“You’re already different. I’ve never taken any of them to dinner. I sure as shit didn’t bring them flowers or think about what I was going to wear if I saw them. If that’s not enough for you, then I’ll just have to work harder to convince you that I’m not in this just to get into your panties.”
“I’m not very good at trusting people to stay around,” I admitted.
“Neither of us knows what’s going to happen here. We don’t know each other well enough yet. But I do know that I was willing to risk Aubrey’s wrath just by taking you to dinner tonight. She’d have my balls if I banged you and walked away the next morning. That’s one worry you can cross off your list.”
“You talked to your sister?” I asked, feeling a little better about the night and his intentions if that was true.
“If by talking you mean that she grilled me, then yes.”
“Okay,” I whispered and reached up to kiss him on the cheek.
He wrapped his arms around me to hug me tight. “Right, let’s get date number two started. I’m starving!”
We made it to the truck, and he bundled me inside before getting in himself. I watched him as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. It was hard to believe that I was on a date with Jackson. If someone had told me that this would happen a month ago, I would have laughed my ass off at the idea because he was such a player. A week ago, I would have said no way because I couldn’t have imagined him being interested in me. Now, I was just happy to be here with him and a little scared by how he made me feel.
“So where are you taking me?” I asked since he had not answered the question earlier.
“How do you feel about Japanese food? I wanted to take you to one of my favorite places. It’s a Teppan grill, but it has sushi too,” he answered, sounding like an excited kid.
“You’re favorite place, huh?” I teased.
“Yup. Good food and lots of it. Plus the chefs put on a bit of a show while they’re cooking. My parents used to take us there for my birthday when I was younger, and it’s always been kind of a special place for me.”
I was touched that he wanted to bring me to somewhere that meant something to him. He was already scoring major points with me tonight, and the date had barely started. I definitely needed to stay on my toes around him before I did something stupid like falling hard for him. So I just smiled in response and fiddled with the radio. I wasn’t surprised to find it set to an XM station that was all about rock ‘n’ roll. I let the music roll over me and enjoyed the ride to the restaurant. We got there pretty fast, and it was quickly obvious that Jackson hadn’t been exaggerating about coming here before.
“Jackson, welcome back,” the hostess greeted us with a big smile. She grabbed two menus and walked us to a station in the corner where nobody else was seated. It was odd because all the other ones were packed with people. “Your waiter will be with you shortly,” she said before walking away.
She wasn’t kidding either. The waiter showed up before I could even get my coat settled on the chair. He had a tray with a two white containers, glasses, and cups on it that he placed in front of us. I easily recognized the first as a teapot but wasn’t sure about the other flask-like one he had brought.
“What’s this?” I asked Jackson.
“Sake. You can’t experience Japanese food without trying it,” he answered as he poured us each a drink. I took a small sip, not sure what to expect. “What do you think?”
“I’ve never tried it before, but it’s good. Different than I expected since the only time I’ve ever seen was it in sake bombs at the bar before.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure comparing the sake you serve at the bar to this is like comparing Popov vodka to Ketel One,” he explained.
As I sipped my sake, the chef rolled a cart to the table. I looked around the restaurant, surprised to see him at our table already. Nobody else had been seated with us, which was really strange. We also hadn’t ordered, but he seemed to have everything with him to make our dinner.
Jackson must have noticed my confused expression because he nodded his head at the chef before leaning towards me so he could whisper in my ear. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked for a favor when I made the reservation.”
Goose bumps traveled up my spine at the feel of his hot breath against my ear. “What kind of favor?”
“The kind where I get to enjoy my favorite restaurant with you all to myself. I didn’t want to share a table with a bunch of strangers.”