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“I like hiking. I got away from it for a while, but I’ve started enjoying it again. We didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up, so my younger sister and I made our own fun. There was a creek near our house, and we would go hang out down there. On weekends, we went fishing with my dad.” She smiled at the memories.
“I like hiking too,” Montez said, sounding surprised. “You ever go up to Kennesaw?”
“All the time. This is getting scary. We’re too much alike.”
“Scary good,” he said with an engaging smile.
As they continued to chat, she learned he had five siblings and also played golf. She mentioned her love for photography and showed him the photos she’d taken on her last hike.
Soon, the food arrived.
“Careful, it’s hot,” the server warned.
“This looks good,” Desiree said.
“Can I bring you anything else?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Montez looked at Desiree.
“I’m fine too,” she replied. When they were alone again, she took stock of the large platter of jalapeno poppers and the huge catfish filet. “I’m going to try the poppers first. They better be good.”
“I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
He waited while she picked one up and bit into it. It was filled with cream cheese blanketed by a crispy breadcrumb topping. The flavors of chives and garlic burst on her tongue with a little bit of heat.
Placing her fingers over her mouth, she said, “Oh my goodness, this is so good.”
“Told you.” Montez chuckled, picking up a popper.
“You have good taste.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said in a slow, low voice.
She didn’t miss the double meaning in that statement.
Taking another bite, Desiree mused on the direction of the evening. She’d only planned to get something to eat, but she might end up leaving with more than a full belly.
3
Desiree was almost finished with her meal, and they’d spent most of the time asking each other questions and chatting about all kinds of topics, like their favorite television shows and the fact they both sometimes worked harder than they should and forgot to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
They had quite a few similarities, but there were differences too. She mentioned a couple of times that her family wasn’t well-off, but Montez had grown up with parents who had good-paying jobs and eventually started a successful business together.
“When was the last time you went golfing?” she asked.
“Last week. I have a membership at the Stone Mountain Golf Club.” He picked a fried okra off her plate. She’d offered him some earlier, and eating off her plate didn’t seem odd or unnatural, as if he’d done the same thing dozens of times before.
“Must be nice. It’s an expensive hobby.”
“Yeah, but it’s worth it. I like to get out on the links with my father or my friends.”
“One of these days, I’m going to take lessons. Until then, I’ll stick to hiking and photography.”
“What do you do with the photos you take?”
“Most of the time, I keep them for myself. I have a couple of blown-up shots that are hanging on my wall, but I’ve sold some too—to magazines and blogs.”
“That’s damn cool,” Montez said, impressed.
