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“Seafood? You allergic, or just mad at all the ocean’s creatures?”
I laughed at his inane question. “I’m not allergic, just think it’s disgusting.”
“Noted. Anything else?” He glanced over with a skeptical look on his face, obviously waiting for a lengthy list from me. He had the slightest smile on his face and for a moment, it completely mesmerized me.
“Nope. I’m fine with literally any other food.”
“Do you have a preference?”
My head immediately swiveled back and forth. There wasn’t anything that came to mind as being favored over another. The household I grew up in made certain that I ate whatever was put in front of me, and that we had a wide variety of foods to create a more sophisticated palate. My father’s side of the family were truly pretentious people. I sighed out loud while reminding myself again that he was not my father and they had never been family.
“So, I could take you for hot dogs and Mac-n-cheese and you’d be cool with that?”
My shoulders bounced up and down. “Not sure. I’ve never had macaroni and cheese. My mother always said that was food for poor children and we weren’t poor.”
“What the fuck?” Breakneck turned to look at me momentarily as he drove. Then he shook off whatever thought he had and proceeded to change directions like his life depended on it.
“Where are we going?”
“Sweetness, your mom was a cunt for a lot of reasons, but that one there, she fucking deprived you of a childhood memory. I’m going to rectify that for you.”
Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to what looked like a dive of a diner. I noticed the MC’s logo in the window and glanced back at Breakneck, as if to ask the question on the tip of my tongue.
“One of the old ladies in the club owns the place. She makes the best fucking mac-n-cheese I’ve ever put in my mouth. We’re going to get some good, downhome cooking. It’s guaranteed to put those luscious curves back on your body and leave you feeling completely satisfied.”
“Whatever you say, big guy.”
“Stay right here,” he insisted as he threw the truck in park and got out to walk around to my door. He opened it and then reached in, unfastened my seatbelt, and lifted me out of the cab of the truck as if I were helpless to do any of that myself. While a part of me wanted to cry out for feminism’s sake, the other ninety percent secretly swooned at a man taking charge and caring for me.
I’d always thought my parents were in love, at least when I was younger, but it was only now settling in that they never touched like this. My father would open doors and be politely chivalrous with my mother but there was never an overt display of affection as he did those things. My mother could have been anyone else in the world, and he would have behaved in the same way because that was what his manners dictated.
Instead of doing the thing I watched girls at school do, I didn’t argue over his behavior. I soaked it in before he allowed my body to slide gently down his own until my feet touched the ground. I simply whispered, “Thank you,” and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek.
“Next time you want to thank me with your lips, make sure your aim is a little better,” he teased. Breakneck gripped my hand in his, so he could lead me into the diner. My heart was beating faster with each step we took toward our first date. I wondered briefly if he would freak out to know that it was my first official date ever. I’d gone out with people in a friend group situation before, but even before my mom blew up our lives, I was never a social butterfly.
Since the place was just a run-of-the-mill diner, there was no need for us to wait and be seated by a hostess. Breakneck took me to a booth in the corner, away from all the other patrons, and made sure I was comfortable before he slid in beside me so that both of our backs were to the rest of the room. There was no way to politely ask why he hadn’t seated himself across from me since no one else was there, so I let it go. Right up until it became incredibly obvious that he couldn’t sit still with his back to the crowd.
“Do you want to move?” I asked.
“What? No. Why?”
“Because you keep shifting and watching the reflections in the window or turning to glare around the room like everyone in it personally offended you. If you need your back to the wall, you can sit on the other side.”
He nodded his head in agreement and stood. Part of me was thankful that I’d have the side of the booth to spread out a little more once the food arrived. That thought was quickly dispelled as Breakneck reached into the booth, took hold of my arm, and pulled me out, so that he could then gently shove me into the other side.
I couldn’t help my reaction any more than he could stifle his need to be where he could see the room. I laughed. The whole scene was absolutely ridiculous and bystanders whose attention we no doubt caught had to think so as well.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing at all. Where is our waitress?” I asked to deflect from my reaction. Breakneck glanced around again and then smiled at a plump brunette who was only an inch or two taller than my slightly less than average self. The woman made her way over to our table with a wide, welcoming smile on her face.
“You waitin’ for anyone to join you, Break?”
“Got the only person I want sittin’ beside me,” he answered.
“Well, well, well,” the woman called out as her eyes slid to mine and she took in as much as she could see of me. Her smile slipped a bit, but she didn’t say anything disparaging to or about me. I’d give her points for not being rude, but I’d honestly prefer to know why I flipped her happy switch so quickly.
“What’ll it be then?” She asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence fell over the three of us. She and Breakneck seemed to have been having a conversation with just their eyes and body language. I had no hope of understanding them, so I tuned them out and perused the menu. Most of the food listed were things my mother never allowed me to eat, which made me giddy with anticipation to try it all. Then I thought about the fact that I didn’t have money with me… Or at all really.
