AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Great. Let’s go.” He stands and I do too. Trace tries to lead me to the door, but I make sure I grab my things first. He is dropping me off afterward. I need to go over my homework and I can’t do that if I stay here with him again.
I tell him where to go for the best fried pickles in town, and he drives there. A to-do list begins to form in my head once we’re in the restaurant and sitting at the bar. There’s so much to do and not enough time to do it in. There probably would be if I didn’t have to have panic attack-induced breaks. Trace’s fingers intertwine with mine on the bar top, causing me to glance over at him.
“I can hear you thinking from over here,” he says with a wry smile.
“You’re not that far away,” I point out, making him laugh. His laugh steals my breath away. For the briefest of moments, all is right in our worlds.
“Tell me where in the world is your top place to visit.”
I smile. He’s trying to distract me from whatever I’m thinking. “Las Vegas.”
Trace’s eyebrows might as well be taking a trip to outer space. “Seriously?”
“I know, right? Seems like it would be the anxiety epicenter of the world, and I think that’s part of why I want to go. It’s crowded and crazy. If I could survive a trip there, I could survive going anywhere else in the world. Where would you want to go?”
“Italy. My foreign language classes were Italian. We learned about the culture some, and I’d love to go there.”
“You speak Italian?” Wow. I didn’t know that.
Trace chuckles. “I spoke Italian. It’s been so long since then that I only remember a few of the basics.”
The waitress drops off our fried pickles. I push them toward Trace, so he can have one first. These are seriously the best fried pickles I’ve ever had. He pops one into his mouth. His eyes close and a low groan comes from his throat.
“Told ya,” I say before eating one myself after dipping it in ranch.
“These are amazing.”
“It’s all in the breading, I think. It definitely makes a difference.” My phone begins to vibrate in my purse, and I pull it out to see a call from my mother. “I better answer; she worries when I don’t. I’m going to step outside.” Trace nods and I hop off the bar stool. “Hey, Mom,” I answer.
“How’s it going?”
“Fine. I can’t talk too long, though.” It’s way too cold out here, especially when I have a hot guy inside waiting for me.
“Oh, sorry, Brittany,” she says. “Are you busy?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of? What are you doing?”
“I’m out…with a friend.”
“A friend?” Oops. Being vague is not the way to go with my mother, it seems. I can just picture my mom sitting up straighter and waving over my father. “What kind of friend?” Yep. Totally on speaker phone. Her voice always sounds a little different.
“A guy friend.”
“Please tell me it isn’t what’s his name from last year
,” Dad says. He only knows about what’s his name because I told Mom about him. It barely lasted a month.
“No, Dad,” I sigh. “You’d actually like this guy.” Well, he liked him when he was my therapist.
“Ooh. Do tell,” Mom says with excitement.
“You’re making me be a bad date, Mom. I only answered so you wouldn’t worry. Call me tomorrow, okay?”
“Oh, all right. Enjoy your date!”
“Thanks,” I laugh. “Bye, love y’all.” I’m finally able to rush back into the warmth. Trace is smiling when I sit next to him. “What’s with the smile?” I ask as I rub my hands together to heat them up.
