Chapter 8

Getting Nalani to trust Mark was nearly impossible.

Some days he felt like giving up and walking away, but then he would stare in those beautiful blue eyes, suddenly remembering why he stayed. From the moment he spotted her at John Cena's Halloween party dressed like a Greek goddess, Mark knew Nalani was it for him. Everything about her, right down to her perfectly pedicured toes, intrigued him and drew him to her with every day that passed.

Mark started out somewhat subtle, not wanting to scare her, especially after finding out some back information from John. The man didn't know much, but apparently Nalani was going through a rough patch in her life and needed a distraction. Deciding to be a gentleman, Mark sent Nalani a bouquet of flowers with a note attached asking her out on a date. Three times she declined until Mark came into the diner she worked at one evening, watching her with the customers.

He loved the way her uniform clung to her body, showing off delicious curves, and her hair was up in a high ponytail that bounced with each step she took. Nalani had the voice of an angel and her smile made his heart skip a beat. It lit up the entire diner, making customers feel welcome and safe. Mark could tell Nalani enjoyed serving others and if she didn't she was one hell of an actress.

He sat down at a nearby table, the whole diner allowing customers to seat themselves wherever a spot was vacant. He leaned back against the booth, wearing a simple black muscle shirt with a V cut in the collar, hating anything on his neck. Black jeans clung to his muscular thighs and legs, black boots on his feet and he had a black bandana wrapped around his head, his black hair pulled back in a sleek braid. He had black shades on top of his head, black fingerless gloves covering his hands and a simple silver chain dangling around his neck.

Nalani noticed him instantly.

"What can I get for you tonight?" Nalani asked politely, holding a notepad and pen, staring down at her surprising customer.

"A date with you." Mark cut straight to the point, smirking.

"Fresh out of those, I'm afraid. Anything else?" Nalani asked, ready to walk away from him to serve others who actually wanted something from the diner.

Mark knew this wasn't going to be easy and simply leaned back against the booth, his eyes never leaving hers. "Hmmm I'll take a beer with the chicken fried steak dinner." He wasn't leaving until Nalani agreed to go out with him and would order everything off of the menu if that's what it took.

"Coming right up." Nalani went to walk away and felt a huge hand wrap gently around her wrist, causing her head to turn to lock on emerald green orbs. "Did you need something else?"

Mark simply smiled and slipped a single rose in her hand, curling her fingers around it. "Not right now." He then released her wrist and watched the beauty walk away, waiting on his dinner.

The chicken fried steak was delicious along with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables, though Mark had to make room for more food. He was a big man so that wasn't a problem, not to mention it gave him a reason to be at the diner with Nalani. Mark was a patient man and knew he would slowly break Nalani down until she agreed to go on one date with him. His confidence told him that just one date is all it would take and she would be his in every way.

Of course, sex isn't all he wanted.

Nalani noticed Mark wasn't leaving after ordering the chicken fried steak, which unnerved her to say the least. She didn't tell her boss though, having a feeling Mark wouldn't hurt her…she hoped. Sighing, Nalani reluctantly headed back over to his table, keeping the smile on her face even though what she really wanted to do was throw the beer in his face.

"Hello again darlin'."

"Anything else I can get for you?" Nalani asked, her pen ready, staring at him expectantly.

Mark tapped his chin and thought about it for a few seconds before grinning. "Actually, I'll take a nice healthy slice of that apple pie I saw on my way in." He said and finished the rest of his beer. "And another longneck if ya don't mind."

Sighing resignedly, Nalani went to retrieve his order, wondering if he would ever leave so the butterflies in her stomach would disappear.

This went on for the next several hours, though Mark stopped drinking because he had to ride his Harley. He wasn't that stupid and refused to get pulled over with a DUI unlike some idiotic people he knew. Three beers was his cut off, though he'd had two more desserts and the place was packed, so it took Nalani a little while to get back to him with his orders. Mark didn't mind a bit and enjoyed watching her walk around helping others, the view making his mouth water.

