Chapter 98 - Irresistible

Lucy stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom checking her appearance once more to ensure that she was not overly dressed for the dinner date. She had decided to pair her sexy sequin dress with a pair of black low-heeled sandals and had also chosen to leave her glasses behind and let her hair down as she knew Tom liked it. This night was for him after all. Once she was sure she looked good to go, she stepped out of her apartment with a bottle of wine in hand. 

It was the first time since her arrival that they hadn't talked all day. After he had missed her call earlier, and she had missed his too, she had tried returning his call, but he had missed it again, and had failed to call back, so she had decided to let it be until they meet for dinner. She had to admit that it had somehow felt strange not hearing from him all day. 

Although she still didn't like him bothering her all the time, she realized that he was gradually growing on her, and she was becoming more comfortable with his presence and having him around... As a friend. Just a friend, Lucy added mentally. 

Standing in front of his door now, she took in a deep breath before raising her hand to press on the doorbell Although she was still feeling very anxious if the knots in her belly were anything to judge by, but she figured it was best she did it now and got it out of the way so that she could focus on more important things. 

Tom opened the door less than a minute later, dressed in a brown turtleneck polo and faded jean trousers. His hair was combed back, and he looked even more handsome now than the first time she had met him. 

Once he saw her, his face lit up with a boyish grin she had no business getting used to, and she noticed the crinkles at both corners of his eyes.

"Hi!" Lucy said awkwardly as she took note of his dressing. He was dressed in simple house wear, while she was dressed like she was attending a party. 

"Hi! I see you dressed up. Now I wish I did," Tom said, looking down at himself before flashing her an apologetic smile, even though his eyes seemed to be mocking her.

"I wish you did too," Lucy said with an awkward smile.

She felt embarrassed and stupid for dressing up this much when it was just dinner with the guy next door. It wasn't like they were in a romantic relationship or this was a real date. What had she been thinking? Why did she have to put so much effort into dressing up? To think she had even applied mild make-up, Lucy thought, her face heating up in embarrassment. 

Now he was going to think she was horny and was dressed this way because she couldn't wait to have him. She briefly contemplated turning around and returning to her apartment to take off the clothes she was wearing. 

As if he could read her mind Tom opened the door wider, "Come in. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing. It's just so good to see this part of you again. I'm glad you dressed up, and let left your glasses," Tom said as holding out his arm to her. From the gleam she could see in his eyes, she could tell he was laughing at her. 

Although she didn't think any of this was necessary, Lucy reluctantly took his arm and let him lead her inside the house, "Why does the house look so diff..." the rest of her words trailed off her breath caught in surprise when she realized that the house looked different only because he had actually made it different. He had turned off all the lights in the living room, and the only source of light in the house came from the round dining table, where two lit candles which were enclosed in a glass candle holder were standing. Different dishes were arranged on the table, and there were two wine glasses.

A candlelit dinner? Did he set this up himself? For some odd reason, she felt touched that he had gone through the stress of trying to make the night special instead of jumping on her the moment she walked through the door like she had thought he would, judging by how he had been behaving since the past couple of days, "You didn't have to," she murmured without looking at him. Now she could manage to forgive him for not dressing up. He had also made a big deal out of it, and she doubted it would have made sense had she showed up wearing a jogger and tank top. 

"Do you like it?" Tom asked, looking at her expectantly. He had read somewhere that most ladies considered candlelit dinners to be very romantic.

Lucy turned to look at him, and her heart fluttered in her chest when she met his gaze. Who was this guy? One minute he was acting like a hopeless romantic, the next he was giving her the vibes of a playboy. She really needed to be careful around this guy.

She swallowed hard as she looked away from him, "It looks lovely," she said, looking at the candles. When her eyes fell on the two wine glasses on the table again, she realized two things, first was that she was still holding on to the wine with her other hand, and the second was that her other arm was still in the crook of Tom's arm.

She withdrew her arm, before offering the wine to Tom, "Here, I didn't want to come empty-handed," she said without meeting his gaze. 

"Thanks," Tom said as he took the wine from her before leading her to the table where he pulled out a seat.

"This isn't the dining set I saw the last time I was here, is it?" Lucy asked as she sat down. She knew she would have taken note of it had this been the furniture in the house when she visited the first time, and she noticed there were just two seats at the table. 

"I'm surprised you noticed. The other one wouldn't have been appropriate for a dinner date, would it?" Tom asked, thinking of the rectangular family-sized dining set with six chairs, which he had inherited from the previous occupants of the house. 

"How did you get such a nice set of furniture on such short notice?" Lucy asked once again as she admired the table and chair which seemed like they had been made with quality materials. 

