“Black, please.”
Avery nodded and quickly walked away.
Oh, fuck, look at his ass in those tight jeans. The swish of his hips when he walks…
“Oh, shit,” I muttered under my breath. How inappropriate would it be to just hop this little counter, snatch him up, and carry him into a back closet? Would that be coming on too strong?
I took a quick glance around and adjusted myself under the counter before forcing my gaze from Avery’s backside to the menu in front of me. My head was spinning from the experience of speaking to him, and I was having a hard time focusing on anything except my subconscious filling in all the blank spaces in every fantasy I’d had about the guy in the last three-plus years.
(Not to mention the way he had smiled and turned away bashfully when we had locked eyes.)
He didn’t… there’s no way he recognized me, right? Did he feel the same thing I felt when he first spoke? Did he just know, like I had?
By the time Avery walked back to the end of the counter, I could feel myself starting to sweat. He set the mug down in front of me. “Know what you’d like to eat, or do you still need a few minutes?”
Why was his voice so smooth? Mine was deep and on the raspy side. His voice was light and melodic; fluidwith the way he connected his words.
“Um,” I chuckled nervously. “I’m not sure. I’ve never been here before; what would you recommend?”
Avery slouched down to rest his elbows on the counter as he hovered over the other side of the menu. “The chicken salad is really good,” he said, pointing to it on the menu.
I fucking hated chicken salad, but I was about to order it when he spoke again. “Or, you know, the burgers are wonderful. Darrell is here today, and he’s always great on the grill.”
“Sounds great, I’ll take a burger,” I answered too quickly. “Just a plain one, please.”
Avery smiled. “How do you want it cooked?”
The fuck?
“To completion?”
He laughed (a beautiful sound). “Well done it is.”
I got to watch him walk away again and immediately started thinking about how I should introduce myself. I didn’t want to freak him out, and now I was definitely second-guessing just showing up unannounced. I didn’t want him to think I was stalking him.
I pulled my phone out and began to thumb through it so it wouldn’t be so obvious that I was watching Avery’s every move as he took care of tables, refilleddrinks, and rang orders into the computer. He seemed really friendly with his co-worker, the girl wearing all the makeup and the bandana. They seemed to joke back and forth frequently. I couldn't hear most of what they were saying at the other end of the bar, but it seemed like they were having fun. He hadn’t really mentioned much about his co-workers in his letters. God. I wanted to know everything about him.
After about 10 minutes, Avery came back over and set a bottle of ketchup and mustard down along with a napkin and cutlery.
“Food should be coming out any second now. More coffee?”
“Actually, if I could just get a glass of water, that would be great.”
“Sure.”
The rest of my meal was uneventful. Avery stayed away as I ate, tending to the few remaining tables and going back and forth from the kitchen. He had been right—the burger was delicious, and I ate it fast enough to upset my stomach. I wasn’t used to that much food in a single sitting just yet, still being accustomed to the meager prison diet.
“How was everything?”
I smiled as Avery picked up my empty plate. “It was great! I probably ate too much.”
“It’s a big burger,” Avery nodded. “I imagine that means you don’t want a slice of pie or anything?”
God, no. I couldn’t eat another bite…
“Do you have apple?”
He gave a thumbs-up and walked away.