When he couldn't possibly eat anymore food, Mark decided to vacate, leaving the beautiful waitress one hell of a tip, before exiting the diner. He didn't leave though. Instead, he waited until the diner closed, simply sitting outside in the cool night on his bike, waiting patiently for Nalani to emerge. He sat up a little more when she finally did, waving to one of the other waitresses, glad that they walked out together.

"Nalani."

Her body froze mid-step going toward her vehicle, slowly turning to face the huge figure in the darkness. "You didn't leave." She said somewhat shakily, once her vocal cords decided to work, and watched as he dismounted the bike with ease.

Mark could tell he scared her and immediately held his hands up, showing her he didn't mean any harm. "I'm not gonna hurt you, darlin', I swear. I would never hurt a woman." He vowed, watching her swallow hard, and he hated seeing the nervousness build in her beautiful blue eyes.

"What do you want?" Nalani asked resignedly, folding her arms in front of her chest, and watched as Mark came toward her slowly, cautiously. The man was smarter than she originally credited him for, though Nalani refused to let her guard down.

Sighing, Mark rubbed the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly before holding out another single red rose, his eyes pleading with her to hear him out. "I just want a chance, darlin'. Why won't you give me just a chance? I know you feel something between us." He wasn't backing down until she gave him a legitimate reason why she didn't want to go on a date with him. "Just dinner and a movie or whatever you wanna do. Name it and we'll do it, Nalani."

"Why are you so adamant about taking me out?" Nalani immediately became suspicious, backing away from him a little, not accepting the rose.

Did he know she came from a lot of money, that her family had been the one who was murdered in the Kensington mansion? Did he know she was a full-blooded Kensington, even though she'd changed her last name to her mother's maiden one shortly after the murders? Why was he so hell bent on going on a date with her when there were plenty of other women out there that would've been more than happy to be with him?

"Because you look like you could use a night out." Mark answered honestly, wondering what had gotten into her, frowning. "I'm sorry, darlin' I just wanna show you a good time. Cena's a good friend of mine, the guy who threw the Halloween party we first met at…" He smiled at the memory of her dressed as a goddess and, as beautiful as she was then; she was even more beautiful now in his eyes.

"What about him?" She demanded stiffly, walking toward her vehicle and knew Mark was following suit. "Look, if Kaci put you up to this…"

Mark reached out and stopped her, forcing Nalani to tense in his grasp. He wasn't letting her go though and slowly turned her around until blue met deep emerald green, Nalani's mind becoming cloudy. He went to say something, but all Mark could think about is the feeling of her mouth against his, nearly losing all of his resolve when her pink tongue swept out to wet her dry lips.

"Nobody put me up to this, Nalani."

Her name sounded husky and low, which turned Nalani on like a light switch. "You swear?" She didn't know what to believe or who to trust anymore, knowing Kaci was trying to set her up with a few of Randy's friends recently. "Because if I find out you're lying to me, I will find a way to hurt you."

Mark chuckled, loving the fire that came from her eyes and body language. "I swear, Nalani." He even did a cross motion over his heart as a joke, though he meant what he said. "I did ask about you though and Kaci actually warned me to stay away from you."

That surprised Nalani and it showed as she blinked at him, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Why?" She couldn't help asking; wondering what had gotten into Kaci.

Mark shrugged and stepped closer, just wanting to be near this woman. "She's overprotective of you, not that I can blame her. I am very intimidating." He winked, smirking when Nalani rolled her eyes.

"You're a big man, I'm not going to deny that, but you're not THAT intimidating." Nalani stated, turning to unlock her door and could feel him behind her, looming over her small frame. "Nice try, you don't scare me."

