I could be friendly. Nobody needed to get their head snatched off, yet. I glanced over at Jude who looked like he was bracing for whatever this dude was going to say. I noticed he was looking at the guy more like an exasperated older brother than a boyfriend, and I relaxed a little bit.
“Well, I thought we were coming here to check out a new food stand. I was not informed there would be amenities.” The last line he delivered with a pointed stare in the vicinity of my biceps.
I laughed for real this time. This kid was funny.
“Well, we aim to please here. It’s good to see you again, Jude.” I threw in a wink. That first day at the truck I’d noticed those got me a reaction every time. “You ready to try something new? We have the Lavoe today, our Puerto Rican burrito. Have you ever tried guandules?” Jude still looked a little unsure, but he came up closer. Was I coming on too strong?
Probably. Fuck.
“Looks like you’ve sold out of some stuff already,” he said, while still looking at the board. “That’s really great, Nesto.” His voice was so earnest, like me selling a bunch of pork and chicken burritos completely made his day.
“Thanks, we’ve had a good first weekend.” That blond hair and shy smile combo was going to be the end of me. I could not stop staring at him.
“I’ll try the Lavoe,” he said with a nod. “I’ve had pigeon peas at Carmen’s and really like them.”
From next to him Raj quipped, “I’ll have that, too, with the tofu instead of pork, though.” I gave the order to Ari and leaned over the counter to flirt a little more with Jude, while Raj chatted up Yin on the other side.
“So, how’s your weekend going? You’re looking fresh. I like that shirt.” I was shameless, but hey, nobody needed to know I’d been driving by his house with my car windows down all week.
He looked at his chest like he’d barely noticed what he had on before turning those gorgeous blue eyes on me. “Oh, I’m good. Raj’s here visiting from the city for the weekend, so we’ve been doing the rounds. Wine tasting yesterday, market today. He leaves this afternoon, so we had to pack it in.” He blushed and then flattened his mouth. “Sorry I’ve been MIA; work has been crazy. Our grant writer is a total nightmare, and I needed to work with her all week getting my proposal for the board ready.”
I shook my head wanting to reassure him. “No problem, I know how it is. Things have been busy for me, too, as you can see.” I extended my hand toward Ari and Yin. “I even hired new people.”
He looked at them and smiled. “Looks like they’re working out well.”
“They are. Listen,” I said, leaning in a bit more. “I’m glad you came by. I was meaning to stop in by the library this week to ask if you wanted to get a drink tonight.”
His eyes widened a bit, and he looked like he was about to say yes, but then he scrunched his face and shook his head.
Dammit.
“Actually, I’m going to Carmen’s for dinner.” At least he sounded kind of bummed out. “It’s sort of an ongoing thing. I eat with them every Sunday.” I was disappointed but didn’t want to get pushy. I got the feeling the Sunday dinner invitation at Carmen’s was a big deal to Jude.
I didn’t need to guilt him because I was a scrub who had nothing going on other than stuffing burritos and hanging out with my mom and sixteen-year-old sister.
“No worries. Maybe another time, then?” I said, while focusing on getting their order packed, not wanting him to see my disappointment at his refusal, the intensity of it surprising me. After I made sure everything was in the bag, I handed it over, trying for a smile.
Raj grabbed the bag and gave Jude a look before inspecting the contents, then off-handedly said, “Jude’s totally free if you want to do a late drink, they’re usually done by eight at Carmen’s.” He stopped and held up his hand, giving Jude some side- eye.
“I did grad school here, moved to the city in January. I was part of the Sunday night dinner crew for a while. He can be at your place by eight thirty, right Jude?”
Damn, Jude’s friends were mad nosy and pushy. After glaring at Raj, Jude turned to me and the agonized look on his face made my stomach sink. I almost took the invitation back, then a tiny smile appeared on his face. He fidgeted with his phone before answering and the wait felt like years.
Finally he spoke, his voice unsure. “Let me think about it, okay?”
I shrugged, trying to give him an out if he wasn’t really into the idea. “I mean only if you’re up for it.”
Raj rolled his eyes. “I’m telling Carmen about this.”
Jude turned to his friend red in the face. “Raj!”
“What?” Raj asked looking slightly contrite. This whole thing had turned a lot heavier than I intended and I needed to chill. I wasn’t trying to embarrass Jude. Maybe I’d made more of a thing out of that kiss than he had.
“Look, Jude?—
Before I finished he started tapping his phone and said, “Let me make sure I have a number for you, and if I can make it I’ll let you know.”
I knew he had it, because I’d given it to him at some point on the drive home the other night, but I wasn’t going to get offended because he didn’t remember every second of the evening like I did. So I just parroted my number again and he nodded. “Yup, here you are.”
