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She laughed lightly as her kind eyes scanned over the large menu.
When the waiter came back with a wine bottle full of water, he asked, “Any appetizers for the table?”
I cleared my throat and spoke up. “Yes. We’ll take the beef carpaccio.”
Josie’s eyebrows popped up. She must’ve been impressed.
As soon as the waiter disappeared, she whispered, “I’m surprised by that choice.”
“Really?” I shrugged and went back to scanning the menu. To be honest, it was like trying to read a foreign language. I was trying hard to read the ingredients to piece together what they fucking meant. Was there some kind of rule about making food sound complex at pricey restaurants? Like, the fuck? I wanted chicken parmesan. How hard was that to write on a menu?
When the appetizer arrived, I paused.
It looked like he handed us a plate of grass. Where the hell was the beef? I prodded around with my fork and lifted what looked like a piece of thin salami. “We got scammed, bro,” I muttered.
Josie burst out laughing, causing people around us to look, and I could feel my face flaming red. “I wondered if you knew you were ordering raw beef for us.”
“Bleh.” I quickly dropped the raw meat off my fork and swallowed hard. “You’re telling me I just wasted thirty bucks on this raw shit?”
Her eyebrows pulled together in pity. “You totally only ordered that because it had beef in the name, didn’t you, honey?”
I dipped my head, but a grin pulled at my lips, giving me away. I loved when she called me “honey.” She started laughing again.
“You can’t come at me like that, babe,” I said under my breath. “You know I can’t lie. Why’d you let me order it?”
“Honestly? I wanted to see your reaction,” she said, her eyes dancing in amusement.
“Wow,” I said dryly, leaning back in the uncomfortable chair. “Mean.”
Josie put her menu down on the table and brushed her hair behind her ears. “I know you really wanted to have this fancy date night, and I really appreciate it, but we don’thaveto stay here if we don’t like it, ya know?” She scrunched her nose as she looked around us. “It’s not really our scene.” She leaned forward to whisper, “And is it just me, or does it feel really weird to be at dinner without Stevie?”
I forced out a tight chuckle and pulled at the collar of my shirt. It did feel weird. But this was supposed to be our proposal dinner. The waiter had my ring back there and was going to put it in her wine glass… But the more I thought about it, the more I knew she was right. This wasn’t us. Like at all. We were more take-out food in front of the tv vibe with Stevie sitting between us.
“Yeah, let’s–”
The rest of my sentence died because ice cold water was drenched on me out of nowhere.
I sat perfectly still, shocked.
The teenage waitress gasped at the sight of her tray and about fifteen empty water glasses shattered on the ground at my feet.
I shook my now slightly damp hair out and cringed.
Josie burst out in laughter again.
“I’m so,sosorry, sir,” the girl whispered, holding a damp towel out to me.
The poor girl looked like she was about to burst into tears.
“It’s my first day,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I sucked in a deep breath, struggling hard to keep a straight face because Josie was laughing so hard.
“You’re good. It was my fault,” I told the girl, brushing ice cubes off my lap. “You’ll tell everyone that?” I said with a firm nod, trying to convince her.
Her throat bobbed with a swallow. “Thank you so much,” she whispered before swiftly walking away.
I shook my head as Josie continued laughing her ass off, fanning her face so she wouldn’t cry and ruin her makeup.