"Remember that my friend? The one whose house I took you to the first night we met?" He asked, and went on when she gave him a nod, "He gave them to me," Tom said as he opened the wine she had brought with her and poured it into the two glasses since it was still chilled. 

"I see. Must be nice to have such a wealthy friend," she said with a small smile, "I guess this was why you couldn't take my calls today. You must have been very busy," Lucy said as she looked at everything on the table. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that he hadn't been able to take his call earlier. If this was his idea of a dinner date, then she would have fallen short. She had thought of preparing just baked beans, beef, and vegetable stew. Seeing the different manner of food on the table, she was glad she had he had failed to pick his call. 

"Yes, I was very busy. I had a lot to do, I'm sorry I wasn't close to my phone," Tom said as he sat back in his seat, nursing his glass of wine while he admired the glow of the candle on the part of her face which wasn't cast in shadows.

"It's fine," Lucy assured him as she silently wondered when they were going to end the small talk and start the activity for the night. Or was he waiting for her to make the next move? She wondered as she sipped from her glass without looking at him.

"Did you want something?" Tom remembered to as, since he still didn't know why she had called.

"I just wanted to find out if you needed help setting up," Lucy said, and Tom nodded.

"You didn't have to worry, I had someone over to help me," Tom said, and Lucy's lips rounded as she gave him a nod. Of course, there was no way he could have done this himself. 

"So how is your friend? And how was your outing with her?" Tom asked as he watched her. Although he had been drawn to her not because of her beauty, but because of her naivety and innocence, the more he watched her the more he realized how beautiful she truly was. 

"She is okay... A little too proper for me, but she's fine," Lucy said with a small smile as she sipped from her glass. 

"Proper?" Tom asked, wondering what she meant.

"She is just a perfectionist, but not in a bad way," Lucy said, not wanting to make it sound like a bad thing since she thought of Anita as Tom's future girlfriend, but didn't know she was his ex-girlfriend. 

"Ah! I see. Let's eat before the food turns cold," Tom suggested as he picked up his cutlery and started eating, while Lucy did the same. 

"Hm, this tastes really nice. You didn't prepare this, did you?" Lucy asked after taking the second bite.

"Seeing the satisfaction on your face, I wish I did," Tom said with a shadow of a smile on his lips. 

Flirt! He was flirting with her right now, Lucy thought, choosing to focus on her food, she said nothing to him. 

"Did you hear from Jasmine and her sister? They mentioned something about a dinner tomorrow evening," Tom said, and Lucy raised her head to look at him while chewing.

Was she to tell him that Alicia wasn't Jasmine's sister, but her wife? Lucy wondered. She should give the couple the chance to tell Tom themselves rather than butt in. It wasn't like any of it was her business anyway, even if Tom decided to be the father of their child.

"Lu?" Tom called. Although she didn't like just anyone calling her Lu, it didn't sound offensive coming from Tom.

"Yes, I heard from them. I didn't know you were going to be there too," Lucy said as she chewed on her food, remembering how she had shut her door in their faces after accepting their dinner invitation. That had been rude, but she was sure they would understand, seeing as they had woken her from sleep. 

"You are coming, right? Let's go together, okay? I feel uncomfortable having dinner alone with them, but your presence there will make things less awkward," Tom said, making Lucy look at him curiously.

"Why do you feel uncomfortable?" Lucy asked as she continued to eat, while looking at him. 

"I think both sisters have a crush on me. I don't want to come between them, or have them fight over me," Tom explained with a serious expression on his face which made laughter bubble inside Lucy, but she tried to maintain a straight face.

If only he knew what they wanted, "I see. I guess they must find you irresistible as most ladies do," Lucy said in amusement as she took a sip from her wine. 

"Unfortunately the only lady I want doesn't seem to find me irresistible," Tom said in a low tone as he gazed into her eyes. 

Her heart fluttered in her chest. She doesn't? Who wouldn't find him irresistible? Lucy thought to herself.

"Do you?" Tom asked, and she looked at him in surprise, wondering if she had spoken out loud or he could now read her thoughts. 

"Do I what?" Lucy asked, hoping he was asking about something else. 

"Do you find me irresistible?" Tom asked, making her heart skip a beat. 

Why was he asking her that all of a sudden? The lady he liked was Anita, and she was the one he should be asking, "Why do you ask?" Lucy asked nervously, not liking where the conversation was going.

"That is because I think I could use you as a yardstick to judge her.. So tell me honestly, what do you think about me? Do you find me irresistible?" Tom asked, looking at her curiously.