Seduction, page 4
She did realize that she basically just ordered the normal menu item right? All she had to do instead of all that was ask for all the toppings on the side and green beans instead of coleslaw. It would have saved our Parrot Palace party person a whole lot of time. But I knew Rob always tipped well to make up for Daphne’s weird ordering habits.
“And actually could I get a turkey burger?”
Rob groaned. “Babe, the reviews here are great. I’m sure the normal burger is fine. Let’s get a move on.”
She glared at him.
Rob cleared his throat. “A turkey burger for my girl, please,” he said to the waiter.
“Very well.” Randy took one step back and paused, like he thought Daphne would demand something else. When she didn’t he practically ran away.
Rob kissed Daphne’s cheek and whispered something in her ear that made her smile.
I swear, if James ordered food that way I’d probably murder him in his sleep.
“I swear,” James whispered to me. “If you suddenly started ordering food that way I’d murder you in your sleep.”
I laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing about you. What happened to loving me forever and always?”
“It’s the one thing I wouldn’t be able to keep my vows for. I’d have no choice but to murder you.”
I laughed. Speaking of murdering people…I needed to ask Matt about Halloween. But before I turned to him, I saw that Daphne hadn’t given her menu back to the waiter. Good God, someone take that away from her.
She flipped another page. “Maybe I should have ordered…”
“Nope,” Rob said and slammed her menu down on the table. “It’s time.”
Her face grew pale.
“Seriously,” Mason said. “What is going on? You’re freaking us out.”
Daphne took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “We um…” she looked at Rob and then back at us. “We have some news.” She started to smile, but it looked like she was holding it back. “Really crazy news, actually. We…”
“I’ll take it from here,” Rob said, cutting her off. He stood up and lifted his glass of champagne in the air. “I want to make a toast to Daphne. For being the best girlfriend in the whole world.”
Okay. That was kind of a slap in the face to Bee and me, but I got the idea. I lifted my glass of iced tea in the air. “Hear, hear,” I said. Wait, was that the news they wanted to share?
Rob smiled at me. “Come on everyone. Glasses up.”
Everyone else at the table lifted their glasses.
“Daphne and I met under very weird circumstances. A weekend that would change our lives forever. Luckily Mason and I forced James to have a bachelor party. Or else Daphne and I never would have met at the Blue Parrot Resort. I never would have fallen in love with my other half.” He smiled down at her.
And Daphne smiled up at him.
Oh. The Blue Parrot Resort. Is that why we were at this parrot themed restaurant? I’d never been able to find pictures of that resort. It was super exclusive and fancy. Kind of the opposite of this place. I looked behind me at the parrot with the strange eyes and immediately snapped my attention back to Rob. That winged beast had been staring right at me, I swear.
“You and I all started with a bracelet,” Rob said. He reached into his pocket and then shook his head and reached into his other pocket. He pulled out a small box.
“What started with a bracelet?” I whispered to James.
“It was that weird sex game at the resort.”
Right, I remembered hearing about it. All the girls wore bracelets and the guys had cards with chips in them that could unlock the bracelets. Most of the cards were crazy. Like…Get topless. It helped people at the resort flirt or whatever. Probably more than flirt. And the girls had to do whatever the crazy cards said if a man unlocked their bracelet. But James swore he didn’t play the game. He’d given his cards to Rob and Matt.
Rob handed Daphne the box. And I finally registered how small it was.
James put his hand down on my thigh, dangerously high again.
But I wasn’t even thinking about how much I wanted him. I wasn’t sure he was thinking about that either. I put my hand down on top of his. And then I held my breath. I was pretty sure we were all thinking the same thing. That Rob was about to propose in this weird parrot restaurant.
Daphne gave him a funny look and then opened up the box. I shifted a little closer, moving James’ hand higher, his pinky brushing against me again.
I gasped.
Daphne laughed. “It’s not a ring, you guys, it’s just a bracelet.”
I was really glad they thought I was gasping because of that. I tried to ignore James’ hand as I watched Daphne lift the bracelet.
“Um…thanks, Rob,” she said. “This is beautiful. But it has nothing to do with our news.”
“Right. I just wanted you to have this.”
She smiled sweetly at him as he reached out and clasped the bracelet on her wrist.
“It looks just like the ones from the resort,” James whispered at me.
“Huh?” I was having a hard time paying attention because his fingers were too close to me again.
“The bracelet. It looks like the ones from the Blue Parrot Resort.”
Oh, that was a sweet gift. To remind them where they met. I wasn’t sure why we were all watching this though. Was the bracelet their news after all? I feel like we didn’t need to be here for this…
“Cool,” Matt said. “I hope the food comes soon. I’m starving.”
“That wasn’t the news,” Rob said. “This is our news.” He pulled a card out of his pocket.
Daphne was smiling at all of us and was about to open her mouth to finally share the news, but she stopped when Rob handed her the card.
She took a sip of her water before looking down at the card. Before she could see it, Rob pressed the card against her bracelet and the bracelet fell to the table. And then she immediately spit the water all over the table.
I jumped back, trying not to get sprayed.