His laughter reverberated from his chest and it reminded Nalani of rumbling thunder in the distance from an approaching storm. It was very soothing and made her knees weaken, her heartbeat increase and her pulse race rapidly. Normally men his size would've made Nalani uneasy and nervous, but with Mark it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

"I don't, eh?" When she shook her head, Mark decided to press a little further. "Then prove it to me."

That caught Nalani off guard and she turned around, staring up into those beautiful green eyes with guarded blue. "How?" His large hand came out and very gently ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek, causing to Nalani to sigh gently.

His smirk widening, Mark suddenly lifted her up by her waist with ease and took two strides before setting her down, planting her on the trunk of her car. "Go on a date with me." He requested again, causing her eyes to instantly lower from his face.

"I don't know…" Nalani wrapped her arms around herself, though Mark being this close to her warmed her to the core. "What does that have to do with me proving I'm not scared of you?"

"If you go on a date with me, then that proves you're not afraid of me. I already can feel somethin' between us, darlin'. You can deny all you want, but I can see it in your eyes. So prove to me you're not scared of me." Mark gently ran his hand down her arm, feeling the goose bumps form and smiled.

Nalani groaned in exasperation, pushing his hand away from her. "You're not going to give up, are you?" When Mark shook his head, she sighed resignedly and suddenly a thought popped into her mind. "One date you say?"

"One is all I'm asking for."

"Well," Nalani paused briefly, chewing her bottom lip in thought. "Dates consist of having dinner with conversation, right?" She smiled at him when he nodded eagerly, knowing she was about to burst his bubble.

"Whatever you want to do, it doesn't have to be dinner and a movie. It could just be us talking for hours or not saying anything at all."

An evil gleam suddenly came over her blue eyes as Nalani slid from the trunk right in front of him, her feet landing on asphalt. "Then I do believe you just had your one date with me." She stated, watching the look cross Mark's face.

"What?"

Nalani couldn't stop the giggles from erupting, covering her mouth with her hand, trying to remain neutral. "Well…there was dinner and conversation between us with dessert. You've taken up my time and I've taken up yours. Yup, this was definitely a date in my book." She explained coolly, her keys jingling in her hand.

"Now wait a damn minute, woman!" Mark growled, not believing he was being played by her. "This…you're calling THIS a date? You're callin' me stuffin' my face full of food from yer diner and then waitin' for hours for ya to come out a DATE?" His southern accent was seeping through in his tone from how pissed he was, though Mark refused to show his anger…much.

Nalani nodded with a grin. "Of course, what would YOU call it? I mean if it wasn't a date, then I'd have to consider it stalking…" She knew she caught Mark off guard because his entire face turned red and Nalani was thoroughly amused by this point, unlocking her car door.

"I don't believe this…" Mark muttered, raking hand through the top of his hair, the bandana falling to the ground. "Nalani, this isn't fair, darlin'…"

"I know, but don't you just LOVE getting what you want?" She retorted with that same sweet smile before slipping into her car. "Have a nice night, Calaway." Before he could stop her, Nalani had started the ignition and peeled away from him; laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face.

Mark let out a stream of cuss words that would've made the devil blush furiously, kicking rocks out of the road, not believing he'd been tricked! She wasn't a goddess, she was a damn devil child with an evil streak that both pissed him off and turned him on all at the same time. His blood boiled as he stalked over to his bike, still cussing violently, thankful nobody else was around to hear his temper tantrum.

The entire ride home, Mark went through the motions in his head, wondering how the hell Nalani could construe this as being their first date. It sure as hell wasn't what he planned, but he grudgingly admitted she made several good points. He envisioned having her in his arms instead of trying to convince her to go on a date with him. This wasn't a date and, if it was, it was the worst one he'd been on yet!

"Damn it…" He grunted, punching the gas even more on the bike, revving it to the point where probably everyone on the block was waking up. He didn't care; he just needed to get his frustrations out somehow.

This wasn't the end; Mark vowed he would meet up with Nalani again as soon as his blood cooled long enough to actually approach her again.