AllFreeNovel
Share Us
God, I hope not.
Under the red, yellow and green paper lantern lights near the door, I spot my mystery man. He stands under the canopy and checks every person that passes. His hands jammed into his front pockets as he rocks slowly from heel to toe. He flicks his wrist and checks his watch.
There are still another five minutes before we said we’d meet, but seeing him like this—nervous and antsy—is a breath of fresh air. Because it isn’t just me who questions tonight and our non-date. He does too.
I step out of the shadows and he spots me. The right corner of his mouth kicks up and I stop breathing for one, two, three erratic heartbeats. The second my lungs remember how to work again, I do my best to disguise the subtle gasps.
“Sorry to make you wait.”
I toy with the hem of my shirt for a beat but stop when his eyes follow the action. He flashes me a full-on smile and it whacks me in the chest, half an inch to the left of my breastbone.
No romance. Just fun. No romance. Just fun.
“I haven’t been here long. Hungry?”
For you or Mexican food?That is what I want to ask.
Instead, I keep my lips pressed together and nod. We need to order food and drinks now. Something to occupy my mouth. Something to stop me from blurting out the wrong thing—which will, without a doubt, happen before the end of the evening.
“Starved.”
He gestures for me to walk ahead. As we enter the cantina, I feel the weight of countless stares on my face. Heat crawls up my neck and blooms on my cheeks. Hesitantly, I lift my gaze and scan the restaurant. Relief washes over me when I discover no one paying us any attention.
Thank goodness.
The host leads us to a booth near the windows and hands us menus. A tall glass-jarred candle burns at the heart of the table. Music plays loud enough in the background to hear but is often drowned out by the chatter and laughter of the other diners. The scent of fresh-made tortillas, grilled peppers and onions, chili powder, and cinnamon floats through the air and makes my mouth water.
If I wasn’t hungry for food minutes ago, I am now.
The host tells us the server will be with us soon then walks off. Before Mystery Man picks up his menu and gets lost in the mile-long list of deliciousness, I have a question. One I feel ridiculous asking, but need to.
I slap a hand over his menu and pin it to the table. “What’s your name?” I fire out the question. His name will still be Mystery Man in my head, but I shouldn’t say that aloud. At least not in public.
His eyes hold mine as he reaches up and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Then, out of nowhere, he laughs. I watch him a moment, unsure if he is laughing atmeor the fact we still don’t know each other’s names. Well, he kind of knows my name. I decide it must be the latter and join his laughter.
Because it is funny as hell to ask a man who has known you intimately what his name is. A man who asked you to dinner—not as a date, but for work—and you accepted… without knowing his name.
His laughter fades and he gives me another lopsided smile. The one that steals more than one of my breaths.
Is it odd my first thought is he can have all my breaths? Yes. Yes, it is.
“Braydon.” I narrow my eyes at him. “My name. It’s Braydon.”
Oh, right.Jesus, Lessa, get your shit together.“Braydon is so much nicer than Mystery Man.” I mentally slap myself for sharing something I swore I’d keep secret.
“Mystery Man?”
I nod and decide to go with the punches. “Yep. What else was I supposed to call you?”
He lifts a hand and grips his chin. “Hmm. I kind of dig Mystery Man. Makes me sound like a superhero or something.”
“Or something,” I tease.
“At least Mystery Man sounds better than the vague name I had for you. That is before I learned your name.”
“Oh, yeah? And what’s that?”
His cheeks redden beneath his glasses and I love his sudden embarrassment.Is it really that bad?
