this place. And all in all, he’s not bad looking. I’m just not interested.
When I sit, his eyes widen. He looks me up and down, smiling, then hands me his menu. “You sure clean up well.” He clears his throat and speaks loudly to be heard over the music. “The waitress stopped by. Special tonight is a mushroom swiss burger.”
My stomach growls. The granola bars from this morning feel a long way off.
“I’m Declan by the way,” he says when I don’t reply.
“Oh, right. I’m Brianna.” I give a little wave, then turn back to my menu.
The waitress appears a moment later and we both order.
“Are you sure you don’t want a beer?” Declan asks after the waitress saunters off.
“No, I’m fine with water.” I cross my arms on the table and scan the crowd again. “Pretty lively bunch for it only being early evening.”
Declan shrugs, and his gaze runs over me for the third time. “It’s a small town, and this place is known for being the hot spot on weekends. It can get pretty crazy at times.” He leans back in his chair and slings an arm around the chair back. He’s got full lips and an easy smile. Something about him reminds me of the countless jocks I went to high school with.
“Does that mean you grew up here?” I ask.
Our drinks appear in front of us when the waitress plops them down. I pick up my water and guzzle half of it. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was.
Declan drinks his beer almost as fast. Over the rim of his glass, his eyes keep straying to my breasts. “Yep. Born and bred. What about you? Where do you live? I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“You’re right. I don’t live here but instead in Quintin Valley, and I actually need to get back. Is there a car rental place around here?”
“Not here, but there’s one at the regional airport.”
I take another drink of the icy water. “How far is that?”
“About ten miles.”
“That’ll work. I better see if they have any cars available.”
He cocks his head and leans forward in his seat. “So how did you get here if you don’t have a car?”
“Hitchhiked.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Ballsy.”
If you only knew. I don’t comment further and instead pull out my phone to check for car rental agencies. Declan doesn’t seem to mind, though. As I’m scrolling, he launches into a monologue about himself. I hear all about him: where he works, what he does in his free time, how he spends his weekends.
As long as I comment occasionally or nod my head, he doesn’t seem to care that I’m multitasking. I don’t mind the monologue since it allows me time to figure out how the hell I’m going to get back home, but he’s getting a bit too familiar with his hands. Twice, he’s run a finger down my arm when he’s reached for his beer, and I’ve lost count of how many times he’s told my breasts his stories instead of me.
Note to self: don’t accept invites to sit with strange dudes next time you’re abducted and get free.
Declan gives me a cocky grin. “I scored more points than anyone. Nobody was surprised. I was always good in sports, especially—”
“Here ya go.” The waitress returns and places my plate of chicken fingers, fries, and coleslaw in front of me. Declan went with the burger special. “Ketchup? Another drink?” she asks.
“That would be great,” I reply, thankful for her appearance. Declan was in the midst of telling me—or rather my boobs—about the touch football game he played with his buddies last night and I was getting a bit sick of it.
Declan nods yes to both as well and grabs the ketchup bottle from the waitress before she can fully extract it from her apron. When he finishes squirting a large dollop on his plate, he sets it by his side instead of handing it to me.
I reach awkwardly for it, but the waitress slides it my way. She then grabs my drained water and Declan’s empty beer bottle. “I’ll be back with another beer and a refill on your water. Got everything you need?”
“Yes, thank you,” I reply.
Declan just keeps eating.
The waitress winks at me. “Sure thing, hun.” She’s probably in her fifties, and I wonder if she’s been working at this bar her entire life as she saunters off.
I grab a chicken finger off my plate and focus on my food. Declan’s eating with gusto but