The Dating Tutor (4 page)

A quick check in the mirror showed everything in place and none of her make-up smudged. With a nod of approval at herself, she ran back down the stairs.

As she approached the front door, she heard her mother and Alec discussing her curfew. This caused Ellie to make a sound of repulsion. She and Alec had been out at all hours before. They frequently went all night bowling. They went to the drive-in. Rarely did they get home before two in the morning when they went out, yet her mother was proclaiming an eleven o’clock curfew.

“Is eleven too late, you think?” Alec asked. “I can have her home by ten if that seems more appropriate.”

Her mother snickered. “Eleven should be fine. Just take care of my baby.”

“Mom,” Ellie whined in protest.

Alec laughed and placed a hand against her back. “Are you ready? We have six o’clock reservations.”

Ellie nodded as she snatched a sweater from the rack near the door and draped it over her arm. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Alec placed his palm at the small of her back and guided her out the door. “Failure,” he whispered in her ear. Pulling back, he waved to her mother. “See you, Mrs. Harper.”

Cindy waved with an amused expression on her face. “Try to have a good evening,” she called out optimistically. With a final wave, she shut the front door.

“Good luck,” Ellie grumbled under her breath. As they approached the car, she reached for her door handle, but Alec cut her off.

“Allow me.”

She gave him a dry look as he opened the door for her and stepped back. “Really, Alec,” she complained. “You’ve driven me places a thousand times before. You’ve never—”

Her face was suddenly in his hands, and Alec was staring into her eyes with an annoyed yet determined expression. “What part of ‘
this is a date’
do you not get?” She opened her mouth to apologize when he held a hand up to cut her off. “I’m judging your every move, and so far, you’re not doing so hot. Put on your big girl panties and suck it up. I might not be your ideal date, but I’m doing my best. You asked for my help. Now take it seriously.”

Ellie gawked at him for a moment in uncertainty. She felt as if she’d somehow unintentionally slighted him. Cripes. She really was the worst date ever. Slipping into the passenger seat, she attempted to smooth things over. “I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be apologizing on the first date,” he said darkly.

The car door slammed shut, and she was left for a moment in solitude. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and decided she was going to throw herself fully into this date. If Alec was going to put time and effort into helping her, the least she could do was play along.

When he climbed into the car and started it up, she offered him a warm smile. “This is a really cool car. Where did you get it?”

Alec grinned when he realized she was finally playing along and shot her a look of amusement. He was very proud of his car, and they both knew it. “I bought it cheap because it was busted and fixed the thing up myself. Me and my old man.”

She smiled softly at him, though her heart ached. She knew that time with his father was important to him. His father was a good man when he wasn’t drinking. Unfortunately, that wasn’t often enough. “It’s lovely.”

Reaching out, he gently squeezed her hand. “Thanks.” Then he pulled his hand back to the steering wheel and concentrated on the road.

Ellie turned her face to peer out the window with a sense of satisfaction. Perhaps she wasn’t totally useless at this.

*
* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ellie’s jaw dropped when Alec pulled up outside of DeNuzzio’s. She stared dumbfounded for a moment before spinning to face her best friend. “Alec…what are we doing here?”

“Having dinner.”

“Alec, no. It’s too expensive. I won’t have you—”

He cut off her protests. “I’ll admit, I was thrown by Jake’s choice of dining establishment. It kind of boxed me in a bit. You have no idea the trouble I went through to get these reservations, so don’t ruin it. You need a practice run, a
complete
practice run. So here we are.”

“Alec—”

“Stop protesting. This is happening. We’re already here, and the reservations are already made. Besides, you shelled out for the dress. I can pay for dinner.”

Ellie opened her mouth to object further, but she knew how stubborn he could be. Last summer he’d gone two weeks without changing his shirt because she’d complained about his poor laundry habits. History had proven that he would win this argument, and she would only end up wasting their time. With a sigh, she unbuckled her seatbelt and followed him out of the car.

As a valet took Alec’s keys, she gazed up at the massive building. It was made of stone and structured to look like a medieval castle. Two large towers reached toward the sky in an impressive display of lavishness. She’d read online that the towers were used to house rooms for guests to stay in and a luxury spa. The front of the building even had a portcullis raised over the front door to contribute to the effect.

“Are you ready?” Alec murmured in her ear as he placed a hand to her back.

Dragging her eyes from the exterior of the restaurant, she beamed at him. “This place is beautiful. I feel like a princess.”

He grinned. “I think that’s the point.” Guiding her inside, he made his way up to the counter to give his name to the maître d’.

While Alec figured out where to go, Ellie gawked at the beauty around her.

The ceilings were high and decorated with sparkling chandeliers. The floor was covered in a thick red carpet that looked like a celebrity runway. The stylishly decorated tables were spaced generously apart to give diners privacy, and a dance floor took up the left side of the cavernous room. A live orchestra played just to the right of the dance floor, and couples swayed to the emotive sound of violins.

Drawing her attention away from décor, Alec took her hand as a hostess began leading them toward their table. “Come on, El. We’ve got a table right next to the band.”

Once at their seats, Ellie tugged at her chair to pull it out, but Alec slapped her hand. “Wrong.” Nudging her out of the way, he pulled the chair out for her. “It’s my job to do that.”

She tried not to sigh at the silliness of such a gesture. She was by no means a weakling who couldn’t slide out her own chair. Chivalry was nice, but not when it became almost stifling to a girl’s independence. Still, she’d promised herself she would try. Taking a step back, she motioned him forward. “By all means then.” Despite her efforts, she couldn’t keep the slightly mocking tone out of her voice.

He bumped his hip playfully against hers as he positioned her chair behind her knees. “You’re finding this far too amusing. Dating is serious business.”

