Chapter 8: Chapter 8 The First, First Date
"So are we going to order?" I asked. I wanted to change the subject.
"I already have all our courses ordered. I want to impress you, Little Detective."
"Impress me with food?" I asked. "How many courses are we talking about?"
"Five. Hors d'oeuvre, soup, appetizer, main course, and finally dessert."
"Are you trying to keep me here as long as possible?"
He chuckled. "I want to get to know you. And not as Detective Anastasia Barnes. But as Ana Barnes. Now can you stop with the interrogation? Can't we just get to know each other like any other normal date?"
"What about this is normal?"
"Can I offer you the wine menu?" A waiter appeared next to our table. He held the menu to RM.
"Of course." RM said as he took the menu from the waiter. "Do you prefer red or white wine, Ana?"
"Red," I replied. "The sweeter the better."
RM looked over the wine menu for a minute. He closed it and looked up at the waiter. He handed him the menu and said, "Anything like what the lady said would be fine. Price doesn't matter."
"Of course, sir," the waiter said before he rushed off.
"I think your employees are scared of you," I said.
"No, no, Little Detective. I'm not here to talk about my work. I'm here to talk about us."
"So there's an us now? When did we become an 'us'?"
"As soon as I asked you to lunch. Because to be honest, I was attracted to how persistent and confident you were when we first met. And you don't seem to like me to much, which makes me want to try even harder."
"I didn't know that I was that obvious. I try to at least act like I, at least, tolerate you."
"It's quite alright, Ana. I'm just happy that I get to enjoy your presence whenever I can get the chance."
"What if this date doesn't end up with me liking you any more than I do now?"
"Let's not talk about that right now."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the waiter returning with a bottle of wine in his hands. He walked up to the table showing us the label. It wasn't like any of the wines anyone in my family had bought before.
"We have here an Apothic Red Blend. One of the most popular sweet red wines. It has a blend of zinfandel, merlot, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon," the waiter said as he began pouring the wine for us.
"Thank you. Would you mind bringing out the first course?" RM asked as he picked up his glass of wine.
"Right away, sir." The waiter rushed away. He left the wine on the table for us.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked RM. "Just about you."
"Of course. Ask away."
"What do you do when you're not working?"
"To be honest, my entire life revolves around work. I don't seem to have much free time."
"So what makes you think I'll want to be with you during your free time?"
RM raised an eyebrow over his wine glass. He took a short sip before turning back to me.
"I like reading. Just about anything. You should see my library."
"Do you own a library or are you talking about a personal library in your home?"
"Personal. There's no money coming from owning a library," RM stated.
"Is that all you care about? Money?"
The waiter came back with the first course. He placed the small plate in front of each of us.
"This is a scallop with star anise, leeks, and persimmon. It has a combination of flavors for the small hors d'oeuvre. The faint sharpness of the scallop and the persimmon leads to a series of surprises. It's a source of amusement to start out our meal," the waiter explained. I picked up the tiny hors d'oeuvre and popped it in my mouth, savoring the taste.
Once I finished the course, the waiter left once again.
"How much is this meal?" I asked.
"Price doesn't matter when it comes to you," RM said. "I'll buy you a small country if that's what you ask of me."
"I think I'll be okay if you buy me some food and maybe so chocolate."
"I'll keep that in mind."
RM smirked at me before turning to look at the waiter who came back with the soup course. I didn't listen to him as he explained what the soup was. Instead I watched RM. He paid attention to the waiter as he gave us details about the soup. He actually seemed interested in what the man was saying while I just watched RM. When the waiter left, RM turned back to face me and began eating the soup.
"RM, did you enjoy school?" I asked as I picked up my spoon.
"I was homeschooled. I had a private tutor who made sure I was highly successful. I had my IQ tested at the request of my tutor. It was at 148. I didn't enjoy school, I enjoyed learning."
"It's always good to be learning. We learn new things every day."
"I agree. Just like right now, I'm learning more about you. And you're learning more about me."
"Jones said that you would do a background check on me. Why don't you tell me what you learned and I can tell you more."
"How about I say one thing I know about you and you tell me something new in return?"
"And once you run out of things are we going to play this game with you as the subject?"
"Sure thing, Little Detective."
"Okay, go first."
"You are twenty-four years old."
"I live alone."
"You have two older brothers."
"I walk to work."
"You grew up in Towson."
"My best friend is my dog."
"You went to Towson City University for in criminology and a minor in sociology."
"I don't own a pair of heels."
RM laughed at my statement. "And I am sorry. I'll take the shoes back and buy you some flats."
"You don't have to do that. I can keep the shoes. So what else do you know about me?"
"Your father is retired and living in your family home in the suburbs. And before you ask, I didn't look into the address."
"My father calls me every night to make sure I'm okay."
"Your mother was shot and killed on duty."
"My mother's death is what made me want to be a detective."
"You are an optimistic person which sometimes gets on the nerves of your family and co-workers."
"What about you? Is it going to get on your nerves?"
"Of course not. In my business, there's no optimism. So just being around brings a whole new light to my life."
"You really are trying to romance me."
"I thought that much was obvious when I bought you a dress," RM laughed. "But you didn't tell me something I didn't know."
"I love chocolate cake, but the frosting has to be homemade. I can't stand store-bought frosting."
Namjoon gave me a strange look. "That's weird."
