Shelby jingled all the way to our table. “Harvey,” she cheered.
“Hey, sugarplum.” His whole face lit up like she was some dazzling being. He stood, tall as hell, and swiftly made his way around the table to sweep her into a hug.
She squealed and squeezed him tightly, then peeked through their embrace at me. “Hi, Nikki.”
“Hi.” I waved warily. Were they on some kind of proximity-triggered ecstasy?
Zack marched up to me. “Hey.” He leaned in to briefly kiss my cheek.
A tingle shot to my toes. I squeezed his bicep and returned the kiss to the beginnings of his scruff. “Hey yourself. Did you carpool with Shelby?” Last night, we’d discussed hanging out solo after this.
He nodded. “She’s going home with Harvey.”
“Oh.” So, he was going home with me. Maybe.
We settled around the table and looked at the menus. I sat next to Zack and across from Shelby.
Harvey leaned over her shoulder to read the specials. “Half-price appetizers,” he noted.
She shook the floppy menu. “Ooh, let’s get the soft pretzel and cheese sauce.”
Zack frowned. “All you eat is bread.”
“Well, if she likes that stuff, she probably found the right guy,” I said.
“I did.” She beamed at her boyfriend. “I like him even more than cinnamon twists.”
“Probably because snacks can’t give you piggybacks.” He smirked.
“That’s not it.” She giggled and tapped her shoulder into his.
He rolled his lip piercing between his teeth and glanced at her mouth.
Okay, they clearly wanted to kiss. My stomach twisted. I almost wished they’d smash their lips together to get it over with.
Zack grimaced, then flagged down a server.
“Hey, Zack. Nice set the other day.” The server, a curvy woman with nice lipstick, smiled and clicked her pen. She knew him.Of course she did. Coworkers and all that. "What are you all drinking?" she asked.
I scanned the menu. “I’ll do the special spritz.”
Shelby sat up straight. “Um, lemonade, please.”
Harvey stretched his arm across the back of her chair. “Water for me.”
“Same,” Zack said.
Oh shit. I leaned over the table. “If no one else is drinking, I can switch.”
“Actually, I was gonna do a beer too. Whatever’s on tap.” He reached for his wallet.
The waitress laughed and waved it away. “I don’t need to see your ID.”
He showed it to her anyway.
I smiled and procured my diver's license. My boyfriend was so by-the-book in some ways, and I kind of loved it. The server left, and as we put our stuff away, I caught a glimpse of Zack’s stern-looking face in his photo ID.
“You don’t smile at the DMV?” I asked.