And Rob dropped to one knee.
Oh my God!
He pulled out a smaller box from his other pocket.
“What is happening right now?” Daphne said and put her hand over her mouth.
“Didn’t you read the card?” Rob said. “Read it out loud for everyone.”
“It says…marry me.” She started blinking away tears.
“Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me, Daphne? Not that you have a choice. You have to do whatever it says on the card. It’s in the rules.”
She was full on crying now. She couldn’t even respond.
“But please say yes. I can’t wait to start the rest of our lives together.”
She just nodded her head because she was crying so hard.
Rob slid the ring onto her finger and then she jumped off the booth and into his arms. Their kiss was sinful and not at all suitable for a public restaurant.
But I’d been reading sex scenes all day and James’ hand was up my skirt. So I didn’t find it unusual at all. “Congratulations!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Our whole table started cheering.
Then everyone in the restaurant was cheering too.
And then the weirdest thing happened. All the parrots in the restaurant started singing in harmony Wouldn’t It be Nice by the Beach Boys. Apparently they were all robotic. They started flapping their wings and swaying to the beat of the music. It was perfect timing. Hence the watch that Rob was wearing for the first time in his life.
It was so freaking cute.
“You’re crying,” James whispered.
Am I? I touched my cheek and sure enough, it was wet. Anything could set me off recently. But I wasn’t surprised I was crying now. This was amazing. I loved Rob and Daphne together. And I’d just gained the world’s best sister-in-law.
Rob stopped kissing Daphne long enough to say, “You didn’t read the whole card.”
“What?” asked Daphne.
He reached behind her and grabbed it off the table.
She looked at the card and then back at him. “You’re crazy, you do know that?”
“I do,” he said. “Is that still a yes?”
“A thousand times yes.”
He kissed her again.
“What else is on the card?” Matt asked.
Rob held it up in the air as he started making out with his fiancée again.
Matt stood up and grabbed it. “It says marry me…in two weeks.”
“No, sir,” Rob said. “I will not.”
Matt hit him in the back of the head.
I laughed and then stopped. “Wait, two weeks?!”
Rob smiled at Daphne. “I don’t want to wait another minute for you to be my wife.”
She nodded. “I love you so much.”
“We have a wedding to plan!” Rob said.
Two weeks was not a lot of time. But if there was anyone who could do it… “I know exactly who to call.” My wedding planner, Justin, was the only person I’d trust for the job. He was going to freak about the two weeks’ notice. But he’d also see it as a challenge. He’d make it magical for them.
“Good, because I don’t know the first thing about planning a wedding,” Daphne said. “Oh my God, I need a dress.” She shook her head. “And a venue. Can we really do this in two weeks?”
“We can do it,” I said. Well…I couldn’t. Justin could. And I’d definitely be there to help with anything they needed. We needed to make a list of everything we had to do. My mind was going a mile a minute, but it came to a halt when Matt screamed at the top of his lungs.
One of the parrots was attacking him.
He screamed again and slapped the parrot.
I screamed too and ducked under the table. But I could still see the action. Some of the parrots were flying around the restaurant now, flapping to the music. The creepy parrot with the wandering eyes only had one target, though…Matt. Its mechanical wings flapped violently as it belted out the lyrics to Wouldn’t It Be Nice, trying its best to hit Matt in the face. Matt was trying to swat it away, but it kept coming back for more.
I started laughing because I didn’t know what else to do. And Matt’s screams were so high-pitched.
Matt dodged another attack and then swatted once more at the bird before ducking under our table too. “What the fuck?” he said.
I started laughing even harder.
“It’s not funny. That bird tried to fucking kill me.” But he started laughing because I was laughing so hard.
“Did you see its eyes?” I said through my laughter.
“Yes, they were staring right at me.”
James ducked his head under the table as the song came to an end. “It’s safe to come out now, you two.”
I lifted my head back up. The whole table was laughing.
“Part of this place’s charm,” Rob said. “Singing birds on the hour every hour.” He unhooked his watch and then threw it on the table. “I don’t need that thing anymore. Watches suck.”
Of course. Rob was timing this out perfectly. And murderous tropical parrots were the perfect way to celebrate a proposal. The night made a whole lot more sense now.
The food came out a minute later. “Sorry about that,” our waiter said, nodding at Matt. “Patty the parrot has a certain route around the restaurant and you were in the way. We’ve never had that happen before.”
“Was I in the way?” Matt said. “Because I was just standing by our table.”
“We always suggest that our guests stay seated during the show. For their own safety.”
“I didn’t know there was a show,” Matt said.
“Oh. That’s why everyone comes here. For the parrot show and the delicious food.” He turned to the newly engaged couple. “Congratulations, you two,” Randy said. “Dessert is on the house tonight. And you know…we do weddings. You could have it here.”
Good God no. Accidentally being attacked by parrots on your wedding day did not sound like a good plan.
Rob nodded at Randy, but he didn’t say yes. I was hoping it was more of a polite nod. Not a…yeah we’ll have our wedding at the Parrot Palace kind of nod.
Daphne and Rob climbed back into the booth. They both looked so happy.
