She doubted anyone else in there had bought their clothes at a thrift store.
“If you are, then I am too,” he replied.
He had a point in his jeans, sneakers, and black polo-style shirt. It wasn’t like he was in a suit and tie or anything.
No one in there really was. There were a couple of guys in dress shirts with their sleeves rolled up. Samantha figured they’d probably worn ties earlier in the day but had shed them at some point that evening. Other than that, the dress was surprisingly casual.
Again, she was probably the only person wearing thrift-store finds. But it wasn’t as if anyone knew where she’d bought her clothes.
The server came, made pleasant conversation with them for a moment, and then took their drink orders. A moment later, they had a bottle of wine on the table along with their glasses of water.
Once the waiter had retreated again so they could study the menu, Samantha accidentally said, “Whoa!”
“You okay?”
Her eyes darted up from the menu and across the table. “Sorry. Just… the spaghetti and meatballs is thirty dollars!”
She felt foolish. Tonya wouldn’t care about that. In fact, she’d probably say something like, “Oh, it’sonlythirty dollars? That’s nothing. One time I had spaghetti in…” And would then launch into a story about an even fancier restaurant she’d eaten at, probably with a celebrity or something.
Kendrick was smiling, but not in a way that indicated he was laughing at her or mocking her.
He clearly found her cute.
The realization forced her embarrassment to recede. A warmth took its place.
“Is that what you want?” he asked.
Samantha nodded.
“Then get it. We’ll order some garlic bread to go along with it.”
She found that on the menu. It was fifteen bucks.
“What are you getting?” she asked.
“New York Strip.”
She found the price. It surprisingly wasn’t as expensive as she’d figured it would be. Though steak at the diner wasn’t fifty-plus dollars.
“Oh,” she said as she flipped the menu over and continued to look. “All the sides are extra.”
“Yeah.”
“Everything comes together where I work.” She laughed at the comment. “But I bet these servers make way better tips.”
Stop talking, Samantha. You sound pathetic! Act like you belong in this world. What would Tonya do?
Tonya would scare Kendrick away, she thought. In fact, he’d never take her out in the first place.
She decided to find the happy medium.
The waiter came back and took their orders. Once he’d left, she took a sip of wine and sad, “Do you come here a lot?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been?”
“Yeah.”
