Damien dropped Lavender to work, waited until she was safely inside, and then drove the car back to Liam's apartment.
The car was supposed to be in Lavender's hand, but how could Damien be a good boyfriend, if he didn't come to pick her up and drop her off?
Or so he reasoned.
Apparently, Damien had too much time on his hands. For this Lavender planned on enjoying their game as much as he did.
Throughout the day, he called Lavender way too many times to check if she was safe. When she asked why he kept bugging her, he reasoned that something about the boy's threat didn't sit right with him.
Lavender didn't pay much mind to Damien, because she knew it was his way of winning the game. Meanwhile, Lavender's day at work was without a doubt hectic.
Again, she did everything on her own.
With a restaurant so busy, it didn't have enough people working in it. None of the employees came to work again. It officially only had two people: Lavender and Jessie. Selena was only there to warm up the seats and play the supervisor.
The customers' constant complaints drove Lavender on the verge of insanity.
For instance, a man asked her for a napkin while she was mopping a mess a toddler made. She ended up taking her frustration out on him when she saw how close the napkin was to him.
"It's right there, go get it yourself," she almost yelled. The man gave her a glum look and reached over for it.
The phone rang so she dashed for the phone, forgetting she had just mopped and slipped. She was on the floor in a split position, holding unto the table. The noise that was louder than a fish market suddenly turned into a melodious choir filled with laughing customers.
"I'm glad I entertain you all," she grunted, blowing a strand of hair out of her face and answering the phone. Lavender turned her attention to the person on the phone. "Hello, it's Strictly Awesome, how can I help?"
"I want a Lavender punch and a sweet Afro-Latina babe with me tonight."
Lavender scoffed, moving the phone from her ear to look at it in disbelief.
It was officially confirmed; Damien was a pain in the ass.
She brought the phone back to her ear, using the voice reserved for customers. "The Afro-Latina babe is out of your league. As for the Lavender punch, you don't want that, sir."
After what felt like an eternity of him shuffling around in silence, he asked the question she was tired of hearing in one day. "Are you okay?"
"The answer is still the same as the last eighty times you asked me that. Now, adios amigo."
She hung the phone to finish up what she started, going back and forth the whole day. When she finally got a break she sat on a stool, placing her head on her hands. She looked at her watch, sighing.
It was almost midnight and she was still seated in the now empty and freshly cleaned restaurant. Her heavy eyelids closed, her fatigue taking over.
Then, she felt someone touch her shoulder, so she took the person's hand and twisted it until she saw it was Damien. Instead of apologizing; Lavender narrowed her eyes at him.
"Never do that again," she warned, her voice raspier because of her dry throat.
"You almost broke my hand because I brought you some cold, refreshing lemonade? How ungrateful."
"I was being cautious, pookie bear," she answered, batting her eyelashes. Damien handed her the Lemonade with a straight face which she gladly sipped down.
Selena moved from her spot and took a hold of Damien's arm. Damien gave Lavender a questioning look, but she shrugged and continued sipping on her Lemonade.
"Who are you, sweetheart?" He patted Selena's head as if she were a toddler.
"I'm whoever you want me to be," Selena purred. Lavender rolled her eyes, her head involuntarily resting on Damien's shoulder as she yawned.
"You look a little too young for what I usually have in mind, kid. I have to get my girlfriend home now." Damien shook her off and stood up. "As you can see she's exhausted."
"Let's go, cupcake," he said to Lavender. "I'll run you a warm bath when we get home."
In a way, Damien telling Selena that Lavender was his girlfriend felt like déjà vu. Selena probably felt it too, because she started clapping, feigning amusement.
"What's next? She's your best friend too?" She tore her gaze away from Damien to sneer at Lavender. "Why do you only have guy friends?"
Lavender narrowed her eyes. "What're you implying?"
"Doesn't take a genius to catch on."
When it hit Lavender that she was getting disrespected by a teenager, she began to take a step forward but Damien held her tightly against him.
Another déjá vu moment.
"What part of she's my girlfriend don't you understand, kid?" Damien asked. "Shouldn't you be in a book instead of trying to insult a grown woman?"
Lavender almost chocked on her spit. His bluntness made Selena flinched, yet she wouldn't budge. Selena crossed her arms across her chest, challenging him. "Prove it."
"With gladness."
Lavender was too engrossed in Selena's reaction to realize that Damien was about to kiss her until his lips were pressed over hers. First, she didn't react out of shock, but Damien's dominant tongue wiggling in for entrance and his strong hands pulling her closer by the waist made her give in.
His lips were a lot softer than they looked.
Usually, every kiss she had, she was always the one in control. But not with Damien. Damien's kinda kiss took home the trophy. He wasn't asking. He took over.
She pulled on the back of his hair, pushing herself on him closer than possible. During their heated moment, Damien intensified it by kneading her butt.
The first to pull back was Damien to catch his breath. "Not convincing enough, kid? I could do it again."
Selena responded by stomping her feet and walking off. Damien turned to Lavender. "I'm not sorry," he winked. "And neither are you."
Lavender pretended to zip her mouth, threw the invisible key away, and turned. Damien sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders to turn her back around. When she was facing him, he bent down to her eye level.
"You're so childish, it's almost adorable." He hugged her with an eye roll. To escape his hug, she tickled his sides and he jolted.
"You're ticklish, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.
Lavender's eyes widened with excitement. He slid back, shaking his head. Lavender nodded. "Yes, you are." She was about to tickle him again but he held her hands firmly.
"Fine, I am but don't. We're in public," Damien whispered, looking at the empty place. A glimmer of innocence shone in his chocolate eyes, the whites of his eyes clear.
A sweat broke out his pores and he was shaking nervously as he held firmly onto the table. Not knowing what to do, she held his arm so that they could leave but was approached by Jessie.
"It was a test," Jessie simply stated. "Liam's idea. He said it was to teach you a lesson."
Lavender laughed when Jessie's words registered to her. Everything made sense now. "And you risked your business on that?"
"I trust Liam, besides you're a hard worker. Nobody was left unserved. Don't worry, you'll get pay for all your hours, get your schedule, and meet the workers tomorrow. Now, don't keep your boyfriend waiting."
Lavender looked back at Damien. He looked like his normal self again, absentmindedly staring at his shoe. "Oh, he's not my boyfriend."
Jessie walked off, mumbling to herself; "Yall just go 'round kissing people like that nowadays? Abomination!"
Lavender took Damien by the elbow and scolded him when they were almost in his car. "Great, you have people thinking we're dating."
"Well, it's part of the game." His voice was thick and held anger.
"Yes, how can I forget when you keep reminding me?"
He stopped walking, staring her down, and this time not so sexually. "You asked."
"Why'd you look so frightened in there?"
"You misinterpreted it."
"The Damien I saw back there looked vulnerable."
"What is wrong with you? Can't you mind your business?"
"Fine, I will," Lavender shot back, walking off in the opposite direction from his car. Damien didn't have a chance to say or do anything, because all Lavender heard was a clatter. She whirled around only to see blood oozing from his upper arm.
Both of them looked at each other and then to the weapon on the ground.
Shit.