Tamina

"Hey. . . am I allowed to pay for half?" My tone comes out hopeful.

My body freezes as our eyes lock, and he smoothly tugs me by the hand. "What do you think, sweetheart?"

The answer is obvious. So, in retaliation, I dare a cheeky, "Yes," to try my luck.

"No, love." With that, Brandon's back to the humorous note, and all it does is rattle my shy side.

"Worth a—"

"Hey guys, welcome to—" the voice cuts off to immediately say, "—holy shit, Brandon, is that you?"

There's disbelief in their tone, and it only makes me curious. My memory recalls Brandon saying he's never been but knows some of the workers; perhaps they've tried to bring him here before and there's never been an opportunity. If that's the case, it's a shame.

I'm quick to spot the glance Brandon casts at the worker, who merely grins away at us. "I never thought you would come, so, what do you think?" The man inquires hopefully, his blue eyes shining with adoration.

"You boys have done well."

Our greeter beams at the response, straightens his posture, and holds up a solute. "Thank you, captain. I shall keep it up and the men will follow."

Laughing at his funny antics, his gaze sweeps over me for a good inspection, and it makes me anxiously squeeze Brandon's hand in reassurance.

He's a young man, maybe my age or a few years older, and his hair reminds me of curly pasta but the shade of rich almonds. When his eyes widen, the light helps me see they're a blueish-brown, and his goatee is slightly darker than his hair.

"Me perdoe, who is this pretty lady?" He takes another look at me before they dart to Brandon. "There's no way she's your sister," he chuckles.

"This is Tamina, she's my date, Ryan."

My body's becoming too sensitive to the heat now; my cheeks are the first, then the rest of me from embarrassment and the warmth circling the atmosphere. I've never been one for attention, if anything, I'd rather linger in the background.

"Good on you, she looks like a keeper." I continue to flush, feeling Brandon's hand flex its grip. "Anyway, I shall cut to the chase so you lovebirds can spend more time together. What can I get you?"

Brandon takes the lead, which I'm thankful for, knowing I don't trust my voice at the moment.

"One vindaloo, one korma, a medium pot of biryani, naan bread, and two of your paneer sodas."

I'm intrigued by the sodas; I've never heard of them before.

"Take a seat, I shall bring it over." Ryan sends us off with a small wave, and I'm unable to stop myself from smiling back at him before Brandon guides me across the carpet.

"He seems nice," I observe.

"He's a hard worker and spends his free time cracking jokes."

In the few minutes we exchanged in greetings, that was obvious, but that's fine and there's no harm in a good joke or two.

"Are you hungry?"

I'm sure he's about to groan when he clears his throat. "Starving, you?"

Agreeing with his statement, we slowly come to a standstill at the entrance of a roomy area, and the lanterns are off but it's replaced by candlelight. There's a slender bottle with a ruby rose in the centre along with scattered petals that catch my eye, and there's two chairs with plush cushions. It's like something straight out of one of my books; romantic and magical.

"Brandon. . . did you have this set up?" I'm in awe, unable to remove my gaze, afraid it will vanish in an instant if I do.

His fingers slip off my cardigan and hang it over the back of my chair before facing me again. "I messaged them to whip up something nice with the supplies they had before you got out of the car." He steels a glance at the table, then settles it on me. "What do you think?"

In love, adoration, over the moon—

"I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my whole life!" I pray my voice is enough evidence to prove how much my words are true, if not, then at least my eyes.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Then I fall silent. Brandon starts to roll his denim jacket off his shoulders, the muscle working and flexing from the simple motion. I'm more than ashamed for openly staring at him like this, however, before I'm able to tear my eyes away, a bad boy grin spreads across his face. He caught me, and there's no way for me to deny it.

Thankfully he says nothing and drapes his jacket over the back of his seat and returns in front of me. I'm growing flustered and confused when his line of sight lingers on my chest, but when mine finally follows, I realise it's the necklace.

"My mum gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday. . ." My voice trails off when his fingers collect the pendant, and he's gentle and calm.

Mum believed the golden water pot with the intricate patterns was accurate compared to the usual duplicate zig-zagged waves, and I'd agreed with her. But no matter what she had chosen, I'd love it just as much because it was from her.

"An Aquarius," he muses.

I'm fascinated because he knows about the Star Signs, and Zodiacs are something I've always been passionate about.

"That's right," I pipe up, not wanting him to think I'm ignoring him or zoning out again.

That's when the humorous tone filters his voice again. "A water sign, that should be interesting."

"Why is that?"

Allowing the charm to gently fall against my top, a mischievous glint flashes through his eyes. "Because I'm a Sagittarius."

I breathe out, understanding why he's finding this amusing.

