I get you to drink in the meantime?” She flashes her bright teeth, and I can’t help but return the smile. She’s quite the stunner with her golden-brown locks and bright blue eyes.
“Do you still do those cocktail deals till eight o’clock?” Jessie’s asks, excitement in her eyes.
“We sure do. You have about thirty minutes left, so I would order two of each now if I were you.” She giggles, and we all laugh with her.
“Well then, I think I’ll have two sex on the beaches, and Ana here, I think she should have two painkillers.”
I look over to Jessie with a fake frown. “I don’t think they give out medication at restaurants, Jessie,” I joke.
With a serous expression, she cocks her eyebrow. “I think they’ll be just the ticket for you.”
I can’t argue with that.
“What about you, Michael?” Jessie tilts her head, awaiting his answer.
He puts both hands up in the air. “Hey, I know I’m surrounded by estrogen, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be sipping cocktails and shaving my legs anytime soon. I’ll have a Bud please, Sandy.” He gives her his best winning smile, and I think I almost see her swoon. I’m hardly surprised by this. Michael’s an incredibly attractive man, and if Jake wasn’t in the picture, he could certainly make great boyfriend material. The only problem is he isn’t Jake. That thought sends a knife deep into my stomach again. I know I need to eat, but the pain makes it hard for me to even contemplate putting food anywhere near my mouth. Jake would have a fit if he knew just how little I’ve been eating the last three days.
I inwardly sigh, giving myself a mental kick. I can’t keep thinking of Jake, comparing everything and everyone to him. It’s just not healthy.
Sandy makes her way to the bar with her order and Jessie makes her excuses to use the restroom, leaving Michael and I behind. We stare at our menus for a few moments. I’m trying to figure out what I can order that won’t be too much for me to eat. I come across a kid’s menu and decide to order the Dino’s Classic Burger in hopes that the portion won’t be too big.
I look up, decision made, and spot Michael still frowning over his menu. I give him a little while to browse over it, waiting to speak until he puts his menu down. “So how’s life treating you? Got anything happening? Any special someone that you want to tell me about?” I ask teasingly.
He shakes his head. “No, not really. As you know, I sometimes work long hours, and that can make it difficult to hold down a relationship.”
I nod my head, knowing exactly what he means. “You originally lived in New York, right? What made you move to Virginia?” There wasn’t much I knew about Michael and thought it was about time I set out to change that. Especially considering how kind he’s been to me ever since that Tony business.
“I was born and raised in Brooklyn, but my parents never really wanted to bring a child up there. My dad’s mad about cars. He’s a mechanic and loves to tinker with all sorts of machinery. My uncle Bob owns a garage up in Richmond and offered him a job there. I was about nine years old when we moved. My parents said it was the best decision they made. He’s now a partner with his brother, and to tell you the truth, hanging around there was what got me in to law enforcement.”
Tilting my head to one side, I frown. “Really, how so?”
“Well, I used to spend a lot of time in the garage. I think my dad really wanted me to become him when I was older, take over the family business, you know … keep it alive. I like cars—don’t get me wrong—and thanks to my dad I know my way around a vehicle if something goes wrong, but the local police used to bring their cars into Bob’s. They trusted him, and his garage was extremely reputable. I remember being this nine-year-old boy looking up to these big, huge looking cops thinking how cool they were, and I wanted to be just like them one day.”
I stop for a moment to think how cute a story that is. I can just see a little version of Michael standing in awe of the big police officers.