"Where in Center City are you?"
Another hesitant silence reached her ear. "Yeah... I should start with that."
She chuckled to herself. "It's a pretty big city."
"Yeah, I found that out today when I got turned around, ending up on the wrong bus a couple of times."
She hissed a little. "That's your first mistake. The bus. You'll get the hang of public transportation soon. Unless you're planning to get a car."
"Not sure I want one if I can find a place to live close enough to the station. But... Maybe we can talk about this over dinner. That is if we're close enough that we can meet without throwing off your study time."
She wanted to throw caution to the wind and push off studying to another night, but she was so close to finishing everything to get her degree and work full time at Cole that shemade herself focus. "Okay... Why don't you tell me your cross streets, and I'll tell you how far we are from each other."
"Okay..."
She put her phone on speaker and opened up the map app on her phone.
She plugged in his cross streets and smiled. "You're about five minutes from me via cab or ride share." She used her fingertips to move the map a little to the side. "There's a neat little Peruvian place almost halfway between us. I don't suppose you-"
"I'm game for anything," he replied back. "If I don't eat something soon, my stomach might gnaw its way out of me."
"Eww... I'm a medical student getting my certification as a nurse and that... that sounds gross!"
"Gross? Yes. But I am that hungry."
"Okay. So you're game for Peruvian. I'll send you the address."
"Great."
She reached for the END CALL image but stopped short when she heard his voice again.
"Lexie?"
"Hmm?" For a moment she wondered if he might cancel on her.
"Thanks. I know you just met me today, and you have every right to keep your distance. But you made my first few hours in Center City great and now, I think my first evening is going to be even better."
Wow.
She had no idea what to say to that.
"I know you're studying, so I won't take up too much of your time."
Again, the urge to throw caution and her studies to the wind was strong, but she'd been working so hard for this, she had to see it through.
There would be time later for the rest.
"Hey, it's okay," she reassured him. "I need to eat, too, and what I have in my fridge is a couple of packets of condiments and leftovers that should've been tossed out. So get going and I'll see you there."
There wasn't a line atLomo Saltado Grill. In fact, about half of their tables were empty.
Lexie frowned as she walked in with Kaleo.
"This is strange. It's usually busier than this when I come in."
"Lexie!"
She lifted her hand and greeted the server. "Mia! How are things?"
