A waiter cleared their dishes and dropped off a couple of slices of creamy cheesecake and a carafe of coffee. Massimo poured Shanice a steaming cup. She eyed him like a snake in the grass as if he'd bite when she least expected it. It was the same look she pinned him with when he'd opened the restaurant door for her, and again when he pulled out her chair. So he smiled and said, "Yes, I pour coffee, pull out chairs and open doors."
She tilted her head but didn't say anything.
"I like to pamper the woman I'm with." Sliding the small container of cream her way, Massimo watched Shanice stir her coffee while she watched him right back. She'd been having such a good time too. Almost seemed to be comfortable with him. Yet, something as simple as pouring her coffee put her right back on guard? What the hell kind of idiots had Shanice Brown been out with where being nice put her back up?
Time to change the subject.
"Do you like board games, Shanice? Or any kind of games at all?"
"Believe it or not, I'm awesome at chess. As for other games, hmm...?" She tapped her chin, eyes focused upward while she thought. God, he could practically hear the gears grinding as she seriously considered the subject. In the seconds that followed Massimo set a new target for himself – see to it that Shanice had more fun. If she had to think this hard about the kind of things she enjoyed, she obviously didn't do them enough.
Finally, she said, "Well, I like movie trivia."
"Really? So do I. And since I have a thing for movies and beautiful black women..." With a deliberate pause, Massimo let his gaze travel over her lovely features, then continued. "Let's try this on for size." Massimo almost spewed his coffee at the utter shock that sent her chin toward the table as her mouth fell open. Okay, she needed more fun and more brash, blunt, straight-up flirting. No problem. "You ready?"
She nodded with a still somewhat dazed expression. So he pushed on.
"Eartha Kitt." The tilt of Shanice's mouth and the glimmer of approval in her eyes said that she knew exactly who he was talking about. Eartha Kitt was still well known for her Catwoman purr, her flawless cinnamon skin and her saucy attitude. "I don't think there's any early film star as sexy as Eartha Kitt. That woman used to give Batman a run for his money."
Massimo took a bite of cheesecake. It was thick, creamy, delicious. He wondered if Shanice would taste just as sweet on his tongue. Her smooth flawless skin certainly reminded him of coffee and cream. Or maybe chocolate mousse ice cream. With Hershey nipples, er, Hershey Kisses. It was just enough to send a rush of blood streaking south until he had to fight the urge to adjust himself underneath the table.
"Did you know that Eartha Kitt played Catwoman in the Batman TV series between 1966 and 1968, but Lee Meriweather played the character in the movie of 1966?" he asked.
"Not even," Shanice retorted with a dismissive wave of her fork. "Everyone knows Eartha Kitt was the Catwoman of the 1960s. And that includes the movie. Nobody could purr like her."
"Wanna bet on it?"
The woman snorted, then chuckled. "I don't do bets, Massimo."
Shanice might not do bets, but god he sure wanted to do her. The more time in her presence the hornier he got. And it wasn't just sex appeal. Shanice got to him on every level.
"I happen to be a total movie trivia expert, so I'll even go easy on you," he said smoothly, unable to hide what he knew was a shit-eating grin spread across his lips. The reaction was immediate. Just what he wanted. Well, almost.
All humour faded for a second before she snapped her well-known cool façade into place. He'd wanted to prick her pride, bring out her competitive edge, not piss her off. Time to tread a bit more carefully...then again, to hell with tiptoeing around. Massimo wanted Shanice to see him, the real him. Not the pretty playboy toy most women thought he was.
One perfectly manicured black brow winged upward as Shanice's neck canted to the left. "Make it easy for me? I don't need you to make anything easy on me, Massimo. I've never done easy in my life. Besides, I'm not some simpering twenty year old just beginning to make her way in the world. I know who I am. And who I'm not," Shanice snapped quietly, stabbing her cheesecake-like she was mad at it.
Ah, so that's her problem, Massimo thought. Fine. He had no problem jumping right into what was really on the woman's mind. "What do simpering twenty-year-olds have to do with a bet over something fun and meaningless, like movie trivia?" Massimo kept right on smiling. After all, even if she was mad, he was still enjoying her company. A soft huff and a couple of soft grumbles that sounded something like "damn man" and "off guard" told him she felt a bit on the silly side. But Massimo also knew that the devil would be having blizzard weather before she admitted such a thing. Instead, she forced the frown from her brow and painted on an easy smile.
