Chapter 9: Andrea
“So, you’ve heard my life story,” I said after realizing that I’d been talking far more than Sammy had. “Now, let’s hear yours.”
Sammy sucked the last of his Dr. Pepper through the straw and gave the cup a shake to loosen the ice. He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the ceiling in thought. “Well, let’s see… like you, I was an only child, came from a small town, was a runt until puberty hit, then this happened.”
He swept his big hands through the hair like he was doing a magic trick and sat up straighter in the chair. Jesus, he was big. And beautiful. When he smiled, his entire face got involved. His eyes twinkled above his cheeks. He lips spread and his perfect teeth shined. The muscles in his jaws and shoulders flexed. I wondered what it would be like to sink my teeth into his neck…
“I went from five-nine to six-six in about a year,” he said, eyebrows arched, head nodding at the memory. “Growing pains were a bitch, but it stopped the bullying pretty quick.”
I frowned at the look of pain that came to his eyes. “You were bullied? I can’t imagine that.”
His forehead lined as he gave a slow nod. “Before puberty, I was a skinny kid with braces who always had his nose in a book. I was the school nerd, the one who made straight A’s without having to try. It infuriated the jocks and the stoners. I was beaten up, push into lockers, had my head dunked in the locker room toilet…”
“And after you—” I swirled my hands in the air. “Filled out, as you say?”
“Those bullies wanted to be my friends,” he said, the smile returning.
“And did you let them?”
He looked me in the eye for a moment, then the smile returned. “What do you think I did?”
“I think you probably paid them back for everything they did to you,” I said. “Probably in spades.”
He shrugged without answering, then glanced at his watch. “Oh crap!”
I blinked at him for a moment, then looked at my watch. “Oh crap is right. Have we been talking for two hours?”
“Either that or time sped up on us,” he said, pooching his lips like he was sad to see out time together come to an end. “I have a staff meeting to get to.”
“Oh, um, me, too,” I said, though I actually didn’t have any place to go. I started piling our trash onto the tray. “Well, this has been fun.”
“It has,” Sammy said, rattling the ice again. “Maybe we could continue our conversation later? Say, over dinner? Tonight?”
I felt my heart jump a little in my chest. Even though the thought of more food made my stomach churn, the thought of spending more time with Sammy made my toes tingle. I smiled demurely and said, “I’d like that.”
“Awesome,” he said, pushing himself back from the table. “Any preference as to the restaurant?”
“I’ll let you pick,” I said. “I’m a pretty basic girl when it comes to food. Although, I don’t eat anything I can’t pronounce.”
“That’s a great rule to live by.”
“I think so.”
“Okay, let me give it some thought and I’ll text you the plan. I’ll pick you up around eight-thirty at your place?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling my cheeks flush like a schoolgirl being asked out by the coolest boy in school. “That sounds lovely.”
“Lovely,” he said, a big smile on his face. He fished two fingers in his back pocket for a moment and came out with his card. “That’s my cell number. Text me your digits.”
“My digits?”
“Your digits. Your phone number and address?”
“Oh, yes, duh, I can do that.”
“Well, this has been fun,” he said, reaching across the table to take my hand. I thought he was going to shake my hand. Instead, he brought my knuckles to his lips and gave them a gentle kiss.
“Until we meet again, my lady.”
I playfully rolled my eyes. “Yes, sweet prince, until we meet again.”
He smiled at me. I smiled at him.
He got up to leave and I took out my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t used in a long time. I might have been jumping the gun a little, but better prepared than surprised.
“Hi, this is Andrea Nichols… Yes… I’m fine… I was wondering… Could I come in this afternoon… yes… for a bikini wax?”
Like my dad used to say, “Always keep the lawn trimmed because you never know who might be driving by.”
Enough said.