Luke takes Erin out for a meal

Arron was lost in thought about his new bank account. Luke’s trying to help had made extricating himself from this Erin persona much more difficult. His only choice, once he got his wallet back, would be to move, again, and start over.

“Erin?” Luke said, finally breaking through Aaron’s train of thought. “Are you up for it?”

“Huh?” Aaron said, realizing that Luke had asked him to do something. Kicking himself, he really needed to start paying more attention when around other people. He could think about how to get out of this nightmare when he had time at home with Sarah.

“I asked if you wanted to have some of the best fried shrimp around,” Luke said, smiling as he helped Aaron again into the car.

Just wanting to get home, Aaron said, “I really shouldn’t.”

Luke grinned broadly as he climbed back into the driver’s seat. “Well, they have other things there. A few friend shrimp isn’t going to ruin your figure. And they have salads. C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

Sighing, Aaron knew he wasn’t going to win this argument, so he simply accepted his fate.

Luke noticed that Erin had touched up her makeup. He really wanted to pull her close and kiss those glossy lips, but he could wait. She obviously needed a strong man, and he was certain he could fill the void that losing her husband had left in her life.

Luke asked Erin questions about her life before she and Sarah moved to town. He was interested in what her life had been like on the past, when she had gotten married, things like that.

Aaron tried to give short answers to Luke’s endless questions. He didn’t want to get caught in a lie or have something be unbelievable, especially by a cop who, he assumed, could arrest him for any number of fraud charges if he found out.

In short order, Luke pulled up to a weathered wooden building with a gravel parking lot. A lit sign on a metal pole frame in need of some paint declared this place to be, “Betty’s Bayou.”

“C’mon, Erin,” Luke said getting out of the car and walking around to get her door. “Betty’s car is here. She’s a great cook and a good person. You’ll like her!”

Once again, Aaron felt Luke’s hand on the small of his back as he was gently led into the restaurant. He had to walk slowly, as his heels and the gravel weren’t a great combination. Aaron didn’t want to risk twisting his still sore ankle, so he reluctantly accepted Luke’s help in navigating to the door of the restaurant.

Inside, the rustic decor continued. There were a few tables scattered about with wooden booths around the outside of the room. A rough hewn bar stood to the side. The place wasn’t packed, but it was reasonably well occupied by diners.

A young woman in a green apron and a tight white tee shirt with a “Betty’s Bayou” logo on the chest greeted Luke with a kiss on the cheek, while another waited in customers already in the restaurant.

“Sharon!” Luke said grinning. “How’s your mom?”

“She’s fine, Mr. Cosgrave,” the girl said, smiling back at Luke. “And who’s your date?”

Aaron blushed. “This isn’t..” he started to say when Luke spoke over him.

“This is Erin Fletcher. She and her daughter, who’s about your age, just moved here. I’m showing her around. “

“Welcome to the neighborhood!” Sharon said with a big smile to Aaron. “You’ll love it here! And Mr. Cosgrave is a great guy to spend time with!”

Sharon turned to Luke. “Regular table, I assume?”

“Yep,” Luke said with a grin, turning to Erin, “Best seat in the house!”

Sharon led the two, again, with Luke’s hand in the small of his back, to a booth. Luke gestured to Erin to slide into one side of the booth.

Aaron was mortified when Luke slid into the seat next to him. That’s when the realization hit him that Luke truly thought that was a date!

Sharon filled some water glasses on the table with a plastic pitcher of ice water and looked at Luke. “The usual?”

“Yep. And the little lady here will have the shrimp salad.”

Aaron blinked, as Luke hadn’t even asked him what he wanted. Aaron held up a manicured finger to try to order something else, but Sharon missed it.

“I’ll get those right out!” Sharon said as she turned heel and walked back to the kitchen.

“Sharon’s a good girl,” Luke told Erin. “Her mom was diagnosed with cancer a few years back. She’s in remission now, so glad to hear she’s doing OK.”

At this point, a woman came out from apparently an office behind the bar. She was older, with grey starting to pepper her long back hair. It was obvious that in her younger days, she would have been described as a bombshell. She had the look of an aging 50’s starlet. Like Sharon, she wore a tee shirt with a “Betty’s Bayou” logo on it. The shirt was stretched very tight across her rather large chest.

“Luke you old SOB! How are you?” She said as he stood and gave the woman a hug. “And who’s your date?”

“This isn’t a...” Aaron began to say again, but once more he was talked over.

“This is Erin.” He turned to Aaron. “Erin, this is Betty. She owns this establishment.” Turning back to Betty he continued, “Erin and her daughter, Sarah, just moved here. I wanted Erin to taste the best food this town has to offer.” Luke sat back down. Betty cuffed him on the shoulder.

“Treat this fella right, honey,” Betty said to Aaron. “Guys like this don’t come along that often!”

Without letting Aaron comment, Betty turned back to Luke and began talking about someone they both knew.

Aaron wanted this day to end soon. He was trapped on a date with Luke and needed to get out of it as gently as possible. Aaron did not want Luke doing any snooping around in his and Sarah’s life.

He was drawn back to attention of the discussion when he heard Sarah’s name mentioned.

“Her daughter, Sarah, is about Sharon’s age. Maybe she could help?” Luke was saying.

“If she’s built anything like her mom, I’m sure she’d bring in the tips,” Betty said with a brassy laugh. In spite of his predicament, Aaron thought Betty seemed like quite the likable character.

“I’m a girl or two short right now, “ Betty said to Erin. “Any chance your daughter is looking for a part time job? Does she have any waitressing experience?”