Like a gentleman, he pulls my seat and carefully tucks me in before taking his position opposite me, and surprisingly, his fingers clasp mine. I'm unable to help myself from marvelling them again; they're large in comparison, neat and elegant looking—in a manly way—and the heat and feel of them set the butterflies off again.

His eyes capture mine. "Would you like to ask me anything about the date?"

My cheeks work overtime to show the rosy hue. I wasn't expecting him to bring it up this quick, although, it would be nice to know if he had any thoughts about the situation as well.

"Well, I'm curious to know why you wanted to bring me on a date." I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear before my eyes turn down to my fingers. "I know you said it was to get to know me better, but is there anything else?"

His brows crease in the way they do when he thinks things over, and the new thing is how he swipes his thumb soothingly over the side of my hand. "Would you like there to be something?"

For once in my life, I shudder. It's strange but new and wonderful, and it brings out a bashful smile. "Maybe? I'm not sure. . ."

"Alright then." He narrows his brows and smirks. "How do you feel when I say that I want something more between us?"

Stunned is a good start. "Then I guess I might. . ."

"Might what, sweetheart?"

My hands start to tremble and I can't stop them no matter how much I try. "I-I might be falling for you, Brandon."

A low sound comes from the back of his throat, and his eyes hood. "Now you're going to tell me what you think when I say that I've already fallen for you?"

I choke, having to clear my airways with a cough. There's no way I'd even thought of those being the next words to come out of his mouth. The only thing running round my mind is how I want more.

"Then I'd ask you if you were being serious, or if this is some kind of ruse." I pray my tone didn't come across as rude or desperate, but the doubt was there clear as day, and he can see it.

He massages my hand with the pad of his thumb before divulging, "Love, I'd say no. I've had my sights set on you, and I'll make sure I'm going to keep you."

My heart swells. I'm tempted to pinch myself to double check this is one hundred percent real, and not a sweet dream I never want to wake up from.

"B-Brandon."

He cocks a brow before chuckling, and it confuses me because he's acting different compared the last times I've seen him. Perhaps it's because he's confessed how he feels and is trying to seem more eager for me or whatever it could be named as. This is way out of my expertise.

"Now tell me how you feel when I say that I've wanted to kiss you ever since I walked you home yesterday?"

Hot, eager, curious, and shy are the few words that are floating around my head right now, along with how the bench needs to hurry up and swallow me whole. He'd mentioned a kiss earlier, and the memory of it only adds a fire to my stomach, and it keeps building. My conscience laughs at me because it's clear I want to kiss him too.

"I thought this was going to be casual?" is the only thing I could think of to say, and I've got to congratulate myself for keeping my voice strong and maintaining the flush.

"Why do you think I haven't kissed you yet?"

I squeak and the burn engulfs my cheeks.

"Love, I said it would be, I won't touch you. I promised to be the perfect gentleman and the only time I'm going to lay my lips upon yours is when I have your permission." Brandon's eyes blaze with something I'm unsure of, and his lips inch up at the corner. "On the other hand, if you wish me to do something now, I'd be more than happy to comply."

My vision darts everywhere and wherever it can that wasn't on Brandon. He's confessed his feelings, and I'm now a hot mess. But it's down to me to do the same and explain my emotions. Although, it's difficult with these butterflies taking flight in my stomach, and to make it worse, my skin is tingling where his touch is.

"Can you do me a favour, Tamina?" My head inclines for him to carry on, his eyes now serious and lips soft. "Let me know what you want when I take you home, I don't want to rush you."

It's a simple and gentle request, and there's no way I'll ever be able to not see him again. I've come to close to let someone as special as him leave my life. If things couldn't work out, then my goal would be to keep him as a dear friend. No one has ever made me feel this good in my whole life.

Squeezing his fingers in reassurance, there's a light lift of his lips before the patter of feet cut our silence short and a tray is set down.

"Sorry for the wait, I hope you two enjoy," Ryan greets, and when he deposits everything, he backs away to his designated spot in the kitchen with his tray.

My eyes focus on the swift movements of Brandon's fingers as he dishes out our meal and deposits my drink to the side. My inner self is laughing at how I'm managing to find this soothing and interesting to watch, and if only he knew what I'm thinking, he'd more than likely dash for the hills.

When it's done and he's seated, we clink our drinks together and begin to dig in. The curry is delicious, and after another mouthful, I'm moaning in heaven. Plentiful flavours dance on my tongue, and the smell of it makes my saliva glands work overtime.

I've got to come back again.

It's only when the dark look coating Brandon's eyes catch mine that I stop. He looks more than hungry, and it's pinned on me; they promise wicked things, things I'm starting to worry I'll like.

"You make such tempting sounds, sweetheart."

"I'm sorry," I breathe, only to gasp when his lips brush the skin across my knuckles.

"My precious, don't apologise, alright? Come, eat up."