“We went to see the cherry blossoms in Rock Harbor,” I said.
Selene sighed dreamily. “How romantic.”
“It was very romantic,” Tegan said. “Especially the part where Atlas carried me on his back.” She reached for my hand under the table, giving it a little squeeze.
“You carried her on your back?” Declan asked, mouth hanging open.
“Just back to the car,” I rushed out. “Her feet were hurting.”
Declan made some sort of screech, one that I’m sure wouldhave drawn attention if we weren’t right next to the blaring jukebox. “That is so cute,” he said.
“You two are adorable together,” Selene agreed.
I glanced down at Tegan to find her gazing up at me. We were pretty cute together, weren’t we?
While we were having our moment, a waitress appeared at the table, an older woman with lines etched deep in her forehead, and prominent jowls like a bulldog. Even with the tray of delicious food she was carrying, the scent of cigarettes wafted off her, enough to make my nose want to wrinkle.
“Thanks, Connie,” Declan said sweetly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Connie said, setting the first of many plates on the table.
She served Tegan, Declan, and Selene first, obviously familiar with their orders, before she set my chicken breasts and brown rice in front of me. It looked sad and beige, especially when you compared it to the greasy goodness that graced everyone else’s plates.
I stared at Tegan’s burger, feeling my mouth water.
I should have ordered one. It wasn’t like this was a daily thing.
While Selene and Declan dug into their food, chatting happily, Tegan leaned over, whispering in my ear, “If you stare at my burger any harder, it might explode.”
I chuckled. “It looks really good.”
“It’s averybig burger,” she said. “I could give you half.”
A tiny, barely audible whine crept up the back of my throat. “I shouldn’t.”
“Come on,” she urged. “It’s just half of a bacon double cheeseburger. We had such a great day. Might as well finish strong.”
Finish strong.
That sent my mind to devious places, dirty places that definitely did not involve bacon double cheeseburgers.
“All right,” I relented, but she was already holding a knife, cutting the burger in half.
Two very unequal halves.
“There we go,” she said, discreetly sliding the larger half onto my plate.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I picked up the burger, giving it a little squeeze before taking a bite. It was perfectly cooked, a juicy medium rare just how I liked it. The lettuce, bacon, and raw onion gave it the perfect amount of crunch. It was heaven on a bun. I could see why it was Tegan’s favorite.
“I’m glad you came to your senses. How is it?” Declan asked, staring at me while I chewed.
“It’s delicious. No wonder everyone looked at me like I had three heads when I ordered grilled chicken.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being health conscious, but this is your first time at the diner,” Selene said. “Indulge a little bit.”
Tegan nodded. “And save room for some pie. We can split a slice for dessert.”
