Chapter 6 A few nights a week I worked as a waitress at The Blue Wave, a waterfront restaurant. There certainly were worse places to work, given that it was right on the ocean. But on this particular night, it was so busy that I barely had a moment to breathe. I got to table three and prepared to take their drink order. "Sorry for the wait," I said, taking out my tablet. "How may I-" I stopped in my tracks when I got a look at the handsome man sitting across from his date. His eyes widened. "Primrose..." I gulped. "Dorian." We hadn't crossed paths since the fire alarm incident almost a week ago. It was jarring to see him here in my place of work. The look on his face told me he hadn't known I worked here. The blonde sitting across from him looked between us. "You two...know each other?" "You could say that." Dorian closed his menu. "I didn't realize you worked here." "Well, we never discussed where I work. This is where I waitress a few nights a week." I shrugged. "Obviously..." He turned to his date. "Primrose is the niece of my late father's wife." "I see." She sighed. "Good to meet you." "You as well." I ran a hand through my hair. "She's actually staying at the mansion," Dorian added. The woman blinked as she turned to him abruptly. "With you?" "Yes." "We don't see much of each other, though," I added. His mouth curved into a smile. "Unless the fire alarm goes off." I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Right." "And why is she living with you?" his date asked. Before Dorian could say anything, I responded. "I lived there with my aunt before she and Dorian's father passed away. Dorian was gracious enough to let me continue staying there while I finish school." "Shouldn't we all be so lucky to have wealthy relatives to live off of?" she chided. The nerve of her. Wow. "We're not related," I clarified. "Clearly," Dorian agreed. "Since I haven't an artistic bone in my body. Primrose is very talented." Sensing my cheeks reddening, I lifted my tablet again. "Anyway...I should take your order. What can I get you to drink?" "I'll have a glass of your best Chardonnay," she said. I nodded and turned to my relative. "And you?" Dorian flashed a mischievous look. "Surprise me." I could barely think straight, let alone decide what to have the bartender make him. "Okay. Be right back." I rushed off, my mind racing. Before I got to the bar, I ran into the girl working alongside me tonight. "Hey, Maddie, any chance we can switch tables, and you can take over number three?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I actually just got a call that my sitter bailed on me, so I have to relieve my mom who's watching my daughter. I have to leave here in five minutes." Great. So not only would I be serving Dorian and his date all night, we were about to be short-staffed. "No problem. Sorry about your sitter," I murmured as I headed toward the bar. I sucked it up and placed their drink orders, having a little extra fun with Dorian's request to be surprised. Served him right for putting me in this awkward situation. The bartender handed me their drinks, and I headed back to Dorian's table. Of course, on top of everything, he had to look more gorgeous than ever tonight in a linen button-down, his hair parted a bit to the side. He seemed even more tan, and I wondered if he'd taken a day off and spent it at the beach with her. I placed his date's wine in front of her and set down the mixed drink I'd had the bartender make for Dorian. Dorian lifted the glass, examining the contents. "What is this?" "An Alaskan Duck Fart." His eyes went wide. "Excuse me?" "You said to surprise you. I take that responsibility very seriously." He took a reluctant sip. "What's in it?" "Coffee liqueur, Irish cream, and whiskey. I know you like that, since you requested it instead of tea once. This drink is potent, but it goes down easy." He ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "It actually tastes pretty good. Would've never guessed those ingredients went well together." "Next time be specific, or be prepared for another surprise." I flashed my teeth. His eyes were piercing. "You're definitely full of those, Primrose." The woman I'd nearly forgotten sitting across from him cleared her throat. "Should we order?" "Yes." He gestured toward her. "You go ahead." She closed her menu. "I'm going to get the garden salad." So predictable. What a waste. "The food's really good here. Are you sure?" "I think I know what I'm in the mood for. Thanks." She pushed the menu aside. What a bitch. Dorian frowned. I swallowed. "And you?" "Is there anything you'd recommend?" "Well, we don't have caviar and Hot Cheetos, so no." He smiled. "That's a shame." "I do like the filet mignon with asparagus, though," I added. "That sounds delicious. I'll try that. Thank you." Despite enjoying the inexplicable chemistry I had with Dorian, after I put in their order, I welcomed the breather. I busied myself waiting on other tables until their food was ready. When I returned with their meals, I set the salad in front of his date, and she immediately ripped into me. "This is not what I asked for." "It's not?" I looked down at what was very clearly a salad. "No." She shook her head. "I asked for the garden salad. This has cheese on it. I'm vegan. And gluten free." "The garden salad comes with shaved parmesan. You never mentioned your food restrictions." "Well, it didn't say anything about cheese on the menu, so I didn't think I had to. I need you to take it back immediately." Dorian's brows drew in. "Why don't you just pick it off?" "I think she should get me a new plate. I don't want cross-contamination." I feigned a smile. "I'm happy to do that." Gritting my teeth, I returned to the kitchen, dumping her old salad in the trash and requesting a new one. But when I returned to the