COMMAND

Seventeen

The restaurant West chose was small and intimate. The décor was cozy: random royal chairs and tables with printed tablecloths, wildflowers in little vases. It felt like stepping into another era.

West was the only one seated in the restaurant when I got escorted to his table. Classic music played softly in the background. As soon as I walked up to him, he stood up. Bloody hell, I had forgotten how attractive the man was.  His attractiveness was striking. His blue eyes were gorgeous. His smile was even more stunning.

West Ward had the kind of look that would make any girl's heart melt. There was no doubt about that. My heart was racing a mile a minute, especially when I knew all of his attention was on me.

"Beth," he greeted smoothly, stepping up to wrap his hand around my upper arm and leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek. "You look stunning."

I blushed. "Thank you." That was all I could manage to get out.

He smiled at my flushed face. "Please sit." He pulled out a chair for me and guided me into it. "I thought you will stand me up, payback for ghosting you." He went around and sat on his chair.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "I thought about it," I murmured, leaning forward to add, "but then, I remember there can't be two assholes."

"I completely deserve that."

Grinning, I added, "I'm glad you think so." The waitress took our drinks order. "So, why did you call me? It can't be because the sex was so good and you couldn't stop thinking about it, or you hooked up with other women but realized I'm embedded on your mind," I teased, arching a brow.

West started to laugh. "And if I tell you it's precisely that?"

"Then I'd tell you either you've lost your memory, or you've gone quite mad because I don't remember sleeping with you."

He smiled, his dazzling head cocked to one side smile, and my stomach turned. The waitress arrived with our glasses of wine and I immediately took a sip.

"You've never thought about me all this time?"

"Did you expect me to pick up my phone and call you?" I couldn't help but reflect his glorious smile back at him.

He shrugged. "Well, I thought you'd call and demand an explanation, then I remembered that you're different and you don't seek out people, let alone me. I was wounded."

"You can't take away all my dignity, West. Surely, you know I would have to retain some."

"I know. That's why I came crawling back." His voice was wary. He frowned for a moment and seemed to be engaged in some kind of internal struggle. Then, he glanced up and said, "I was going to call you the next day after our first date. Actually, I was going to call you after I dropped you off, but I got a phone call from home that my mother's plane disappeared."

I gasped and my eyes widened. "Oh my god, is she okay? I...I had no idea." I stared at him in horror, unable to say anything further.

"Yeah, she's alright." He nodded his head to emphasize the point. "It took them a week to find the plane. It crashed in Tongass forest and thankfully, it was a small plane so no one died. For the rest of the weeks, I had been with my mother as she gradually recovered. That's why I didn't call you. I was so wrapped up in getting her better that I forgot everything else. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not something to apologize for, I understand. I'm glad she's better now."

"Yeah, me too. Now you know that I didn't ghost you because I wanted to." He pinned his eyes with mine and offered a small smile. "You probably have called me all sort of names, right? I can finally scratch my name off your shit list."