“Nathan Henderson, this is my cousin Sophie Patrick.”
He nods. “Nice to meet you.”
I nod back but don’t say anything.
Charlie and Wes come up behind me and I turn to gauge their reaction.
Charlie stares at Nathan, then shrugs. Wes leans in close and whispers, “He’s new. Moved here a few months ago, so we don’t really know him.”
Olivia steps in front of me. “Hey, Nathan. I’m Sophie’s cousin Olivia. So where are you taking her tonight?”
He shrugs. “I thought we’d grab something to eat and then catch a movie.”
“Sounds fun,” I say, then motion for Nathan to head out the front door. The sooner this date begins, the sooner it will end.
Just before I’m out of the house, Olivia whispers, “We’ll see you at the movies.” Charlie and Olivia are going to a movie, too, for backup. I’m not sure if they invited Wes or not.
I don’t look back at her, but I nod, then follow Nathan to his truck, which is jacked up to a ridiculous height. He opens the door for me and helps me inside.
“Ready to go?” Nathan asks once we’re both inside.
I nod again and realize if I don’t start talking soon he’s going to think I’m incapable of conversation.
“So,” I ask. “I heard you’re new. Where did you move from?”
“Dallas,” he answers. “My dad got transferred for his job.”
We ride in silence another few minutes. I glance around his truck, trying to get some idea of what he’s like, and spot an air freshener with the Hooters logo hanging from the rearview mirror.
Um, okay.
He pulls into the drive-through lane of a fast-food burger place.
“Is this cool?” he asks.
I nod again, trying to keep the disbelief off my face. I’m not assuming he should take me to some five-star restaurant, but I was hoping at least I wouldn’t be eating in my lap.
We drive up to the intercom, and a voice crackles through the system. “Can I take your order?”
Nathan leans out of the window and says, “I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger with everything, large fry, large Coke.”
“Will that be all?”
He spins around to me. “What do you want?”
“Uh…I guess chicken nuggets.”
“You want the meal?” he asks.
I shrug. “Sure.”
He rattles off my order and drives to the window. Once we have our food, he’s unwrapping his burger before we even get out of the parking lot.
“Here’s yours,” he says, handing me a bag.
So I guess we’re not even going to pull over to eat.
He’s trying to drive while chowing down on his huge burger, and mayo and mustard and bits of tomato are flying through the air with each bite he takes. I notice it’s full of onions, too, so there’s a really good chance I won’t be breaking my good-night-kiss dry spell.
