Chapter 14: Chapter 14
The waiter came over and she ordered. It felt odd to eat in front of him when he wasn't eating but he assured her that he had already eaten. They continued to talk as she ate.
"So, you came out by yourself. Who was the man sitting here?"
"A ghost from the past. One I wish would have stayed there."
Judging by the look on Nathaniel's face, the answer wasn't good enough. Dominique sighed.
"He's my ex-fiancée. We broke up two years ago. He wasn't ready to be a husband and I obviously wasn't what he wanted."
"Then he is a fool," Nathaniel replied.
"You don't know me well enough to say he was one. I broke it off."
"I know enough to say he's a fool. If he wasn't then he would not have done the thing or things he did to make you leave. He wants to get you back into his life. Anyone can see what he wants by the look on his face. May I ask what he did to make you end your engagement?"
"He cheated. I wasn't enough for him, I guess," Dominique said, pushing her food around on her plate.
Nathaniel put his hand on hers and she felt that shock of electricity run through her. "He is a fool to let such a stunning woman go. You are very beautiful and you are a hard worker. I'm sure you put just as much effort into your relationships."
"Relationship. It was just him. I was always shy as a kid and didn't start dating until I was 18. We were together for five years. He was immature most of the time as he was only 19 when we met. At the end, he was drinking and partying a lot. Loose women became his addiction. I found out about the last one. That's when I ended it because I started looking into where he'd been and found a string of women before her. Other events transpired after and after a while, I just threw myself into work."
"I'm sorry, Dominique. No one deserves that. A woman should be cherished and made to feel like a queen. She will then in turn treat you like a king if she is a good woman."
"You sound like you have a queen in mind when you say that. Do you have a girlfriend? A wife?"
"The queen I speak of was my wife. Our start was rocky but after a year or so, things smoothed out and we had a beautiful life together until she passed away. You remind me of her."
"You don't look old enough to be a widow. What happened to your wife?"
"Sadly she passed from a disease that ate away at her body until there was nothing left."
Dominique watched his face. He looked far away for a while. How old was this guy? She knew people died young every day but he was acting like they were together for a long time. How long had they been together? Should she ask?
"I can see your mind is thinking of questions. However, I would request that you don't ask them. Perhaps at a later date, I will be able to talk to you about it but not now. Ok?"
"Ok. I can understand. There are things I would prefer not to talk about. My ex being one of them."
"Fair enough. Do you have any children, Dominique?"
She didn't think about it but she touched her necklace. She kept playing with it as she told him, "No. I don't have any children. What about you?"
"No, I have no children. What is the necklace that you keep touching?"
"That subject is off-limits," Dominique replied as she felt herself shut down.
Her face felt as if it had turned to stone. Nathaniel leaned across the table and stroked his hand down the side of her face. That electricity was there. Why did she feel that way each time he touched her? What was it about this man that caused her to have such a reaction to him?
"I apologize if I brought up bad memories. I merely wish to get to know you better."
"It's fine. So, are you just trying to get to know me so you have ammo to use against me on Tuesday? Because I'll be honest, it won't help you get into the band. I'll judge you in your playing only. Then if you suck as a person, well, I'll probably kick you out."
Nathaniel smiled. "Maybe I'm interviewing you to see if I want to join the band."
"Sure. Whatever you say. Well, I'm ready to go. It's been nice chatting with you but it's time to go. I have somewhere else to be."
Nathaniel waved the waiter over and gave him a card while Dominique was grabbing her purse. When she looked back up, she saw Nathaniel hand the waiter his card. She frowned.
"Why did you do that?"
"I merely paid for your dinner. You could look at this as a first date as we did get to know each other. May I ask where you have to run off to?"
Dominique blushed and said, "A movie."
"Will anyone be meeting you there?"
"No. This is time for me to rest and relax. I told you before I was treating myself."
"Would you mind if I joined you? I could drive us there and bring you back to your car. We could continue to get to know each other."
"I don't think that's a good idea. I don't know you well enough to get in a car with you. You could be a serial killer for all I know.
Nathaniel laughed. "Then let's take your car and you can bring me back to my car. You can even pat me down for weapons if you wish."
Dominique blushed as she thought about running her hands over his body. She would thoroughly enjoy that. What was wrong with her? She had never acted like this before. Was she really this in need of a good lay? Or was she just so attention-starved that anyone would do? No. She knew that wasn't true. If it was, then she would have jumped at the chance to be with one of the guys who had hit on her at the club. There was just something about him.
"I don't think I'd be comfortable with that. I barely know you. You don't pat someone down you don't know."
"It was just an offer to check for anything you may be uncomfortable with. I have no weapons on me but I want for you to be comfortable."
"Um, ok. I really did intend to be alone."
"You are dressed for a date. Let me take you on one. You stated you came out to have a night off, no work. Let me take you on the rest of the date so you can relax and have company outside of the circle you are used to."
Dominique was looking into his eyes. She felt like she was in a trance as he talked. It was like she couldn't say no to him. It felt like he was more telling her what he was going to do instead of asking her. She found herself agreeing to spend the rest of the evening with him.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone