"Because you were flirting with the old guy?" A flash of irritation crosses his face before it settles into a cocky grin.
My mouth falls open as I prepare to defend myself and amarriedSteve, when his expression falls casual again. "I'm kidding. Order something. I'll wait for you."
Still stuck on his comment, I stutter. "I, uh… I will in a second. You don't have to do that."
He sits back in his seat definitively as if to prove he's waiting. "I'm not going to eat in front of you."
I crease my brow, leaning forward slightly. "It's fine, it'll get cold. Just eat."
Still facing me, he places the tips of his fingers on the side of his plate and slides it closer my way. "Okay, then you eat mine, andI'llorder another."
My face floods with confusion. "What? No, then I'll be the one eating in front ofyou." He stares at me blankly. "That's stupid."
I reach out and slide the plate back to where it started. He exhales heavily, sits up straighter on his stool, and moves his legs back under the counter. I shouldn't miss their close proximity to mine, but it's as if they suddenly cranked the air conditioning in here.
"Could you please box this up for me?" he asks the bartender, who until now, was watching our interaction like a tennis match.
Her face remains free of judgement—or annoyance or confusion—as she responds immediately. "Of course, sir. Can I get you something else?"
Drew turns just his head toward me and sucks his teeth. The gesture triggers a memory of his tongue on my neck, in my mouth, sliding down my—
"I'll take another order of the same thing, please. And whatever she's having."
My mouth falls open as the bartender smiles with her eyes in my direction. "Drew I—"
"Order, Brooke."
My lips snap shut as I tuck a hair behind my ear.Damn it.Another reason past-me was smart not to give him my name. Subconsciously, my body must have known that hearing it slide from his lips would make me picture him naked.
If only to put the poor server out of her misery, and to provide some relief for the professional collectedness she's surely been faking, I obey. "A veggie panini, please. With fries."
My eyes fall closed slowly as she walks away, and when I open them, they find Drew looking at me curiously. "What?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "Nothing."
Sitting my elbow on the bar, I rest my temple on my fist. "No, go ahead. Let's hear it."
"That was just a lot of fuss for you to order a salad between two slices of bread."
I sit up straighter, rolling my eyes. "Very funny."
"I'm serious. I would have thought all that back and forth would have led to at least a burger. Maybe a filet? A nice chicken sandwich."
I squint in his direction with fake irritation. "I don't eat meat." He freezes where he is, his brow cocked slightly. "Save it," I say, not interested in—or capable of—any sort of innuendo.
It takes him a second to realize what I'm saying before he lets out a chuckle. The laugh travels through me—such a genuine sound coming from someone who seems larger than life—as he holds his palms up. "I was just going to say, there really is a lot that I don't know about you."
His words sit between us, the mood in the air shifting from light-hearted to heated. We're both thinking back to that night, and we know it. I just wonder if he's thinking the same thing I am.Even if I may want it to, it can't ever happen again.
"I didn't expect to see you here," he says, his voice now softer, pulling me from my thoughts.
I nod slowly, then drag out my words in pieces. "I sort of expected to see you. At some point. Obviously."Just not until there was a sheet of glass between us."But I didn't think it'd be here." I point to the marble and glance around the bar.
"You know Coach's girl, don't you?"
I smile thinking aboutmyAlex and how now she's seen asCoach's girl. "Yeah, she's my best friend. I'm here keeping an eye on Cooper so she and Levi can spend some time together on the trip."
The corner of his lip tugs up, and the movement reveals a deep dimple in the middle of his freshly shaved cheek. I find myself turned on again until I realize his youthful smile is just a gentle reminder of the age gap between us.
