Date Night 🌶️

FREYA

When we pulled up to Mako, I suddenly understood why we had arrived with Daryl in tow.

There was a large, hungry swarm of paparazzi surrounding this hive of celebrities.

My heart pounded furiously in my chest.

When the car skidded to a stop, I was certain that I couldn’t possibly get out.

First of all, the constricting dress and the sky-high heels were the perfect recipe for a face-plant.

And second of all, Liam’s comment about my appearance had made me really self-conscious.

“I can’t go out there,” I whispered to him when he moved for the door handle.

“Hey, look at me,” he said, but I wouldn’t dare.

I had learned by now that his eyes were dangerous pools to swim in.

“You can do this,” he encouraged me. “I won’t leave your side. And neither will Daryl and Martin.”

Again, he reached for the handle.

“Wait—” I called out. “Do I really look that bad?”

He looked me up and down again. “You really have no idea, do you?” he said, and then he thrust the car door open, climbed out, and pulled me along with him.

The noise swelled as the crowd outside recognized his face and started snapping photo after photo.

The flashing lights blinded me, and I couldn’t make out a path to the restaurant.

My only compass was Liam’s hand as he moved me through the sea of people.

“Liam, is this your new squeeze?” one reporter called out.

“What happened to Jazelle?” shouted another.

“You move fast, don’t you?” someone screamed.

But, despite the questions being fired at him like bullets, Liam just kept his head down and his mouth sealed shut.

I followed his lead, even though I could hear the questions being hurled at me.

“What’s your name?”

“Who are you wearing?”

And even…

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

We probably only traversed thirty feet to the front door, but by the time we reached it, I felt like I had run a mile.

“Finally,” I sighed as Martin held the door open for us.

Liam quickly ushered me inside.

I cast a look back over my shoulder at the horde of people on the other side of the pane of glass.

“Is it always like this?” I asked Liam.

“Sometimes.” He shrugged, and I felt his hand move nonchalantly to the small of my back. “It’s worse tonight because they knew I was going to be here.”

When I gave him a confused look, he let out a sigh.

“The maître d’ always leaks the reservation list to the paparazzi. That’s why Luce booked us here. Maximum publicity.”

Liam and I both lived on planet Earth, but we occupied completely different universes.

Tonight was proof.

“Mr. Henderson, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” a silky voice crooned, and I looked over to find a well-dressed man with a smile so wide the Cheshire cat would have been jealous.

“Your usual table has been prepared for you and…” The man’s eyes quickly fell on me. “Well then,” he said coolly. “What’s your name?”

“Freya Coleman,” I said, and Liam squeezed my waist in approval.

I hated to admit it, but his touch was electrifying.

It took every ounce of my strength to not tremble underneath it.

“We were under the impression that you would be accompanied by Miss…Ericson tonight, Mr. Henderson?” the man prodded, trying to feign innocence.

“Change of plans,” Liam barked without any trace of warmth.

The man nodded politely, and menus in hand, led us to a secluded table near the back of the room.

As we weaved through the restaurant, I felt every head turn to face us, every eye in the place watching us do nothing more extraordinary than just walking.

Suddenly, I understood what zoo animals must feel like.

My skin began to crawl under their scrutiny.

“Liam,” I whispered. “Everyone’s staring.”

He must have felt my muscles tense, because he gave my waist another squeeze. But it wasn’t enough of a distraction to block out the room of people shamelessly gawking at us.

“Why can’t they mind their own business?” I hissed, trading in my discomfort for anger.

“To them, we ~are~ their business,” he said before sliding into the cozy booth.

I slid in next to him.

When I peered at the menu, I nearly choked.

I had never seen food prices so high in my life. I could have paid my rent for the price of one of the bottles of champagne.

As I looked up in shock, my gaze rested on some people across the restaurant with their phones out, pointed directly at us.

“Are they—”

“Recording us?” Liam finished, and I looked back to see an unreadable expression on his face.

“Is that allowed at a place like this?” I frowned. “I thought everyone that ate here was too famous, or famous-adjacent, to care.”

“Ignore them,” he said. “It’s the best thing you can do.”

“Alright.” I averted my eyes and started fidgeting uncomfortably with my napkin.

“Let’s talk about something else,” Liam said.

“We haven’t really ~talked~ about anything yet,” I scoffed. “What do you usually talk about on one of these ‘dates’?”

