Chapter 7 Uninvited Presence

Stepping inside the restaurant enclosure, Denver took a glance at his wristwatch as he reiterated, "the time is half past twelve noon, now it's still early. We have enough time to catch up on so many things. But let's have a nice meal first"

Tilting his glasses, he extended his hand to Ariadne nudging her to place her palm in his hand. Ariadne took his hand slightly and clasped it tightly with her palm, a satisfactory smile tugging at her lips. Denver noticed the smile and chuckled dryly.

They trudged in unison as they headed towards the table and sat down. Denver had already made reservations for it ahead. While waiting for the waiter, Denver broke the silence.

"So why didn't you tell me beforehand that you were admitted to Leyland University?"

"We don't keep in touch because I don't have your contact, so I couldn't have told even if I wanted to" she responded.

"Ohh, is that so?"

"I even thought someone has been keeping tabs on me over the years" He added, smirking.

"You knew?" Ariadne asked in disbelief.

Ariadne was awkward because she intended to ask surprised meeting him in Leyland. She thought her well thought out idea was foolproof enough, seeing as her parents didn't suspect it. But she didn't know that Denver noticed her snooping behavior all these while but pretended not to see them.

With an awkward smile, she explained, "Well, I just inquired about you from my brother. I always liked psychology and Leyland university's school of psychology is the best in the country so I thought I should come here. I didn't do anything out of place, right? Right. You won't take it too seriously."

Denver nodded, accepting her explanation, but turned his head away quickly to hide the amused chuckle escaping his lips.

Seated opposite Denver, Ariadne could feel cold seeping into her skin because the air conditioner was on full blast inside the restaurant diner. She was so cold and she cursed herself for wearing too little dress. Her pink dress is held up by only a little strap that clung to her skin like a thread. Hence, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

Noticing her shivering fingers, Denver took off his coat, walked over to her side of the table and gently draped his coat over her shoulders. She was nervous and shy as this was the first time a guy was offering her his jacket in such a gentlemanly manner.

She muttered a 'thank you' and he gave her a perfunctory nod in response.

"But what about you? Won't you feel cold without your jacket?"

He gave her a put off. "No, I'm not cold. I'm perfectly okay with only my shirt"

Despite his put off, Ariadne was still trying to make a conversation about the jacket. "Denver, I think......"

He suddenly interrupted her. "Okay we've been here for a while now. Don't you think we should have made an order already, right?"

"I...We...." She stuttered.

"Yes, we should because I'm famished", catching her off balance and rescuing her from her awkward statement. She nodded in affirmation, then he rang the waiter.

Ariadne couldn't help clenching her fists, fighting to keep the cold off her hands as they waited for the waiter to come over to their table.

Denver smirked again. Brushing his fingers through his dark colored hair, he couldn't help thinking that she looked cute when she acted all nervous and fidgety.

'Little Aria, I don't remember you as someone who gets nervous easily.....'

Unbeknownst to them, their presence in the restaurant has already attracted the attention of someone who has been watching them from another tail end of the restaurant floor.

Molly's attention had been drawn to the duo the moment they stepped into the restaurant and she couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy.

Denver had never invited her to such a high end restaurant in the past alone, all dressed up. She couldn't help but feel nauseated at the sight of the girl beside him.

'Wait..... this face looks familiar' She thought about where she saw the girl before and finally recalled running into her the other day she was at the mall with Denver.

She clearly remembered the event of that day. She had purposely soiled her outfit and faked tears before Denver accepted to accompany her to the mall with the excuse of shopping for another change of outfit. She remembered how he hated appearing alone in public with her except on those days she had to plot such 'coincidental mistakes'.

That day was still vivid in her memory. She recalled noticing Denver's face light up at the sight of that girl. Denver never smiled when she was with him but she caught him grinning sheepishly that day. She wondered what was so special about the little girl.

She had dug up information on the girl and discovered nothing interesting, she's just a student from an unheard family in a small town.

'Why was Denver so moved by her appearance?'

But her happy mood was smashed the moment Denver appeared in this restaurant with that girl again, linking their hands together. Denver, the man who had occupied her thoughts for longer than she cared to admit, sat across that girl and they seemed engrossed in their own world. She watched as the duo conversed and their chemistry drove a knife into her chest.

When she couldn't endure their happy faces anymore, she decided to do something. A devious smile played at the corners of her lips as her mind thought of an audacious move. Playing the wry grin on her lips, she sauntered to their table.

