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She returned it as she handed him a lemonade.
I pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of my wallet. “Don’t let him talk you into anything you don’t want to do.”
“I like pizza,” she said as she took the money and made change for me.
I dumped it into the tip jar. Maybe a little over the top throwing so much in, but knowing how hard she worked and then cared for other women made it a no-brainer. “If I’d have asked, what would you have said?”
There was a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Guess we’ll never know.”
“Damn. Now I’ll have to include him for all of our dates. That’s going to really inflate his ego.”
“Allour dates, huh? Imagine what it would do to yours if I said yes when you ask.” She leaned on her forearms, disappointment filling her blue depths when she glanced behind me.
I looked over my shoulder. Another customer approached.
“I love the cakes,” I said, finding it hard to move away from the window.
She blushed. “I loved your tie.”
I resisted the urge to fist pump. “See you around, Bright Side.”
“You’ve got no game, son,”Dad said before my ass hit the bench.
I stared at him. “First of all, how do you even know what game is?”
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” he fired back as though I’d given him a pop culture quiz.
“Where the hell did you hear that?”
“I picked it up here or there.” He waved his hand around dismissively.
“Have you been spending a lot of time on the internet again?”
“Psh. Why do that when I can be out here actually living?” This earned me anI should know betterlook.
I blinked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “What do youdoall day?”
“Hang with your old man and you’ll find out.” He dug his fork into the food. “What is this stuff? She’s served it to me a few times. I like it.”
“Quinoa. I think.” I tried it for myself, tasting a hint of garlic and pine nut.
“Did I never teach you how to ask a woman out?” Dad asked after swallowing a bite of the bacon-wrapped shrimp.
“I don’t remember,” I said, exasperated.
“It’s never too late to learn.” He set his fork down in the cardboard box, then angled his body toward mine. “Some women you just need to come right out and ask. Others need to be finessed.”
“And you know how to figure out who is who?” I asked, not bothering to hide my skepticism.
“I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years.” The smugness in his tone had me biting back a laugh. I shoved food in my mouth as insurance. “It’s not that hard once you get a little practice.”
“I doubt very many women would appreciate me asking them out just for practice.”
“I didn’t mean to go around testing it out. But when’s the last time you asked a lady for a date?” Dad’s stare was pointed, and he nodded his head once. “That’s what I thought.”
“I don’t have time.”
“We make time for the things we really want,” he said.
