“Okay, thanks.” He looked straight ahead as I shut the door.
After arrivingat Tempe Marketplace and parking, we strolled into the cool air of the restaurant. The place had a neat vibe with huge, colorful Day of the Dead artwork hung on the white walls. The section of wall behind the bar was brick, and wood tables scattered across the black floor with modern black leather chairs.
I met with the hostess, who seated us along the windows, overlooking a patio with misters running along the rafters. Outdoor fountains bubbled between the shopping plaza’s buildings.
After taking a chair, I scanned the place. Only a few couples occupied the tables, while people watched the football games at the bar at the far end. “I’ve never been here. Have you?”
“Yeah, I’ve come here with Grace before.” Picking up his menu, he held it over his face. “The grilled shrimp is good. I’ve had it before.”
“They make guacamole at the table. We need to order that.” It was a favorite thing of mine and would ensure I’d eat enough. It took a lot to fill me up. “Are we having margaritas?” I gave him my best smile.
“Sure.” He returned my smile.
The server stopped by the table, and we each ordered margaritas and the guacamole.
I set my menu down. I’d be getting a chicken burrito, my standard for a Mexican restaurant. “So, how are you feeling about things?” I needed to know where his head was after last night.
“Good.” He unwrapped his silverware from the cloth napkin and placed it in his lap.
“Just good? You’re not following that up with anything else?” I leaned in, studying him. I’d knocked down some of his walls, hadn’t I?
“Very good. How’s that?” His gaze followedour server as she set our margaritas on the table, made our guacamole and took our orders.
“Better, I guess.” I ran my fingers down the stem of my margarita glass. “Last night felt like a breakthrough for me.” How much should I admit? “I feel excited about us today.” Truthfully, I was falling for him all over again, but it was too soon for talk like that.
He sipped his drink. “I agree that last night was special. I hadn’t wanted things to escalate the way they had, but I’m glad they did.” His gaze met mine, and he curled the corner of his mouth. “There’s just something about you, Eli. No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep my distance from you.”
My chest flooded with warmth. “Then stop trying.” I drank some of my margarita and skimmed a corn chip through the creamy guacamole. My mind went back to breakfast. “You know Malik got drunk with some dude last night and hooked up.” I chuckled.
“He did?” Eating a chip dipped in guacamole, he tilted his head. “I suppose you and your friends have had plenty of hookups at The Club over the years.”
“Only the last two.” I ate another chip. “I wasn’t old enough to go in there until last year.” And the first time had been on my birthday. I remembered little from that night, thanks to the shots.
“You didn’t have a fake ID?” He smirked at me. “Hell, I’ve been going into bars since I was nineteen.”
“Yeah, but you were in Oregon. You knew where to go.” I took a sip of my drink. “And there aren’t any gay bars in Medford.” I ticked my brows. Had he hooked up with anyone at the bars there?
“Didn’t matter if they were gay or not. I found family there.” He hooked a brow. “There were times Ethan was the one going home alone.”
“I don’t want to hear about this.” With a scoff and my chest heating, I held my palm to him. “You can keep those stories between you and Ethan.” I was quickly becoming a jealousbastard around him. I hadn’t been like that in high school. Why was this different? Maybe I’d been too innocent in high school. Innocent and stupid.
“There are a few gay clubs in Ashland.” He sipped his drink. “I went there only twice.” He shrugged. “It was fun, but it was hard dragging Ethan along with me.”
I blinked. “You dragged Ethan to gay clubs in Ashland?” The dude was very much a free spirit, but still.
“Yeah, I had to bribe him, though, with free beer.” He freed a soft snort. “Which always got him in trouble because the more he drank, the less he realized guys were hitting on him.” He barked out a laugh. “It was pretty funny, actually.”
Peering at him, I said, “Has Ethan ever experimented with guys?” More like, had Ethan ever experimented withhim? My gut pinched. Damn it, there I went again.
“Not that I know of. If he did, he never admitted it to me.” He swiped a chip through the guacamole. “What movie do you want to see?”
Thank God, he’d changed the topic. “Let’s see if we can find a good action flick. Something mind-numbing, but good.” I slipped my phone from my shorts and set it on the table. It didn’t matter what we saw. I was happy to spend time with him.
“You always liked action flicks.” Shaking his head, he chuckled and swiped on his phone. “Maybe we can find a funny action flick.”
Oh yeah, he was a comedy guy. We’d spent countless hours watching comedians on Netflix back home. “Pick whatever you want. This date is all about you.” I leaned back as the server dropped off our food.
“No, it shouldn’t be all about me, Eli.” He set his phone next to his plate. “I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Relationships are a two-way street.” He picked up his fork. “We’ll go see the new Marvel comics movie.” He gave me a sly grin. “Those have action and usually a few funny moments.”
