I found myself smoothing back my hair as he walked over. Something about him looking so snazzy made me feel like a bag lady.
“Hey, Hamlet,” Rose said cheerfully, taking her drink from him. I reached for mine, too, and my fingers brushed against his. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, his eyes meeting mine for a second. I blinked and took a huge gulp of my iced mocha.
Rose looked at us, eyes twinkling. Oh no. She took a sip of her drink. “So, you look nice today.”
Hamlet looked down at his outfit and put his hands on his hips. “Oh. Yeah? Thanks.”
“What’s the occasion?”
He looked up at me first, then looked back at Rose. “Well. Funny you should ask.”
My mouth went dry.
“One second!” he said, then ran off toward the coffee cart again. Rose and I looked at each other in confusion.
He came back with his hands held behind him. Rose and I stared. After an eternity, he cleared his throat. “Clara.”
Rose’s eyes widened when she looked at me. I choked on my mocha. “Yeah?” I finally managed to squeak out.
He whipped out a bouquet of flowers and held them up toward the order window. “Will you let me take you out on a date this weekend?”
For a second, all that existed was that bouquet of light pink roses. Fragrant, extravagantly wrapped in pink-tinted cellophane, tied together with a thin white grosgrain ribbon.
Then I felt a poke in my arm. I blinked and looked up to see both Rose and Hamlet staring at me.
There was no way. I mean, this wasHamlet. No matter how cute the dude, he wasnotsomeone I would date. Like ever. I opened my mouth, ready with some kind of nice but firm rejection, when Rose kicked my ankle, out of Hamlet’s view. Her eyes were threatening to murder me.
Jesus.
Hamlet was starting to sweat. He wiped his forehead with his crisp shirt sleeve. And that little gesture softened something in me.
“Sure.” The word slipped out so easily that I almost gasped. I accepted the bouquet of flowers.
Nervousness instantly gave way to pure sunshine and rainbows. Hamlet grinned, his sharp canines sparkling. “Okay! Awesome! Here’s my number!” He slid a scrap of paper over to me. Itwas creased and soft, as if it had been sitting in his pocket for a week. “Let me know what day works for you!”
Someone coughed loudly behind him, and Hamlet turned around to see a line of customers. “Oh! Okay, see you guys later!” Then he high-fived the guy behind him and ran off to his coffee cart.
I held the bouquet in my hands and glared at Rose. “Not a word.”
She laughed and started taking orders.
CHAPTER 16
By Saturday afternoon, I had bitten my nails down to nubs. Hamlet and I had agreed to have dinner, and for some reason I was nervous.
Nervous for a date with Hamlet Wong. Like, what was happening, universe? One, I’d been on many dates. No big deal. In my experience, guys hardly took the time to swipe on deodorant, so why in God’s name shouldwesweat it? I barely bothered shaving my legs.
Two, this was Hamlet. I wasn’t even into the guy. Biggest dork I knew second to Rose, and he’s crushing onme, therefore this date would already begin with my having the upper hand.
And yet.
Because Rose and I had the day off, it was one of my dad’ssolo shifts on the truck, and I was whiling the morning away in front of the TV with Flo grooming herself in my lap. Continuing my life’s goal of watching every episode ofSupernatural, the show that would not die.
My phone vibrated with a text from Rose:What are you wearing tonight?
I looked down at my sweats cutoffs and black tank covered in Flo’s hair and Doritos crumbs.
