my ride! Be back later!” I called back, flushing pink. Why did she have to yell now? When Ethan was here?
Ethan grinned at me and held out his hand. I took it hesitantly.
Holy crap. My first date. Holy freaking crap.
Well, second date, technically. I suppose the movie night had been a date after all. I shut the door behind us.
“So, where do you want to eat?” he asked as we pulled out of the driveway. “Chinese? Italian? Good old American?”
“American?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Burgers and fries.”
“So what’s Italian?”
“Pasta. And Chinese is cat-on-a-stick, before you ask.”
I shuddered. “Definitely not Chinese, then.”
“So American, then?”
“Sure.”
We drove through town without having much else to say. I wished he would turn on the radio or something. The silence was deafening. It was strange. We always had something to talk about. Why now, on our first real night out, do we have to be silent?
I shifted my weight and tugged at the waistband of my jeans. I could already feel those welts forming on my gut where the denim pinched too tight.
The silence persisted through parking, finding a table, and ordering our food. Our waitress, Shelly, wore too much make up and kept giggling after everything Ethan said, and he just ate it up like candy. He turned his grin away from me, and planted it on her instead.
“I’ll be right back ya’ll,” Shelly said with a wink and turned tail toward the kitchen.
Ethan was still watching her walk away. I glared at him, scratching ineffectually at the edge of my cast. “So, tell me about yourself.”
He turned his grin back to me. “What do you not know already?” It was as if nothing were out of the ordinary at all.
“Lots of things!” I said, maybe a little too loudly. “Surprisingly enough, you and I haven’t really talked much except about calculus. Why did your family move to Arkansas?”
“Because I ran out of pretty girls to charm.” He winked.
Shelly returned with our drinks. This time he didn’t even glance at her.
“Seriously,” I said, grinning despite myself. “Why’d you guys move?”
He shrugged, sipping on his soda absentmindedly. “Nancy’s family’s from around here, and Dad didn’t feel like fighting with her over it.”
“What about your dad’s family?” I asked. “Aren’t they in Texas?”
“Yeah, but so is my mom.”
“Ah. Sorry.”
“Naw. It’s no big deal. My mom’s crazy, really,” he said with resigned chuckle. “She cheated on my dad when I was a kid, then when Dad got remarried, she tried to run Nancy over with her Tahoe.”
“ Oh my god !” I said. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “Eh. We got a restraining order and moved to Arkansas. Nancy had been begging to move anyway, and Dad has always wanted to set up his own practise . He did some research, saw there wasn’t much competition in little old St. John, and bought a house.” He spread his arms wide, laying the information out for me.
“You’re awfully cavalier about all this,” I said. “I mean jeez, you have a restraining order out on your own mother.”
“It’s okay, though,” he said, settling back in his seat. “She left when I was really little, and Nancy’s been around almost as long. She’s pretty cool.”
Ethan grinned at me and held out his hand. I took it hesitantly.
Holy crap. My first date. Holy freaking crap.
Well, second date, technically. I suppose the movie night had been a date after all. I shut the door behind us.
“So, where do you want to eat?” he asked as we pulled out of the driveway. “Chinese? Italian? Good old American?”
“American?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Burgers and fries.”
“So what’s Italian?”
“Pasta. And Chinese is cat-on-a-stick, before you ask.”
I shuddered. “Definitely not Chinese, then.”
“So American, then?”
“Sure.”
We drove through town without having much else to say. I wished he would turn on the radio or something. The silence was deafening. It was strange. We always had something to talk about. Why now, on our first real night out, do we have to be silent?
I shifted my weight and tugged at the waistband of my jeans. I could already feel those welts forming on my gut where the denim pinched too tight.
The silence persisted through parking, finding a table, and ordering our food. Our waitress, Shelly, wore too much make up and kept giggling after everything Ethan said, and he just ate it up like candy. He turned his grin away from me, and planted it on her instead.
“I’ll be right back ya’ll,” Shelly said with a wink and turned tail toward the kitchen.
Ethan was still watching her walk away. I glared at him, scratching ineffectually at the edge of my cast. “So, tell me about yourself.”
He turned his grin back to me. “What do you not know already?” It was as if nothing were out of the ordinary at all.
“Lots of things!” I said, maybe a little too loudly. “Surprisingly enough, you and I haven’t really talked much except about calculus. Why did your family move to Arkansas?”
“Because I ran out of pretty girls to charm.” He winked.
Shelly returned with our drinks. This time he didn’t even glance at her.
“Seriously,” I said, grinning despite myself. “Why’d you guys move?”
He shrugged, sipping on his soda absentmindedly. “Nancy’s family’s from around here, and Dad didn’t feel like fighting with her over it.”
“What about your dad’s family?” I asked. “Aren’t they in Texas?”
“Yeah, but so is my mom.”
“Ah. Sorry.”
“Naw. It’s no big deal. My mom’s crazy, really,” he said with resigned chuckle. “She cheated on my dad when I was a kid, then when Dad got remarried, she tried to run Nancy over with her Tahoe.”
“ Oh my god !” I said. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “Eh. We got a restraining order and moved to Arkansas. Nancy had been begging to move anyway, and Dad has always wanted to set up his own practise . He did some research, saw there wasn’t much competition in little old St. John, and bought a house.” He spread his arms wide, laying the information out for me.
“You’re awfully cavalier about all this,” I said. “I mean jeez, you have a restraining order out on your own mother.”
“It’s okay, though,” he said, settling back in his seat. “She left when I was really little, and Nancy’s been around almost as long. She’s pretty cool.”
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