Chapter 43: Battle Bar: Strange Milkshake

Oh no.. She should have known.

Leo burst out into a throaty laugh, leaning back into the cushioned booth. "Es.. I was only joking! You should see your face, though. Am I really that bad that you'd look at me like that?!" He stared at her bewildered, mirroring what she expected her facial expression to be.

Esme released a breath and leaned back, placing the palm of her hand on her forehead. She looked back at him and assessed his features. Was he really joking or playing it off after she reacted so badly? But from what Esme could tell, there was no hurt reflecting back in his eyes.

With her hand still on her head, she stared at him intently and asked, "You were joking, right?" Leo tilted his head to the side, amusement still on his face. He parted his lips, but Esme continued, interrupting whatever he was about to say. "I'm seriously asking because I don't want to lead you on or put your hopes up. There is nothing wrong with you Leo, you're a nice guy, and you're hot, and you know it, okay. But I don't want anything more than friendship; if you can't handle that, then I should leave now."

"Shit, Es!" Leo stood and grabbed her arm, stopping her from where she started to leave the booth. He looked at her frantically and in shock at her sudden movement. "Sit down. I WAS joking! How many guys have you had to shoot down to come to that sort of conclusion?" The pair sat back down, and he scratched the back of his head.

"Shitting hell. That was like a 180-degree spin. Es.." He reached out and grabbed her hands, pulling them on top of the table from her lap. He squeezed them as he stared at her gently. "As hot as you are.. I know you don't want anything, and I.. well, I'm not the best at romantic relationships anyway. We work together and.. and.. that would just mess up what we have."

Esme released her breath, letting her shoulders relax again after hearing the sincerity in his voice. She felt a little guilty at how quickly she was ready to just up and leave and couldn't keep blaming her past that she might be a little abrupt and rude at times. It was unfortunately or fortunately in her nature to cut ties quickly, no matter how much Esme liked the person.

She eyed Leo warily, though she felt a lot calmer after listening to his words. "And what DO we have?" She couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly. Doubt was still in her mind, though it was slowly dissipating.

Leo chuckled and shook his head. "This is what a friendship is.." He said mockingly before his face and voice became serious once more, "We are friends, plain and simple. Yes, I'm a guy.. you're a girl.. I find you hot as hell with a hella attitude, someone I like to flirt with, but.. both of us are a little emotionally fucked up to even try at anything more, wouldn't you say?" He squeezed her hands again, observing her, his eyes flicking between hers as though he knew a lot more about her than what she had been portraying to them.

Esme's jaw went slack, and her lips parted as she searched his eyes for something that could explain the wisdom he seemed to share behind them. "How.."

"One sec, Es.. I think our dear waitress is struggling with those drinks again." Leo's attention was on the waitress at the silver counter to the side, where she started to wobble, her face frowning in concentration as she looked at the drinks on the tray. Leo released Esme's hands and dashed to her side, grabbing the tray and setting it down on the bar before catching Sally by the waist as she nearly fell again. He smiled down at her and said a few words Esme didn't bother focusing on as she watched the waitress blush.

"Hmmm, Casanova might be telling the truth. If this really was a date, he would not be putting on his killer smile right now," Isana spoke Esme's thoughts aloud.

Esme nodded her head in agreement then paused. "But… he might just be putting on a show.. You know like to make sure I'm comfortable around him and believe he really isn't interested in me in that way.." She began blabbing to her wolf, although she didn't quite feel the conviction behind her words. He said they were both 'emotionally fucked up'; what did that mean?

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"You and I both know he isn't a manipulative jerk like.. well.. like.. HIM," Isana forced her words out as though she was spitting out sand from her mouth. For Isana, it was much harder for her to insult her mate, even though he'd done such awful things to them.

Leo returned, flopping into the cushioned seat across from her sliding the strawberry milkshake over to her while he held onto the chocolate milkshake. She slurped on the straw and blinked, looking back at Leo after feeling his gaze on her. Esme stopped and was about to ask him what he said earlier, but then she frowned and licked her lips. The milkshake tasted weird; it had an almost herb-like taste to it.

"Is the milkshake not nice?" Leo eyed the drink suspiciously.

"Hmm, it has a weird taste to it.." Esme murmured thoughtfully and took another sip. "I mean.. maybe it's just the powder. "How is yours?"

Leo looked at her thoughtfully, then grinned and slid his large glass forwards. "It tastes good to me; if you like it, then we'll get you the chocolate one."

Esme blinked and looked at the straw where his lips had been around. Leo chuckled at her little moment of shyness, so she grabbed the drink and sipped from the glass instead. It tasted like an ordinary chocolate milkshake with a hint of the same after taste. Esme frowned and passed the drink back. "Does it not taste good?" He asked, inspecting his glass and sniffing the top of it. Maybe it was her heightened senses; there was something in there, but Leo couldn't taste it.

"Yours seems fine," She murmured and looked at the staff behind the counter thoughtfully. Did they put something in the drink?

"Hey," Leo pressed a finger between her brows where she had been frowning. "Don't stress, Sally doesn't seem to be the best waitress.. maybe she mixed your order up with someone else's, and you have like a different milk?" He suggested, unaware of where her thoughts were leading her.

Esme smiled and nodded. "You're right-"

"Here you go," The older waitress appeared next to them again, placing the pizza between them, a steak, egg and chips for Leo and burger and fries for Esme.

"Could my friend here have another milkshake, please.." Leo squinted his eyes slightly and smiled his killer smile, "Frenchie."

Esme shook her head and giggled, looking away when she caught Leo looking at her with a smirk. Even the older woman blushed from Leo's smile.

"Please, don't worry yourself," Esme said, not too bothered by the strange taste of her milkshake, and started to remove her gloves as she looked at the food with a promise to finish everything.

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