Brittany fiddled with her phone again anticipating a response to her text, he wasn't late or anything but she had arrived 5 minutes early and he wasn't there. Typically the poor boy was so eager to see her he'd arrive almost an hour beforehand at times, her getting to the location before him was something new. She put her phone away and just assumed he was walking slow, a wooden bench with rich green paint lined the sidewalk out front of Bailey's, one of the most lavish restaurants in the city. On the top floor sat their patio section which offered one of the most gorgeous views of Vegas a person could ask for, at night it was especially majestic twinkling like a field of light that drifted off into the horizon, being a sucker for scenic photo opportunities Brittany loved coming here any chance she could get. Not to mention their baked potato and cheddar soup was to die for, albeit a bit expensive, thankfully with Lance now in the picture she was certain her tongue would be tasting the savory flavor of it quite often over the next few months.
The clock struck 7pm and still no Lance, not only had he not arrived early to see her but he wasn't even on time either? He swore up and down he "could throw a stone at Bailey's" from his house. Still, no reason to be agitated or worried, plenty of times throughout her career men had showed up late only to apologize and spend more extravagantly on her throughout the evening. She had met Lance's type a million times it felt like, the soft quiet boy who got walked over by his ex wife and is looking for someone pretty to spend money on so he can feel better about himself. Poor guy wasn't likely to even last 30 seconds inside of her with how sheepish he had been just talking on a few dates. She was impatient for a taste of that soup she wagered, hunger had always driven her to be a little irritable.
Lance gazed at Brittany from beyond a set of bushes about 2 blocks away, like an urban leopard stalking its prey through a concrete jungle. As horrible of a person she was on the inside there was no denying her outward beauty, rich soft skin glazed with a perfect tan. Her long legs were exquisitely toned, a result of all the yoga and pilates classes she enjoyed on the dime of her exes. A beautiful tattoo of falling autumn leaves cascading toward the ground adorned the side of her left leg running all the way down to the top of her foot, gorgeous work but a very daring move to have such a distinguishable tattoo for someone who made a living the way she did. A simple, but prominent detail that displayed her supreme level of overconfidence, Lance was immensely looking forward to finally dropping the pathetic schmuck act tonight. Taking a deep breath he emerged from behind the bushes, walking with a burst of speed as though he had never broken stride.
Brittany looked up from her phone and finally saw Lance coming down the sidewalk, a full five minutes late, she was absolutely starving now! No matter, at least they could finally get dinner started, and Brittany was terribly excited to get inside of his house later that night and finally scope it out. She put on her cutest smile she could muster, which given the rich dimples on her cheeks was laughably easy to do, and enthusiastically waved to Lance. He smiled, nodded to her, and continued walking at his current pace. A nod? Seriously? He was usually sprinting up to her at first sight, unable to wrap his arms around her waist fast enough. Tonight she gets a halfhearted smirk and a nod? She hoped he wasn't sick or anything. One time a mark had come down with the flu, causing her to waste an entire evening playing nurse just to get access to his bank account info and routing number. It was a terrible inconvenience for her, and one she hoped never to have to endure again, with Lance being late and acting slightly unusual upon first glance she was starting to mildly worry. Finally he caught up to the bench she had propped herself on, Lance stared deep into her eyes and smiled this time, though it was barely more than the prior smirk.
"Hey there, you look great, shall we?" before Brittany could even answer he had turned toward the restaurant's entrance and walked toward it, he hadn't even extended his arms for a hug. Brittany sat there a bit dumbfounded, this was by far the coldest opening to a date night she had received from Lance, granted that was a small sample size but still. She was slightly more worried now, this night needed to go well. Brittany only had the money to live for 3 more months and her other immediate prospects either didn't possess the income Lance did or would take too long to pin under her thumb the way a weak guy like him would. She noticed Lance had stopped at the entrance and turned back toward her, "Do you want to get a picture first or something?" he inquired.
