Kendall
I'm nervous.
I can't remember the last time a guy made me nervous. My palms are sweaty, my stomach is in knots, and my knees are so weak they barely kept me upright when I walked in. My body is completely betraying me and this isn't even a date. This is breakfast between two new friends–nothing more.
We're meeting at the IHOP near Forbidden Desires because we have a mandatory quarterly staff meeting this morning. There's a subway stop just a few blocks over. It sucks that the staff meeting falls on our day off but Noah fits a lot of info into that hour meeting and I have to be there to pass out paperwork and take notes. Security has to be there because a good twenty minutes involves going over any incidents that occurred in the club that shouldn't have.
It's five before nine. Levi texted me to meet him here at nine-fifteen but I was too anxious to stay at home any longer. So now I'm sitting in a booth with a glass of water, waiting for the waitress to bring me the coffee I ordered, as I try to calm my bouncing legs down. I can't remember the last time I was out with a single guy and there was no promise of sex afterward. I like sex and I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I'm not promiscuous. Actually, most of my hook-ups are with repeat offenders. Although there was that guy in the bathroom of the club, and I let the instructor at my spinning class go down on me, and there was that one time I made out with my Uber driver. He was twenty-two, hot, and I had consumed way too many fruity drinks.
Maybe I am promiscuous after all.
The waitress drops off my coffee and a carafe for refills and I drink my first cup like it's water, which will not help my nervous bouncy legs. I pour a second glass and sip slowly as I think about what I'll say to Levi when he gets here. I want to make sure the conversation flows comfortably, but I don't want to reveal any weird habits or stories that could turn him off.
I finish my second cup, and then a third, and when I pour my fourth the carafe is empty. "Would you like me to bring you more coffee, Miss?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
"Would you like to place your order while you wait for your friend?"
"No, he shouldn't be too much longer."
She smiles at me sympathetically and walks away. I check my phone and it's nine-thirty. He's fifteen minutes late. When the waitress comes back my stomach growls.
Fuck it. I'm just going to order.
"Can I get the strawberry pancakes with lots of whipped cream on top and two sides of bacon?"
"Sure, anything else?"
"If I eat anything else you'll have to roll me down the street for work."
She laughs. "Okay, I'll go put your order in."
The minutes tick away slowly and I catch myself glancing at the time on my phone more than I'd like to admit. I should text him, but I don't want to appear desperate. It's not like he forgot we had plans. He was the one to text me this morning. He decided on the time and place.
When my food arrives, I start to get worried. He either blew me off, which would be a first for me, or something terrible happened. Just as I'm about to cave and call him my phone rings and Levi's name flashes across the screen.
Thank God.
"You better have one hell of an excuse for ditching me inside an IHOP."
"I'm so sorry. There was an emergency at the school and I left my cell phone at home so I couldn't call until I got back to my apartment."
"Is everything okay?"
"Uh, I think so. Can you tell Noah I won't be able to make the staff meeting?"
"Sure. Are you positive you're okay? You seem frazzled."
"I just had to pick Brody up from school. He and about half the other kids in his class have lice."
"Yuck."
"I know."
"The joy of public school."
"Brody doesn't go to public school. He attends a school for the deaf."
I knew that. Did he tell me that? How could I forget that?
"Well, do you need any help?"
"No, I've got it, but thanks. I'm just going to pick up one of those over the counter treatments and then spend the next twenty-four hours picking through his hair in between vacuuming, laundry and sleeping."
"Sounds like the perfect way to spend your day off."
"You're telling me."
We're both quiet and I should let him go so he can start taking care of Brody. "I’ll let you go, but you owe me more than breakfast next time because now I'll be eating alone"
"You're still going to stay for breakfast?"
"Absolutely. You can't tease a girl with the hopes of strawberry pancakes and not deliver."
"Did you get whipped cream on top?" he asks.
"Is there any other way to eat strawberry pancakes? I got bacon on the side, too."
He groans into the phone. "I've got to tell you, knowing you're about to eat all that food is a total turn on." Is he flirting with me? "We're definitely rescheduling, Kendall, and for more than just breakfast."
I clear my throat. "So I pass the breakfast test?"
There's a pause before he answers. "You ace the breakfast test."