Chapter 8: In the Middle

The three of them spoke quietly about Carter's latest trip. Surprisingly enough, Selene felt strangely at home between an intimidating chef and a little too enthusiastic a PR manager. Even their familiarity wasn't an obstacle to a lighthearted conversation.

"I believe Paul is more than capable of handling the kitchen on his own." Carter took a sip of his drink. "He is much more talented than I initially realized."

"He's very young, though," supplied Elizabeth, whose hand was lying flat on the bar to allow her full access to stare at Selene and Carter.

"Not much younger than I was," Carter shrugged, not seeing any issues with his recent hire and his capabilities.

"I started working in my parents' shop when I was fifteen," Selene said, raising her eyebrows. "Imagine an awkward teenager obsessed with pink and pop-culture trying to recommend middle-aged customers their next bottle of wine and then add my braces and a bright pink cast on my hand — it was a sight."

Carter huffed a small breath that Selene could recognize as his version of a laugh; at least, she thought it resembled one.

"May I assume that you know your wines?" Carter, for once, looked present in the conversation, abandoning his usual daydreaming look.

"As much as a teenager can learn from a summer job." Selene shrugged a bit, reaching for her beer and giving herself some time to think before continuing. "I don't know a lot about years and regions, but I was told I'm pretty good with taking apart the wine bouquet and different aromas."

"Indeed, you are," the chef was clearly referring to their previous encounter in the kitchen. Selene blushed lightly, remembering how close he stood and how his forearms looked, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Elizabeth looked between the two of them, acting a little more quiet than she was before, but Selene didn't detect any disgust or, perhaps, annoyance.

"I feel like I'm missing something, but I'm not sure if I want to know," Elizabeth looked pointedly at Carter, who only curled his lips a little but upwards.

"Nothing much. I was experimenting with the new dish," Carter waved his hand as if gesturing at the dish that wasn't there. "Selene assisted me in looking for flaws."

"It was almost flawless." Selene smirked a bit, hoping that teasing was acceptable.

"Almost," the chef scoffed but looked mildly entertained by her teasing.

"I heard we were drinking for free." The bartender recognized Rose's voice, a little bit intoxicated from wine and, knowing her, tequila.

"Rose," Elizabeth smiled, "We're celebrating the return of our sulkman."

Rose seemed slightly uncomfortable using the nickname, so she settled for: "In that case, Tony, we are out of tequila."

"How unexpected," Tony remarked dryly but proceeded to get more shot glasses on the bar.

"Do you mind if I steal Selene?" The young woman really wanted to rethink her previous affection for Rose or possibly resort to violence. Leaving felt like the greatest mistake, especially when the chef finally felt like saying more than one sentence to her at a time.

"I suppose we can spare her for a moment." Carter dropped his previous smirk and looked just like he did every day at the restaurant — blank and bored.

"Just don't scare her away," supplied Elizabeth.

"Her?" Rose rolled her eyes. "She's a menace."

Selene almost missed a quick look of surprise on Carter's face. Rose didn't notice, but the young woman spent quite a bit of time analyzing his little expression. A quirk of his lips, a raise of the eyebrow, a small twinge of his pianist's fingers, and the best, a flash of mirth and mischief in those alluding eyes — some of her latest discoveries.

Even though Selene was about to deny it, she resisted saying 'no.' Rose was one of the only people who seemed actually easy-going and welcoming. Losing her affection wouldn't be wise nor pleasing.

So Selene got up, gratefully taking another bottle of beer from Tony and simultaneously straightening her dress. She bent a bit to fix the dress and felt a shift in gravity, worsened by the alcohol and induced by unexpected movement after several hours of languid sitting.

The young woman found herself swaying only to remain standing on her two feet, stopped from falling by a sudden grip on her hand.

She looked down to assess the new feeling only to realize that the hand certainly did not belong to Rose or Elizabeth, both too occupied with a fresh pour of tequila.

The hand was gripping her firmly, just a smidge too strong, but not unpleasant. It also contrasted beautifully against the black shirt of the owner and her own glistering sleeve.

She trailed her eyes higher, focusing on slender fingers, clearly strained veins, slightly reddened knuckles, and an unimaginably expensive silver watch. The rest of the forearm was hidden by the dark sleeve, even if it was transparent enough to see the hint of almost translucent skin picking through.

Her trail led her to the column of his neck, hardly concealed with the collar that was now freely open, with no button to hold it together. His jaw was pressed tightly, making it even more prominent and chiseled. Selene unconsciously licked her lips, her mind a careful blank with only an image of her lips on that neck.

But her not-so-subtle exploration was stopped when the hand that was still grasping her wrist, let her go, and the touch was replaced by another tug of a smaller hand on her forearm.

Rose was already holding a tray of tequila shots and urging her to get on with another one.

Sadly, Selene was left without seeing the chef's eyes and clocking his reaction because there was a tray shoved in her hands, and she was pushed towards Rose.

She could remotely hear an opening of another story and Elizabeth's exciting voice. But she pulled herself together and promised herself to find a moment to get back to the duo before the night ended.

***

“So that’s when Charlie poured that spritz all over that woman’s Gucci!” The company laughed, still halfway through the shots and thoroughly entertained by Rose’s attempts to tell a story, even if her tongue was now only good for licking salt and swiping the drops of lemon juice from her lips.

“I think it was D to the G, dear.” Charlie was sitting pressed firmly against her side, remaining more than 'friendly' but not crossing any boundaries they seemed to establish.

“Nope,” Selene shook her head. “It was definitely its French cousin. The more gothic one.”

Everyone turned to her, questions very clear in their eyes.

Selene could only smirk a little, still nursing her beer and ignoring all the shots. “I know her.” When no reaction followed, Selene added. “The woman. She is the CEO of the brand” The bartender shrugged her shoulders but was thoroughly enjoying the reaction of her fellow staff.

“Wait,” Rose leaned towards her a little, but close enough for the bartender to clearly catch that signature tequila smell. “How do you know?”

“I know a thing or two about fashion, and she’s very famous.” The woman paused for a dramatic effect basking in the attention she was receiving. “And she might have introduced herself when I recommended her our Hurley’s Old Fashioned.”

The table laughed, a bit more amused than the joke entailed, but the alcohol was surely making Selene a stand-up comedian in their eyes. She smiled widely, but that grin was sadly dropped in favor of slightly ajar lips and a quick shot of surprise crossing her face.

From the chair she occupied, the bartender saw a good portion of the bar, exit included. So she couldn't help but notice the two already familiar figures shuffling towards the door.

The chef was still standing straight on his feet, sober and hardly affected by the drink. But his arm was firmly placed over Elizabeth’s waist, holding her uptight or even hugging her.

They looked very close, bodies pressed together, her head almost falling on his shoulder as he was whispering something to her.

The scene was almost a bit too intimate — and there was a whole dance floor of bodies, swaying, grinding, and seducing one another in a never-ending wave of temptation.

Before Selene could rethink her intrusion into their privacy, the chef was already opening the door, pulling both of them out of the basement.

“Hey!” Selene snapped her head, looking for the source of the voice. Rose was still leaning towards her above the table, a hint of concern written in her eyes. “You good?”

“Yes,” Selene nodded and even took her first shot to prove her point. “Chirpy.”

Was she, though? Selene felt almost special for being allowed to have a few moments with the subject of her… Interest? Desires? Intrigue? He finally let the facade drop for several precious moments, only for the evening to bring even more questions, especially regarding Carter and Elizabeth.