Vacation (9 page)

"I'd love that. One beer and then
you're taking me to get something to eat. I'm starving." She sat down on
the barstool next to me, her eyes moving to the bartender as I studied her.

"You look beautiful." I let the
words escape me before I could deny her anything.

"You're not so bad yourself."
She gave me a sideways glance before ordering a drink.

I could do this. Drinks, dinner,
conversation. Nothing else I promised myself, and subsequently hated myself for
it.

I wanted much more than what I had
planned, but that was usually my signal to run.

Not
this time, or at least, not yet.

Chapter
9

Vivian

Sitting next to him at the bar left me
wishing I had taken Casey up on her offer to join us. It was too much like a
date, and some part of me wanted the attention of the handsome man beside me,
though it would do nothing but end after a week of getting to know each other.

A drink and dinner. Nothing else.

I took the beer the bartender offered and
turned a little to focus more on Easton. His dark jeans hugged his hips and I
couldn't help but take in the fullness of the attraction that I felt toward
him.

"So are you up for dinner, or is
another handsome guy taking me tonight?" I lifted my eyebrow at him. I was
the shy type until I got into a conversation with someone one-on-one. Then, and
only then, I could hold my own. Crowds left me a little overwhelmed.

"I'm just glad I'm in the handsome
guy category, but yeah. Let's take these beers and walk down the strip. There's
a ton of good places to try. The taco stand next door is killer." He
touched my lower back as I got up and moved toward the door with him.

I was forced to stifle a shiver at the
simple gesture.
Not good.

"Casey and I ate there for a late
lunch. It was delicious." I wrapped my arms around myself as the breeze
picked up and danced around us upon our exit.

"One of my favorites. Let's try this
Latin place just down on the left. It's new and I've been wanting to give it a
go." He glanced over at me and smiled.

"I honestly didn't think you were
going to call." I focused on the beach in front of us, not wanting to trip
and eat it in front of my handsome pseudo-date.

"I wasn't. These trips always wear me
out, but it's a life I love. After seeing each other three times today, I
figured I'd be fucking with fate if I didn't at least take you to dinner."
He chuckled, and I let the various sarcastic responses that rose up in me fall
away. No need to chide him at the beginning of the meal. Fate had nothing to do
with us running into each other. I didn't care what Casey thought. It was dumb
and belonged in a fiction novel.

"Well, then I guess I owe fate a
thank you for the free meal and the lovely view." I glanced back at him as
we walked into the restaurant. The atmosphere was pure Spanish chaos. Brilliant
colors decorated the walls, and people speaking foreign languages rushed about
helping various patrons.

Easton's fingers brushed by my back as we
approached the hostess stand, and pressed in slightly as he leaned around me
and smiled at the hostess. "Two please."

"Of course." She picked up two menus
and nodded toward the back. "We have a great seat on the patio if you
don't mind the wind."

He looked down at me. "Viv?"

"I don't mind at all." I moved
from him and followed the girl as my heart hammered in my chest. It wasn't good
that I was winded simply from him touching me in the way any gentleman would.
The thought of brushing my lips by his or sliding my hand into his left me a
little breathless. Casey would have a great time making fun of me later that
night over it all. I smiled at the thought.

"Here we are." The woman pulled
out my seat and laid the menus down before disappearing.

"I'll buy my own." I glanced up
as my eyes met Easton's dark green gaze.

"No you're not." He smirked.
"Women these days. Won't even let a guy buy you a meal."

"It's not that, silly." I put
the menu down and tilted my head as I studied him. "I told you I want to
be a food critic. I've been working on my skills for the last six to seven
years in culinary arts. I usually order a huge sampler platter and eat a third
of it. I want to taste everything that I can, but I'd hate for you to spend
money and
me
not actually eat most of the food."

"Get the sampler and we'll share it.
You can eat what you want, and I'll play cleanup crew." He shrugged and
slid his hands into his lap. I watched him, unable to say anything, but needing
to memorize just how beautifully his features complemented each other. I wasn't
spending the night with him, but my dreams would be filled with all sorts of
depravity with him on center stage. I wanted to get it right.

"What?" He asked, his voice
losing steam.

"I'm just taken by you." I
picked up the menu and pressed my teeth into my bottom lip as I worked through
the various offerings.

"Taken by me? I like the sound of
that." He chuckled and picked up his menu as the waitress approached.
After ordering two different fruity margaritas, I returned to my search.

He was watching me when I glanced up, the
subtle desire in his eyes only masked by the warm smile on his full lips.
"Did you find what you want?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. My response
was a double entendre on so many levels, but I dismissed it, not wanting to
fall for him just yet, or so hard that I had my heart broken again so suddenly.
"Let's get to know each other a little better. Perhaps we're damned to
become great friends."

"I like the sound of that, too."
He picked up a chip from the basket in the center of the table. "If you
need to take notes or voice record as you try each dish, ignore me and do it.
My co-worker Kevin does it all the time when we eat together. He’s a food
critic for the company I work for. I'm used to it."

I smiled and put my phone on the table
next to me. "Awesome. I didn't want to appear too odd just yet."

"I like odd, especially when it looks
like you do." He picked up another chip and took our drinks from the
waitress, trying the strawberry one as I tried the mango one.
"Switch."

I ignored his compliment and took his
drink, giving him mine. I tried the chilly, pink liquid. I was almost surprised
that he was willing to drink after a complete stranger, but I never was one to
care too much about germs. Jackson hated sharing anything, even with me.

"Which do you like best?" he
asked and sat his drink down.

"The strawberry one." I picked
up my phone and typed in a few notes, not yet comfortable with voice recording
in front of him. He'd yet to take his eyes off of me, which left me feeling
rather adored, and yet slightly exposed.

