Damon chewed in slow motion while looking at James with a blank expression.
James requested a car and not to be disturbed. That was not a problem, but Damon didn't want to respond right away.
One second, two, Damon could see James' impatience growing. Four seconds, five, six… Damon jolted when Talia pinched his thigh under the table.
"Alright.", Damon said and then he cocked an eyebrow at Talia while speaking to her through their mind-link. 'Why did you do that?'
'Why did you delay?', Talia responded with a question. 'Don't you see that they are having a conflict? Help him pacify Cornelia, and he will be indebted to you.'
'If I help him right away, he won't appreciate it.', Damon said. 'While he is waiting for my answer and sweating, he is thinking about what will happen if I don't cooperate, and the fact that he won't need to go through THAT will make him indebted to me.'
Talia stared at Damon while processing his words. He was right. It was so simple, yet she didn't see it. James and Damon were on friendly terms, but they were not exactly friends.
A hundred questions suddenly weighed on her.
Is that what an Alpha does? What if her ignorance causes trouble for Damon? And what about the Midnight Guardians pack? How will she lead them if she couldn't see what was happening right in front of her? She thought that Damon was mean, yet he was only making the best of the current situation.
Will she ever learn those things about interacting with friends and foes? She was not sure.
Talia didn't act on her own many times, but those few she did mostly ended up with her erasing memories of the other party. That was not a solution that could be used long-term.
Damon saw that Talia was troubled and he wondered what was going on in her pretty head. Was she overthinking things again? Probably.
Damon caressed Talia's knee under the table, and she looked at him when he gave her a squeeze.
"Eat, kitten", Damon said, and she saw a forkful of food in front of her face.
She opened her mouth obediently and Damon reminded her, "Keith will be here soon." Talia chewed faster.
On Talia's left, James was back to trying to feed Cornelia.
"Come on, Cora", James said. "Just this much."
"If I accept one, then I will need to accept every next one.", Cornelia responded matter-of-factly. "Why did you make plans for me without consulting me?"
"I remember that we spoke about it, and I promised you a date.", James said.
"That was yesterday."
James was exasperated. He knew that she was giving him a hard time because he messed up, but how can he pacify her if she was not giving him a chance to do so?
"Do you have any other plans for today?", he asked.
"What if I do?", Cornelia responded defiantly.
"Cancel them. Today is for the two of us."
"That was yest…"
She couldn't finish her word because James pulled her in for a kiss.
Cornelia's eyes widened and she couldn't believe that James' hand was at the back of her head, holding her in a firm grip, and his lips were covering hers gently, and it was at the dining table with people watching, and she hated it that her lips moved on their own to respond to his kiss. Why was her own body not listening?
When James inched away, Cornelia looked around the table to see that everyone was busy with their food or with their partners. She was grateful that no one was staring at them, even though she knew that they were aware of James kissing her right there shamelessly.
"I apologized.", James said. "But I know that words are not enough, and I want to make it up to you. Today. Stop being stubborn so that we can enjoy our date."
"And what if I want to stay stubborn?", she challenged him. Did he think that a kiss will melt her reasoning away? "What if I don't want to go on a date with you?"
"Then you will be stuck with me following you around and apologizing until you give in. It won't be pleasant for either of us but I will do it until you give up on being stubborn."
Cornelia was not sure how to respond to this. Wasn't he aware of their audience?
"Are you sure you will be able to follow me?"
Well, no. "I know that you can leave if you want, but that would break my heart and yours, and you won't do that."
Cornelia didn't want to admit it, but he was right. That was the reason she didn't leave so far. It would break her heart. And his. And she couldn't make herself hurt him.
After a few exceedingly long seconds, Cornelia opened her mouth, and when she saw that James was looking at her in confusion, she asked, "Are you going to feed me or not?"
James' face lit up and he quickly grabbed a fork and stabbed food with it. He can feed her! That was definitely progress. The date was ON!
James held Cornelia's hand and led the way outside of the packhouse.
Caden gave James the keys to the white Lexus that was waiting for them. James nodded in approval of the sleek sports car that came with the right dose of luxury, and James could see himself making the engine roar and impressing Cornelia with his driving skills.
James opened the front passenger door for Cornelia. "My lady", he said in a singing voice while gesturing for her to sit.
He couldn't stop his eyes roaming her body. She was wearing a simple knee-length off-white summer dress with blue flower print on the bottom hem and flat sandals, yet she was the most beautiful female he had ever seen. Gorgeous.
Cornelia observed that James sat in the driver's seat.
"I thought you can't drive."
"I can, but I am not old enough to get a license.", James responded and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket.
Cornelia looked at the driver's license with James' photo on it and James explained, "With this, I am James White, a nineteen years-old male from Pasadena, California. Your boyfriend."
Cornelia flipped the card to see the back. "It doesn't say here that you are my boyfriend."
James chuckled. "It says in here." He pointed at the middle of his chest. "Your name is etched in here, so I am yours."
Cornelia felt her cheeks heating up and she handed him the driver's license back. Why was he so flirty?
She focused on the ID that he was putting back into his pocket. "Is it easy to get one of these?"
"It's not too much of a problem if you know the right people.", James responded smugly. "This one is yours."
Cornelia looked at another driver's license that was on the name Cornelia Silver. A twenty years-old female from Pasadena, California. If she paid attention, she would notice that the address was the same as on the license with the name James White.
"I don't know how to drive.", she said.
"I can teach you if you want.", James responded and started the car.
"You can?"
James' lips lifted into a wicked smile as he hummed in confirmation.