Almost as soon as I asked the question, a waiter materialized in front of us.

“What would you like to drink, madam?” he asked me.

“Water, please,” I said resolutely.

“And you, Mr. Henderson? The usual?”

“No. Just water for me tonight,” Liam said, to the waiter’s surprise.

I looked up from the menu and couldn’t stop a soft smile from washing over my face. “Thank you,” I said.

“I promised you, Freya,” he spoke gently into the silence, and my eyes slowly rose to meet his. “I’m not going to break that promise.”

“Is it hard for you? To not drink, I mean?”

“Usually,” he said earnestly. “But tonight I have the right motivation.”

My heart fluttered as I looked into his devastating eyes.

“Freya, can I ask you something?” he said.

“I believe ~I~ was the one with the question,” I challenged, and he conceded with an amused smile, sitting back in the booth and resting his hands in his lap.

“Now, give me a minute,” I instructed, holding up a finger as I gathered my thoughts.

I needed to sort through the innumerable questions that I had wanted to ask him. Finally, settling on one, I took a deep breath.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Shoot,” he said.

“Who’s Jenna?” I asked.

At the sound of the name, his face noticeably froze like it did the last time I mentioned it.

He stayed silent and my palms started to sweat.

~I shouldn’t have asked him that!~

~It’s too invasive!~

~Too sensitive!~

“I can think of another question if you don’t want to—”

“No,” he cut in. “It’s okay. I promised you that I would answer any question honestly…”

He pushed his fingers through his golden locks before opening his mouth again.

“Jenna,” he began, “Jenna’s my sister.”

“Oh,” I said. I had honestly expected him to say “ex-girlfriend,” so his answer came as a surprise. “Where is she?” I asked.

“~One~ question,” he said, shaking his head.

Just then, the waiter returned. “Does the lovely couple know what you would like to order this evening?” he asked.

“I’m not hungry,” Liam said briskly.

~Oh, God.~

~I’ve completely ruined his night.~

~Why did I have to ask something so personal?~

I nodded in agreement, too furious at myself to speak.

~Time to do some damage control.~

When the waiter disappeared, I plastered on the most charming smile I could muster.

“Hey,” I said, “if you really want to prove to the world that you aren’t with Jazelle, shouldn’t you act like you’re a ~little~ interested in me?”

“Huh?”

“If this is how you treat every date, I’m surprised any of them go home with you,” I mused.

“And are you going to go home with me?” he asked.

“Not at this rate.” I smiled, looking up at him coyly.

He smirked at me and it alleviated some of the tension that I had inadvertently caused.

“I’m not sure you’d be able to handle it if I fully turned on the charm,” he challenged, and I knew I was toeing a dangerous line.

He was playing a game that I didn’t know the rules to.

And though I was setting myself up to lose, I played along anyway.

“Let’s put on a show, rock star,” I said.

But before I could even finish my sentence, he stole my breath.

With his hand, he traced a line from my cheek, down to the nape of my neck, my chest, and then my waist.

He grabbed me and pulled me flush against his side.

The tips of his fingers felt like they were branding my skin, marking me as his possession.

“How are you holding up?” he asked me, his warm breath dancing across my skin, tickling my ear. “Still think you can handle it?”

I knew he could see the effect he was having on me.

I couldn’t even force out a word to challenge him.

“Liam,” I finally mustered.

“Yes, Miss Coleman?” he asked.

“This is all for the cameras…right?”

“Of course,” he muttered. The intensity in his golden eyes was feeding the butterflies in my stomach. “Especially this part.”

“What part—”

He answered my question as soon as I asked it by pressing his lips deep into mine.

As he kissed me, my body took the lead. I grabbed the back of his neck with my hands and tangled my ankles between his.

But when our lips parted, something else besides passion rose up inside of me.

I could feel an amused laugh crawl up my throat, suddenly bursting free. I broke out into a hysterical fit of laughter.

“That is not the reaction I usually get,” Liam said with a frown.

“It’s just…” I gasped. “You’re…well, you. And I’m ~me~…and people are filming us! It’s just all so…” I trailed off as the laughter overtook me again.

Finally, I caught my breath and looked back up at him.

“You’re impossible,” he said, shaking his head, but I saw that he was also struggling to repress a smile.

But suddenly mine faded as the reality of the situation hit me.

~When these videos and photos hit the internet, my life might be changed forever…~