just broken people looking for the thing that might fix us.”
I went to my window and leaned against the frame, looking out at the dimming sky, dressed in purples. Sometimes my dad said things that seemed to get stuck just under my ribs. We were all just broken people? Yes. Yes, we were. But trying to figure out how I was broken—let alone what could fix me—was hard enough without trying to figure out someone else’s brokenness.
♪♫♪
Date number two with Jonas. Technically it was our third date, but I didn’t count the first one—the one where I ran off in the middle. That wasn’t a date. That was a debacle.
He picked me up at my apartment. I watched his reaction to my small, slightly run-down home, but he barely looked at our surroundings and instead focused on me. It was nice, but also a little disconcerting.
I was unfamiliar with Roy’s Taphouse, so when I got out of the car to the sound of twangy country music floating from the cabin-style structure, I couldn’t help but tease him. “You didn’t tell me you’re a country boy.”
“It’s fun to dance to,” he defended as he rounded the car and settled a hand on my lower back. “The loud, thumping, club music with the thrashing around doesn’t really do it for me.”
“Whatever you say, Jim Bob.”
“Come on. I’ll have you converted to my country music ways by the end of the night.”
We showed our IDs at the door and found a table. The band was decent and not overly twangy.
“You okay if we order and then dance a few songs while we wait for our food?” Jonas asked.
“Sure.” I loved that he had a suggestion instead of trying to get me to decide on a course of action.
We looked over the menu and flagged down a server as soon as possible. Once the server left, Jonas took my hand and led me through the milling crowd to the dance floor, which only had a few couples on it. Most people seemed content to sit back and relax while they ate and listened to the music.
He pulled me in to him, swaying as he moved us over the dance floor. There was an easiness to being in his arms, while at the same time my body hummed with energy and I felt it every time our bodies brushed together. Jonas was a good dancer. Easy to follow. Every once in a while he’d turn me or dip me. On one of the fast songs we ended up tripping over each other and had to catch our breath from the laughter before we could keep going.
We got through three songs before we saw our food arriving at our table. He took my hand and the buzz of attraction went from my palm, up my arm and across my shoulders, making me shiver. I slid into my seat, grabbing for my water as he chugged his soda. I wondered if he was usually a beer drinker and was just avoiding it because of the stories I’d told him about Sean.
He picked up his burger and was halfway through it by the time I finished one bite of mine. It made me smile, the way he went about eating in such a single-minded fashion. Maybe it should have bugged me, but it felt authentic and comfortable instead of rude.
I was watching him, pressing my lips against a grin when he looked up and froze mid-chew. Then he sat up and wiped at his mouth with a napkin, looking slightly abashed. He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Sorry. Old habits.”
My head tilted. “Old habits?”
“Yeah. I grew up with four brothers. My parents had us all one right after the other. Some of us aren’t even two years apart. Trying to feed five growing boys is not for the faint of heart, just ask my mother. And being in the military taught me to eat when the eating was good.” He smiled but then looked sheepish. “Still, my mother would be mortified by my manners right now.”
“I can’t blame you,” I said, wanting to ease his discomfort as I watched his neck redden. “It is a really good burger.” I shoved a huge bite into my mouth to emphasize my point.
He smiled and popped his last bite into his mouth before starting on his fries.
After getting that huge bite down, I ate the rest of my food more slowly, watching the other patrons and fingering the chain of my