Public Romance

The ride to the restaurant was rather silent, the atmosphere was a bit awkward in the car.

“You said we were going to talk about my grandfather,” Layla broke the silence.

“Well, you can start, I will join you when I am ready,” Ryan replied coldly.

“So, I beat you in one little argument and you start sulking?” Layla scoffed. “And you wanted me to be your woman.”

“What was that supposed to mean?” Ryan frowned.

“If you want me as your woman, you have to be my man, and this… this is not how my man would behave,” Layla said and folded her hands.

“And how would your man behave? Get drunk? Find another girl and make her your replacement?” Ryan said with a demeaning tone, silencing Layla.

Layla sighed as she remembered Harison.

“I can’t believe he would do that to me though,” she thought to herself. “And his reason… it doesn’t make any sense. I loved him and I didn’t want him spending too much. And the part about me not spending on him? He told me he hated it when I spent on him before. He also told me he hated surprises. So why did he do it?” she pondered.

“You shouldn’t be thinking about other men when you are with me, I won’t accept that,” Ryan warned with a tone of jealousy.

“You should have thought about that before talking about another man,” Layla scoffed and looked out the window. 

“I really can’t stand him, but at least one thing is for sure, granddad will keep receiving health care at the hospital,” she sighed. “I guess tonight wasn’t a total waste.”

~.~.~

After about twenty minutes of driving, they finally got to the restaurant and placed their orders. 

“That’s a lot of food for one man’s dinner,” Layla commented as Ryan’s orders were brought in. “Heavy eater?”

“No,” Ryan shook his head. “I usually wouldn’t eat this much, but I am going to need my energy for later tonight.”

“Oh, makes sense,” Layla nodded as she took a sip from her cup of water. She suddenly choked and started coughing.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked, concerned.

“Yeah, yeah… cough… I just drank it a little too fast,” she lied.

“What the hell does he mean by later tonight?” she asked herself. “Please tell me he isn’t planning to have sex with me? I saw somewhere that he takes a woman to his duplex in the city every night he spends there.”

“Uh… Ryan? I heard you have a number of houses in the city.”

“Yeah, makes it easier to keep crazy stalker girls away, makes me unpredictable,” Ryan nodded in affirmation.

“So, which one will you be spending the night in?”

“Any one really, but my duplex is the closest, I might just crash there if I am not in the mood for a long drive. Why do you ask?” Ryan explained.

“N-Nothing,” Layla gave a shaky smile, but he didn’t notice. 

Soon, he was done with his meal and half a bottle of Prosecco. 

“Don’t you think that is a little too much? You might not be sane enough to whatever you gathered your energy for,” Layla said, trying to bait him into changing his mind about sleeping with her. 

“He is a proud man, he wouldn’t want his first time with me to be bad.” She thought to herself. Although she hadn’t officially accepted to be his woman, she knew she had no other choice at this point. In the end, she still had to pay her debts, and although she wasn’t going to use his money to clear the debts, to maintain her integrity, she was going to use his influence to stall all the deadlines and get a good paying job to earn enough to quickly clear her debts. 

Ryan looked at her, confused for a moment. “Th-This is why I was eating a lot,” he said, trying to keep his words composed. “I am light headed when I am empty, but when I am filled, it gives me a degree of resistance to the alcohol,” he explained.

“Oh,” Layla almost exhaled in relief but managed to control herself.

“Well, we should leave,” he said and got up but slumped right back into his seat.

“Are you alright,” Layla got up, ready to call an ambulance.

“I… I think I might have underestimated the effects of the champagne I had earlier,” Ryan laughed. I was quite drunk.

Layla groaned and looked around. “You haven’t even paid the bill,” she groaned, frustrated. 

“Credit card is in my breast pocket,” Ryan muttered.

Layla sighed and walked over to get the card. She slowly unbuttoned the shirt and as reached for it, she tripped and fell into his arms, hugging him.

“I’m guessing this is the kind of man I should be right?” Ryan said with a sober smile.

Layla pulled out of the embrace a bit embarrassed and quickly handled the bill.

“Come on, let’s go,” she said and extended her hand to him.

They were about to leave when the door opened and a couple walked in. The moment she saw the dress, Layla realized who it was, Denise, dressed in the same dress.

“Well, well,” Denise smiled. “What are the odds? First, the same clothes, now the same restaurant?” she said, trying to demean Layla, but Layla wasn’t going to take it lying down.

“I know right,” she laughed. “It feels like you really want to be me tonight,” she replied.

Denise forced a smile then turned to Ryan.

“I am guessing I have you to thank for this dress, lovely prank,” she smiled wryly.

“Me?” Ryan scoffed. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Don’t play smart with me Ryan, I know your choice of jewelry when I see it.”

“Are you insinuating I was trying to hit on you?” Ryan feigned shock.

“Yes,” Denise replied.

“So, you knew it was me, you knew I was trying to hit on you, and you still wore it?” Ryan said and laughed. “You really should keep your eyes on this one,” Ryan whispered loudly to Felix. “You might wake up one faithful morning and discover that she has flown the nest. Trust me, I am speaking from experience.”

“Thank you for the advice,” Felix nodded.

Denise sighed and looked at Ryan. “You are drunk, I should have known. You should let Felix drive you home, I will get your… date home for you.”

“No thank you Denise, but this date of mine is driving me right into my bedroom,” Ryan whispered and kissed Layla softly on the cheek. “If you will excuse us,” Ryan said and they walked past Felix and Denise and left the restaurant chuckling and giggling.