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Elizabeth fished out her wallet as John asked for the check. She extended a twenty to the server.
“I got this.” John waved a hand at her and gave the server his credit card.
“You don’t need to pay for my dinner.” She tried again to give the server cash.
“You didn’t even drink. You’re a cheap date.” He sent the server away with a nod.
“This isn’t a date.”
“Dinner out and engaging conversation with a lovely lady. It’s the closest thing I’ve had to a date in over six months.”
Try over six years. Not that she disclosed that and risked having to explain. She pushed the money at him.
“Your dinner was like twelve bucks. Bring me over a plate of any dinner you fix, and we’ll call it even.”
“Fine.” She wasn’t going to make a scene by arguing. A trade kept things in the friend zone. Since there was no chance of things going anywhere, especially with him living at The Oasis before moving out of state, friends is all it could be between them. Besides, he was looking for someone who was relationship material. Even if she couldn’t deny her attraction to a guy that looked like John and had a heart as big as his, thanks to her ex, her brain shut down her body’s instinctive response within seconds at the thought of intimacy.
ChapterTwenty
MISS ME MORE – Kelsea Ballerini
When J.R.and Ariana headed to the front door, John took one last bite of dessert. “Time to move out.” He slipped from the booth. Elizabeth followed. “Hold up.” He halted at the entrance and peeked through the glass in the door.
“We’re flat-out spying on them now?” Elizabeth asked.
“I prefer to call it covert surveillance, but yeah. I’m worried she might go somewhere else with him, where anything could happen. Based on her crossed arms, though, I’d say she’s holding her ground on something.”
When Elizabeth leaned in to get a glimpse, her shoulder rested against his bicep. The contact and her honeysuckle scent distracted him until J.R. threw his hands up and out.
John startled and Elizabeth let out a gasp.
“She’s fine,” he assured Elizabeth. “I think he’s surrendering on something, and that’s good.”
When J.R. walked away without getting a hug or a kiss, John let out a breath.
“Please don’t follow him,” Elizabeth murmured under her breath, watching intently as Ariana got in her car.
“Let’s go,” John said as soon as J.R.’s car pulled out. Ariana got out of her car when she saw them exit.
“How are you?” Elizabeth asked.
“Still confused,” Ariana answered. “Things started off good. Then he recognized you.”
John shrugged. She should know he couldn’t exactly hide.
“I tried to play it off as coincidence, but he accused me of not trusting him. I told him that I don’t after what happened.”
“Good for you,” Elizabeth said.
“He kept swearing it wouldn’t happen again and talking about second chances.” She sighed. “He tried to get me to come back to his place to talk more, but I said I wasn’t comfortable with that. I also passed when he suggested going to a movie. I did agree to unblock him so he can text and call me,” she said in an apologetic way.
John had to admit the guy was persistent.
“The only thing I’ve got to say is make good choices. We’re here for you. Whatever you need.” Elizabeth voiced John’s same sentiments.
“Did he mention dropping the charges?” John asked.
“Not directly. Though he brought up that one of his supervisors is leaving and he might get a promotion at work if ‘things work out’—like he was hinting about that.”
