The VIP Room(14)

"It reminds me of the small town I grew up in," Mark said, and for the first time, I could hear a faint Southern accent in his voice. I guessed he hid it pretty well unless he wanted it to come out.

"Whole town had only nine thousand people in it, most of them country folks. We had only five different types of restaurant in the whole town. You could have Southern, fast food, your large chain family restaurant, a Greek place that doubled as our Italian place, and a single Chinese restaurant, converted over from a Dairy Queen. Good Chinese food, although they kept getting shut down by the health department, so take that for what it's worth."

I laughed and sipped my tea, a nice herbal peppermint blend the owner developed himself. "So how'd you end up in the big city?" I asked, trying to imagine Mark growing up in a small Southern town. He must have been the high school quarterback or something, he was such a great athlete. "Football scholarship?"

"Hmmm?" he replied, surprised. "Not at all. My family moved here when my mother died. I was twelve, and my father thought that he could make it better in the city than in South Carolina. So, just as I was getting ready for high school, he took me with him to Boston, where he had a new job lined up. I had to learn a lot, and quickly."

"I bet," I said, thinking of a country white kid from the South landing in a Boston high school. Even the private school kids would try and tear him apart. "Must have been better when you went to college."

Mark gave me that confident smile of his, with the right corner of his mouth quirked up as if I had said something funny. "I've never been to college," he said quietly, causing my mouth to drop open. "Everything I learned after high school I picked up either through reading or through my work. It's not exactly a classical education, but I've been able to make it work so far."

I blinked, shaking my head before finally finding my voice. "Mark, how do you do it?"

"What?" he asked, his smile growing.

"You keep surprising me," I said, pausing while our plates of Thai noodles were dropped off. "I recommend the peanut sauce. Anyway, you keep surprising me. Last night while we talked, you struck me as someone who's highly intelligent, but yet you haven't been to college. You tell me Boston, and I would not be surprised at all if you had then told me you graduated from BC or even Harvard. I had taken you for someone with at least an MBA, or maybe a military officer who got out and turned your skills to the business world."

It was the first time I'd ever seen Mark actually look bashful, and it was adorable. I felt my heart lurch in my chest, and I had to remind myself that I'd only known him for less than twenty four hours. Still, something stirred within me, and it was more than just my libido.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, looking me in the eyes. He reached across the table, taking my hand again, and I could feel the spark of electricity jump between us. It was different than just the attraction we'd shared in the club or in my apartment. I was seeing him for the man, and not just the sexy body. It felt good. "But don't make me out to be more than I am. I'm still just a country boy from South Carolina who works as a freelancer."

"You seem like a lot more than that to me," I said honestly. "Not too many men would have figured out the perfect solution to my issue with Dr. Green today. Half of them would have charged in and gotten me in trouble with Green later, and the other half would have stood there impotently while doing nothing."

Our conversation continued as we lazily worked our way through the spicy food, downing it all with the large glasses of herbal iced tea.

I told him about my weight gain at the beginning of my undergrad years, and how Tabby had helped support me through getting it off. He told me he had to thank her whenever they first met for dragging me out of the apartment and to the club the night before. He also told me that he was glad I had sent him the text message during a quick break I had, since he felt like an idiot for not getting my cell phone number before I left that morning.

"I don't want to sound creepy or anything, but I really didn't know if I could have waited until next Tuesday to hear from you again."

"Considering I couldn't even wait twelve hours, I don't think it's strange at all," I said. Just then, Mark's cell phone rang, and he gave me an apologetic look. "Go ahead, I'm sure it's important."

"It is," he said before taking out his phone. "The only people who have this number are my work clients...... and you. Excuse me."

He slid out of the booth, heading outside to take his call while I considered his words. I was interrupted when the waitress, a pretty young mixed Thai and black girl who was in high school and helped out at her father's restaurants after classes, dropped off the check. "Here you are. I hope you two had a good meal."

"It was great as always, Helen," I said, using the girl's American name. She had a Thai name too, but I kept forgetting it. "And it was a great meal."

Helen walked back behind the counter to do some of her homework, and I looked out at Mark, who closed his phone and came back inside. "Everything okay?" I asked, picking up the check.

Mark grinned and took my wrist in a feather light yet strong grip, and pulled the check from my hands with two fingers. "Now, how would I feel as a Southern gentleman if I didn't pay on our first date?" he said with a smile. I could feel the blush all the way to the roots of my hair, and he stroked my cheek with the back of the first two fingers on his right hand. "Don't be shy, even if it is massively cute. And don't think this is a knock on your student status and income level. Tell you what, I'll make sure to get us reservations at Le Blanc for our next one, just to make us even."