Celeb Date

Chapter 9- A Dinner Date With An Injured Pride

  The smell of seafood and expensive spices filled my nose, making my mouth water. Luke pinched my shoulder, and laughed.

  “I’ve never seen you with that big of a grin on your face,” Luke joked. “Food must be the way to a girl’s heart.”

  I suppressed an even bigger grin, even though my shoulder kind of stung.

  We walked up to the registration desk, and I gave the waitress standing behind it a warm smile, but her eyes were fixed on Luke.

  “Green. Table for two,” Luke said to the pretty blonde behind the counter. She blushed fiercely, looking like she was holding back a squeal.

  “Yes sir, Luke Green.”

  We followed closely behind her as she led us to our table.

  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Pearls lined everything, including the table clothes. Blue was definitely the theme color, because everything seemed to be some shade of blue. But the best decoration, wasn’t even a decoration. It was a huge window that gave us a clear view of the ocean.

  I laughed when I saw an aquarium covering the entire west wall. They really got into their decorating. Luke pulled my chair out for me, and I sat, suddenly feeling very underdressed.

  “We should’ve changed first,” I said laughing.

  “You look fine,” Luke countered, taking a seat across from me.

  I looked around at all the finely dressed men and women. Some were in simple yet fancy business suits, while others had gone the lengths to wear dresses and tuxedos. My smile faltered. I looked back at Luke. He had on black dress pants, and a light blue button down dress shirt that looked recently ironed.

  He caught my gaze and bit his lower lip.

  “Is staring at me fun?” He asked.

  I blushed, looking down at my place setting.

 “No. Not as fun as the paparazzi make it out to be,” I retorted.

  “You look great,” He said, and I smiled.

  “How did you know that I was worried about that?” I asked, grinning.

  “Well either you’re checking everyone out, or you’re feeling really self-conscious,” Luke deduced.

  I laughed, and blushed fiercely when everyone turned to look at me.

  Luke smiled, laughing quieter than I had.

  “Why are you hiding?” He asked me as I buried my head into the crook of my arm.

  “Because. They were staring at me,” I said, my voice laced with embarrassment.

  “They were probably searching for the girl with the adorable laugh,” Luke mused, drumming his fingers on the table.

  “I don’t like them staring!” I whispered loudly, smacking at Luke’s fingers, and they stopped mid-drum.

  “Well if you would quite acting so darn cute, they wouldn’t have a reason to stare,” Luke said, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Oh, you’re just asking for it,” I scolded, sitting up in my chair.

  Our waiter walked up, and he didn’t look any older than me. He smiled at me, and I heard Luke groan across from me, but it wasn’t loud enough for others to hear.

  “What may I get for the lovely lady and her companion?” The waiter asked, flipping open his fancy pad of paper.

  I could see Luke biting his lip, and his fingers began to drum again.

  “Um--” I started lamely, “I’ll have some shrimp scampi, with a side of Caesar salad.”

  Luke huffed out a breath.

  “I’ll have the same, and some sparkling-"

  “Champagne?” The waiter asked, looking bored.

  ”No,” Luke said, his annoyance seeping into his words. “I want sparkling cider. And if you don’t get me and my companion sparkling cider, then I will take it up with my manager,” Luke said, leaning back in his seat, and his voice became sickeningly calm.

  “Alright sir,” The waiter said, his eyes wide. I sent him a look of pity, and he returned it with a reassuring smile.

  I watched him walk away, not wanting to look at Luke’s annoyed expression.

  “For a celebrity,” I said turning towards him, my voice surprisingly steady. “You sure don’t know how to keep your cool.”

  Luke frowned.

  “Don’t you ever just hate someone from the minute you lay eyes on them?”

  I sighed, rubbing my fingers over my temples.

  “That has nothing to do with your capability to treat a human being like a human being. Not everyone can hide behind “the manager card” you know. And pardon me for saying so, but I find it a bit childish of you to do so,” I said, almost laughing.

  “It’s not a card I play often Melissa. I only play that card when I feel the need to. It may have been a premature decision, but I don’t really think apologizing would do any good now,” Luke said, sneering.

  “Luke. The only reason you don’t want to apologize is because you can’t handle the dent it would put in your pride,” I said as I pushed away from the table, my chair skidding against the floor.

  “Oh, now don’t run off,” Luke whined, grabbing my arm.

  I yanked my arm free.

  “Oh trust me, I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ve been waiting to come here for forever, and no mega ego can ruin this experience for me. I’m just going to go to the bathroom,” I grumbled, shoving my purse at him.

  “Watch that would you?” I asked, though it wasn’t a question. I cringed as my sneakers squeaked against the linoleum floor.