“There’s a great new place that just opened up downtown,” he said. “Hopefully it won’t be too swamped after the game, but I hear they’ve got great food, so we may have to wait.”
“I don’t mind, we’re celebrating and I hardly ever have the time to go out and just have fun,” she said, smiling up at him. “I don’t have class tomorrow morning so I can sleep in.”
“Perfect, let’s go,” Walker said, taking her hand again. “Do you want me to drive?”
She started to say that she’d rather drive, then remembered the car seat in the backseat of her car and quickly changed her mind. “That’s fine,” she said. “You can bring me back to my car after dinner.”
As they walked to Walker’s car, she realized it was going to be much harder than she thought to keep Justin a secret, but the thought of telling Walker about him still made her stomach hurt. She knew the news would be better coming from her in a calm discussion instead of him finding out on his own, which meant she’d have to find the guts to tell him and soon.
CHAPTER 12
***WALKER***
Ablast of herb-scented air, noisy conversation, and the clatter of dishes greeted them when Walker pulled the door of the pizzeria open for Maddie, then followed her inside. She took a deep breath of the fragrant air. “It smells wonderful in here, and I’m starving,” she announced, a look of anticipation on her face. “I hope the wait isn’t too long.”
“We could always get it to go and take it back to the frat house,” Walker said. “I’m sure we could find a quiet place to eat there.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to see your friends yet,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t see very many people waiting. Let’s see what the hostess says.”
“Hi, welcome,” the young woman said when they walked up to the podium. “Is it just the two of you?”
“Yes, please,” Maddie said. “Is the wait long?”
“Well, if you don’t mind a small booth, I could seat you now,” the woman said, checking the chart in front of her. “Or there’s lots of room in the bar.”
“A booth should be fine,” Maddie said, looking over her shoulder at him.
“Sure, sounds great,” he said. “I just want to eat.”
They all laughed. “Great, then follow me,” the woman said. “You won’t be disappointed, the pizza here is amazing, but if you’re in the mood for something else, give the spaghetti and meatballs a try.”
The booth was tucked into the corner of the room, and there was just enough room for the two of them to squeeze inside. However, he didn’t mind; it meant Maddie was pressed up against him. After taking their drink order, the hostess disappeared into the back of the restaurant, and they had a chance to look around at the bustling place before picking up their menus to study them.
“I thought I wanted pizza but spaghetti sounds pretty good too,” he said. “I can’t make up my mind. What are you going to have?”
“I know I want to start with a salad, but I can’t decide what else to have,” Maddie said, studying the menu. Then she looked up at him. “What if we shared? We could order pizza and spaghetti.”
“Wow, you really are living it up,” he said, grinning at her. “But that does sound like the perfect solution.”
Maddie gave him a shove with her shoulder. “I told you I was starving, I skipped lunch,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “And just so it’s clear right from the beginning, we’re splitting the check.”
“Fine with me, but only because I’m too hungry to fight with you,” he said. “But just for the record, if I ask you on a date, I usually expect to pay.”
“But you can’t pay every time we go out, that’s not fair,” she said, shaking her head. “We should treat each other like equals right from the beginning.”
“That’s fine with me,” he said. “You’ll just have to ask me on a date when it’s your turn to pay.”
She just stared at him for a second, then realized he was teasing her. “Walker, I was being serious,” she said. “I don’t want you paying for me all the time.”
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “I was being serious, too. You’ll have to ask me out if you want to pay,” he said. “Seems like a fair way to handle it to me.”
“Oh, you’re impossible,” she said, but she was laughing. “Fine, have it your way, I’ll ask you out next time.”
“Well, don’t wait too long,” he said, grinning at her. “I might beat you to it.”
The waitress showed up a few seconds later, their drinks in hand, and they placed their order. Then, they sat back, suddenly shy with each other, but it wasn’t long before they were chatting away like old friends. Their food arrived quickly, and they dug in, filling their stomachs mostly in silence, with the other tables around them providing enough entertainment to keep the silence from being uncomfortable. Maddie was the first one to push her plate away, groaning and rubbing her stomach, but there was only one piece of pizza left, and he had just enough room.
He was just reaching for it when a voice that instantly made him clench his teeth rang out over the booth. “Well, isn’t this cozy, you two sure are brave to be seen out in public like this,” Thomas drawled, a pleased look on his face. “When my spy…uh…friend called and told me you two were here all cozied up together, I didn’t believe it, you must be awfully sure of yourself, Walker. I warned you what would happen…now Maddie is going to pay the price.”
