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“Sure thang, and for you, doll?” she asked, turning to me.
“The Elvis special.”
She grinned before nodding. “Perfect. I’ll get those in for you.” She walked off, and I realized she hadn’t written it down.
“It always amazes me when people can remember things like that without making mistakes. I’d be a horrible waitress,” I mused.
“Me too. I tried one summer, and I ended up being demoted to the dishwasher because I was so bad. They’d hoped my good looks and smile would bring in the customers, but I made more mistakes than I didn’t. It was a disaster. Slade was happy he was finally better at something than me.”
“I’m glad you guys seem to have made up.”
“Yeah, me too.”
We talked for a while about his trip, what he liked about Nashville, and what he planned to do next. Zane was still working part-time at the clinic, but he thought it was time to move on.
“What would you want to do if you weren’t working there?”
“I have no clue. I stayed because it was easy, but I’m wondering if maybe there’s something else out there waiting for me.”
Sadness filled me at the possibility of him leaving. “Well, I’ll miss you.”
Zane smiled, tucking a piece of hair back. “Don’t you get it, Lennox? I’m not going anywhere without you. I’m just not tied down to the job anymore.”
“Oh.” My cheeks heated at the implications of his statement.
Our food arrived, and it looked delicious, and I dug in, unable to stop myself. Zane turned his nose up at my food, but I didn’t care. It was marvelous.
“Gross, how do you eat that?”
“Easy. You take a fork, you spear a piece of yummy goodness, and then you put it in your mouth.”
“Ha, ha, smart ass. I mean, how do you eat that combination together?”
“It’s wonderful. You should try it before you just assume it’s horrible, food snob.” Spearing him a banana pancake drizzled with peanut butter and chocolate chips, I held it out for him to try. Zane’s nose turned up, but he took a teeny bit, and I watched as he chewed. His eyes widened in surprise, and he grabbed my fork, shoving the rest of it into his mouth.
Laughing, I pulled it back, not wanting to share anymore. “Nope, the rest are mine. It’s not my fault you were too good for them earlier.” He pouted, but I was strong against its power and resisted giving in. Food was a commodity I wouldn’t share if I didn’t have to.
Once we finished eating, he paid the bill, smirking at me as I tried to hand him some money, only taking it to leave as a tip when we left. I waved at the waitress as we exited out onto the busier streets. We were almost back to the apartment when Slade called. Slowing, I answered, not letting go of Zane’s hand.
“Hey you, everything okay?”
“Peach, where are you?”
“Um, I’m outside. We just finished eating at the Pancake Palace and are headed up to take a shower. Why?”
As the words left my mouth, we came around the corner, and I spotted my car in the back alley parking lot. I almost didn’t hear what Slade said as I gaped at the sight in front of me.
“Peach?Peach?”
“Yeah, I’m here. What did you say?”
Zane and I had stopped, and he looked at me in concern as he glanced back and forth between me and the once pristine car.
“I said whatever you do, don’t go back to the apartment. Somehow…heknows things, Peach,” he paused, his voice soft and worried. “The message, it wasn’t for me… it was foryou.”
“What did it say?” my voice shook as I asked, tears starting to spring to my eyes.
“It says, ‘I tried to warn you, princess, but you didn’t listen. You sullied yourself with them, demeaning your pure nature, and falling into the traps of those vile books you read. Now I have to show you why—’ But it ends there, mid-sentence.”