“I’m just finding date Alec to be comical,” she countered with a tiny smile. “That’s all.” She sat in the offered chair, and as she attempted to scoot in with his assistance, she cracked her knee against the leg of the table. “Son of a—”

“Don’t you dare curse on our date or so help me…you’re not getting a goodnight kiss!” Alec’s voice held a sharp warning.

Ellie was not impressed. She was more worried about her bashed knee than his annoyance at her poor manners. “You’re not getting a kiss whether I curse or not.”

“Ouch.” His complaint was followed by a slap of his palm to the back of her chair. “I hope you don’t say that to Jake, or he’s going to give up real quick.”

“I won’t say that to Jake,” she grumbled, rubbing her knee in agitation. “I’m sure he won’t smash me into the table.”

“Yes,” Alec said sarcastically. “Because he’s so dreamy and perfect.”

“Exactly.” She placed her cloth napkin over her lap and smoothed it out with a smug expression. “He’s perfect.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alec complained as he flopped down into his seat with a grunt. Lifting his menu, he perused the contents with an intense expression.

Ellie crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, but he didn’t even notice. With a sigh, she lifted her own menu and scanned the list of beverages. Most were alcoholic, so she quickly dismissed them and moved on.

She hadn’t yet decided on her choice when a waiter approached their table and asked for their drink order. She opened her mouth to speak when Alec cut her off.

“We’ll both take a glass of apple-raspberry juice. Thank you.”

She waited until the waiter walked away before shooting Alec a look of outrage. “What the hell was that?”

“I’m not letting you order soda that’s going to cause you to burp because you’re nervous. Besides, juice is sexier. If you can’t drink wine, you can at least fake the appearance.” With an exaggerated determination, he slapped his menu down between them. “Now let’s look at this. This is one of your biggest obstacles. You can’t study your options for an hour with Jake, trying to find something passable. Do it now. Have your meal in mind before you get here next time. If you have your nose buried in your menu, you’ll lose valuable face time with lover boy, and he’ll think you’re rude.”

For once, she didn’t argue. Bobbing her head in agreement, she flipped open the menu. “What’s tolerable in here?”

“Before you even start, no fish sticks and no fish sandwiches. This is a classy establishment, not a McDonald’s.”

“You like McDonald’s.” Reminding herself that she’d vowed to take this date seriously, Ellie took a deep breath and gazed down at the list of dishes before her. “What do you suggest?”

He shrugged. “Oysters are supposed to be sexy.”

“No.” Her voice was firm, leaving no room for debate. She’d seen her mother eat oysters before and they were disgusting. And slimy. “I’m not eating sludge.”

Alec nodded. “I figured not.” He ran a finger down the list of options and shook his head as he dismissed each dish. “You might be safest with a salad. For your stomach as well as your taste buds.”

She nodded her agreement. “That’s not a bad idea. If I don’t like the meat, I can push it around and just eat the lettuce.”

“Order extra bread as well. It will fill up your stomach if you only pick at your salad.”

Ellie nodded. “That’s smart. Very smart.” She slid her finger down to the salad list. “Which one?”

Alec made a thoughtful sound in the back of his throat. “Maybe the crab? I think you’d like that over the lobster.”

She threw her hands up to show how overwhelmed she was. “You’re the expert.” She didn’t know the first thing about seafood, so she was trusting his judgment on this.

Alec grinned. “It’s about time you came to your senses and admitted that.”

With a laugh, she reached out and shoved his shoulder. “You wish, dude.”

He didn’t get to comment further because the waiter returned with their drinks to take their order.

Alec ordered their dishes with a gentlemanly air that had her smiling softly as she sipped at her admittedly tasty juice. He was kind of cute when he was trying to be all proper like this.

As the waiter stepped away, she let her gaze travel over the restaurant. It was a truly beautiful building. The music was soft and subtle. The lights were dim and romantic.

She gave a content sigh as she watched a violinist strum her instrument with precision, the music floating delicately into the air. It really was an amazing experience. She could get used to coming to places like this…as long as she didn’t have to dance or eat.

“You’re frowning.”

She shifted her attention back to Alec. “Hmm?”

“You’re frowning. If I was Jake, I’d be really nervous right about now. What’s wrong?”

She hadn’t even realized she’d been frowning. She wasn’t used to anyone watching her reaction to things and taking a personal meaning out of them. “Sorry.” She blew out a breath. “I was just worrying about dinner and the awful dancing that’s to come.”

“Well, that’s why we’re here,” he said encouragingly. “I’m helping you get over those fears so that when you’re with Jake, you aren’t frowning off into space.”

Reaching across the table, Ellie placed a hand on top of one of his. “It’s really awesome that you’re doing this. I really do appreciate it.”

He made an uncomfortable sound in the back of his throat and pulled his hand away. “Yeah, well, I figured it was about time you got laid.”

Her expression soured. “Alec, that’s gross.”

He shrugged with a wicked grin, looking much more at ease with her disgust than her gratitude. “That’s how boys are. If you’re going to start dating us, it’s a fact you’re going to have to get used to.”

He offered her a cheeky grin before moving on. “Now, I would like to point out that while staring around yourself in awe is fine, if you do it for too long, you are conveying that the setting wows you more than your company. That’s dangerous territory. So…admire the surroundings, but not too much.”

Ellie nodded slowly, starting to feel like a bobblehead. “In a paranoid sort of way, that makes sense.”

“When in the dating battlegrounds, think paranoid. It will keep your head above water.”

She couldn’t stop her eyes from widening at such a statement. “Well, that’s a negative outlook.”

“This is war, El. You either win or you drown in desperation. Me? I play to win.”