Which reminded me of how nervous Daphne had been to tell us the news. “Wait,” I said. This night made no sense at all. “Daphne said you guys had news. But she was totally surprised about the proposal. Was there other news?”
Daphne opened her mouth but Rob cut her off.
“Yeah, we probably should have warned you,” Rob said. “There were terrible reviews for the burgers here. Their beef is super rancid.”
What? I’d ordered a burger… I looked around at the rest of our meals. We’d all ordered burgers.
“I can assure y’all that our beef is not rancid,” Randy said.
Rob looked down at Daphne’s plate. “Oh, then maybe it was the turkey then. Well, either way, she can’t eat this. The pickles can’t be anywhere near her plate. And there are pickles there. We talked about this.”
I’d never seen Rob complain about any food. Or care about any reviews. It was sweet that he was taking care of Daphne though. And I didn’t want to get sick from rancid beef. Or turkey. Or whatever.
“Sorry. I’ll take it back right away.” Randy grabbed the plate.
“Wait. I’ll take them.” I leaned across the booth and grabbed the pickles off her plate.
Daphne looked horrified when I shoved one in my mouth.
So freaking good.
James laughed. “So the turkey is rancid?”
“I promise you nothing is rancid,” Randy said again. “Will you guys please stop saying that,” he said, dropping his voice so the other patrons would stop staring at us.
“Just the turkey,” Rob said with a nod and then whispered something in Daphne’s ear.
She nodded.
Screw it. I didn’t know what those two were up to. But that pickle was amazing. And I was starving. “I guess we’ll find out,” I said and took a big bite of my burger. It didn’t taste rancid. It tasted like heaven.
James shrugged and started eating too. The rest of our table followed. Minus Daphne because she’d ordered the rancid turkey meat. But I didn’t think she was that hungry. She seemed perfectly fine making out with Rob.
I took another bite and then all the lights in the restaurant turned off.
What the hell is happening now?
Chapter 6
Friday
I grabbed James’ hand. If a parrot restaurant was this scary to me, maybe I should skip the Caldwell Halloween party. Apparently I couldn’t handle scary stuff anymore.
“What is going on?” I said.
“I don’t know,” Rob said. “I only knew about the parrots.”
It was seriously pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing. I held James’ hand tighter.
And then the beat dropped. The dance floor in the back lit up. It was like we’d been transported to a disco. Minus the parrots flapping to the music.
“Ah there’s dancing!” I said. I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. I put my burger down. “Who wants to dance?”
James had a mouthful of burger.
“I’m in,” Bee said. She hadn’t touched her food. She was probably worried it was rancid. “Daphne get your butt on the dance floor, us girls need to celebrate!”
Daphne threw her hands in the air. And the three of us maneuvered out of the booth and ran over to the dance floor.
Before I started dancing, I threw my arms around Daphne. “Congratulations!”
Bee put her arms around us too. “You and Rob are perfect together.”
“Stop it, you’re going to make me cry again,” Daphne said and stepped back. “And I want to celebrate.” She started jumping up and down to the beat.
Bee and I joined in. Although I was jumping significantly less than they were. As much as I’d been dying to dance, I wondered if jumping around was good for the baby. I started swaying my hips instead.
It felt so good to be dancing again. Bee and I sandwiched Daphne on the dance floor. I was in front of her and I leaned over. Daphne smacked my butt. I laughed and looked over at our table. James was staring at me. That familiar heat in his eyes. God, he was going to fuck me so hard tonight.
I was still bent over when I pointed to him and crooked my finger. As fun as it was dancing with my girls, I was really wound up. And very much in the mood to grind against him.
I closed my eyes and let the beat guide my hips.
It only took a few seconds before I felt James’ hands around my waist. He pulled me against him, his erection already pressing into my lower back.
I opened my eyes and tilted my head to the side so I could see him behind me.
“You’re driving me crazy.” His voice was barely audible over the music. He grabbed my hips more firmly.
He’d been the one in control at the table. But I had him just where I wanted him now. I dropped low and slowly rose up, sliding my ass against him.
He groaned.
God, I needed him. I’d been desperate for him all night. I looked around for the restroom signs.
But before I could find one, Daphne joined us. “I’m going to be your sister!” she said and threw her arms around James.
James caught her at an awkward angle so she wouldn’t accidentally hit the tent in his pants.
Rob had joined us on the dance floor too. “I’m getting married, big bro!” He threw his arms around James and hugged him too.
I laughed as Rob leaned back, lifting James slightly off the floor. If he wasn’t careful he was going to throw out his back.
I looked over at Bee who was dry humping Mason in the middle of the dance floor. I laughed and searched the rest of the dance floor for Matt, but he wasn’t there. I turned back to our table. He was sitting there staring at his food. It looked like he was lost in thought. I pressed my lips together. Oh, Matt. I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking. He was the last of his friends to find his person. But I was sure she was out there somewhere. I knew it had been hard on him ever since Rob started dating Daphne. He was the last single member of our friend group. Dancing would cheer him up though. Matt was a great dancer. I left the dance floor to go grab him.
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