Lets Get Closer Ch 06

Let's Get Closer: Chapter Six

Destiny felt her anxiety skyrocket as she was led into the poorly lit building by her boyfriend. Jake had told her that no one would really be there at this time of day. If the place got too crowded, he would leave as soon as she wanted and they'd head somewhere else. Anywhere she wanted was on the table. When she asked for a budget on what she could order he waved her off and told her not to think too hard about it.

This was their first date, and he wanted to spoil her as much as possible. So, here they were, sitting in a classy place with a whole area to themselves. The bar smelled like hickory that distinctly reminded her of men's cologne. There was a huge bar with a glass and wooden table as she passed. A cleanly-shaven bartender nodded at her with a small grin.

She saw what had to be hundreds of crystal-shot glasses in cabinets lining the walls. Then she was hit by just how huge the place was. How charming the decorations looked being composed of fur and leather. Destiny couldn't help but feel out of place with her outfit and general appearance. From the patrons she did see they all looked so much older and chic.

They wore dresses and suits she saw on fashion blogs that cost thousands. This clashed with the sweater dress and boots she wore that any girl could pick up and wear for the day. She didn't look classy or expensive, which made her insecurities bubble up. Anxiously, the mousy woman pulled at a stray strand of her hair that came out of the bun she'd slapped together.

Destiny didn't want to ruin the night by voicing her feelings, so she kept her mouth shut. Her older partner must have felt her changing mood as he squeezed her hand tightly. This made her cheeks tint pink. It was their first real public display of affection. He then pulled her close to his side, rubbing her shoulders gently. The man maneuvered her body over a small booth seat made out of leather with a circular table in between each side.

Jake let go of her and beckoned for her to sit down first. She looked at him feeling comforted by his gentlemanly behavior and slid into the booth. The leather felt cold against her bare skin and she wasn't able to cross her legs from how low the table was. Despite this she found herself liking the little area.

Nobody could see her from how tall the seats were, and that made her feel protected. Opposite of her, Jake sat down and moved the condiments out of the way so they looked into each other's eyes. He was dressed similarly to the dark-skinned woman, but she couldn't help but find him so elegant. Even with a regular button up the man managed to pull off the mature, smoldering look. She was impressed with him as he spoke to her with such care on the car ride there. He told her that she was stunning as soon as she sat down and kissed her cheek. This melted her and she was smiling the whole time he drove. And now here they sat with him looking at her in such a way. His eyes were practically soothing the pain in her heart with just one simple glance and look over.

"You know," His voice was like honey pouring down her throat and healing her body. "I always went to this place when I was getting my bachelor's."

Destiny cocked her head to the side. "You went to college?" It wasn't a demeaning question but a genuine one. The man worked in a trade and had never mentioned college before.

He flicked her forehead with his pinky, which made her blink and blush. "You look so innocent when you talk like that." He laughed at her wide-eyed, jaw-dropped expression.

"But yes, I did go to college. I have an associate's degree in the science of carpentry and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. I got my job to help pay for ex wife's lifestyle. It worked me to the bone and I'm glad I'm not doing it with school anymore." Jake confessed to her with a faraway look in his eyes.

The milk chocolate-toned woman tried not to feel jealous by that look. He never really talked about his ex-wife but she understood he still had love for her. Jake had told her briefly one day during a ride that she cheated. That his wife had been sleeping with a coworker and he caught them. This made her stomach twist, and she comforted the man when he froze and refused to speak further.

But she could tell that more than that happened. Destiny didn't even know the woman's name, but he still kept his old wedding ring in his bedroom. He never wore it but he spoke with joy about how he picked it out and hid it in a box of chocolates. She tried hard not to be envious, as at the end of the day, his wife was his long-term partner. And she was just a girl he had started to have intimate relations with.

It hurt to talk down on herself that way because of someone who was pretty much a ghost. But that's the only way Destiny could rationalize that look in his eyes. It was a look that held a lot of passion. She wondered if he would ever look at her that way if they ever broke up. She didn't even know if that was the proper terminology for what they had. They were on a date, but anyone could go on a date these days.

Best friend dates existed. They had been intimate, but that was just an explosion of pent-up emotion. Not something that comes from love or a deep care for each other. Not like what he must have been doing with his ex. The dainty woman looked away from him and instinctively pulled her hand away. She put her hands in her lap and sunk into her seat. This was not too noticeable, so she was positive that Jake wouldn't get offended by how she was behaving.

But that wasn't the case. Jake was too perceptive, and he quickly moved to touch her cheek. His hand was warm but struggled to melt the insecurities in her heart. "I'm sorry for bringing her up to you. I shouldn't have vented to you like that. Tonight is about you and me, not a woman from my past." His words failed to reassure her.

Destiny just felt too deep in her feelings. "I understand. There's no reason to apologize." She tried to smile at him, but it was weak and instantly crumbled.

The older man instantly began to comfort her. "Please don't feel bad." He said softly as his touch moved from her face to her neck. His lips brushed against her forehead, which was sweaty from the humidity. "You will never be compared to her by me, alright? I will always see you as your person and treat you with respect."

