Jake had no clue what he was about to walk in to. Kelly had sounded agitated about something on the phone. Obviously, something had happened at Nina’s, but he couldn’t think of anything that would’ve made her call him and ask to meet at the diner.

Usually, Jake didn’t like being ambushed, and he got the sense that was exactly what was about to happen. The public place was an interesting choice, especially during dinner hour when it was full of other people.

He sighed as he got out of his car, shutting the door quickly and hitting the button on his key fob to lock it. He smoothed his plaid button-down and thought about tucking it into his jeans but decided against it.

Glancing around the parking lot, Jake picked out the black sedan he’d followed the night before. He didn’t see her in it, so he assumed she was already inside. He didn’t run to go in and find her, but he didn’t exactly walk either. Something about her voice on the phone made him nervous.

The string of bells on the handle inside the door rattled as he entered. It was easy to pick out Kelly sitting in a booth towards the back of the left side of the diner. She had a menu blocking most of her face, but her eyes peeked over the top of it.

Jake smiled as he made his way over to her. As soon as she saw him, she put the menu down and put her arms on it as she leaned over the table. Her face was void of any emotion, further pushing Jake’s thought that something was wrong. She made no motion to get up and greet him or say anything as he sat down across from her.

“What’s wrong?”

There was no reason to delay the conversation. Jake couldn’t think of anything he’d done personally to affront Kelly, but he had a feeling he had done something.

“Can I get you something?”

With his focus on Kelly, Jake hadn’t felt the presence of the waitress behind him. The brunette moved to stand at the center of the edge of their table, placing a glass of water with ice in front of him. There was already a similar glass in front of Kelly.

“Why don’t you give us a few minutes to look at the menu?” he said.

“No problem, flag me down if you need something before I get back over here.”

After tucking an order pad in her apron, the woman disappeared as quickly as she came. Jake fought the urge to reach over and grab Kelly’s hand. It didn’t seem like an action that would go over well.

“Are we going to talk, or do you want to just sit here? I told Curtis we’d be back to pick up the kids in about an hour, so we probably have twenty minutes.”

It wasn’t like Curtis would put the kids out on the front lawn if someone didn’t pick them up by then, but he thought adding a time element to the conversation might get things going. Up close, he could see Kelly’s usually gray eyes were a little blue. He had no idea what that meant. Just knowing that they could change colors made him wonder exactly what moods caused what colors.

“Do you see me as a charity case?”

Her voice was quiet, a little too quiet. Jake could hear her just fine, even with the chatter from the booths and tables around them. He heard dejection in her voice, which pissed him off.

He didn’t want to take that anger out on her, but it was hard to bite it back. Jake had a feeling what was going on, after being told multiple times his interest in Kelly needed to be focused elsewhere.

“Did someone fucking tell you that’s what’s going on here? I hit on you before I even knew your name or anything about you.”

Her head tilted to the side as he spoke. Jake could tell she was trying to read him, so he let his anger show. Other than a slight squint to her eyes, Kelly’s facial expression really hadn’t changed.

“You swear you didn’t know anything about me?”

Jake leaned forward, so his face was inches away from hers. He thought she might pull back, but she didn’t even blink.

“I didn’t then, and I told you last night, unless you tell me something, I’m not going to believe it. So, yes, I know you have certain vices that you’re dealing with, because you told me so at the game, but other than that, your name, you had a sister, and the very little information you told me last night, I don’t know anything else about you.”

Kelly’s breath caught as Jake spoke. As far as he was concerned, it was the truth. Anything he read about her online could’ve just been gossip and pictures can be altered. He didn’t think everything on the internet was wrong, but it was in her past. He was more interested in her future.

“You guys ready to order yet?”

Jake smiled at the waitress’ question but cursed her internally for rotten timing. Nodding his head in Kelly’s direction, he let her decide whether they were staying and eating or if their conversation was over. He still wanted to know what caused her worry, but if she needed some space, he could give it to her.

“I’ll take a small strawberry milkshake.”

