Her friend that was with her last night stops next to us. It’s obvious the other women have been listening to us, but I don’t mind. I like that Becca has people looking out for her. "Actually, I need to stick around for a while, so if you want to take a lunch, it would be fine. We've got it covered here."
Becca looks at me hesitantly. "I mean, you just ate pie. Do you think that you would want to eat lunch now?"
I give her my best smirk. "I might as well tell you now because you're eventually going to find out. I'm always hungry."
She nods and takes a deep breath. "Okay. We can go over to Red's Diner."
I stand up quickly, afraid that she's going to change her mind. I pull my wallet out and lay a twenty on the table. She tries to give it back to me. "No that's way too much. The pie is on the house."
I shake my head. "That pie was worth the twenty dollars for sure. I'm not taking it back."
She rolls her eyes, hands the money to the woman behind the counter, and then tells them that she'll be back. I hold the door open for her and then follow her out. We walk next to each other down the block toward the diner. She points out a few places as we walk by. My hand is swinging between us, and at one point, our hands brush against each other. I freeze, and she does the same.
We both look at each other, and she lifts her hand and wraps it around her waist quickly. I smile as if the move doesn't bother me, but it does. I would give anything to hold her hand right now. She points out the diner, and I open the door to let her walk through. We go straight to a booth and sit down and barely get the menus open before the waitress arrives.
"Hey there, Becca and hey there..." The woman looks at me. I barely have to look at her to know that she's interested. I can tell by the way her voice dropped a little when she was talking to me. But the only person I have eyes for is Becca.
"I've never been here before so what do you suggest?" I ask Becca.
"Everything is good. What about a burger and fries? They have really good shakes here."
I don’t care what I eat. It doesn’t even matter. I’m just happy to be sharing a meal with her. "That sounds perfect. Is that what you're having?"
She shakes her head and looks at the waitress, and her face flushes a little. "No, I'll probably have the salad."
"Have a burger with me."
She looks surprised when I suggest it, but she nods, and I place the order for both of us. When the waitress walks away, I start to ask Becca questions. I feel like I can't get to know her quickly enough. Everything she answers she asks me a question too. We go back and forth for a while, and when our food arrives, I decide to ask her the one thing that I've been wondering about.
"So what are you looking for in a guy you want to date?"
She doesn't look at me. Instead, she looks at her plate. "I'm not looking."
"Fine. What are you looking for in a rebound guy?"
She seems to think about it. "Probably the exact opposite of my ex-boyfriend."
Finally, we're getting somewhere. "Okay. What's the opposite of him?"
Chapter 6
Becca
I can’t blame him this time. I'm the one that brought up my ex, which was a stupid move on my part. But I figure hey, to heck with it. Might as well just get it out in the open.
"Yeah, okay. The opposite of my ex. Well, I guess the opposite would be somebody that wants to spend time with me. Pays for dinner, not all the time, but sometimes. Likes to laugh, try new things, doesn't drink all the time, doesn't take my money, doesn't cheat, and is honest." I say it all in one quick breath, and I can feel my face getting hot the more I say. I feel like I'm telling him way more than I should be at this point. Isn’t there some kind of rule where you don’t talk about exes on the first date? Obviously, I’m just setting myself up to fail.
He leans back in his chair and looks at me closely. His food is hot sitting in front of him and he should be eating, but instead he's watching me. In a serious tone, he says, "If that's what you're looking for, then I'm the perfect rebound guy."
I laugh as I pick up a French fry and take a bite. "I bet you are," I tell him sarcastically.
He leans forward. "I just met you and I'm already trying to figure out how I can spend more time with you. Honey, I won't let you pay when you're with me." I start to interrupt him, but he holds his hand up. "That was instilled in me since I was a young kid. You'll have to take it up with my momma if you don’t like it. I like to laugh, but I'm not funny. I'm always up for trying new things and adventures. I mean, I ride bulls for a living. I drink socially, but never in excess. I won't take your money, and I definitely wouldn't cheat on you. And well, I'm honest to a fault."