AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brennon watched how Katy looked around at the restaurant's decor. Some serious money had obviously been dropped into the layout. Before she could go on anymore about how thrilled she was to be here, the waitress popped up with their bottle of wine. She poured a glass for each of them then asked if they needed more time to go over the menu. They did, asking the perky, freckled young lady to come back in a few minutes. Brennon and Katy opened their menus; he struggled to look over the menu because he was so consumed with admiring Katy’s beauty.
A few minutes passed quickly then the waitress came back around to take their order. When she zipped away, disappearing into the crowded restaurant, Brennon sipped his wine and looked across the table at Katy. “You really do look beautiful. And I’m not just saying that because that’s what a guy is supposed to say on a date. I really mean that...you do look beautiful.”
Katy’s eyelids fluttered. “Thank you. I have to admit I am so nervous.”
“Nervous?” Brennon’s forehead wrinkled up. “Why, Katy? Why are you nervous?”
“Because, I haven’t really been on too many dates,” Katy explained, shrugging her shoulders. “To be honest, at first I thought that wearing something like this might be a little too much or something.”
“Nah,” Brennon said, smiling. “Not to me it’s not.” He found it strange Katy mentioned not having been on many dates. While he was well aware of the romantic struggles some women could have at a young age, Katy sure didn’t seem to be one of them. “Really, don’t worry about that. So, I know we talked on the way down here, but what’s been new with you?”
“Well,” Katy said, gathering her thoughts. “More and more lately, I’ve been thinking about getting my own place.”
“Really?” Brennon asked. Even though he loved the Millers’ house, he still couldn’t imagine living with his parents through his late twenties. His mother squawked too much about any and everything; his father was too stern and somewhat controlling. “What has you thinking that now? Haven’t you lived with them since you graduated, right?”
“Right,” Katy said, nodding. “But, you know.” She sighed. “I’ve just been thinking a lot lately. At first I told myself I was just going to be staying with them so I could save money. Well, I’m saving and all that, but sometimes I wonder if it’s really worth it.”
“I see, I see.” Brennon liked that Katy was always thinking ahead. “Well, then, where do you think you would want to live? Do you think you’re ready to buy a house?”
“Yeah, I suppose,” Katy said. “But I think I would want to wait until I’m married or something like that before I buy a house. I think I want an apartment in the city.”
Brennon’s eyes bulged. “Huh? Are you serious, Katy?”
“Why, yes,” Katy said putting her hand on her chest. “Why do you say it like that?”
Brennon chuckled. He realized how his reaction must have come across. “Well, I mean, you just don’t seem like the kind of woman who would want to live in the city.”
“And why not?” Katy asked. She giggled, giving forth her best effort to come across as absolutely insulted.
“Well, I just didn’t think you all were ever city kind of people,” Brennon said. “But, I suppose. I didn’t even know you knew the city that well.”
“Well, I work down here,” Katy said. “The school is what? Maybe a couple miles away from here or something?”
“Yeah, Katy,” Brennon said. “But to work somewhere in which you drive in and out of the city is one thing. To live down here is another. Tell me about the neighborhoods you know.”
“Um, well,” Katy said, realizing she was being backed into a corner. “I know downtown.”
Brennon chuckled and sipped his wine. “You’re funny. Katy, everybody knows downtown. Are you going to live downtown?” He knew the answer to this question. Brennon remembered all too while surviving on a teacher’s salary. Back when he was teaching in elementary school, he couldn’t even afford to think about getting an apartment downtown. “Are you thinking about getti
ng an apartment down here?”
Katy groaned under her breath. “Well, no, but there are other areas of the city I may consider to live in.”
“Like where?” Brennon asked, smirking. He leaned forward. “Tell me about what other neighborhoods you would consider getting an apartment in, Katy. Huh?”
Katy squinted at Brennon then looked away, closing her eyes. “I would rather not say at the moment. I’m still contemplating some things and I don’t want to jinx myself.”
Brennon chuckled – a chuckle which slowly transformed into an outright laugh. “Okay, if you say so.”
Brennon and Katy sat across from one another as their conversation flourished. When their food arrived, they could hardly chew their forkfuls without trying to say something. Around 9:30, Brennon paid, left the tip, then walked Katy back out onto the sidewalk. They were both a bit taken aback by the busyness. The art gallerias buzzed with free-thinking souls; the boutique stores, mostly coming close to closing, did their last transactions. Music thumped from nearby bars while some watched various sports channels.
When they got back to Brennon’s car and he had helped Katy in, he started the engine then looked over at her. “Are you in a rush to get back home?”
Katy looked over at Brennon as if he had asked a silly question. “Absolutely not.” She smiled then laughed. “Why, what do you have in mind?”
Brennon mentioned the idea of driving around the city for a little while so Katy could get the know what was outside of downtown. He laughed at how Katy pretended to know the neighborhoods already when she clearly didn’t.
Katy agreed then Brennon pulled off, zigzagging through the narrow streets of the tight-knit neighborhood then making his way out to a main road.