Kelly looked away from Jake to hand her menu to the waitress. The order surprised Jake. It was nice to hear she wasn’t going anywhere. It was just odd to hear she wanted a milkshake. Jake had done some research on anorexia and he’d thought she would get a salad or something that was easy to push around a plate to make it seem like it’d been eaten.

“I’ll take a chocolate one.”

“Small as well?”

He nodded as he handed over his menu. He hadn’t had dinner yet, so he could have ordered something more. It felt weird eating a full meal in front of Kelly, though, and they were limited a little on time.

“I’ll be right back with them.”

When the waitress left, a silence fell upon the table. Since Jake was the last person to speak, he was still waiting for a response. As much as he liked hearing her sharp intake of breath, he wanted some words.

“Between four-eighty and five-eighty.”

Jake raised his left eyebrow as he tried to figure out exactly what the numbers meant. They sure weren’t what he expected.

“Is that code?”

She shook her head and sighed. “That’s how many calories will be in my milkshake. I don’t have every food memorized, but I’ve spent a lot of time with calorie counter apps over the years.”

Kelly sat back and relaxed a little. Her shoulders still seemed tense, but her face didn’t seem as tense. She wasn’t smiling or anything, but he didn’t think she was purposefully keeping a blank face anymore.

“Can I ask how many calories you eat a day?”

He didn’t want to dwell on the topic, but he wanted to get a sense in case they started spending more time together. There were no plans on his side to become her babysitter. He just wanted to have an idea of when he should be concerned.

“Only if I can ask you the same question.”

The left side of her lips tipped up just a little at the comeback. Jake should’ve seen the question coming back to bite him. He had no problem talking about his eating habits. They were just so far on the opposite side of the spectrum that he bit his lip while he considered the reply.

“It depends on the day. We’ve got nutritionists that try to keep us on track with all that kind of stuff, so I don’t always count myself, but I’d say maybe five thousand calories on a game day and three to four other days. It really just depends.”

The second he started listing numbers, Kelly’s eyes widened. He was being honest about not having the definitive number, but he was sure he had the ranges right. A figure of twenty-five hundred calories being burned off during a game seemed to be stuck in his head. He figured to maintain his weight, he had to have at least twice that on game days.

“My goal is a thousand calories a day. If I drink that whole milkshake, I’ll be halfway there.”

Jake knew food was important to keep him in playing shape, but he couldn’t fathom being so obsessed with it that he knew every calorie that passed his lips. He also sometimes ate a dozen small and not so small meals a day, so trying to keep track of all that food seemed like a daunting task. The nutritionists gave him meal ideas, so all he had to do was pick something from a list and eat it.

None of the lists had milkshakes on them. It wouldn’t be the first time, or last, that he went a little off script.

Speaking of the milkshakes, Jake saw the waitress walking towards them with the milkshakes and a can of whipped cream on her tray. Jake sat back and waited for her to put them down on the table.

“I forgot to ask if you want whipped cream on top. Some people like it, some don’t. We’ve had enough requests to not add it that we like to ask.”

“I think we’re good without, right?” Jake asked.

Kelly hadn’t seemed upset about drinking half her daily calories, but Jake didn’t think they needed to push things. The quick nod of her head confirmed that.

“Okay, I’ll go ahead and leave the check with you now since things are getting busy in here, but if you decide you want anything else, just let me know.”’

The place had been almost full when Jake got there. With his back to the rest of the diner, he hadn’t been able to see the steady flow of traffic coming in, but he had registered the bells on the door a few times.

“So, what would the whipped cream have added?”

Jake moved the straw around in his glass. There was a spoon with the straw, but he didn’t think he milkshake was thick enough to need it.

“It depends how crazy she got with it. If you figure about a half cup, probably eighty calories. You’re not going to always quiz me on the calories of things, are you?”

She didn’t sound upset that he’d done so, but he could see how quickly it’d get annoying. The part he really focused on in her words was the hint that it wouldn’t be the only meal they shared. Since she’d been despondent when he first got there, he’d been worried she was kicking him to the curb before their relationship went anywhere.

“You can’t help me for being curious about your skill, but I promise I won’t make a habit of asking.”