Being compared to others was something she had gone through her whole life. As a child, her elderly relatives would pick her cousins over her. When she was in school, she would be picked last for dodgeball and be ignored for class parties. On trips, she would be paired with random kids. She would be third-wheeling as they were forced to talk to her. It was a familiar pain that she wished she had never had to deal with, but she always had to clean up after the mess.

Destiny just hated it, but she was too weak of a woman to ever speak her mind about it. Even now, with the man's soft hands gracing her body, she struggled to figure out what to say. She felt like the words were stuck in the back of her throat and she couldn't vomit them up. Sadly, she looked at him and saw the desperation in his eyes. How bad he felt for talking about some other woman in his life.

Destiny cringed. She felt so shitty for being so jealous. "Thank you for saying this. I didn't mean to ruin the mood by becoming so mixed up in my feelings." She sighed and decided to finally touch him back. The woman timidly set her hand on his.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the bar becoming more full. She blushed and felt embarrassed for talking about something so deep privately. "I get that she was your wife for over a decade. And that means you have a complicated history with her and I understand that. Just please, be open with me about everything."

"I don't think it's right for me to dump all that onto you. Our relationship is still in its infant stage and I don't want to bury you in my bad past." Jake spoke so softly she could barely hear his voice at times. "I don't want you to be a mirror of her."

They had to stop talking about it briefly as a server came over. She was a short woman with a small chest covered in body art that left Destiny amazed. It was another knock at her confidence, though. She wished she could be as brave and happy as her to show off her body and talk to them with a grin. It was awkward as hell to push her feelings onto the random middle-aged woman. Destiny couldn't help herself, as she just was all over the place with everything going on in her life. The bright-eyed woman left them with their menus and went on her way.

Thankfully, the woman had no idea what her patron was projecting onto her. Slowly, her focus went back to what was important. Jake being willing to do so much for her made her want to cry. She liked that he cared that much for her thoughts. But she knew that allowing him to smother his memories was a horrible decision to make. There was no way in hell she was going to be that selfish with someone she loved.

"I love you for you." Jake reassured her and she felt her heart shatter from guilt. This man was pleading on his knees practically for her to trust his words.

She had to put a stop to this. "I believe you," One peek at the menu on the table turned her crimson. Everything was so much money. "Wait. This is all too much."

He chuckled and flipped through his menu with ease. "Don't worry about the costs of anything here. Get whatever you want. This is a gift, not a burden for you."

Destiny allowed her walls to go down as she smiled. "Thank you." There was a fuzzy feeling gathering in her stomach as she proceeded to pick what she wanted.

There was an assortment of dishes for her to choose from. They had three main types to choose from, with the being Italian, Classic American & Korean. This also extended to a hibachi grill that was housed in the building next to them. It just would cost them an extra fifty dollars to go over there and get some hot chicken flipped into their mouth. The entire place was so luxurious she was reminded of those fake restaurants you'd see in movies.

Where the main characters would stare and make fun of people for going there for so little portions. Destiny felt like she was going to have a heart attack just from some ingredients. Gold slivers, exotic animals she swore, were illegal to devour. Everything was there. And this was just a bar and grill, so she knew the better places in the area had to be worse. The mousey girl was just amazed by what she was seeing to the point she was speechless. But she remembered what Jake had told her. This date was a gift to and for her.

"This all looks so delicious," She told him as their plates were brought over in fifteen minutes. A fancy trolley was wheeled over for all their appetizers, main meals, and desserts. "I've never had fried squid and barbecued oysters before." Destiny gushed.

Jake laughed and nodded at the server, who was setting down their plates. "Well, this will be your chance to try something new. We can take whatever you don't eat back to the apartment to eat together tomorrow." Hearing this made her so happy.

"Does that mean we'll be eating lunch together tomorrow?" Destiny asked with a genuine look of hope in her eyes. That would be like another mini-date for them.

His smile dazzled her."Of course, we will. I'll pick you up during your break between classes and we'll sit on the hood of my car."

Destiny covered her face with her hand and blushed. Imagining everyone at her university walking by and seeing her with Jake gave her a rush. The man would look out of place with the girl who everyone thought was awkward. She could tell that everyone had a certain opinion of her already. They gave her glances and commented under their breath sometimes about her quietness. It was so infantile that Destiny felt like she was sent right back to high school.

But she couldn't help but want them to be jealous of the man she was with. She wanted them to be shell-shocked that someone they looked down on was successful. This desire was also pretty childish to have, but the dark-skinned woman had to feed into it. It was a primal feeling that any former bullied or ostracized person would have in life. She smiled happily and beamed up at him, forgetting about her food entirely.

"That would be amazing." Destiny said, feeling much better compared to earlier.

The rest of the date was pretty uneventful. The couple ate their food, and Destiny was enchanted by just how delicious everything tasted. She could taste spices in meats that she had never even heard of before. Back home, her mother couldn't cook very well and the food they did have was typically over-seasoned. This left her with a pretty basic food palette that she wanted to transform and improve upon.

Jake was shocked that she'd never had a lobster before. He was even more impressed that she didn't know how to use certain utensils like a soup spoon. Normally, the woman would be embarrassed for this to be pointed out. But with the older man, she could tell that he was just teasing her like before with her stuffed animals. He joked and complicated her so much that she felt like fainting a few times.