The Queen of England

Chapter 15 Date

Again, it has been two weeks since Cody and I spoke. Well, we have spoken. And I have spent every night in his bed. But he is cold, like he is afraid of me.

Or afraid to hurt me.

But tonight, I am going to dinner with him and I am hoping to break through his shell.

I pull on a tight black dress and fix my hair. When I look in the mirror, I look....well, I look sexy.

Blushing slightly, I put on a little lip gloss and mascara and then pull on my black stilettos.

A knock comes at my door as I finish getting ready.

"Come in," I say, hoping it will be Cody.

It isn't. It's Kate.

"Oh, Princess you look dashing!" she exclaims.

"Thank you, Kate." I say.

"I just wanted to apologize to you for my husband's behavior at dinner before. I know I've waited far too long, but Lucian constantly tried to stop me from coming by telling me what a horrid person you were. But I know better. The worst thing you are is young. But still, very mature." She says.

"Thank you, Kate." I repeat.

She smiles. "If there is anything I can help you with, let me know." She says.

I nod at her and someone steps into my room.

"Brittany are you ready to leave?" Cody asks.

That's another thing. He no longer calls me Britt.

Then Cody looks back at me and a pained look crosses his face.

Then he sends Kate a "I'd kill you if she weren't standing right there" look.

Kate frowns, like she is about to say something, and Cody turns to me.

"Brittany?" he asks.

Feeling uncomfortable already, I nod my head and go to him. He leads me out and down the hall.

Outside, we slide into a limo and head off the restaurant Cody made reservations for yesterday.

"You look lovely." he compliments.

I know this sounds stupid, but I feel like he is only saying that because he feels he has too. It's like the first time I met him. He is polite, but distant. Only now you can add protective into it.

"Thank you." I whisper.

He touches my hand but doesn't hold it, like I want him to.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

Where are the pet names? I always blushed when he called me "love" or "baby" or even "lass", but my favorite has always been "Britt". But all of those names have dissapeared.

"I'm okay." I say.

He takes my lie and looks out the window. He can't possibly believe me. Which leads me to believe that he doesn't care. What am I thinking? I will never break through the wall Cody has built. I never did. Those few days when I thought he had let me in were just me looking through a window.

The limo pulls into the restaurant, but I no longer have an appetite.

Cody gets out and leads me inside.

"Are you sure you're okay, Brittany?" he asks.

I decide not to answer.

He looks like he is going to question me further when the host comes up to us and leads us to our table.

Once we are alone again, I pick up my menu and don't say a word.

For a few minutes, there is total silence.

Then Cody reaches out and takes the menu away.

"Is this pay back?" he asks.

I stare at him, confused.

"You're not speaking to me. Is this payback for those two weeks when I didn't speak to you?" he asks.

I scoff, taking a sip of my water.

"No, Cody. Although, while we're on the subject of two weeks, let's talk about the fact that it's been two weeks since you gave a rat's ass about me." I snap.

He looks astonished. To be honest, so am I. This wasn't how I planned tonight to go.

"That's not true." he says.

"You've barely spoken to me since I told you about...what happened to me. Since you beat the shit out of Lucian." I say.

The waiter comes before Cody can say anything else. He orders a glass of wine and a salad. I order the same, unable to concentrate on the menu enough to realize my id is about to be asked for.

But the guy just walks away without a word. Oh, that's right. I'm the mother fucking princess. No one tells me no.

"I was trying to show you that I didn't feel sorry for you, Brittany. I didn't want you to think I thought differently of you because of that; that I was being overbearing and babying you." Cody says, bringing me back to our argument.

"You acted like you were afraid to hurt me, Cody." I tell him.

"I wasn't." He says too quickly.

"You're lying."

"I was afraid to scare you, Brittany. there is a difference."

"You didn't act like that before."

"That was before I knew I had frightened you several times."

"Twice. You scared me twice. Once when you were drunk, and then when you jumped on Lucian."

He frowns. "Those were the only two times?" he asks.

"Yes. When I said we'd had that conversation before I meant that we had it when you were drunk." I say.

The waiter brings us our salads and wine and we order our main courses.

"Brittany, oh my god. I thought I had scared you several times. That I'd hurt you once before. That's why I was so distant. But I kept you close to me because, well, I didn't want you to know. I didn't want to make you feel bad." He says.

"That makes sense, but why did you stop acting like you did when we first met? You stopped calling me pet names, and started calling me Brittany again. What happened to Britt?" I ask.

He reaches out and takes my hand.

"It's hard to keep control over myself when I see you blush, which you do every time I call you pet names. Like Britt." He says.

This, of course, makes me blush and he chuckles, a sound I have missed.

"I'm sorry I was so distant." Cody says.

"I'm sorry I started a fight." I say.

He smiles and touches my cheek. "I'd hardly call that a fight." He murmurs.

The waiter comes back and gives us our food. We eat in comfort now, and Cody tells me everything I've wanted to hear for the past two weeks.

"Dessert, Mr. and Mrs. Landon?" the waiter asks.

I smile a little, and so does Cody. "No thank you. We'll have the check though." He says.

The guy vanishes and I meet Cody's eyes.

"I could get used to that." he says.

"To what?" I ask.

"Mrs. Landon." He replies.

"Well, that's good. Because you're going to have to." I say.

He chuckles and pays the waiter.

"Come on baby." he says. "Our nights not over yet."