Molly approached their table, her eyes casting a brief but deliberate glance at Ariadne before settling on Denver. Her expression was a careful balance of feigned surprise.

"Denver you're here" she began.

"Oh... yea"

Molly offered a small smile. "Hey," allowing a subtle hint of dejection to color her voice. "I'm sorry to interrupt your evening."

Denver looked up and turned his attention toward Molly, his brows etched up in concern. "Oh, are you okay?"

Molly lowered her gaze, feigning embarrassment. "Not really," she admitted with a sigh. "I was supposed to meet a friend, but they didn't show up."

"Now I feel bored eating alone. Uhh, if you don't mind, can I join the guys at the table?"

Denver nodded with a friendly smile. "No problem, you can join us. I don't mind", oblivious of Ariadne's unease. Ariadne's gaze shifted between them, a growing tension in her shoulders.

Molly managed to feign gratitude, her eyes flicking blatantly at him. "Thank you, Denver. That's really kind of you." She threw a look in Ariadne's direction with smugness in her eyes as she curved her lips in a smirk. She quickly grabbed a seat and sat beside Denver whilst still throwing condescending looks at Ariadne.

Soon the waiter arrived to take their orders, and Molly's attention subtly shifted toward Denver. "What are you having?" she asked with a warm smile.

Denver hesitated, tapping furiously on his phone. "I haven't decided yet."

Molly turned toward Ariadne. "What about you?"

Having finished what he was typing on his phone, he snuck his phone into the pockets of his pants, just in time to interrupt Ariadne from replying to Molly's question.

He took the menu from the waiter and passed it to Ariadne. "You make the order for you and I"

Taking the menu from his hands, her hands brushed with his , sending a jolt of consciousness and quivering down her spines. She hastily locked her gaze on the menu and began calling out orders.

"1 big Lasagna... 2 banana splits... 1 pot roast... 1 jambalaya" she listed, lifting up her eyes to look at the waiter.

"Denver doesn't eat crawfish", Molly rudely interrupted.

"Oh" she gasped, staring at Denver. She couldn't help wondering why Molly knew the food Denver doesn't eat. Ariadne's gaze shifted between them, a growing tension in her shoulders with that knowledge. And that smug look on Molly's face isn't helping matters. "I didn't know.... Lobster rolls then"

Molly interrupted again. "Denver doesn't eat lobster either. He doesn't eat seafood"

"Let's go with jambalaya", he suddenly interjected, breaking the awkward situation settling among them at the instant. He flashed her a warming but reassuring smile. Feeling bile rush into her stomach, Molly took the menu and voiced out her own order and the waiter left to get their dishes.

Soon, the aroma of freshly cooked dishes wafted through the air, creating an atmosphere of comfort and delight. Ariadne's face lit up at the sight of the food entrance, she was already feeling starved and couldn't wait to stuff her face with the delicacies.

As the waiter approached, a warm smile gracing his lips, he placed their carefully prepared plates in front of them. "Here you go," he said cheerfully, his eyes glinting with a touch of enthusiasm. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," Denver replied, nodding appreciatively at the waiter.

They begin digging in and Ariadne starts stuffing her mouth with food. Suddenly getting the feeling of being watched, she almost choked on her food. Denver passed her a glass of water and she grabbed it from him and gulped down a large amount of the chilled water to calm herself.

Ariadne's gaze shifted from her plate to Denver's. Molly, on the other hand, seized an opportunity to add a small portion of her own dish onto Denver's plate. Her grin was as wide as it could get, leaving Ariadne feeling like an outsider to an inside joke, at a date that was originally planned for her.

Denver's eyes sent her a questioning look that loudly screamed, 'Why?' And she offered an explanation with an innocent shrug. "I saw you had little food on your plate so I'm just helping scoop in some." He simply muttered a 'thanks' and continued eating.

Ariadne chuckled at his cold response. She recognized the intimacy in Molly's gesture. She also caught a glimpse of something else in Molly's eyes that screams 'How dare you compete with me? Hmph... You stand no chance because you're not even my match'.

Ariadne felt the weight of Molly's stares like a stone settling in the pit of her stomach and she masked her unease with a polite smile. Molly's provocations didn't stop with the extra food on Denver's plate. She also deliberately reached across the table, allowing her fingers to rub against Denver's arm.

Ariadne's discomfort grew and she scowled at her behavior. With a sigh, she pushed aside her unease and decided to ignore the provocations.

'So what if she feels something for him, what does it have to do with me?'