She smiled, both ends of her lips curving up as she took a sip of her milkshake. Jake had never been big on watching someone else eat or drink, but he took great interest in seeing how much she drank. The first sip was small. After she moved her straw around, she took a deeper one.

Her eyes looked up from her glass to stare into his as he watched. Jake saw that the blue wasn’t as dominant as it was when he’d first sat down.

 “You do know some people lean towards anorexia because they don’t like people watching them eat, right? I’ve met a few women in my support groups who are like that.”

Jake hadn’t read that specifically. A couple of hours clicking on links had revealed plenty of information about her illness, but he knew there was more to learn.

“But that’s not one of your issues?”

He said it like a question, because he wasn’t sure. She certainly made it sound like she didn’t share the complex. He wasn’t sure that was the right word, but it was the first one to pop in his head.

“I’m in a diner, and while this isn’t solid food, I am drinking it. While you’re staring at me, I might add.”

To prove her point, she took another sip. The glasses were only about two cups of milkshake, and she was through about a quarter of it. Since he hadn’t even started on his, he took a quick sip. That sip was enough to empty half of his glass.

Licking his lips, he put his glass down. It was richer than he expected, and he was glad they’d only gotten smalls.

“Does it help if I say I’m not staring at you because you’re drinking something?”

Kelly shrugged and tilted her head to the side. “Maybe a little.”

“Good,” he said as he leaned back. “Now tell me why you thought I wanted to spend time with you because you’re a charity case. I’m guessing it’s something Hannah or Nina said. I don’t like ratting people out, but I’ve been told I should stay away from you.”

Rather than answer, Kelly sucked on her milkshake. The drinks were more effective than eating food when it came to avoiding a question. Jake wondered if she’d done it on purpose.

“As you already know, I’m not listening to the advice.”

“You still can,” she said, putting her finished glass on the table. “My own family, what’s left of it, either hates me or thinks I’m a ‘sickly-looking stick figure’. That’s a direct quote.”

Jake’s hand around his glass squeezed at the words. He was fairly sure he could figure out which family members were which.

“I can only imagine what she’d have to say about me when I was thirty pounds lighter. I’m used to stuff like that, though. What I wasn’t expecting to hear was the only reason she’s been spending time with me is because she vowed to find a charity case and work on them this year. She said it like I was the lucky winner of a contest or something.”

“She said that stuff directly to your face? I’ve heard she can be a little oblivious to how what she says comes across, but that’s some straight up shit.”

Like a giant steamy pile of it. Who said that kind of stuff about someone they’d invited over to their home?

“No, I was out of the room. She didn’t backtrack when I brought it up. Then, Hannah mentioned what you already said, about them wanting to keep you away from me. I didn’t think for a second it was because they were worried about me. It’s obviously because they’re worried about me screwing up your life. That’s why I left early. I just couldn’t be around them.”

  “I don’t blame you. I thought it was stupid to think they had to lock you into a night in instead of taking you out somewhere.”

Jake was surprised he admitted that much. He picked up his milkshake and used the busy drinking tactic to stop from babbling anything else he wanted to keep to himself.

Rather than push for more information, Kelly pointed across the diner. Jake followed her finger to a clock that showed it was almost eight-thirty.

“I better go pick up the kids and see if there’s any chance they’ll sleep tonight. If they were tying Brady up, I’m guessing sugar was involved at some point, so I’m pretty sure that I have an uphill fight. Call me tomorrow?”

She slid out of the booth, putting some money on the table, before he had a chance to answer. He hurried to stand as well.

“Of course. I’m heading to Montreal for a game this weekend, but I’ll have my phone with me if you need anything.”

Being hundreds of miles away made the offer sound stupid, but Jake could make some calls if it made a difference. Kelly was sure to have things under control. She’d lived without him butting into her life for years, so a couple of days weren’t going to make any difference.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Have a safe trip.”

She waved and then walked away. He watched as she did, seeing the gentle sway of her hips under her short dress. When she was out of the diner, he dug out his wallet and threw some money on the table. He felt better about where things were going but had no idea what he was going to say to his teammates when he saw them again. They definitely needed to have a little talk.