“No, soft is good.” she replied with a slight smile. She was relieved that he did not pick up on her unintended meaning and just went with it. Her eyebrows rose as she looked at the waiter who quickly hurried off to go get some oil for them she assumed. “I bet he won’t be jipping anyone out of what they should have any more. Serves him right for being lazy.” she said before sipping some water.
Malia shook her head. “You didn’t. I like your forwardness. I like your honesty. I value honesty and upfrontness in people. I’m just not used to people asking me out.” She bit her lip softly. “My relationship history has been very limited. The only man that showed romantic interest in me was my husband. My only boyfriend was my husband. I tend to scare a lot of boys and men. They’re intimidated by me because I’m not a helpless creature or soft and fragile. It’s been that way my whole life.” For some reason, she felt the need to put it things out there. Either it scared him away because she was a walking red flag or he was willing to deal with it. Deal with her. She had always been the tomboy. The one that would rather hang around the boys than the girls. She liked getting dirty and she loved climbing trees much to her mother’s disappointment.
“I’m kind of the same, but my drink of choice is always whiskey. Champagne is good for when I’m at an event, but I’ll always head to the bar for a whiskey drink.” It was the first alcohol she had after she and Eric snuck it from her father’s collection wanting to taste it. It was hard that first time, but they began to learn how to enjoy it as the years went on. She hoped they had a bar with whiskey here, but she wasn’t so sure since it was a wine restaurant. She looked to the side and up to him as he whispered in her ear. The breath on her ear sent some chills down her spine in a good way. She rolled her shoulders, not quite used to the feeling. “I take the lead in a lot of areas of my life. I don’t always want to do it. However, for some special people, I will take it on again.” she said giving him a half smile before looking at the menu. “The lasagna looks good. The surf and turf isn’t bad either. Can’t go wrong with steak and lobster.” She looked over at him. “I hope you weren’t expecting a woman who just eats or picks at their salad. I like to eat. I work out hard so I can eat what I want.”
Malia sipped some of the water in her glass as he explained what happened to the other guy. “Maybe he learned his lesson from that.” she said simply before looking over at him. She took him in as he looked at the wine list. He was quite fit, but that wasn’t a surprise. He had been a UFC fighter. He was trying his best to make sure she had everything that she wanted and was comfortable which was something that she enjoyed. It felt good to have someone else do the demanding of her wants instead of herself. “Do you want to be my trainer?” she asked. “For kickboxing. Your friends all seem like they know what they’re doing, but you know MMA and Brazilian jiu jitzu. You have a variety of skills that you could teach me. I think you’re the best person for the job, if you want it that is.”
Her breath paused in her throat as he called her beautiful. No other man had called her that who wasn’t her father or husband. Hot she had heard. Bitch she had heard. Uppity woman she had heard. But beautiful was one of the rarest words that graced her ears. “You’re honest and respectful and attractive. Those are all things that I find very appealing. Things that make you beautiful to me.” she admitted softly catching his eyes. “So let’s just be our fucking selves and if we fuck it up, at least we fucked it up together.”
It wasn’t busy in the restaurant so he was inclined to agree with Malia. That’s what the tip was for. He’d know if he did a good job with them by the end of the night.
Ben was surprised by the fact she didn’t have more men after her, but let her speak and wouldn’t patronize her experiences. Others were missing out, but it ended up giving him the opportunity to shoot his shot so he was fine with it.
“We have that in common. I appreciate knowing where I stand with people. Try not to have misunderstandings. Either I like you or I don’t. And I like you Malia.” Glad to hear they were getting on the same page.
“We don’t have to stick around. I picked this place cause it seemed fancy. But I also only drink to celebrate so it’s your choice.” He had other ways to unwind, but knew most preferred alcohol. He didn’t mind in social settings.
Ben noted that. He had no qualms with taking control of a relationship, but wouldn’t deny he got a thrill when his partners liked to order him around, bend his strength to do their bidding. He cleared his throat, to keep his mind on the dinner. “Of course.” He said, acknowledging her preferences.
Ben grinned. “I have yet to meet a non-fighter who could match me calorie for calorie, but that’s all the expectation I really have.” He said, honestly. Ben rotated his hand, could feel it was mostly healed up since it barely stretched and caught in the soft bandage anymore. “In my experience the men who go to the club don’t learn their lesson easily. He’s banned but I’m sure he’ll go somewhere else and cause problems there too. At least he won’t be my problem anymore.”
“No. I’m sorry.” Ben said firmly, looking up from the menu and looking apologetically. “I have a hard rule. I don’t train people I’m involved with. If things don’t work out I’ll gladly revisit the request if it’s still what you want, but it’s a no for now.” He wondered if he should explain, but he was still ashamed of how things had ended with his past relationship. Still had questions about how things had spiraled out of his control. He left it as it was, figured if she brought it up he would try to find an answer for her. Ben shifted to sit straighter.
Ben couldn’t help but smile at her assessment of him. Was glad he had gotten it right, that they were attracted to each other. “I can do that.” He said, laughing. “So you want to go somewhere else? We can get you some good whiskey and we won’t have to deal with the waiter.”
