“It’s really good to meet you. I’m Trevor,” he introduced himself.
I moved toward the table, hesitating at his open arms. Oh, I was supposed to give him a hug.
God, am I really so rusty at this dating thing?
Gina’s intent for Josh to prep me for date number one already was failing me as I gently patted his back and stepped away.
He waved toward the table, half taking out my seat.
Huh, a gentleman?
For some reason, I hadn’t expected that.
Maybe this blind-date nonsense that Gina had in mind wasn’t such an awful idea after all.
“I’m Brielle.”
“Good, or else I just hugged the wrong person.”
He laughed, and I tried to give a laugh as well, though it came out a little forced. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice the extra effort.
Count that as a win.
“How are you?” He asked.
“I’m doing pretty good,” I said. “How are you?”
“Doing just fine. I was kind of questioning this—I’m not going to lie. I only ever hear about blind-date horror stories.”
“You aren’t the only one. It’s nice to meet you though.”
“Likewise. Have you been here before?”’
“Nope. I just moved in, sort of, a few months ago. I’m still recouping some moving costs, along with exploring everywhere.”
“It’s great here. I really like their pasta dishes. Their cacio e pepe is solid.”
“I love pasta anything,” I said, glancing down at the menu in front of me. “You have good taste in carbs.”
Not to mention, I was starving. I hadn’t eaten all day, both from nerves and trying to keep myself working on my computer to distract myself from how I hadn’t picked up groceries for the coming week yet.
He winked. “I aim to please my dates.”
“You’ve brought other dates here?” I lifted my eyes away from the menu, though I knew what I was getting based on his recommendation alone, if my stomach would stop buzzing like it was full of bees. Was it normal to be this nervous?
“Oh, yeah. I mean, the food is amazing, and it’s not too overwhelming. I guess that’s kind of bad on my part, huh?”
I shook my head. “No. If the food is that good, definitely not. And if you have a spot you’re comfortable with, I don’t blame you.”
He chuckled, reaching to rub the back of his neck. “Glad I didn’t just strike myself out there within the first ten minutes.”
“All good. Definitely not.”
Man, was warm in here?
I shrugged my coat from my shoulders.
Trevor gave a low whistle, just loud enough for me to hear. Still, I glanced either way to see if anyone else was looking. My cheeks heated.
