Her mouth opened, and with each blink of her eyelashes, he fell deeper into her spell.
“Ketchup?” she asked in a horrified tone. “You want ketchup for Mexican fish tacos?”
A flash of precognition jolted Arnie. It was this lovely, enchanting girl far in the future, giggling as he messed with her to get a reaction.
Heat shot up his spine and into his neck until it felt like he was on fire.
He tried to keep a straight face, but she was too adorable, and he cracked. “I’m just messing with you.”
She reacted with a delightful giggle. “And I can’t believe I fell for it.”
Arnie grinned. He noticed her name tag and took the opening. “Summer?”
She smiled and nodded.
He extended his hand. “Hi. I’m Arnie.”
Something happened when she slotted her smaller hand into his. A vibration tingled along his nerves. He couldn’t tell if she felt it too because her eyes shuttered, and she snatched her hand away.
“What is Arnie short for?”
“Have a drink with me when you get off, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” He gestured at his feet. “Even about the fugly shoes.”
“I don’t drink,” she stammered. He’d caught her in a lie. A tiny white lie that he supposed was second nature for a modern female who didn’t want to end up in a situation she couldn’t handle.
Interesting.
Brushing her cautious tendency aside, he teased, “How do you live? I mean, don’t we all need light, food, and water to survive?”
Her eyes shone with merriment. “Are you asking me to have water with you?”
His grin felt enormous. She was going to say yes! “Water, wine, chocolate milk, your choice.”
“Well, in that case, Arnie, I get off at nine. You can buy me a hot chai latte with extra whipped cream from Starbucks and tell me all about your questionable footwear and the origin of your name.”
He liked that she accepted, but at the same time, set out her parameters. Smart girl.
“I’m looking forward to it, Summer.”
She smiled, and for a long moment, they stared at each other. Then a customer called out, a family bustled past, and the setting of a busy restaurant during the dinner hours came into focus.
He did serious damage to the taco platter and agreed with the Yelp reviewers. The food was fantastic and so was the atmosphere. When Summer brought him the check tucked inside a fake leather folder, he didn’t look at the amount and quickly placed a hundred-dollar bill inside.
“I’ll be right back with your change,” she muttered when a passing busboy bumped her with a tray.
“Keep it.”
It didn’t require years of training to read her expression, and he knew right away she wasn’t having it.
Slapping the check holder open, she looked at one side, then the other, and finally at him. Her raised brows and the shade coming from her smoky eyes made his balls shrink.
“I’m no math whiz,” she bit out, “but I know how to calculate a tip. Twenty percent of a twenty-seven dollar and ninety-five cent dinner check is barely six dollars.”
The wedge of saliva he tried to swallow went down like a golf ball.
“I will be back with your change,” she announced in a terse voice.
Several F words flashed in his mind.
Flabbergasted.
Flummoxed.
Fucked, as in he’d better get his shit together.
Without waiting for him to react, she whirled around and stomped off in her cute, decorated sneakers. Her pissed-off body language was easy to read.
When she returned, her stomping let him know she wasn’t going to let this go. He smiled. The smile got bigger, the closer she got.
“Sixty-six dollars and change,” she snarled in a brittle tone.
Unable to stop himself, he tested her reaction. “How bad will the freak-out be if I leave a twenty on the table?”
Her answering smile was radiant, and for a second, he was happier than he’d ever been. Then she replied and wiped the grin from his face.
“No freak-out necessary. You’ll just be drinking alone later.”
“Ouch.” He had to smile. Her fire intrigued him.
“Young and stupid don’t always go together, Arnie.” Her smile vanished, and she lowered her voice. “Do you not see how problematic it is to ask for a meetup and then drop an exorbitant tip? Payment up front?”
What? He shook his head as an avalanche of panicked denials dropped onto his tongue. “Shit, Summer, no. No! Don’t say that. I’m sorry. Please don’t be upset with me.”
The young waitress had a fierce side and wasn’t afraid to unleash it in his direction.