next to Landon, Cameron, and Hannah. “There isn’t really a ‘usual.’ Nathan used to always complain that he never got to experiment in the kitchen, so we made a deal with him. He gets to serve us whatever he wants, as long as he gives us five bucks off and he never, ever tries using anchovies again.”
I raise my eyebrows at Brie. “You said the anchovies were good.”
She blushes, but it’s Hannah who answers. “Of course Brie thought it was good. Nathan could serve us a plate of mud, and she’d still say it was good.”
“Shush!” Brie squeaks, waving her hands at Hannah. “He’s not deaf, you know.”
“You’re sure about that?” Landon asks. “I don’t think you can make it much more obvious that you’re into him.”
Brie gives a small laugh. “I have to admit, I’m starting to wonder if he’s gay.”
“He’s not gay,” Cameron says, joining Brie in staring across the room at Nathan. “Or at least he’s not out.”
“And how would you know?” Maddie asks. “It’s not like gay dudes walk around with a sign saying, ‘I’m gay, ladies need not try to impress, cute guys come hither.’ Or at least I haven’t noticed you carrying one, Cam.”
Cameron smirks sheepishly. “I asked. He said no.”
Seth raises an eyebrow. “You asked if he’s gay, or you asked him out?”
“Asked him out, of course,” Cam says, lightly punching Seth’s arm. “You really think I wouldn’t give it a shot? The dude’s freaking hot.” He shoots Brie an apologetic smile. “Don’t worry, Brie. This was before you called dibs.”
She sticks her tongue out at him. “Looks like you wouldn’t have been much competition, anyway.”
Nathan makes his way over to our table holding two baskets of breadsticks, and their banter comes to a conspicuous halt. Hannah and Maddie exchange giggles, while Brie’s blush deepens even more, but Nathan ignores all of it and drops the baskets on top of the table with a dramatic flourish.
“Enjoy,” he says over his shoulder as he heads back into the kitchen.
Everyone snatches up a breadstick, and I follow suit, juggling mine between my palms to cool it before I take a bite. Warm, buttery bread melts on my tongue, and I give an appreciative sigh. If the pizza is half as good as the breadsticks, Brie’s right—Nathan could probably use all the anchovies he wants, and it’d still be delicious.
“Looks like someone’s found true love,” Cameron says, winking at me.
I take another bite and nod. “You guys weren’t kidding about this place being heaven.”
Cameron gulps down the last bit of his appetizer and grins. “We don’t kid about our food, sweetie. And heaven is actually only one of our theories.”
“What are the others?” I ask, dusting a bit of flour off my hand.
“Maddie’s convinced there’s a fair amount of crack that gets mixed with the flour,” Landon says. “And Hannah thinks it’s some sort of recipe sent back from the future that’s meant to establish world peace, because it’ll eventually spread to other restaurants, and the entire planet is going to end up too fat to hold a gun.”
“Which is why we don’t tell many people about this place,” Seth says, nudging me gently with his elbow. “We can’t have other people swooping in and stealing the recipe to our heaven.”
I look down and blush, not trusting myself to come up with a response that doesn’t sound entirely awkward. Seth smirks a little as he reaches for another breadstick, but when he realizes it’s the last one in the basket, he hands it to me.
“Lea gets the last one,” he announces to the rest of the table. “We need to keep her well-fed if we’re going to convince her to put up with our conspiracy theories.”
“Thanks for the bribery,” I say, taking it from him. My fingers brush against his, and the warmth of his skin makes my heart stutter, but I don’t think it’s purely from nervousness. I quickly snatch my hand back.
No. I’m not
I raise my eyebrows at Brie. “You said the anchovies were good.”
She blushes, but it’s Hannah who answers. “Of course Brie thought it was good. Nathan could serve us a plate of mud, and she’d still say it was good.”
“Shush!” Brie squeaks, waving her hands at Hannah. “He’s not deaf, you know.”
“You’re sure about that?” Landon asks. “I don’t think you can make it much more obvious that you’re into him.”
Brie gives a small laugh. “I have to admit, I’m starting to wonder if he’s gay.”
“He’s not gay,” Cameron says, joining Brie in staring across the room at Nathan. “Or at least he’s not out.”
“And how would you know?” Maddie asks. “It’s not like gay dudes walk around with a sign saying, ‘I’m gay, ladies need not try to impress, cute guys come hither.’ Or at least I haven’t noticed you carrying one, Cam.”
Cameron smirks sheepishly. “I asked. He said no.”
Seth raises an eyebrow. “You asked if he’s gay, or you asked him out?”
“Asked him out, of course,” Cam says, lightly punching Seth’s arm. “You really think I wouldn’t give it a shot? The dude’s freaking hot.” He shoots Brie an apologetic smile. “Don’t worry, Brie. This was before you called dibs.”
She sticks her tongue out at him. “Looks like you wouldn’t have been much competition, anyway.”
Nathan makes his way over to our table holding two baskets of breadsticks, and their banter comes to a conspicuous halt. Hannah and Maddie exchange giggles, while Brie’s blush deepens even more, but Nathan ignores all of it and drops the baskets on top of the table with a dramatic flourish.
“Enjoy,” he says over his shoulder as he heads back into the kitchen.
Everyone snatches up a breadstick, and I follow suit, juggling mine between my palms to cool it before I take a bite. Warm, buttery bread melts on my tongue, and I give an appreciative sigh. If the pizza is half as good as the breadsticks, Brie’s right—Nathan could probably use all the anchovies he wants, and it’d still be delicious.
“Looks like someone’s found true love,” Cameron says, winking at me.
I take another bite and nod. “You guys weren’t kidding about this place being heaven.”
Cameron gulps down the last bit of his appetizer and grins. “We don’t kid about our food, sweetie. And heaven is actually only one of our theories.”
“What are the others?” I ask, dusting a bit of flour off my hand.
“Maddie’s convinced there’s a fair amount of crack that gets mixed with the flour,” Landon says. “And Hannah thinks it’s some sort of recipe sent back from the future that’s meant to establish world peace, because it’ll eventually spread to other restaurants, and the entire planet is going to end up too fat to hold a gun.”
“Which is why we don’t tell many people about this place,” Seth says, nudging me gently with his elbow. “We can’t have other people swooping in and stealing the recipe to our heaven.”
I look down and blush, not trusting myself to come up with a response that doesn’t sound entirely awkward. Seth smirks a little as he reaches for another breadstick, but when he realizes it’s the last one in the basket, he hands it to me.
“Lea gets the last one,” he announces to the rest of the table. “We need to keep her well-fed if we’re going to convince her to put up with our conspiracy theories.”
“Thanks for the bribery,” I say, taking it from him. My fingers brush against his, and the warmth of his skin makes my heart stutter, but I don’t think it’s purely from nervousness. I quickly snatch my hand back.
No. I’m not
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