Fetching back into her bag of charms Brittany smiled and shook her head, "just making sure I brought my wallet with me" she chirped as she walked her way toward the door. She had a jaw dropping stride to her, shaking her voluptuous hips side to side in a perfectly effortless manner. Lance smiled and imagined her excellent figure bound to a bench in his dungeon, folded back by leather binds with both holes stuffed full of erotic toys as the sounds of her screams filled the room around him. Brittany quickly noticed his smile and took it as a sign her chipper attitude was brightening his mood. "Um excuse me mr. man but you forgot something!" the playfully prissy attitude was such an easy mask for her to wear and the sweet words rolled off her serpentine tongue with no effort at all. She extended her arms for a hug, to which Lance chuckled and extended his arms back embracing her, unbeknownst to her seeing through every part of the act.
A grand dining room blossomed from the entrance inside, Brittany stared in awe of the shining crystal chandeliers and lush red carpet as she always did, taking her phone out to quickly snap a picture. A tall, older gentleman with glasses and a bright grey soul patch dressed in a fine tuxedo greeted them from behind an oak podium, "good evening to both of you, party of 2?" Brittany maintained her syrupy sweet smile while Lance took her by the hand.
"Reservation actually, should be under Lamden" he responded, the old man sifted through a tablet device laying atop the podium in front of him. "Ah yes, right this way sir" he blurted back within seconds before taking two menus and walking toward a staircase to their right. Brittany went to follow when she suddenly realized she was already being pulled in that direction by Lance, not in what one could say was an overtly forceful manner but enough that it was clear Lance expected her to follow him. His grip also seemed much stronger than it had the last time they were together, part of her was a little shocked given how she always led the way while he sheepishly followed. No matter though, it was a small detail and could easily be chalked up to his nervousness, perhaps he was officially going to ask her to be his girlfriend tonight? Before her thoughts were quite complete she found herself following along as he pulled her, speeding up if need be to keep pace. A small interaction no doubt but one that threw her off nonetheless.
The three of them ascended a spiraling staircase surrounded by pearl white walls with golden inlays, pictures of all sorts of celebrity covered the wall from Frank Sinatra to Dave Chappelle all enjoying some of their favorite Bailey's dishes. At the top a large golden archway led to a circular patio that wrapped around the whole building, beyond lay the glorious view Brittany had anticipated all afternoon. The server lead them to a secluded table right on the edge of the patio with a perfect viewpoint, Lance pulled her chair out as he always had done before sitting down himself, an encouraging sign he hadn't lost all his manners.
"May I get you both started with something to drink?" the gentleman kindly inquired, Brittany began to open her mouth to answer before she was abruptly cut off by Lance.
"Ice tea for me and a lemon water for the beautiful woman across from me" he smiled looking deeply into her eyes. Brittany was so blindsided by the act that before she could even confirm it to the server he had written the order and disappeared, did he really just order her drink for her? It wasn't like he hadn't bought her drinks before but it was usually ones she requested. Remarking that she was beautiful to the waiter showed it may have only been a well meaning gesture, but it was still strange for him to so flatly state what she was going to drink. Still, she assumed the intention was good enough so there was no point in making a big deal out of it. She could always get her glass of wine she wanted later in the evening after all, she looked over at Lance who hadn't broken his stare yet and gave a soft smile.
"So how's work treating you? I know with all that bullshit going on with senator Davis you've probably been crazy busy." she asked him, twirling her hair around in her fingers while hurling soft blinks from her emerald green eyes.
"Yeah, it's been a mess" Lance shook his head before continuing "but you know how it is with corruption; it never sleeps, hungers, or tires out" he continued further this time staring directly into Brittany's eyes "it's a terrible world full of terrible people isn't it?"
Expecting the customary "it was fine" or "nothing new really", despite the senators misgivings plastering the news pages, Brittany was taken aback by such a detailed response and pondered the implications of the final line he had spoken while staring at her so intently. Terrible world full of terrible people? Was that some kind of shot at her? No way, she was letting her paranoia get the best of her, the guy was a news producer. He's probably seen and heard plenty of terrible things that he doesn't feel like getting into, she needed to calm down and not get herself all worked up.