"Hey, you wanted to know something you didn't know about me. That's something only my family knows about me."
We finished up the soup course and the appetizer was brought out.
"How's work going? I know it's only been a week, but I can imagine how hard it can be."
"Going pretty well actually. We got a new case this morning. Wanna hear about it?"
"Yes, I want to hear all about a murder," RM said sarcastically.
"An office worker hated by all his co-workers, found dead in his office. His face bashed in so bad, it's just a mess of blood, brains, and skull fragments. The only way to ID him was with his fingerprints," I said sweetly. RM gave me a disgusted look.
"I am trying to eat, Little Detective," RM said.
"And you asked how work was."
"I didn't think that it would be that bad," RM said. "I've seen so many of your cases, but I can still never imagine something like that."
"So you would never do anything like that?" I asked.
RM sighed. He placed utensils on the table and leaned over the table, slightly standing up.
"I don't get my hands dirty, Little Detective. There are others who would gladly kill someone if I asked them to," he whispered.
"Does that mean you'll let me persecute your men if they killed someone?" I whispered back.
"Depends on if they deserve it or not." He sat back down in his seat and continued eating. "What do your brothers do?"
"Their jobs?" I asked. RM nodded. "Lance is a therapist for children and teenagers. EG is a lawyer, he's trying to get a job in the DA's office."
"Does EG stand for something?"
"His full name is Elmer George Barnes. But everyone calls him EG."
"That's right, Americans have middle names. I often forget."
"Do you not have a middle name?"
"No. In many Asians countries we don't have middle names. Why do you ask?"
"I just assumed RM stood for your first and middle name like my brother."
The waiter showed up taking our plates before hurrying away.
"No. RM has nothing to do with my name. It's just an alias."
"What about JK? Anything to do with his real name?"
"I thought we weren't talking about my men. They know I'm pursuing you, so they have no interest in you at all."
"I'm just asking because I'm curious. I've never had a crush on anyone before. You have no need to worry. If I do start liking you, you'll know."
The waiter came back with our main course and explained it to us. This time neither of us listened to him explain the meal. We just stared at each other's eyes. He was waiting to say something, I could tell. I thought about what he could possibly want to me.
Out of the corner of my eye, the waiter left. RM said nothing as he began eating.
"Say what you wanted to say, RM."
"What makes you think I want to say something?"
"I've gotten good at reading people. It's part of my job. So go ahead RM."
RM sighed, once again placing down his utensils down. "I think I already know if you like me or not. But I'll keep that for myself."
He began eating once again. I looked at the meal in front of me, a perfect tenderloin with vegetables on the side.
"You can go ahead and eat, Ana. We can continue talking after," RM said.
I did as he said, but I looked at him after every bite. My heart was beating fast, as fast as when I'm pumped with adrenaline. But there's no need for adrenaline at the moment. Only RM. A handsome, intelligent man. He was making me feel something I'm not used to feeling. I didn't know if I liked or not.
After finishing the main course, the waiter returned to take our plates.
"So I was hoping after dinner we could take a walk together," RM said.
"My dog needs his evening walk. If we go back to my apartment, can we get my dog and can I change my shoes?" I asked.
"Of course, I would also love to meet your dog," RM smiled.
The dessert course was brought out not a second after RM finished his sentence. My face lit up when I noticed the square slice of chocolate cake. I didn't care about what the waiter was saying. I just wanted to devour it. Once the waiter walked away, I picked up my fork.
"There can't be a better way to end this evening," I told RM.
RM smiled, "And I doubt the frosting is store-bought."
I laughed as I started to take a bite. As I did, a phone started to ring. RM sighed and answered his phone.
"What?" he asked into the phone. He gave me an apologetic look as he continued listening to whoever was on the other end. "You're kidding. . . . Are you sure? . . . I'll be there."
He hung up the phone and looked at me.
"I'm so sorry, Ana. Something happened. I have to go take care of it," RM told me as he stood up.
"What happened? Is it something I can help with?" I asked.
"No," RM said sternly. "I don't. JK will be by to pick you up in a few minutes. You can finish here, I already paid for everything."
"RM-" I called as I grabbed his arm before he could run off.
He turned to me and took my hand from his arm. He held it in his hand delicately.
"I am so sorry about this Ana," RM said. "I wish this wasn't happening. I would love to end this date on like how we talked about. Please, call me. I would love to hear from you."
He pressed a kiss to my knuckle before rushing out. I sighed, looking back to my cake. I didn't want the beautiful piece of deliciousness anymore. I wanted something else, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Is everything alright miss?" the waiter asked after RM left.
"Yes, thank you. Can I get these cakes to-go?" I asked.
"Of course, miss," the waiter said as he picked up the cakes and taking them to the back.
I waited until he returned with the cakes in clear to-go containers. I thanked him and left the restaurant. I waited in the lobby of the building until I saw the same matte black car I was dropped off in pull up outside. I walked out of the building and noticed JK step out of the car. He walked around the side of the car to open the door for me.
"You brought me cake?" JK asked with a smile when he noticed my cakes.
"Where'd your boss run off to?" I asked. I didn't move to make my way to the backseat of the car.
His smile dropped from his face. He looked down at me with a serious look. "I'm sorry. I don't know exactly."
I rolled my eyes and got into the car. Just when I thought I was feeling something towards RM, he does something like this to change my mind. I couldn't help but wonder if he was even worth my time and energy?
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