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“Two house beers,” Max told her. “And two waters.” He looked at me and winked.
After she walked away, he turned back to me fully. “Have you ever eaten here?”
“Nope,” I responded, leaning forward onto the table. Max leaned in too, and our faces were only a few inches apart.
“They have the best shrimp on the island, in my opinion. And their house beer is the best I’ve ever had.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m excited to try it.” The waitress came back with our drinks and took both of our orders. I hadn’t even had a chance to open my menu yet, but Max seemed to know this place like the back of his hand. He ordered me a shrimp and steak plate, and I asked for asparagus and rice pilaf as the sides. He ordered the same for himself, but with fries and broccoli.
“So you work in accounting like Landon? Do you two work together?” Max asked, taking a sip of his beer. I did the same before responding, smiling at the taste. He was right, it was pretty good.
“We work for the same company, but in different departments. He’s in auditing for all of the subsidiaries of the company, and I work for the legal side of the company in forensic accounting.”
“Forensic?” He asked, clear that he wasn’t in business or finance.
“Basically, I investigate fraudulent reports, unethical spending, or illegal practice. Our company is nationwide, so I work on more cases than one would expect. We have a team of attorneys that I work with to resolve issues.”
“I didn’t even know that was a thing, but that makes sense. I bet that’s very interesting,” he said enthusiastically.
“What do you do?” I asked.
“I’m the food and golf manager at the Dolphin Resort. I’ve worked there since I was in high school and worked my way up.” He leaned back in his chair, and I watched his chest as it stretched. It was impressive and spoke to his character that he’d worked for the resort for so long and had climbed the ladder.
“What do you do for fun?” I asked, hoping that we’d have overlapping interests.
“I go to the gym. A lot. And I love football and baseball, so I go to a lot of games. Honestly, that’s pretty much it outside of work.”
I nodded, taking another sip of my beer. “Do you like hiking? Surfing?”
“Nah. I’d rather just go to the gym and catch a pump.” He shrugged like that wasn’t the worst answer ever. I loved hiking and went regularly. I was no surfer, but I did enjoy spending time at the beach.
“Favorite book?” I asked, knowing that the answer could tell me a lot about him. Landon wasn’t a huge reader, but I’d convinced him to read a few of my favorite fantasies and he’d loved them.
Max chuckled, leaning forward. “Haven’t read a single book since high school.”
I raised my brows. “Really? You’re missing out!” I said tightly, but I meant it very seriously.
“Kind of a waste of time. If they’re any good, they get made into movies, so I just watch those.” His answer nearly had my jaw dropping, but I held it together. As a book nerd, that was the worst thing anyone could ever say.
“So it’s really just the gym and sports?” I asked, trying to sound funny. I probably failed.
“Yeah, no need for much else.” He grinned, totally oblivious to how I felt about that answer. “Do you like football? I could take you to some of the games if you’d like.”
“I’m not really a fan of sports, to be honest.” It was my turn to shrug, and his eyes widened.
“Seriously? How could you not be a fan? They’re so fun to watch.” He was incredulous, and I guessed I couldn’t blame him.
“Just never really been my thing. I do enjoy motocross, though.” I’d grown up watching supercross and motocross, so naturally, I was still very interested in it. Landon also rode often, and I would go to the track with him occasionally. We’d watched every season of racing together since we met.
Max scoffed. “That’s not a real sport. No worries though, we’ll make you into a football fan.”
I ground my teeth together as I smiled and laughed with a clenched jaw. Did this man have no idea how offensive his words were? First of all, motocross was certainly a real sport that took a very high level of athleticism. Second of all, he would not be making me into a fan.
Our food came out, thankfully ending the conversation. I hoped that we would avoid topics like that for the rest of the night so that I could enjoy this date.
6
Landon
