Chapter 5 - Jo Thompson

Jo POV

I look at myself in the mirror, and I can’t help but smile at what I see. My long hair falls down my back into thick curls, and I am wearing Layla’s red lipstick. I am ready to go back to dating after everything that happened with Leo. I believe in love, and I believe that I can find someone good that will treat me well.

The doorbell rings, and I look at my reflection one last time before I go open the door. And there he is, Josh. Wearing a dark gray suit that breathes money. “Hello,” I say as he takes one step toward me and kisses me on the cheek.

“You look beautiful,” he says, and I smile. “Let me just grab my purse,” I let out before I walked back into the house and grabbed everything I needed. He is taking me to one of the new and very popular restaurants in Manhattan, and I am not going to lie. I am very excited about it.

“Are you ready?” he asks as I come back out, and I nod. I lock the door behind us and follow him to the car outside. “This is Alf, my driver,” he says, and I smile.

“Hi Alf, nice to meet you,” I say before I get in the car, and josh gets in after me. We keep making small talk in the car as I look out of the window to see the rush that happens in Manhattan. New York really is the city that never sleeps. It’s absolutely amazing.

I grew up in a small town, so living in New York is a dream come true. When I told my parents this was where I wanted to live, they were worried because of what had happened to me as a child. I grew up very protected by my parents. Layla used to come and stay with me when her dad left her. It’s like she is a sister to me.

When we get to the restaurant, the hostess guides us to our table, and I can’t help but smile. Everyone watches us walk past because Josh is a really good-looking guy, and he has a lot of money. From time to time, he is in the headlines for some business he bought and dismantled. What can I say, the man is a shark.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Josh asks as he looks at the wine list, and I smile.

“Wine would be great,” I say, and he smiles, focusing on the list again. “Red or white?” he asks, and I take a deep breath. I am not a wine drinker usually, but I know that I can’t have a beer here. Beer usually is my go-to drink, and you can’t really go wrong with it.

“Whatever you choose, it’s good for me,” I say, and he smiles, moving his eyes from me to the list again. I can’t help but smile when the waitress comes back. Josh orders some wine and water for the table while we keep talking.

“So, what was the last book you read?” he asks me, and I really need to think about that one because I usually read SMUT, but I can’t really tell a man on our first date that I basically read porn but fuck that. He probably won’t even know it.

“Heaven & Hell from Rosslyn Scott,” I say, and he frowns. I can tell he has never heard of it.

“Spiritual book?” He asks, and I giggle.

“You can say that, no, I am joking, it’s about two guys that are in a band together, and they are in a relationship, but no one really knows because the world is not ready for two gay Greek Gods”, I say, and he nods.

“Sounds good,” he says, and I smile. My smile drops as soon as I see the blue eyes watching me from across the room. I know those eyes, and I feel the butterflies in my stomach start to make a move, and I feel like I am going to be sick.

“Jo?” Dylan says with a smile while he rests a hand on some blond bimbo waist. I raise an eyebrow and fake a smile.

“Dylan,” I say, and Josh looks at him wide-eyed.

“Dylan Ashford?” Josh says, and Dylan nods, focusing his eyes on my date. I can tell the girl looks bored as hell, and she is not even pretending. Does she even have one brain cell?

“Hi, I am Joshua Thomas from Thomas industries,” Josh says, and Dylan nods at the knowledge of the name.

“Nice to meet you, man,” Dylan says. “I don’t want to interrupt your date. I just thought I would come over and say hello to Jo”, he says, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. Dylan always rubs off the wrong way with me. His flirty ways around women treacly annoy me. And the fact he has a girlfriend, and he is here rubbing off on some bimbo. What kind of a man is he?

“Would you like to join us?” Josh asks, and I clear my throat.

“Oh I bet they would prefer to be on their own. They are here on a date after all”, I say, but Dylan waves it off.

“That would be great, a double date. How fun is that?” he asks, and I can’t help but roll my eyes again and bite my tongue so I don’t say something nasty.

The dinner keeps going, and Josh keeps talking to Dylan instead of me, and I feel like I am being ignored. From time to time, I see those blue eyes look at me, but I avoid looking back at him. I keep my eyes on my date. The girl next to me all she does is laugh at Dylan’s jokes, and it makes me suck.

“Excuse me, I need to freshen up,” I say, standing up. Dylan stands up with me, and Josh realizes what he did and stands up as well.

“I need toilet too,” Dylan says, and I take a deep breath walking in front of him towards the ladies' room. As the door is closing, she opens it and walks inside, and locks the door behind him.

“What are you doing? Get out”, I say, and Dylan smiles.

“Looks like your date rather dates me than you,” he says, and I ignore him and walk into a stall and close the door. I stay there without moving because, unfortunately, it sounds about right. It looks like Josh is more interested in Dylan than he is in me.

“I am not going anywhere until you come out here,” Dylan says, and I pretend to scream without making a sound and flip him off. I open the door after flushing the toilet and walk to the sink to wash my hands.

Dylan stands behind me, way too close, so close I can feel the heat radiate from his body toward mine. I even feel a chill down my spine. He rests his hands on the sink trapping me between him and the sink, and I can find his eyes in the mirror. His smile with dimples makes my legs shake, but I immediately push away those thoughts.

“He is not good enough for you,” Dylan says, and I shake my head. I spin, facing him, his face inches away from mine as he leans down to look at me. He towers over me, and he is about one foot taller than me. And let us face it, and it is not difficult.

“Go away, Dylan,” I say, and he shakes his head.