"Then keep that one with you."
He picked up another chip. "Tell me more about your love of food. I work
for a company that critiques resorts and hotels all over the world. We have
several food critics that we utilize, but I'm hoping that we move toward a more
focused model where we hire eight to ten that exclusively work for us."

"I'm just a foodie with the ability
to express myself well, I guess." I shrugged and picked up a few chips,
sampling the dips that lay on the table between us. "I hope to one day
work for a company like yours, or perhaps find a clear path to creating a name
for myself. Then, maybe I can get my reviews to actually hold clout."

"That takes a lot of time, but it's
worth it. I've been with the company for two years and have already worked my
way through the ranks quite well. That wasn't without sacrifice though."
He took another sip of his drink, his tongue snaking out to lick at the salt on
the rim of the glass.

My stomach tightened as I entertained
thoughts of how sexy it would be to slide into his lap and taste the drink from
his tongue.
Stop it.

I'd never been promiscuous before, but
then being in a long-term relationship really left no room for that. Funny how
Jackson had been the exact opposite, getting the best of both worlds.

"Hey. You alright? Your pretty smile
turned into a frown." He reached across the table and brushed his fingers
over my hand.

"Yeah. I just went through a really
nasty breakup a month back. Just can't seem to shake it." I shrugged, not
really wanting to talk about Jackson or my laundry list of shit that followed
me around all the time.

"I knew something was a little off on
the plane." He pulled his hand back as the food was delivered. "Not
that I know you that well, but I could see something weighing on you."

I glanced up at the server. "Just set
it in the middle of the table. We're sharing it."

"Lovely. I'll bring you two
plates." The girl smiled and sat the platter down.

Breathing in deeply, I let my eyes scan
the plate and smiled. "This looks incredible."

"I agree. You'll have to give me the
pleasure of reading your write-up on the place. If it's good, perhaps I can
submit it to my boss for review. If nothing else, he could give you some
pointers. Hell, I could too. I do reviews for all parts of the company."
He took the plates the server brought back and handed me one. "If you
want."

"I would love that." I took my
plate and worked to get a good-sized bite of everything onto it before glancing
back up at the sexy man across from me. "What costs have you paid to be
where you are in your career? Is that why you're not married?"

"Married? I'm too young to be
married, or so I like to believe. My mother would tell you otherwise." He
rolled his eyes, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"My mom used to talk about marriage
all the time too, but in the last few years she's laid off." I left the
part out where it was surely my dad's fault that her desire to tout marriage
was long gone. I needed to visit her soon and have a long heart-to-heart.
Something was up, and neither her nor my father were acting like themselves
much.

"Lucky. My mom makes me feel like a
leper most days." He chuckled. "I had a few good relationships in
high school and college, but I've been out of school for two years now, and the
handful of girls I've asked out turned into nothing more than dinner and
dancing. They're looking for stability I guess, and with me moving about so
much, I have none to offer."

"You travel all the time?" I
took a small bite of a beef tamale and held up my hand. "Just a
minute."

Closing my eyes, I took in the flavors and
lifted my phone to my mouth, not caring who was in front of me. My passion to
taste the flavors of the world and report them overrode even my appearance
sometimes.

"Smooth and a touch spicy, the sauce
brings about a delicious heat that permeates me completely and leaves me
desperate for more. The meat is undeniably beef, the grassy tones and earthy
complexity is a delight." I opened my eyes and turned the recording off.
"Sorry."

He stared at me, his mouth a little agape.
"Wow. You sure you shouldn't open up a website called Food Porn? I want to
eat ten of these just off of your description."

I laughed. "Too much?"

"Um, no. Not nearly enough. I can't
say I've ever been turned on by a girl describing a tamale, but there's a first
for everything." He laughed. "Onto another topic before I
blush."

"You blush? You don't seem like the
type." My insides were dancing to the sound of butterfly wings as he
complimented me. The light dusting on his cheeks gave credence to him being
slightly turned on, which was exhilarating.

"I blush more than I care to
say." He took a bite of his food and nodded. "It is delicious. Feel
free to do whatever you need to, I'm happy witnessing it."

"Now I'm going to blush." I
smirked and finished my tamale. "Tell me about your travel schedule."

"It's fifty weeks a year. I'm home
maybe Saturday and Sunday a few times a month. I usually work Monday through
Friday and then use the weekends to explore the places I'm sent. The company
pays for my stay as a thank you for selling them my soul." He picked up
his drink and watched me as he brushed his tongue along the side of the glass
to gather salt once again.

I adverted my eyes as a light sweat
covered my skin. The heat of the salsa mixed with him watching me was only the
start of my discomfort. I was a lightweight where alcohol was concerned, as
well. A few beers at the beach, another in the bar, and a margarita later, and
I was ready to slide into the booth next to him and snuggle up to his side.

"That's a lot of traveling, but it
sounds like a great life." I grabbed a few chips and took my time enjoying
them as I beckoned my body to calm down a little. "Do you live in New
York?"

"Yeah. I love it there. My whole
family lives in the suburbs, but I'm downtown in Manhattan. The vibe and activity
keeps me feeling alive." He shrugged.

"I get that." I picked up my
fork and smiled. "Now hush and give me a few minutes to analyze all of
this."

"Consider me part of the
audience." He winked and worked on his plate while I got lost in my own
world for a few minutes. The sexy smile on his lips only grew as I finished up
my fun and dropped my napkin into my lap.

"That was delicious. Thank you for
bringing me here. I love it."

"I'm going to take you everywhere
just to hear you moan over how good the food is. You should come with a warning
label." He wagged his eyebrows playfully, which pulled a chuckle from me.

"And what would that be?" I
moved out of the booth and stood beside it.

"Addictive, but only when she
eats?" He took the bill and pulled a card from his back pocket.