42

~Darlina's POV~

After the movie was over, which I was grateful for because it meant I no longer had to pretend like I was actually paying attention to it, we left the theater and headed back to Em's truck.

I huffed as I hoisted myself up into the back seat with effort, scooting over to make room for Atlas in the back seat. "Thanks, smalls." He murmured, buckling his seatbelt. Emmett turned around in his seat, sticking his key into the ignition of the car while he glanced between the two of us. "Wanna grab some dinner, or would you prefer to order in from someplace?" He asked us, earning a careless shrug from Atlas. "I don't give a shit either way." Atlas responded in a mumble.

"How about Cafe Zydeco? I love that place." Emmett suggested, more so looking at me for an answer now that he knew Atlas didn't seem to care about what we had for dinner. I vaguely remembered the restaurant being one that served Cajun food, though I really couldn't remember if I had liked it or not. Because it was so far away from where we lived, I had only had it one time with Emmett, but that had been a long time ago now. Still, the fact that I couldn't remember if I liked it was enough for me to shrug, as I was sure if I hadn't liked it then I would've definitely remembered that, at least.

"Sure. Cafe Zydeco sounds good to me." I agreed with a nod of my head, causing him to beam happily at my agreeance. "Hell yeah!" He cheered, starting up the engine after buckling his seatbelt as well.

The drive to Cafe Zydeco only took about ten or so minutes before Em pulled his gigantic truck into the parking lot, stopping in a spot rather close to the front door. I hopped out with the two of them and lingered close as we entered the restaurant, which I was surprised to find was rather crowded.

We were shown to a table rather quickly despite how packed it was, a little four seat table that I scooted my chair in beneath with Emmett directly across from me. To my surprise, Atlas openly yanked out the chair beside me and plopped down, causing Em to flick his eyes over to him with his eyebrows raised. "Are you willingly sitting beside Li right now?" He asked Atlas with clear surprise. "Never thought I'd see that happen." He muttered, almost with amusement.

"Shut up, dickhead." Atlas grunted in response, rolling his deep blue eyes at his best friend. I snickered softly, flipping open a menu in front of me as I crossed one leg over the other. "I'm forreal." Emmett insisted though, glancing back and forth between the two of us curiously. "Even yesterday, you two were being way more friendly with one another than I've ever seen you behave." He remarked, opening up his own menu.

"So?" Atlas grunted, scowling as he looked down at the table. Emmett fought an amused smile at his best friends defensiveness. "Are you guys friends now?" He asked, scanning his eyes over the menu as he waited for an answer.

But I remained silent because I didn't know what to say to that, so I glanced over at Atlas instead, biting on the inside of my cheek nervously. Were he and I friends? I mean, I was pretty damn sure you don't usually kiss your friends, but he hadn't asked me out either. So what were we, then, if not friends and not dating?

Atlas met my gaze, his focus trailing over my face before honing in on my lips. He allowed himself to stare for a moment before clearing his throat and casting his eyes towards Emmett instead, shifting in his seat to spread his thighs comfortably. "Something like that." He answered in a mutter, brushing his knee against my own. A flush crept up my neck and I looked down at the menu again, looking over it as I simultaneously focused on their words.

"That is the most non-answer answer you could possibly give me, man. Thanks for that." Emmett stated with a scowl, causing me to giggle softly and shake my head. I flicked my gaze up to him, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "We're still just...getting used to each other, Emmy." I came to Atlas' defense, bouncing my foot beneath the table.

He slid his brown eyes over to mine, raising an eyebrow. For a moment he just glanced back and forth between the two of us, as if processing my words and considering whether or not he believed me. Eventually, a small smile pulled at his lips and he smoothed a hand over his short braids. "As long as you guys aren't at each other's necks, I don't really care." He decided with a chuckle, focusing back on his open menu once again to find out what he wanted to order.

We all began to look at our own menus, giving the waiter our order once he wandered over with a notebook in his hand, waiting patiently for each of us. The waiter left afterwards and Emmett rose from his seat, pointing a thumb in the direction of the bathrooms. "I'm gonna take a piss. I'll be back." He noted to the two of us, to which only I gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

Watching him go with his head turned, Atlas waited until Emmett entered the men's restroom before he glanced at me again. I shyly met his gaze, which was burning into me. "What?" I asked nervously, hoping he didn't think I had done or said something weird.

But his gaze slid down to my neck and I looked down as I felt his fingers brush my bare thigh, his large, tattooed hand resting there. "You covered the hickey I left on you." He stated with a frown, brushing back a strand of hair that fell over my neck. I fidgeted slightly, flustered by how high up his hand was on my thigh and also the fact that he had noticed I'd covered the mark. "Well, Emmett would've seen it and you know he'd grill me for answers. He's unrelenting, too, so it's not like I could just brush it off and he'd let it go." I reminded him with a pout.

"You're right, but I don't like it." He admitted and huffed, causing me to smile slightly as I shook my head. I eyed his hand and then glanced up at him, finding that he was now looking at my lips with shameless desire. "I want to kiss you." He told me in a low tone, so only I could hear.

My face burned at how upfront he was. "Now?" I asked quietly. "What if Emmett comes back?"

Atlas leaned closer, gripping the side of my neck before he pulled me closer and tilted my head back more. "Just a quick one, yeah?" He muttered as he dipped his head towards mine. "A quick one and he won't even know, smalls."

Our lips met and I flushed, placing my arm on his strong arm. He kissed me deeply, needily as if he hadn't kissed me last night, and bit harshly at my bottom lip. I gasped at the way he tugged it with his teeth, causing my thighs to rub together from the stirring of heat in my lower belly. Why did he insist on making me feel this way, and how was it that he did it so easily, like it was nothing?

I shuddered and felt his lips tip up in a smug smirk as he pulled away, gazing at me through hooded eyes. Despite that I had been the one hesitant to allow the kiss, I now didn't want him to stop, attempting to lean in again without quite realizing it at first. However, he squeezed my thigh and stopped me, speaking to me in a low murmur. "Emmett's coming back." He informed me, withdrawing from me completely, including the hand that was on my thigh beneath the table.

Immediately, I glanced up at Emmett when he arrived at the table, giving him a smile. "You're back." I said, hoping he hadn't seen me attempting to just kiss Atlas again. Thankfully, he gave a smile, friendly as usual, and so I knew he hadn't seen anything. Relief flooded through me.

"The bathrooms here are hella nice, you know." Emmett remarked as he scooted his chair in, causing me to raise an eyebrow at the random subject matter. I hid a smile, shaking my head. "That's great to know, Emmy." I responded with a snicker, the waiter's sudden arrival catching my attention from the corner of my eye.

Handing us our individual orders of food, the waiter smiled before leaving again and I looked down at my plate, my stomach growling hungrily. I happily began eating, very quickly finding out that I did, indeed, like this restaurant. "Taste good?" Em asked as I ate, earning a series of enthusiastic nods from me while Atlas just gave a simple shrug of his shoulders as he kept on eating. Despite his lack of a real response, I assumed that meant he liked it pretty well.

Smiling slightly, Emmett flicked his gaze between the two of us and quietly went back to eating, the three of us enjoying the rest of the dinner in peace.