The diner was busy when we arrived, but not packed. We sat in the car for a few seconds, both of us staring into the big windows of the diner, before I turned the engine off. We both knew that what we were about to do was a big deal in the town we lived in. Although they had plenty to talk about lately, Josh and I both knew that we were about to take center stage. We turned and looked at each other, both of us assessing the other.
“I’m going to order the country fried steak dinner,” I told him. “It’s my favorite thing on the planet.”
“Don’t tell Emma I said this, but I can make it better than she can.”
“Really,” I said, turning a little in my seat to face him. “What’s it going to take for me to find out?”
“I’ll let you know,” Josh replied arrogantly as he opened the car door to get out.
His answer surprised me so much that I just sat in the car and watched him for a few moments before I got out to join him at the door to the diner. I opened the door for him once again and received the same surprised look. I was half afraid he would take it the wrong way, as if I opened the door for him because I thought him womanly. That was the furthest thing from my mind. My father opened doors for my mom as a sign of respect, not because he thought her weaker than him. I did the same for Josh and I liked the way I felt when I did it.
I followed Josh into the diner and expected him to lead us to one of the booths in the very back, but he stopped at a table in the middle of the restaurant. He smiled at the confusion he saw in my face. “They’re going to be staring at us no matter where we sit. This way they’re not all cricking their neck while they gawp at us.”
I could feel their eyes on us and it was really unnerving. I eventually ignored it and focused my attention on Josh. “What else do you cook that rivals Emma’s food?”
“Everything,” he said with a careless shrug. “I love to cook, especially for friends and family.”
“Well, hello,” a toothy waitress said when she approached our table.
“Hi, Daniella,” Josh replied. “Do you ever have any time off? You’re here every time I come in lately.”
“I’ve picked up some extra shifts so I can save money to go back to community college for the spring semester,” she replied. “So don’t be afraid to tip generously for the amazing service you’re about to receive.”
“Noted,” I replied.
“So, will this be one check or two?” she asked.
“One,” I replied before Josh even opened his mouth. “It comes to me.” I pinned her with a firm look that matched my tone then looked at Josh, who wore a frown. “You can get the check next time.”
He dropped his eyes to the menu in front of him and I was pretty certain he mumbled, “Ifthere isa next time.”
There would be a next time; I was sure of it.
IDIDN’T KNOW WHATto make of Gabe and his manners. A part of me wanted to bristle when he opened my doors because I was more than capable of opening them for myself. I also knew that to him it was a sign of respect, of showing me that I was special to him and that spoke to the part of me that wanted to be loved and cherished. Therefore, I allowed it without fuss.Pick your battles, Josh.
“I’ll just give you guys a minute to look over the menu. What can I get you to drink?” Daniella asked.
I looked at her like she was nuts because I wanted to drink the same thing I’d ordered there since birth, but then again she had only worked for Emma for a few years and I had been shaking things up a bit lately. “I think I’ll have a Coke,” I said, surprising the both of us.
Gabe looked back and forth between Daniella and me, trying to work out why we both seemed surprised by my drink order. It was a nuance of my personality that he’d have to learn for himself. That thought had me checking myself because I realized how much I wanted him to be curious about the inner workings of my personality. To be honest, it scared the shit out of me and made me want to run for the hills. Only Gabe’s dark, penetrating gaze kept me in my seat.
“I’ll have the same,” Gabe told Daniella with a smile. “Do you know what you want to eat?” Gabe asked me once she left to get our drinks. I swore I heard a snicker coming from one of the tables around us. Apparently, my need for routine and structure was well-known to the entire town.
“Hmmm, I’m not sure.” I looked over the menu as if seeing it for the first time. “I think I’ll have the Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and gravy.”
“Really?” Daniella asked when she returned with the drinks. I pinned her with an unhappy look and she cleared her throat. “Um, I meant to say okay.” She pulled the order pad and a pen out of her apron pocket. “Which vegetable would you like to go with that, Josh?”
“Corn.”
“Biscuits or rolls?” Daniella asked.
“Rolls.”
Daniella turned to Gabe. “And you, sir?”
Gabe kept his eyes on mine the entire time he ordered his dinner. I found it to be quite unnerving to say the least. I liked being the center of his intense focus when he was fucking me, but not while I was ordering dinner. I wasn’t an odd specimen that one needed to study. Yeah, I had quirks, but who the hell didn’t?
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” he said after a few awkward minutes passed.
