Cruel (A Joker Story) [UNDER REVISION]

21: Dinner Shenanigans

We ended up going to Casa Isa, a fancy Italian restaurant uptown with two golden pillars on the left and right of the building, the front wall completely made of glass. In front of the two golden pillars were long, rock-built fountains. There was a walkway to the entrance of the restaurant: A long, red carpet stretching out leading to our now-parked car. Joker stepped out, handing his keys and a wad of cash to the valet, who excitedly took the cash and thanked him profusely. Two men opened my door, then Charlottes, as we stepped out. Joker opened the trunk and took out two white paper bags, handing one to Charlotte, the other to me.

"Dress for the occasion," he said as Charlotte and I walked into the restaurant, admiring the large fountain in the front room and the golden walls, along with the white marbled floors as we headed for the bathroom as he talked to the host for a table.

Charlotte and I exchanged excited glances as we both chose a stall. I took the dress out of the paper bag and raised my eyebrows at the long, wine red dress in it. I put it on, admiring the heart-shaped bust that emphasized my chest, and the tight waistline.

I walked out of the stall to look at Charlotte, who had just exited hers. She wore a champagne-colored dress with straps and a plunging neckline. His dress was just as long as mine, but a few inches shorter to accommodate her height. It made me wonder if Joker had done some research on her beforehand, finding her credit-card purchases or raiding her closet for her exact measurements. I wouldn't put it past him to get information like that, and, looking at myself, I wonder how much he secretly knew about me, too.

--

"So Charlotte," he asked, turning to look at her. "You live in Metropolis. How's that going? Superman stop by often?"

Charlotte chuckled. "I've seen him flying around." She was looking at her menu. "Mmmm, Roasted Garlic Duck Cacciatore with fettuccine sounds delicious."

"I'm going with the mostaccioli mosta," Joker responded with a grin.

"I'm not sure what to get," I spoke, scanning the menu.

"Hello, my name is James and I'll be your waiter today," a man in a white button up and black tie spoke. He was kind of cute, with brown, combed-back hair and bright blue eyes. He saw me looking and winked. "Anything I can get started today?"

"We'll have the most expensive wine on the menu," Joker spoke. "And a few more minutes to decide."

"Excellent, I will be right back with your wine, take your time with the menu," he spoke politely before walking off. Joker seemed a little tense, looking at me before looking back at the waiter, than at his menu.

I smirked. Oooh, he was jealous, was he?

I was going to have fun with this. "I think I'm ready," I spoke, closing my menu, and as if on que, our waiter came back, showing Joker the label of the wine before pouring it into each of our glasses, then placing it into a chilled, gold container next to our table.

"Are we ready to order?" the waiter asked, eyeing me with a flirty smile.

"Oh, yes we are," I spoke. "I'll have the spaghetti with the. . .Spicy Italian sausage. How big is it?" I questioned.

Charlotte choked on her wine, coughing, fanning herself and clearing her throat with watery eyes.

Joker stood up straighter in his seat.

"It's about five inches long," he answered. I grinned.

"Mmm, sounds delicious. I'll have that, sweetie," I spoke, winking as the waiter blushed furiously and wrote it down on his little pad. I winked at him, Joker quickly spoke up.

"And I'll have the mostaccioli mosta," he spoke sharply.

The waiter silently wrote it down, then looked at Charlotte.

"I'll—" she coughed once more. "I'll have the r-r-roasted garlic duck cacciatore with fettuccine."

"Excellent, I'll go—" he made sure he was holding eye contact with me now. "Put these all in," he spoke before scurrying off to the kitchen.

Charlotte was holding in her laughter from my interaction with the waiter, while I was grinning to myself. I turned to look at Joker with a wink before I turned back to Charlotte.

"So, Superman," I spoke coolly. "I saw him fall off a building once before catching himself. Oddest thing, I tell you."

"Why don't you tell the story to our waiter? I'm sure he'd love to hear it," Joker spoke in almost a low growl, slightly breaking character. He then grinned and laughed. "Just joking."

"Ah, you're such a hoot!" I responded sarcastically before turning to Charlotte. "So, any news in your love life?"

"Actually," she spoke excitedly. "I've been seeing this guy, Jacob, for a few months now, and I think I really like him."

"Really?" I questioned excitedly. "What's he like?"

"He's really sweet and funny and charming and hansome," she spoke excitedly.

"That's awesome," I spoke with a smile. "He better treat you right."

She smiled. "He does."

The waiter came back with our food, of course giving mine to me first with a wink before giving the other two their meals, but before he could leave, Joker reached over and grabbed my chin, pulling me in for a long, passionate kiss. When we broke away, the waiter was gone and Charlotte was looking at us with eyes as big as saucers. I cleared my throat, flashing Joker a surprised look as I pulled away and stared down at my food. I started slowly eating in awkward silence.

"Well, I'm glad you've started finding good men, who aren't criminals." Charlotte spoke lightly in the most polite way possible. I looked up at her, fighting back a smirk.

"Thank God for that," Joker nodded as we gave each other humored glances before we went back to our meal.