table with it, she still looked like someone had pissed in her Cheerios. She shook her head. "There are still croutons on this. I said I was gluten-free." "You only mentioned the cheese." "I said I was gluten-free, though. You should know that croutons are bread, and bread contains gluten. I shouldn't have to spell it out." "I don't understand why you didn't just tell me about the croutons last time. I wouldn't have had the chef add them." "Again, the problem is that neither the cheese nor the croutons were specifically mentioned on the menu. You should really speak to someone about greater transparency when it comes to the menu items." Dorian's brows furrowed. "I'll get right on that," I said, though I had no intention of going out of my way to please this woman. "I'm sorry to send this back again." "No, you're not," Dorian interjected, his face turning red. She moved her shoulders back. "What do you mean?" "You're being a bitch about it. You're not sorry at all," he seethed. "You're calling me a bitch?" "I am. You think you're better than her because she's a waitress. Is this how you treat everyone you encounter?" "You've been flirting with this hussy who's freeloading off you since the moment we got here. If I'm a bitch, you're an asshole." He turned to me. "Have I been flirting with you, Primrose?" "If that's flirting, you really need to up your game, Vanderbilt. I mean, the moment you asked me to surprise you with that drink. Gosh, I thought I was going to have to change my panties." His date gritted her teeth. "Okay. You know what?" Her chair skidded against the floor as she got up. "I've had enough. Have a nice life...both of you." I watched her until she was out of sight, then turned to Dorian. "Sorry about that." "Sorry for what? I should be thanking you for sparing me the rest of the evening with her." "She was pretty, though. You could've at least gotten laid." "Pretty ugly on the inside is what she is. And it takes a lot more than a pretty face to get me interested these days. That damn dating app should come with a bitch warning." Someone in the distance called my name. "I have to get back to work," I told him. "Are you staying?" He gestured down to his plate. "Well, I have this delicious steak to eat." "And a salad full of glutenous croutons." "Even better." He winked. I pointed to his empty glass. "Can I get you another drink?" "Yes. But something other than the duck fart one, even though it was tasty. Might have a stomach upset with two of those things." I chuckled. "How about a glass of red? Pairs well with steak." "That sounds perfect." "Be right back." My heart fluttered. We'd joked earlier about not flirting, so why did every moment with him feel like it had a subtext? And how could I be giddy after the disaster that had just occurred at his table? Yes, I was happy his date had left. But I feared the false hope it gave me was going to lead to major disappointment. Dorian wasn't hanging out with me tonight by choice. It was only by default after a series of weird circumstances. He'd had more than one opportunity to ask me out after the couple of times we'd bonded. He'd chosen not to do that. From everything I could tell, he had decided to friend-zone me, so I needed to be careful about inferring anything from his behavior tonight. As I waited for the bartender to pour Dorian's wine, I thought about how silly my damn crush on him was. Why was I thinking this way about a man who clearly went for women who were the complete opposite of me? Not only had both of his last two dates been tall blondes, they were both stuck-up. I was a petite brunette who didn't have a prissy bone in my body. Clearly, Dorian wasn't interested in women like me. I walked the wine over to Dorian and placed it carefully in front of him. "Here you go." "Thank you." "I feel bad deserting you when your date left, but I have to get back to work." "Well, because of you, I'm not living alone, right? I think I can handle half an hour in a restaurant." "Flag me down if you need anything." "Will do." But he never asked for a single thing more. My attention diverted to him from time to time, and once I caught him watching me, but I tried to tell myself not to make anything of it. After he seemed finished, I returned to Dorian's table. "Can I get you some dessert?" "How about we have dessert together back at the house after your shift?" A zap of excitement ran down my spine. "Okay." But I once again warned myself not to read into anything. "Up for a movie, too?" he asked. "Yeah. That'd be great," I answered. You could at least not seem so damn eager to hang out with him. "When do you get off?" Get off, you say? "Ten thirty." "You need a ride home?" "No. I have a car." "That little sky blue Beetle I see parked in the driveway is yours, right?" "Yeah. It gets the job done." "You look like you drive a Beetle." My mouth dropped open. "I'll choose to take that as a compliment." "You should." He laughed. "You want me to pick up dessert on my way home?" I offered. "I'll handle it. Anything you can't eat?" "I'm vegan, gluten-free, and allergic to air." "Liar. You ate the Cheetos." "Good catch." I chuckled. "No food restrictions." "Okay. See you tonight." "Yep." I exhaled. "See you then." I almost said, "It's a date." But that would've been stupidly presumptuous. Dorian was my roommate. I had no evidence that he was interested in anything aside from some very light flirting. I needed to calm my tits. After he left, I checked the bill and noticed he'd left me a massive tip along with a note: Neither blue, nor green. Aquamarine. I stared at it for several seconds. Hmm... In a romance-themed observation show, several participants undergo a series of interactions and conflicts filled with love, misunderstandings, and power struggles. In the end, one couple rises to over...