Take Three, Please by Anwen Stiles Page A

my, she thought. He had the fullest
lips. And the biggest, sparkliest brown eyes. Knock it off, she told herself.
    “I’ll have Cecile send over your check. Thanks, fellas,” she
said in a rush, eager to be away before she made an ass of herself.
    “Actually,” said Ethan, “Mark and I are headed to pay up at
the counter. Brandon has a little something he wants to talk to you about.”
    The implication of what he said surprised her enough that
she stood there stupidly mute while Ethan and Mark slid out of the booth and
headed off, leaving her alone with Brandon. He looked nearly as rattled as she
felt.
    “Uh, that wasn’t well done,” he said, with a self-conscious
expression. “Sorry about that. Would you mind sitting down with me for a second
or two? If you’ve got the time?”
    Oh, she had the time. But did she have the nerve?
    She did. She sat down. “I hope there isn’t a problem. With
the food, I mean. Or service. Whatever.” Geez, she was acting like an idiot.
    He didn’t seem to notice. “No. There’s never a problem.
You’re perfect.”
    “You are too. I mean, customer. A perfect customer.”
    “I wanted to talk to you about that. About becoming
something more than a customer to you. You’ve known I’ve wanted that for a
while now, haven’t you?”
    So this was it. Finally. One of the trio was making a move
on her. Wow.
    Now that it was actually happening, now that the long-wished
for event was here, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Brandon. Huh. Was he
her favorite?
    She definitely liked him, was attracted to him. But she was
attracted to Ethan and Mark as well. Liked them, too. Did she want either of
them more than Brandon?
    When she’d daydreamed about this happening, and she’d
definitely daydreamed about it dozens of times, she hadn’t imagined that it
would be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, Brandon told her he was interested
in her. Hurray! On the other hand, Ethan and Mark had not. Bummer. What a silly
way to feel about things.
    More than once, in her daydreams, she’d plucked up her
courage and faced one of the men, asking them out on a date. One time she’d
imagine it was Ethan, another time Brandon, next time, Mark. She couldn’t
choose.
    Maybe that was why she’d never taken the initiative with one
of them, why she’d simply flirted casually and waited for them to decide.
    Well, the decision was made. And Brandon was the man. It was
no wonder she didn’t know how to feel about it.
    Brandon looked at her with a puzzled expression. “You did
know that, right ... that I’m interested in you?”
    “What? Oh, yes. Right. Well, I wasn’t sure, honestly.” She
wasn’t sure which one of them was interested, she almost, but didn’t say.
    “I hope I’m remedying that now, then. Are you busy tomorrow
night? I’d like to cook for you, for once.”
    “I didn’t know you cook.”
    “I’m not as skilled as you, but I can grill a steak and bake
a potato, if that sounds okay to you.”
    She studied his handsome, intent face. He had a square jaw
and a high forehead, a Roman nose and clear, smooth skin. And he was looking at
her with an open honesty, an obvious attraction that thrilled and flattered her
at the same time. She’d always liked Brandon. Liked him as much as the other
two. Maybe more. It didn’t matter, anyway. Brandon had stepped up to the plate,
and he got bonus points for that.
    “It sounds wonderful,” she said. “More than okay.”
    “Then it’s a date.”
    “It is.”
    She couldn’t believe that after all these months she finally
had a date ... with Brandon. A tendril of excitement coiled in her belly.
    Parting was a little awkward for her, after that. She felt
all thumbs, mentally. And she was embarrassed when, before Brandon stood up to
leave, he caught the eyes of his waiting friends and gave them a small, pleased
nod of affirmation.
    At least, she thought it was pleased. Whatever. He’d
basically told the other two with a gesture that