Aaron wasn’t sure what to say. Granted, he and Sarah could use the money, but getting Sarah involved with working for a close friend of Luke’s seemed like a risky proposition.

“I’d have to ask her,” Aaron said, hedging his response.

Betty walked over to the cash register and grabbed a card with the restaurant name and address on it. She flipped it over and wrote a number on the back. She returned to the booth and handed the card to Erin.

“If she’s interested, have her give me a call. My cell phone number is on the back. Luke vouches for her, so she must be a good kid.”

“She can cause an awful lot of problems,” Aaron said, thinking about the thong riding up his rear.

“Oh, honey, that’s all part of raising a daughter!”

Sharon walked over to the booth and set a platter of fried shrimp down in front of Luke and a salad with a small pile of boiled popcorn shrimp on a bed of greens in front of Aaron.

“Let’s let these two lovebirds eat,” Betty said, as she went back behind the bar and Sharon went to greet a group of men that had just entered the restaurant.

Aaron looked at his meager salad and then at Luke’s fried shrimp.

“Do you want to try one?” Luke said. Smiling, he picked up one of the shrimp, dipped it in some remoulade, and held it up for Erin to try.

Aaron flashed back to his “date” with Ted and hesitated.

“Oh, come on,” Luke said. “One shrimp isn’t going to kill you,” he said bringing the shrimp closer to Aaron’s mouth.

Reluctantly, Aaron accepted the shrimp. It was good, but a drop of the remoulade had spilled onto his chin. Again, as with the ice cream cone, Luke wiped the sauce up with his finger and held it out for Aaron to lick.

Aaron swallowed the shrimp and went to say something to Luke when the big man pushed his finger gently into his mouth.

Aaron wanted to bite down on that finger, but assaulting a cop probably wouldn’t end well.

Luke slowly pulled his finger out of Erin’s mouth. She held her mouth open, and Luke knew it was time.

Aaron wanted to tell Luke to stop doing that, but was astonished when the man grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. This wasn’t a simple peck on the lips. This was something passionate. Aaron cringed as he felt Luke’s tongue slip into his mouth and begin exploring.

Even worse, as he was trying to end the kiss, he felt Luke’s hand begin rubbing his thigh, creeping closer to his groin, making Aaron jump and be pulled tighter into Luke’s kiss.

They broke the kiss and Luke smiled at Erin. “I’ve been wanting to do that since you came into the police station,” he said. “And I could tell you wanted it too.”

“Look, Luke...” Aaron started to say, just as Sharon came over. “Everything OK here?” She asked.

“Well, Erin,” Luke said, “how was the shrimp?”

Flustered, Aaron softly said, “It was really good.”

“Great. I’ll just leave this here,” Sharon said, slipping the bill on the table. “You two make a really cute couple!” She withdrew to attend to the other tables.

“Try your salad,” Luke said as he began to eat his shrimp.

Aaron picked at the salad. He really wasn’t hungry now, and he wanted to figure out how to explain to Luke that he wasn’t interested in dating him.

Luke made lots of small talk, telling Aaron about the history of the town, a bit about the prominent society folk there, and what sorts of activities happened through the year.

He was about done with his shrimp platter when he said, “Labor Day is the regatta. That’s a lot of fun. Big parties at the lake, especially for those of us, like me, that own boats. Do you have a bikini, Erin?”

Aaron blanched. There was no way in Hell he was going to wind up on a boat in the summer in a bikini with this guy.

“No, Luke, you see...” he started to say again.

“Not to worry. Between Sarah and this little shop I know of, I’m sure we can get you something amazing. Not that you wouldn’t look amazing in anything. Or nothing ,” he added with a wink.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin, obviously finished with his meal. “If you’re done, let’s get out of here,” he said to Aaron.

Aaron shrugged. He wasn’t that hungry to begin with, and he could still feel Luke’s tongue in his mouth. He just wanted this date over with.

Luke stood, left Sharon a generous tip, and walked over to the register to pay.

Reluctantly, Aaron slid out of the booth. Luke paid and came back to collect Aaron, guiding him again to the car. Once they were out of the restaurant, Luke’s hand slid front the small of Aaron’s back down to his ass cheek.

What was it with guys wanting to put their hands on his butt? Aaron thought as he tried to gently figure out how to stop this without upsetting a cop.

Once in the car, Luke chattered nonstop about his boat and the fun times to be had on the lake here. Aaron tuned it out and just wanted to be back home.

Aaron almost leapt out of the car when Luke pulled into the driveway, but he waited, at least, until Luke bright the car to a stop.

He opened the door to the car at the same time Luke opened his.

“I know, I know, female equality,” Luke said as he came around the car. “But you really should just let a man take care of you.”

“Luke, I....” Aaron started to say when Luke wrapped his arms around Aaron, grabbing his ass with both hands and pulling him close. Aaron dropped his purse as he had to put his hands on Luke’s chest to steady himself. Aaron could feel something stiff poking his stomach.

“You don’t have to say it, Erin. I had a great time too.”

Luke bent down for another kiss, this time kneading Aaron’s ass for all he was worth.

Aaron couldn’t break free and was gasping for air when Luke stopped the kiss.

“I’ll call you. We can do something this weekend. Thanks for a great date!” Luke said with a grin as he waved once he got in his car and pulled slowly out.

Aaron stood there, defeated. He watched dumbstruck as Luke pulled out.

After a few long moments, he picked up his purse, carrying it by the handle rather than putting it over his shoulder. He slowly fished his keys out of the purse and walked up to the door, opened it, and went inside. Closing the door, he slumped against it.

Sarah came into the living room.

“Not one word, Sarah. Not one word,” Aaron said, dropping his purse to the floor and slipping off his heels.