“Okay. Then Shorty it is, since you like that one the best.” He holds the door open for me.
I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t like you.”
He shrugs. “Can’t say the feeling is mutual.” Before I can overthink that, he puts his hand at the small of my back and ushers me forward. I’m so shocked by his touch that I completelyforget about his words. We stop behind the others and look up at the board. “What are you hungry for?” he asks.
I take a breath. “Probably chicken tenders. What areyouhungry for?”
“I’m not sure yet. I need some good carbs after my game.”
I look up at him. “Well, this is a terrible place for you then unless you’re going to eat a bunch of fries, which I highly doubt.” The look on his face tells me what he thinks of that. “We should go somewhere else where it’s easier for you to eat.” I start forward, ready to tell Zane we need to go somewhere else, but a hand on my elbow stops me.
“It’s fine, Shorty. I’m good here; I know how to make it work. You ready to order?” I realize that Zane and the others have already placed their orders and moved on. I step forward next.
“Hi,” I say brightly to the guy taking my order.
He looks up and smiles. “What can I get for you?”
“Can I get the four count chicken tenders meal with fries and a Diet Coke, please?”
“Sure. What kind of sauce for your tenders?”
“Barbecue please.”
“Anything else?”
“No, that’s all; thank you.”
I wait a moment. “That will be eleven dollars and seventy-two cents.” I pull my card out of my wallet, but Slater steps up beside me and starts ordering.
“Thirty grilled nuggets, a yogurt parfait with granola, a chicken sandwich, and a chicken wrap.”
“Did you leave any food for anybody else in here?” I ask him. He smirks at me and pulls out his wallet. I try to reach around him, but he moves, blocking me and cutting off my access to the the machine. Once he pays, he turns to me and hands me my drink cup. “I believe this is yours.”
I don’t take it because I’m busy looking in my wallet for cash. I hand him the twenty I tried to give Zane. “Here.”
He doesn’t move to take it. “I’m not taking your money, Tessa.”
I huff. “Why not?”
He pushes my drink towards me. “Just let me pay for it.”
I scowl at him but finally cave. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” We move to the end of the counter and then walk over to where everybody else is sitting. I drop off my drink and go get napkins and ketchups. Once I drop all that off, I turn to Slater.
“I’m going to get our food.”
He stands up behind me, and I hear him tell the group he’s running to the bathroom. When I get up to the counter, I stand just off to the side, so I don’t block anybody. The same guy that took our order notices me and walks over. “It should just be a few minutes.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you all just come from a game?” he asks, glancing down at my shirt.
I laugh. “How can you tell?”
He grins. “A lucky guess. Are you all from around here?”
“No, we’re actually from Florida. We were in town for a game. We’re from FMU.”
