The Date, Part Four
Part Four
Hallie suspected nothing.
The waitress introduced herself as Liv, and Hallie and Jake ordered a round of waters to begin the evening. Though they both enjoyed their fair share of drinks at parties, flashing a fake ID at a restaurant felt more risky than in a liquor store for some reason. They obviously weren’t the only ones out on a Valentine’s date at the Violet Delight, and there was always the slim chance that one of their professors reserved a table at the popular restaurant.
Besides, Hallie didn’t need alcohol to have a good time. She got to work right away. Though a table separated them, she subtly shifted her leg forward to connect with Jake’s ankle. The conversation was light, as neither of them were used to talking at such a fancy establishment, but Hallie made sure to somehow turn the awkward smalltalk into flirty teasing. A smile and a knowing glance, a nudge of her bare ankle against his leg, a tiny adjustment of her dress’s strap to draw his eyes to her upper half.
Jake. Her boyfriend. The mature boy who was going to be moaning her name tonight.
He ordered a basic pasta dish, but she was a little tactical with her order of chicken parmesan. Any form of noodles wasn't the most attractive thing to eat, so the quantity of chicken compared to pasta would ensure she could keep up her perfect appearance with little risk.
Or so she thought.
When their food arrived, Hallie took one bite and reflexively spit it right back out. It was COLD. “Sorry . . .” Hallie mumbled. She quickly wiped her mouth when she realized how unladylike she must have looked to Jake, and then explained. The chicken didn’t seem undercooked, but the whole dish was just cold.
This was supposed to be a nice restaurant! Did they microwave their dishes like all the awful chain places? And did they forget to do so for hers? Hallie flagged down Liv and politely explained the problem, not wanting to seem negative around Jake during the date that was going so well until now. As expected, Liv apologized profusely and promptly took the plate away, promising to make her next dish a priority.
It. Took. Forever.
Ten minutes passed, then twenty, then thirty. Liv arrived every now and then to top off their water glasses, and kept assuring her that it would be any minute now. The cooks were just swamped with all the holiday evening’s orders.
After nearly fifty minutes, the waitress arrived with a steaming plate. By this time, Jake had polished off his whole meal. Ever the gentleman, he had offered to wait for her, or to share his meal with her, but Hallie declined. It was the modern day and age, and she didn’t mind if they ate at different times. The fact that they were together was all that mattered. Hallie managed to maintain her sweet smile as she said the sweet words, and continued the lighthearted conversation and little flirty gestures as he ate. She wouldn’t allow such a setback to ruin their evening.
The next bite seemed fine. For a few seconds. Though the chicken was actually the proper temperature and texture, the spicy aftertaste hit Hallie like a truck. She could feel her eyes water and her cheeks heat up, but she somehow managed to not make a face of disgust.
“Good?” Jake asked.
Hallie reluctantly swallowed. “Amazing,” she gently smiled. This was their Valentine’s date. She would not be the girl who sent back her meal twice. Mostly because Jake might think she was being annoyingly picky, but also because something told her the chef would spit in her food if he had to make her a third meal on such a busy evening.
So she took bite after bite, choking down the spiciest meal she had ever eaten. Where the fuck was Liv?! The girl had been so diligent about refilling their water glasses so far, but now she was nowhere to be seen. Hallie’s glass had been empty when her replacement meal had arrived, and now the only sips she got were when the ice melted just enough for her to get a few drops.
A full ten minutes after Hallie choked down the worst meal of her life, Liv finally reappeared at the table. “Sorry again about before,” she said, “My manager gave me the green light to comp the chicken parm for you, and it looks like the second round was better! Are you two interested in a dessert menu?”
Hallie put on her most polite smile and said that a dessert menu would be great, and then requested the refill right afterwards. Her mouth was still burning and her cheeks felt just as warm, and Hallie was suddenly grateful that the dim lights were there to hide the faint blush and watery eyes. At this point, was determined to not snap at the young waitress. It would totally ruin the mood that she had been setting up, against all odds, in their little booth.
This time, Liv didn’t take ten years to get back to them. Just two minutes later, Hallie saw the girl heading towards them with two dessert menus and a pitcher of water. Thank. God. The next step would be sipping her water like a lady to sooth her burning mouth, rather than chugging the whole glass in front of Jake.
It was a good plan. Until the worst happened.
Just as Liv was approaching their table, she tripped over something and lost her footing. Hallie didn’t see it coming at all. It wasn’t one of those things that seemed to happen in slow motion. It was all one, horribly fast blur.
One moment, Liv was walking towards them.
The next, the whole pitcher was being emptied down Hallie’s chest.