." - I was now completely mesmerized by his eyes, and couldn't look away. I felt my cheeks heat and raised a hand to touch one, embarassed. I sighed, frustrated. He laughed, a short delicious laugh, and reached for my hand, lowering it and holding it in his.

 - "Woah woah, wait" - he started, smiling - "Did I just make you blush?"

 - "Yeah." - I said, smiling a bit myself. And then, without thinking, I said - "I actually feel pretty lucky right now"

He smiled at me again, a wide, all teeth smile now. This man was gorgeous.

 - "Ainsley, could I get your number?" - He asked me, still holding my hand.

 - "Sure"

I gave him my number and went back inside before I could think twice about it. I sat down and our soup was already on the table, and Riley was eating hers. How long was I outside? Shit.

 - "A, I thought you were going to ditch me!" - She said with a scowl

 - "I thought about it" - I said, smiling mischievously.

- "Bitch. Eat your soup."

I started eating and then looked around me, remembering the previous exchange with Ethan. And then I saw him, on the other side of the restaurant, in a bit of a higher area, usually reserved for celebrities, was Ethan, sitting facing an obviously fancy, older woman, with red, silky hair, styled in a long, wavy bob, dressed in what looked like an expensive suit, all pastel pink. She looked to the side to call the waitress and I could see her face now. She looked like Ethan, a little bit. His mother. He looked at me, and winked. I could feel my phone vibrate on my pocket a second later, and grabbed it. A number I didn't recognize texted me:

"I forgot to tell you something"

I looked at Ethan, and of course, he was looking at me. I raised my eyebrows and he grabbed his phone. A second later:

ETHAN: Ainsley, you are Fucking beautiful.

Shit. He cusses. I find that incredibly sexy in a guy. Oh, hell. This is not good. Sign of trouble number two. 

ME: Thank u. I find that fucking unbelievable.

ETHAN: Believe me.