Alexis took a few quick shots and small clips of the interior. Her attention was interrupted because of the delicious smell oozing out of the kitchen.
She looked back to find Arthur to serve the dishes himself. She almost felt like flying towards him, following the smell.
People aren't wrong when they say the way to a human's heart is through their stomach.
"Parmesan cheese?"
Arthur asked as soon as she sat on the chair and neatly prepared herself to dig in.
She just nodded vigorously as an answer to find him filling her plate with shredded cheese.
He stopped himself just as the cheese was shredded on the top to the right amount, not needing to ask her if she wanted more. Bossy enough, huh?
"Why don't you sit with me?" Alexis gestured towards the chair opposite of her, restraining her best not to dig in yet.
Arthur obliged to sit but nudged her to start eating by dancing his eyebrows. Alexis did whatever he suggested.
"Mhmmm….. it's… why is it so good?" she moaned in ecstasy not caring about how it sounded much.
She started eating so fast as a few sprinkles of cheese stuck around her lips. Arthur offered her a tissue to clean herself.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help it," she gave an embarrassing smile.
"It's fine. Do you want to try other desserts too? I always make items regularly."
"What do you suggest?"
Alexis asked innocently, still not getting over the incredible taste of food which she almost finished. Arthur looked straight into her eyes with his pale brown ones, taking a long minute before opening his mouth.
"Lemon cakes."
Alexis was on her way to take another gulpful of bite of the pasta when her fingers halted in their movement. She looked back at his eyes, now giving full attention to him.
"I don't like them anymore."
She replied matter-of-factly. Because she did stop loving them as much as she did a few years back. It was hard to imagine for anyone whoever knew her closely that she would ever give up on lemon cakes. She was so crazy about them and it wasn't a secret until she didn't feel good about it anymore.
Arthur kept holding her gaze to the point she couldn't help but avert her eyes. His eyes weren't too intimidating at first glance, instead it gave a feeling of security and calmness. But the Arthur Davenport she knew so far was way more intimidating than his looks, and he could easily control his comfortable expression to make it super intimidating if possible.
He was like a genre himself. Being around him somehow turns out to be everything about him. He just fills the space around him so well without making others aware of it and that massive size of his wasn't helping to reduce this issue at all.
"Then tiramisu it is."
"Yes."
Arthur stood up to serve the dessert to her as she caught his hands on the way. This was the first time she touched his rough big hands on her own and she didn't know why she felt a shiver run through her spine. The emotion she felt was unexplainable and the intensity made her back out her advancing fingers from his hands.
Arthur looked back at the place she touched and then at her eyes, as if asking the reason to stop him silently.
"You are still free to consider my offer to be friends," she blurted out.
"And I'm still free to say no right?" He replied instantly without giving it a second of thought.
"What's so wrong with being friends?" Alexis pleaded. She wanted to be friends with him and be in touch with him. She is going to be out of the city soon, and she feels like she is going to miss him along with Rebecca, mom, dad and Joshua. It was kind of so sad to think they won't be seeing each other again for another maybe who knows how many years again. She didn't know why she felt this way but deep down she felt like she would. And she wished Arthur felt the same too. But maybe it's only her thinking they share their own secret with each other and that made them a little bit closer.
"Because I don't want to."
Arthur left her there to get the dessert after placing the bombshell in conversation for her to digest.
Alexis didn't feel like continuing eating anymore. Her tastebud suddenly grew bitter. Still she forced herself to take a few bites of the dessert as he brought it from the kitchen. The taste was just the same as that day but she didn't enjoy it one bit. Her mind was elsewhere anyway.
It was her fault anyway, trying to create any bond with him when she actually forgot how to handle them. She shouldn't have been so ambitious about it.
"I'll show you whatever I shot today after editing a bit. I won't post anything without your consent, don't worry," Alexis finally broke the silence settling between them as she finished with her lunch, already ready to get up and pay the bill.
"You don't need to show me. You can post whatever you want."
Alexis let the cool distant voice slip inside her ears and then started walking towards the cashier.
"You take cards right?" she said to the cashier guy who was standing there like someone who has seen a ghost, not moving a single muscle.
Alexis lifted her eyebrows in confusion and just then she felt something weird as a gush of cold air passing through her shoulder. Two strong hands caged her from behind which caught the corner of her eyes. The air around her spilled danger all of a sudden.
"Lockwood," her captive spoke. In the same cool and distant way.
Alexis turned around; surprised that there was still a lot of space between them to turn around as he had two hands long enough to make a spacious cage for her; and faced him with her hands folded on her chest.
Her eyes spilled all the seriousness she could gather inside her and returned his piercing gaze. She could clearly see the color of the iris from this distance. It was genuinely mesmerizing, worth looking at for hours. Right now those spilled danger for her.
"What?" She replied, keeping her head high. It's not that easy to intimidate her.
"You're not going to pay for anything."
It wasn't a request. It was a fu*king order. And she hated taking orders.
"That's not for you to decide."
Not budging at all.
The staff present in that moment froze on their respective places but instantly started excusing themselves when they saw their boss giving a single murderous glare at one of them.
Now they were completely alone in the huge dining area.
"Go home," he stated, his voice dripping with danger again.
"I'm not going before I pay."
Not a chance. If he doesn't want to be friends with her, then she can't treat this meal as a friendly treat from his restaurant. Not at all. He wants it to be formal then she can give him a hell of that.
But to her surprise, Arthur bent and lifted her up by her legs with his one single hand as if she was a coffee mug he lifts everyday casually after waking up.
She was neither overweight, nor underweight and yet the way he lifted her felt like she weighed like a piece of paper. Her legs touched his chest which could feel the strong muscles nuzzled inside his apron. Is he even a chef or does he play chef as a hobby and run kilometers as a main job? Why is he so strong?
Before Alexis could process all of it, she was dumped into the back seat of a SUV and in the next second the person who dumped her in the car was nowhere to be seen. And just one minute later a staff member came to hand over the heavy bag she left at the restaurant and saw him taking the driver's seat.
She couldn't even process what was happening until she found herself in front of her apartment. How long was she in her stupor?
When she finally recovered from the horror of a man lifting her up so easily as that, her lost anger again found her. What made her angrier was the fact that it was supposed to be her who should be angry but instead, the guy showed his anger and did whatever he wanted to do.
"Urgh, forget it! I don't give a damn about being friends with you anymore. To hell with that!" She uttered with huge frustration as she got out of the car and slammed the car door shut.