REFINED ROMANCE

The first date

Chapter 6

1493 Word Update date:2023-08-11 10:15:18

On any other occasion, I would have walked to Forty Ninth Street with ease.

I would have gone down the streets without a fear in my mind because that's me. Being able to handle myself since my childhood days. Toughing it up all through school and somehow finding a way to deal with things without help from anyone. If you wanted to find a friend who relied on someone else, then that wasn't me at all. But taking Liam along the shadowed streets of New York where muggers and danger lurked around every corner; I wasn't going to take that risk.

Somehow I really felt protective over him.

Even him opening the door and waiting until I climbed in neatly.He was being totally gentleman like as if this was us going on our first date or prom or something.

But it felt like a first date.

It really did.

The first night we suddenly met and now we're going somewhere, just like that. Amazing how things happen, right? Pretty much, my life remains the same every single day. The same going in and coming out again to work. Hanging out. But nothing had changed like this in a long time. This was really unexpected. I was actually on my way to a hangout spot with the boss. And he was seriously throwing these vibes out.

Play it cool, Sophie.

First thing's first, don't ever assume that someone wants you. Don't ever make the first move. Especially on a supposed handasome man who got recently divorced, has one kid and signs your paychecks. Don't do it. Because the minute you start making moves that are bold enough, then things might end up slapping you over. Into reality. Coming back into the now. He could be wounded and in desperate need of company. That could be it. And I wasn't about to jump into this without a life jacket. So I'd take it cool and see what happened.

But he had to make the first move on me and not the other way around.

The minute I parked in front of The Hideaway, he peered up through the window and surveyed the roof. Not much could be seen from below. So I turned off the engine, wasted no time in getting out. His side was approached whilst he waited like a man who had been brought up with chauffeurs that opened doors all the time. It wasn't something new to him because my move was never even considered. Rolling my eyes, I led the way as knee high boots clicked upon the concrete pavement behind me.

"Is this place safe?" he lingered two steps behind.

I turned to stare into fearful eyes. Not too wide but a slight flicker of uncertainty.

"Yeah, don't worry."

For emphasis, I held out my right hand and smiled. Then suddenly it dawned upon me that if he took it, I'd go weak in the knees. So I lowered it. She watched and waited.

His chest heaved. "This is seriously unlike me."

I frowned. "What is?"

"Coming...here...with you," he raised his eyebrows, "clearly I am out of my mind tonight. And this is all your fault, entirely."

I offered a smile. "Trust me, you'll love it up there."

"Well," he shrugged and stepped forward, "let's see what your tastes are like. If I approve."

He was actually considering what I liked?

was actually considering what I liked?

If he wished to be just a boss to me, intrigued by my lifestyle then that was fine. If he wanted us to be friends to just hang out, then that was fine. But throwing these hints, hidden meanings between lines? Maybe I was delusional and my mind was playing tricks on me. However, there was no covering up the way Liam reacted when I tried to touch him.

As we moved up the steps that were lined with these cool looking yellow lights, we might have accidentally brushed shoulders. he twitched and considered just where we touched. Probably feeling a spark? Then when my hand reached for the railing to climb up further, he mirrored my move. Our fingers met and I couldn't muffle my gasp. It was like a scream in the night. One that immediately pulled our eyes towards each other and he stared at me as if the world didn't exist in those couple of seconds.

Well it's safe to say that when Thomas,Peter and Max saw my companion, their jaws dropped open immediately.

I knew that reaction would have happened. Rolling my eyes, he was introduced and they still couldn't find their voices. Staring at Liam as if he was a glowing Goddess covered in gold beads. After shaking hands, my boss neatly sat upon a concrete bench next to the ledge and cast his eyes upon the city below. Everything else was forgotten of for more than a minute whilst the guys threw me bewildered looks and mouthed 'what the f**k?' But Neal was always the first one to pick up things. He knew about my crushes on a truck load of male celebrities, about how I openly spoke about men and their chests often. So obviously his first reaction to seeing Liam was more than what Max and Peter could understand.

"Of all the men," he hissed through his teeth, bending next to me by the red plastic cooler, "you chose your freaking boss?"

I smiled, took out two cold beers and shrugged. "It's not like that."

It's not like..." he leaned in closer, "are you kidding me, Sophie ? The boss man ? Totally off limits. Although I've got to admit that he's smoking hot. What's his story then?"

"Recently divorced, one kids ",he personally hired me, can't stop looking at me. And we only met tonight."

He stared. "Fuck."

"That's just it though," I frowned. "I'm not going to do anything."

I watched Peter ask him something. Black, choppy hair fluttering in the wind. He was seriously attractive.

"So you can't tell me you brought him here to just hang and have a good time." Thomas helped me open the beers, our fingers ice cold.

"That's just it," I repeated, shaking my numb fingers out.

He smiled. "If he makes the first move..."

"He wouldn't," hanging my head, I immediately avoided Liam's gaze in my direction. "I'm not that lucky. Never was. This is just me taking the boss out to lighten up. Nothing else."

"Well from the way he's looking at you, I don't think you're that unlucky." Lifting my head, our eyes met and he peered down at his lap, smiling slightly. "What are you playing at though? You don't usually do this. Taking a man out. That sorta thing."

I could feel my neck growing warm because after now looking at the cooler once more, a gaze was enacted again. This time though, Thomas caught on and nudged me. Inhaling deeply, two packets of Doritos were snatched up and I made my way to where he sat. Why the gazes?

"The fashion industry is powerful," Peter was saying, his bold stare resting on Liam's chest. "Changes with the seasons, new trends, the lot."

"What you know about fashion, mate?" Max piped up, waving to Thomas, gesturing for another beer, "you practically wear the same kind of clothes since I met you. Leather pants and leather jacket," he raised his eyebrows at Liam. "Only thing that changes for him is the color of his shirt."

"Oh shut up."

Same pattern with the stripes," Max gestured across his chest, "vertical stripes."

I handed Liam a beer and he studied it for a few seconds before accepting. Gracefully. The way his fingers wrapped around the bottle, such a man. Everything this man did was an eyeopener. Every move was studied. And right about then, I had three extra pairs of eyes focused on the brunette.

"Thank you, Sophie"he squeezed his thighs together to make room for me on the concrete bench. I handed him a tissue and it was pressed onto the bottom of the bottle.

His every move was watched. By four pairs of eyes. And he still continued to avoid all scrutiny, completely unaffected. How in the world could someone be so composed and mature, I had no idea.

At my age, these guys were literally children even though older. So hanging out with them made me feel like a freaking teenager. Especially Thomas who loved to break into the Carnival when it came to town and pick the locks on the rides. Max was a pro at building things. Good with tools and picking people's pockets on campus. Peter was the stud, the one who who believed himself to be the most handsome man who resided in New York. He also wore eyeliner. So to have these three idiots stare down the boss was something to smile about.

Out of all three of them, the one who definitely believed that he

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