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“Got it,” she replies sweetly with that smile that melts my heart. It’s no wonder she’s spoiled rotten. I’m helpless against those big brown doe eyes and that smile.
Mom smiles broadly at me. “She’s got quite the memory,” she says humorously.
“Yeah, it’s great. She doesn’t hear me when I’m in the kitchen and she’s watching TV in the next room, but the moment I mumble a curse word under my breath, she has the hearing of an owl.”
“All kids, honey. All kids have that. It’s called selective hearing, and you had it too when you were younger.”
The perky waitress brings out our usual two glasses of ice tea and a lidded cup of apple juice. “Good morning, Brielle. What are you going to draw today?”
“A zebra and an elephant!” Bri replies, scribbling pink frantically on the paper.
Jenna sets two menus on the table as she says, “That will be a fabulous picture.”
“You can have it when I’m done.” Scribble, scribble, scribble.
“I would love it. I’ll put it on my fridge next to the picture of the goat.”
Jenna winks at me. “I’ll let you look at the menu and be back in a flash to take your orders.”
“Mac and cheese!” Bri yells.
“Indoor voice, please. And we’ve already discussed this. Your choices are cheeseburger, chicken fingers, or spaghetti.”
“Sketty, please,” she answers without looking up from her masterpiece.
“You should ask her out,” Mom says. It takes me a moment to catch up and realize what she’s said.
“What? Who?” I lower my voice in an attempt to not be overheard by little ears.
“Jenna. She likes you.”
“She’s too young.”
“No such thing, honey.”
“Not true. There’s definitely a too young category, Mom. Especially for a man who just crossed into his thirties.”
“Fine, whatever. She’s probably mid-twenties, which is not too young for you.”
I consider her words for a few moments, but quickly toss them out. She’s cute, funny, friendly, and always pleasant to Bri, but even with all of those attributes on her side, I’m just not into her.
Fact of the matter, I’ve found myself into only one woman lately. I’ve spent six months fantasizing about someone who is as hot and cold as they come. Friends one moment and ripping each other’s clothes off the next. Truth is she’s the only woman to get my heart racing in a long damn time, if you know what I mean. And can I really call her a friend? It’s not like we hang out. Ever. It’s a weird situation, and one I’m not ready to dissect at the moment, especially with my Mom.
“She’s a sweet girl, but I’m just not interested.” Her brown eyes are focused on mine, assessing and reading me like a book.
“Fine. If not her, then who?”
Before I can reply, Jenna returns to take our orders. I order the spaghetti for Bri, a Ruben for myself, and Mom orders a turkey club. Since our conversation, I pay a little more attention to Jenna. Her smiles hold a little flirtation and her eyes linger a little longer than expected in casual conversation. My mind wanders to the possibilities a relationship with the friendly blond might entail, but the daydreams are brushed aside by the memory of a brunette with deep green eyes and a smart mouth. She monopolizes way too much of my thoughts and even more of my dreams.
Damn, is she front and center in those. And usually naked.
A few random nights with her did nothing to quench the desire sparked to life by her. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll ever be sated. Not after that first night, nor the few that followed. But rules are rules, even if I’m not the one to set them. There are certain relationships that are to be strictly platonic.
Ours is one of them.
Jenna leaves our table to take care of another. I relax in the booth, my arm extended across the backrest. We both watch Bri color for a few minutes before I initiate the topic of work.
“So, I’ve thought about what you said and I’ve decided to go.” I don’t have to refresh her memory because I’m positive she knows exactly what I’m referring to. It’s not like we have a lot of topics hanging open and unresolved.
