Lights Out by W.J. Stopforth Read Free Book Online Page B

continued to study the man sitting there
quietly. He was smartly dressed and sat looking out of the window with an open
book in his hand. He wasn’t reading. He looked distracted, or in deep thought.
He had smooth porcelain-like skin, with the ethereal light of the restaurant
highlighting his high cheekbones and sinking almond shaped eyes. His demeanor
was one of a man on edge, waiting for someone or something to happen. With the
single place setting, it was easy for Ryan to assume that he was alone. After
watching him for a few minutes Ryan noticed that his attention was suddenly
drawn to the entrance.
    Ryan followed his gaze to see Lily walk in. He watched her scan the
restaurant, and then finally rest her eyes on him. She
smiled and waved and rolled her eyes mouthing ‘sorry’.
    Ryan grinned back. Suddenly everything else in the restaurant
evaporated. As usual Lily looked stunning. Effortlessly chic in a simple ivory
silk tunic shirt and black slim fitting pants and heels. Her long, black glossy
hair tumbled onto her shoulders.
    As she worked her way between the tables Ryan couldn’t help but
noticed that she was receiving admiring glances from every table that she
walked past. It made him feel very proud that she was with him and not at all
troubled that she was late.
    She slid into the chair opposite Ryan, slightly breathless her mouth
pouting naturally.
    ‘Would you like a drink Miss’? A stealth waiter was already standing
next to their table armed with a wine list.
    “Thank you”, she nodded to Ryan’s almost empty glass, “I’ll have the
same, I’m sure it’s very good.”
    Ryan smiled, and turned to the waiter, “I’ll also have one more
glass. Thanks.”
    The waiter thanked them and noiselessly withdrew from the table
leaving them alone.
    Taking Lily by surprise, Ryan unexpectedly stood up, his chair
scraping the wooden floor loudly as he did so, causing a few diners close by to
look up to find the source of the noise. He leaned over the table and roughly
planted a kiss straight onto Lily’s lips. Ryan promptly sat back down in his
chair, grinning at Lily’s stunned expression and felt suddenly very pleased
with himself .
    “Sorry”, he said in a whisper. ‘You just looked perfect and your
lips…well, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity’.
    Lily shuffled uncomfortably in her seat for a moment, glancing around
her at the other tables, her eyes darting back and forth for a moment to see if
anyone had seen the display of affection. She pulled a loose strand of hair
from her forehead sweeping it deftly behind her ear.
    Composing herself, she finally flashed Ryan one of her best smiles.
“Hopefully there will be more opportunity for that later’, she whispered back.
    Ryan smiled to himself, he loved that she was a little sassy. But he
also loved that he had caught her off-guard and was sure that she had blushed
slightly.
    The waiter promptly returned with their wine, and they took a silent
sip, watching each other across the top of their glasses.
    Finally Ryan spoke.
    ‘So, this is date number two, officially.” He said, his mouth curling
up into a smile.
    “And I still don’t know that much about you yet”
    “OK” Lily countered, “ask me anything, whatever burning questions you
have, now’s your chance.” She sat back with an amused look on her face and
crossed her arms in anticipation.
    “OK, fine, let’s do the boring stuff first”
    “Where did you grow up?” he asked.
    “That’s easy… Hong Kong”,
    “OK, can you expand on that, did you go to school here, overseas…you
know.”
    “OK, I was born here and completed my primary & secondary
education in Hong Kong, then my parents decided that I needed to get a more
rounded life-education, and as I’d done well, I was shipped off to the States
for my University career. I’m a bit of a tech nerd so managed to get a place at
MIT.”
    “Wow, impressive,” Ryan said, genuinely impressed. “So you are both
beautiful AND