𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐋𝐘𝐃𝐄. ˡᵘᵐᵃˣ

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐈

They walked down the street side by side. Sinclair's inner voice urged him to hold Max's hand, but he didn't think it was appropriate. In the narrow streets, some of the houses were still decorated with Christmas lights and ornaments, which made them look surprised.

When they reached the end of the street, Lucas gently took Max's elbow and led her into an elegant restaurant where he had made a reservation two days ago.

"Lucas... there was no need for this!" Max exclaimed, catching a glimpse of the expensive, upscale restaurant.

"Yes, it was necessary, you deserve it." But his wallet doesn't deserve it, he thought. But that didn't matter, he'd spend what little money he had on her. He gave her a confident smile and put his hand behind her back.

After being attended to by a waiter at the entrance, they were led to a table in the corner of the room. It wasn't exactly candlelit as Lucas had thought, as the restaurant was well lit with a light yellow hue, but it was still discreet and pleasant.

As she sat down, Max felt the soft beige satin tablecloth rustle against her knees. She picked up the meticulously folded red napkin on the immaculate porcelain plate and placed it on her lap.

Later, they both swallowed dry as they studied the menu and its prices, but ended up deciding to order the roast beef with mushrooms, served with truffled cauliflower puree and basmati rice, and a bottle of the incomparable Cabernet Sauvignon.

The waiter made a point of serving them, pouring the wine into balloon-shaped glasses. They toasted by clinking their glasses and savoring the dark wine, letting it slide down their throats.

Despite her lack of experience in the business, all the boys she had been with in her early teens had treated her like any other girl. But Lucas seemed stuck in decades past, treating her like a lady. Something she found charming, even though it made her feel older.

She enjoyed hearing Lucas's entertaining stories and jokes about his thrilling and adventurous life. Despite his illegal and rebellious actions, he exuded charm and grace. During their conversation, Lucas, who was unemployed and a thief, divulged some of the crimes he had committed, ranging from minor thefts at jewelry stores to stealing turkeys from a neighbor's farm. Max was shocked as she listened to his tales of kleptomania.

He gave in to his impulses despite being incarcerated twice for several months. However, he was released and is now at risk of returning to prison due to stealing a car and the Harley, apparently.

However, he was an amateur and had never seriously hurt anyone, and he chose his targets well. He committed crimes not out of necessity, but out of lust, curiosity, and sometimes revenge. She had made it clear that he was sometimes stupid, and he didn't disagree. But they still liked each other that way.

She noticed that he liked to impress her. He had a talent for making her laugh. Or did he do that with every girl he met? From what she had seen, he was very nice and polite to everyone, especially women. Still, she felt special around him. Or maybe she was just needy. This thought drew her to her husband. She blew away the depressing memory.

Lucas had never really been interested in talking about her husband, to be honest, but she didn't talk about him much of her own accord. Not even a small association of shared tastes, no spontaneous recollection of a trip she had taken with him, no memory, good or bad, to share.

Until now, all he knew was that her husband worked in a mold factory across town from Dallas. And that he apparently didn't sleep at home sometimes, for what reason he didn't know, but Lucas was grateful that he did.

But what interested him was Max, and he concentrated on finding out more about her. By now he had learned that her favorite fruit was strawberries and her favorite color was blue. When she was little, she used to ride her bike and skateboard in her backyard, and she always loved Wonder Woman.