The Escort Read Free Page A

her hand over and tracing his fingers around in circles while his eyes met hers, full of humour, fully aware of what he was doing to her body.
    "Yes, Max. Where did we meet? I like the beach. Perhaps you were there, in the ocean, and I was walking along, unable to resist the way the water played around your body. Then by chance I saw you again on the evening, all alone in a restaurant, waiting for someone, something. And at that moment I knew you were waiting for me."
    Max cleared her throat. And what then?"
    "Now it's your turn. Tell me your fantasy."
    "Fantasy. I... Oh, here's our food."
    Hastily snatching her hand away she put it firmly under the table, holding the napkin tight, gripping it as though her life, or her sanity, depended on it. How easy it would be to fall in love with Dan, to believe his words of romance. This should be so easy, but she was falling for him. He was nothing like the men she met through work, he was so much more attentive, and so much more charming.
    "Thank you," Dan said, looking at his meal.
    Max stifled a giggle. "They should bill this place as the prettiest food in town."
    "I was wondering where the rest of it was. If I'd have known I would have eaten before I left home."
    She giggled again. "I am sorry. You are suffering because I stupidly wanted you to like me."
    "There's nothing stupid about that. But I'm not the kind of guy you have to impress."
    She sobered then. "No. Of course not. I forgot."
    "Hey. I didn't mean it like that." He sighed, and stroked the back of her hand, which gripped her knife tightly as the sensations travelled up her arm, down her body and deep into her heated core. "I like things simple. Simple food, simple pleasures."
    "So are you going to tell me anything about yourself other than you like things simple? Or is that too personal?"
    He was attempting to take his perfectly presented dinner apart, looking guilty as though he was dismantling a work of fine art. "I thought we were supposed to be getting our story straight."
    "I think I'm a little too concerned about Phil overhearing our plotting. So let’s go for more general stuff."
    "OK. Favourite colour?"
    "Blue."
    "Green," he said, finally putting a small piece of food into his mouth. "It's certainly good. I could do with double portions though."
    "Eat it real slow, and savour it."
    "Will that make me feel fuller?"
    "No." She laughed as he exaggerated chewing his food. "OK. My turn. In honour of your complaints about this very expensive restaurant. What is your favourite food?"
    "Pizza."
    "Snap."
    "Ahh, but not just any pizza. When we were kids I helped my dad build this pizza oven in our backyard. We spent years making up these different concoctions. You know, things that should never be on the same plate, let alone together on a pizza." His hands mesmerised her, he used them when he talked to emphasise movement and add expression, to his words. Right now they were showing her how he would sprinkle mozzarella on top of his spaghetti sauce pizza.
    "And that was your favourite."
    "For a while. But we never made the same one, my dad always got us to experiment."
    She wanted to ask who "we" were, to ask about his siblings, but it seemed too intrusive. But she could imagine being there, being part of a family that did things together, something she had missed out on.
    "So what about you? Favourite food, and why."
    Max found it hard to talk about herself, especially when her life seemed empty of the colour and flavour of his. But she gave it a go, caught up in his infectious story. "Chinese food."
    "I can relate. We visited Chinatown one time. All the smells, the sounds."
    "I mean actual food in China. We lived there for six months when I was a child."
    "Wow. That must have been cool."
    "Not so much. My dad worked the whole time. He was in banking too, only he travelled and we followed. My mom was a bit like Phil's wife. A trophy he took with him wherever he went. When I came along I went with them until I was old