“Where in California?”
“Los Angeles.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s fine. I like sunshine and the warm climate.”
“I’ll bet. Nebraska in the winter is nothing to mess with.”
She’s about to ask me another question when our dinner is set in front of us. I stare down at a plate piled high with… well, I suppose you’d call it food. It reminds me of eating in the mess hall during basic training. A memory I’d like to forget. Everything is touching everything else. White globs of what I assume are mashed potatoes are on top. Green beans are scattered all over the plate. The meatloaf itself has red sauce covering one edge. I can only guess what it is.
Resting atop all of that is the biggest biscuit I’ve ever seen. I swear to you, it’d fit in the palm of my hand and cover half my fingers. “Wow” is all I can say.
“I know, right? Norma isn’t stingy with her portions.” I look up as Lou picks up her fork and digs right into the potatoes. She slices off a piece of meatloaf so her bite can consist of both items. I stare as she moves the giant forkful of dinner closer to her mouth. She opens, wrapping her lips around the fork. When she closes her eyes and moans, I’ve got a decision to make. Either I let my dick have its way or I get my shit together.
I get my shit together. I focus on the heap of food in front of me. With fork in hand, I pick up potatoes along with a piece of the meat.
When in Rome, I guess.
Opening my mouth, I look up and see Lou staring at me with a broad smile. “You’re gonna love it.”
Wrapping my own mouth around the fork, I immediately taste butter. Salt, pepper, and warm potatoes. Chewing, I get the savory flavor of meat, and I’ve got to say, it’s delicious. Filling my fork again, I do the same, adding a few green beans to the mix. Nodding as I chew, I smile at Lou. “Really good.”
“Right?” She smirks. “Norma’s meatloaf is the bomb.”
My next bite, I take only meatloaf. She’s right. It’s the damn bomb. But I think I prefer it with the potatoes. The two of us do little talking as we eat. Except she tells me to be sure to try the biscuit, as Norma makes them from scratch and bakes them fresh with each order.
I butter my biscuit and eat half of that before I can even think.
So. Fucking. Good.
Before I know it, my dinner plate is clean. It looks as though I licked it. I didn’t. Peering over at Lou’s, I see she didn’t eat everything. She left her green beans. All of them. “You don’t like green beans?”
She shakes her head. “I like them. I’m saving room for apple pie and ice cream.”
Jesus. “Is it good?”
She rolls her eyes. “Best pie you’ll ever eat. Even better than Bella’s.” She leans forward and whispers, “But don’t tell her I said that.”
“Wouldn’t dare.”
I chuckle, because I’m having a good time. Arealgood time. “You’re going to have to roll me out of here.”
Lou smiles as she says, “We can share the pie.”
CHAPTERELEVEN
LOU
“Well?”Bella asks me the second I sit in the seat next to her.
“Well, what?” I know she’s asking me about my date. I shrug. “It was fine.”
“Fine?” She leans closer. “Just—fine?”
“Yeah. We met at Norma’s. Ate dinner and apple pie and I came here.” Here is the high-school auditorium where everyone has been invited to watch the first episode ofReturn to Zodiac Hills. Not everyone in town came to this, which is good because there’s not enough room, but someone, probably Kitty, felt it would be a good idea to give people the opportunity to view it together. Plus, I knew my dad wouldn’t be watching, and he’d probably have a coronary if he heard it playing from my old laptop.
The room goes quiet, and we all look up to see Kitty walk across the stage, but Bella’s got one more thing to say: “You’re telling me everything as soon as this stupid show is over.”
