Palace to Plunder (AMBW)

5 RAR

I still couldn't believe that he accepted my offer to treat him out to a meal. I followed about 5 feet behind him as he lead me down the road. This was the richer part of our city, so I knew the stores around here were expensive.

We reached a stairway that lead up into a building. I followed him up and stopped when he paused at the door. "Ladies first." He stepped aside and waited for me to enter. I nodded and opened the door and entered, holding the door slightly ajar for him to follow behind.

"Table for two?" A waitress smiled at me and sauntered over.

"Yes." Levi answered for me. We followed the waitress over to a table in the back, on the right side of the restaurant. I studied the decorations and art pieces hanging on the walls as we strolled down the isle of booths. This place looked nice and fancy! The music that bounced off the walls was a smooth jazz playlist, and tune eased the butterflies in my stomach as I sat in front of Levi.

"Can I start you off with drinks?" The woman asked while handing us the menu.

"Water." Both Levi and I said in sync. I looked away shyly, feeling his intense gaze on me. "I want mine with lemon." He finished nonchalantly.

"Alright." The waitress replied. "I'll be right back." She said before leaving him and I alone. Levi pulled out his phone and started tapping away on his keyboard.

I tapped on the table to fill up the awkward silence, and decided to give another look around the restaurant. I looked at the white walls, beige tile and polished dark brown tables surrounding us. I noticed that the people who ate here were dressed very formally, and suddenly felt out of place.

The waitress returned with our drinks and placed them on the table. "Have you both decided what you'd like to eat?" She pulled out a pen and notebook, ready to write down our order.

I didn't even look at the menu yet. I opened it while taking a sip of my water, and almost choked when I saw the price for just one meal. The lowest I saw was $50 for just honey glazed chicken served with veggies.

"I'd like to have the sirloin steak, steamed asparagus and sautéed mushrooms.." Levi started out and named a lot more food to her. My poor wallet was going to suffer after this. When he finished, the waitress glanced at me.

"Anything for you?"

I shook my head and closed the menu. "Oh no, I'm not hungry." I handed the menu back to her. If I ordered something, I was afraid my card would get declined. Levi raised a brow at me, and I ignored him. The waitress took both of the menus away and excused herself to bring our order to the kitchen.

There was a bit more awkward silence until she came back after 30 minutes to bring back Levi's food. She placed like 10 plates of various appetizers and main dishes onto our table. "Enjoy." She smiled and walked away.

Levi took out a knife and fork and dug into his steak first. Maybe it was time for me to get to know him a little better?

"So.." I trailed off awkwardly, clearing my voice so get his attention. "Are you a student?" I asked, gesturing to his book that he just bought. Levi continued stuffing his mouth with food.

"No." Was all he answered threw his chews.

Okay then.

"Oh, then what do you do for a living?" I relaxed in my chair and brought my lips into a small smile.

He remained silent as he continued cutting through his meat and shoving it in his mouth. "How old are you?"

"Do you ever shut up?" He seethed through a mouth full of food.

"I was just trying to make small conversation.."

"Don't," He grunted. "We're not friends."

I exhaled and crossed my arms before looking away as he finished his eating. The silence was killing me inside, and it lasted like that for the next half hour. In my peripheral, I saw he finished all plates except one dish in particular.

He pushed the plate over to my side of the table and stood. I was still in shock that he was able to eat so much food in one sitting. But his sudden action brought me out of my thoughts. "What?" I blinked at the food before flickering my eyes at him in a state of confusion.

"For you." He muttered. "I don't know why you didn't order anything when you're hungry." He noticed I was hungry? Wow, how thoughtful. He shrugged and took his book before tucking it under his arm and shoving both his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks for the food." He nodded at me, and walked away before I could say anything. I wanted to follow him, but the waitress brought me the check, stopping me in my tracks. When I saw how much I was paying, I almost passed out.