“You’re not a doctor, are you?”
“No, but I plan on being a Nurse Practitioner, which is practically the same thing.”
He sat down. I took a seat on the bench across from him.
“You have a lot of years of school left then, huh?” he asked.
“Too many. I’m going to be in debt for years.”
“Unless you find a rich husband.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. Luckily, a waitress walked up, leaning her weight all on one leg, her hip sticking out.
“What can I get you two?” she asked, a pen in her hand poised above an order pad.
“Two slices of the Thin Max Style and a pitcher of water,” Austin said then turned to me. “Did you want something else?”
I shook my head, loving that he took charge.
“That’s great.”
“Be right back,” the woman said.
“Thanks, Janice.”
After she walked away, I asked, “You know her?”
“Not well, but I’m in here enough. It’s the place to be social if you don’t drink alcohol.”
“You don’t drink? Ever?”
“Not during season. Sometimes in the summer. I don’t get all the fuss. It can be fun, but it destroys your body for days afterward.”
“Yeah, but enjoying a glass of red wine once in a while is healthy.”
“Hell, they’re even saying coffee and chocolate are healthy these days.”
“You mean they’re not?” I asked with exaggerated shock.
He laughed.
“You’re funny.”
“There you go with the compliments again. You trying to…”
I stopped talking mid-sentence, not wanting to bring up anything sexual after the night before.
“We can talk about that later,” he said casually.
Was he always this calm, cool, and collected??
The waitress returned with our slices on two paper plates, a pitcher of water with ice, and two glasses. After she set them down, she rushed to the next table, looking frazzled.
“I do love their pizza here,” I said.
“Right? It’s the sauce.”
“Totally the sauce.”